Litsy

Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale | William Shakespeare

so-so

The Winter‘s Tale, by William Shakespeare (ca. 1610)
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Premise: A paranoid tyrant destroys his family and friendships, but everything works out in the end.

Review: I‘m slowly working my way through Shakespeare‘s catalog, and have to say this was my least favourite so far. The plot depends on a wholly unmotivated turn by a main character, whip then disappears for the meat of his narrative arc, only to reappear in time for a happy ending. ⬇️

Mattsbookaday This means that we don‘t get to witness his character development, how he came to his repentance and grief over his actions and therefore narratively earn his happy ending. Shakespeare is Shakespeare, and there are some truly lovely speeches in here, as well as some fun comedic relief. But as a play, this didn‘t really cohere and so fell a bit flat for me. 16h

3 likes1 comment

kspenmoll

King Lear | William Shakespeare

The perfect night! No stars because the lawn performance we saw began at 5:30. But the evening was lovely- low 80s, breezy, sun with billowy clouds.This summer event has become a tradition for my former, several years retired, HS English co-teacher & me. We each brought picnic food to share & caught up with each other during intermission. 💜💜💜

Ruthiella What fun! 🤩 23h

AnnCrystal 👏🏼🥳💝💝💝. 17h

44 likes2 comments

LiseWorks

Picnic | William Inge

#JulyJazz Picnic So Happy Together by The Turles love this song @Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

tpixie Love this song! 1d

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Ear worm 🐛 🎵 ❤️ 1d

Eggs 🎶I think about you day and night….🎶 1d

18 likes3 comments

TheLudicReader

Cleansed | Sarah Kane

#serenesaturdays @TheBookHippie

Tunes blasting, cleaning house (purging and getting in all the nooks and crannies) is oddly satisfying and calming.
Weird, right?

Sace Nope. Not weird. Cleaning soothes me too. I can‘t control much, but I can control the clutter, dust and mess. 2d

Aims42 Not weird at all! It‘s so satisfying seeing the before and after of a deep cleaning session 🤗🧼🫧✨ 2d

TheBookHippie I love it too!!!! 🫧🧹🧽🧼 2d

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Cuilin So calming, especially the part at the end when you light the candle and enjoy your newly cleaned, organized space. 🕯️✨ 2d

TheLudicReader @Sace @Aims42 & @TheBookHippie you are clearly my people. 2d

dabbe 💙🩵💙 2d

TheLudicReader @Cuilin it is very satisfying. 😁 2d

ShelleyBooksie It's so satisfying!!! 2d

38 likes8 comments

GingerAntics

Goethe's Faust | Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

pick

This was so enthralling and wonderful to listen to. I highly recommend it. It has the weight and feel and Shakespeare, but the language is far more modern. The translator did an amazing job of keeping the rhythm of the original German poetry in the English.
#Goethe #Faust #DrQuinnReadingList #poetry #play #classicliterature

Bookwomble And Samuel West and Toby Jones are both such great actors. I bet they were good in their roles! 2h

23 likes1 comment

Lcsmcat

The Winters Tale | William Shakespeare

Tickets to see A Winter‘s Tale at Blackfriars tonight. I‘m dying to see how they do the bear! 🐻

Andrea313 Enjoy! ❤️🐻 5d

Chrissyreadit FUN! 5d

Sparklemn Jealous! 💚 (edited) 5d

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StaceGhost Yay! My friend is a member of the Virginia Blackfriars rep 5d

Lcsmcat @StaceGhost Cool! It was an excellent performance. Did they have a role last night? 5d

StaceGhost @Lcsmcat no, he‘s on vacation. But he directed a version of winters tale once and it was really good. I bet their show was better but I won‘t tell him that! How did they do the bear? 5d

Lcsmcat @StaceGhost It‘s hard to describe, but several cast members had furry brown hoodies, and there was a bear head on a stick. They arranged themselves into a sort of bear shape with one holding the head. Then they broke apart and surrounded Antigonus (passing the head around amongst them) and dragged him offstage by his ankles. Visually more effective than that description. 🐻 5d

StaceGhost @Lcsmcat that‘s brilliant! And no your description was perfect lol 4d

40 likes8 comments

eeclayton

Lovers' Vows: A Play in Five Acts Altered from the German of Kotzebue | Mrs. Inchbald

so-so

So I've just read the play from Mansfield Park 🤓

Short, quick paced, and easy to read, Lovers' Vows is an entertaining little play with some humour. I picked it up to gain a deeper understanding of Mansfield Park, and it will be valuable when thinking about role choices and relationships in the novel. However, I'm not sure the play would linger with me on its own merits.

#JaneAustenThenAndNow @Crinoline_Laphroaig

eeclayton Also, here's a somewhat long but fascinating analysis of the parallels between play and novel: https://www.reddit.com/r/janeausten/comments/l8ycmo/understanding_lovers_vows_th... in case anyone is interested in that rabbit hole 😁 6d

Crinoline_Laphroaig Ooh what a great idea! 6d

eeclayton @Crinoline_Laphroaig and it's very doable. A much smaller undertaking than reading Udolpho for Northanger Abbey! 😂 6d

21 likes3 comments

GingerAntics

Goethe's Faust | Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

This has been on my TBR since 2019. I started it after finishing Herod while donating plasma today. I‘m already 77% of the way through. It‘s fast paced. It‘s compelling. It has the feeling of Shakespeare, with far more modern English. This translation has done a marvellous job of keeping the rhythm of the original German poetry. 100% recommend so far. Would love to do this as a group read at some point. I just wanted to share this brilliance.

GingerAntics Thanks Dr. Quinn for putting this book on my radar! #Goethe #Faust #DrQuinnReadingList #poetry #play #classicliterature 1w

TheBookHippie Oh I love this!!! 1w

GingerAntics @TheBookHippie I am adoring every second of this! 7d

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julesG Had to read and dissect/interpret it in school. Both parts. And, if course, we had to look at other works where a character struck a bargain with the devil. 7d

GingerAntics @julesG he is a German author, so that makes sense. Yeah, we get Shakespeare and if you were lucky, you MIGHT have been introduced to a little Mark Twain. That‘s about it. Everything else was modern. Then again, this is America. No one would stand for a man striking a bargain with the devil. It might corrupt the children. 🙄 (edited) 6d

julesG 🤣🤣 6d

julesG I think we read some Marlow too. Apart from Shakespeare. 6d

GingerAntics @julesG oooh I read some Marlow in grad school. I‘m trying to remember which ones now… 🤔 🧐 6d

22 likes1 stack add8 comments

Mattsbookaday

Medea | Euripides

pick

Medea, by Euripides (431 BCE)
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Premise: Spurned princess Medea plots revenge upon her faithless lover Jason

Review: Euripides‘ plays have stood the test of time for a reason. They demonstrate a keen and nuanced understanding of the human psyche. Is Medea portrayed as a monster or as a sympathetic victim? ⬇️

Mattsbookaday The answer is yes and it‘s amazing how well that still comes across almost 2500 years later. Do yourself a favour and find a good translation and sink into it.

Bookish Pair: For a humorous take on an unlikely production of Euripides, Ferdia Lennon‘s Glorious Exploits (2024) 1w

7 likes1 comment

lil1inblue

Complete Poems and Plays,: 1909-1950 | T S Eliot

🩵 I love how my bestie and I fall into our old rhythms so easily.
🩵 Went thrifting with my bestie and scored The Complete Poems and Plays of TS Eliot for $2
🩵 GOOD TROUBLE
🩵 I'm so grateful for the litsy community. Y'all are so supportive and smart and amazing!
🩵 I'm grateful to myself this week for recognizing my limits AND taking steps to make sure I take time to rest. It's hard for me, and I'm proud of myself.
#5joysfriday @debinhawaii

ChaoticMissAdventures Resting is so hard. I went back to my therapist last month to have her help me. In this climate? Who is able?!? I hope you are successful in your steps to rest. 1w

AnnCrystal 💝💝💝💝 Take good care of yourself 🙏🏼💝. 1w

Aims42 Such great joys!! 💛🧡🩷 1w

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kspenmoll So so glad you are working on taking care of you- stopping & resting & refreshing is so important! I have always had Friday after work as my rest night- shut out the world, read, reflect. The I could/can face whatever the weekend brought/brings. 1w

MemoirsForMe ❤️❤️❤️ 1w

Amiable 💙🩵💙 1w

lil1inblue @ChaoticMissAdventures Right?!?! It's madness. 1w

lil1inblue @AnnCrystal 🫂🩵 1w

lil1inblue @Aims42 Thanks! 🥰 1w

lil1inblue @kspenmoll Thank you! Your Friday night sounds like a brilliant plan. I may need to borrow that idea! 🥰🥰🥰 1w

lil1inblue @MemoirsForMe @Amiable 🩵🥰🩵 1w

dabbe What a F🤩B list! 💙🩵💙 1w

37 likes12 comments

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