Artist Mya Gosling’s Peace, Good Tickle Brain online is a treasure trove of Shakespeare-related fun, including three-panel cartoons for a number of the plays. Here’s her cartoon for A Midsummer Night’s Dream:
Her version of Midsummer with Star Wars action figures is a hoot. What happens when Luke, Leia, Han, Chewie, Darth Vader, C-3PO, Yoda, and even Emperor Palpatine become the “Rude Galacticals”? It starts here.
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Shakespeare borrowed from novels, older plays, history, mythology, and other sources. His plays are typically divided into three groups: histories, comedies, and tragedies. Some scholars include his later plays, like Cymbeline and The Tempest, in a group called the romances. Shakespeare comedies exemplify various types: The Comedy of Errors, The Taming of the Shrew, and The Merry Wives of Windsor (farce); A Midsummer Night’s Dream, As You Like It, Much Ado About Nothing, and Twelfth Night (romantic comedies); All’s Well That Ends Well, Measure for Measure, and Troilus and Cressida (dark comedies).
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, first performed about 1594, is where Shakespeare as an artist begins to emerge. The play combines a number of comedic elements, from the farcical actions of the “rude mechanicals” and their play-within-a-play to the rich language of the lovers, elevating the comedy into something different. The mystery of the forest setting and the various moods provide a base for future comedies, where more finely drawn and developed characters like Rosalind of As You Like It, Portia and Shylock of The Merchant of Venice, and the twins Sebastian and Olivia of Twelfth Night take important roles.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a good way to kick off our study of Shakespeare because within its boundaries, we see many Shakespearean play characteristics brought to life, like the parallel worlds of the city and the forest, mirrored characters like Theseus/Hippolyta and Oberon/Titania, and the contrasts between upper- and lower-class characters. These differences are found primarily in language level and style; the rulers and lovers speak poetically and beautifully, but the rustics from the lower classes have speech that is rougher and less rhythmic. Humor is found in wit (upper), farce (upper and lower), and downright bawdy language (lower). These shadings highlight the appeal that Shakespeare’s works had for all levels of the theater-mad Elizabethan society.
As you read, be on the lookout for a few of Shakespeare’s most famous lines, such as “The course of true love never did run smooth” and “Lord, what fools these mortals be!”
As with most Shakespeare plays, filmed versions abound. Of special note are the 1968 Peter Hall-directed version (young and gorgeous Diana Rigg and Helen Mirren play Helena and Hermia, with the inimitable Judi Dench as Titania) and the 1999 Michael Hoffman production starring Kevin Kline, Michelle Pfieffer, Rupert Everett, and Stanley Tucci in a memorable performance as Puck. The 2002 film A Midsummer Night’s Rave transports elements from the plot and several characters into L.A.’s rave scene—obviously not a true version of the play, but true to the spirit of the play, Shakespeare’s most fanciful comedy.
The full text of A Midsummer Night’s Dream may be found here.
A PDF copy of the text may be found here.
Illustration: The Quarrel of Oberon and Titania by Joseph Noel Paton
Brockett, Oscar G. The Theatre: An Introduction, Historical Edition. New York: Holt, 1979.
Mordden, Ethan. The Fireside Companion to the Theatre. New York: Fireside, 1988.
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In preparation for Literature Circles, please review the following information about the books. You will select a book of your choice and join in a circle with 3-5 members of your class. During class Friday, we will review lit circle procedures, deadlines, and assignments. You will receive a copy of your book at that time, so have your first and second choices in mind.
1984 by George Orwell
Published in 1949, Nineteen Eighty-Four offers political satirist George Orwell’s nightmare vision of a totalitarian, bureaucratic world and one poor stiff’s attempt to find individuality. The brilliance of the novel is Orwell’s prescience of modern life–the ubiquity of television, the distortion of the language–and his ability to construct such a thorough version of hell. Orwell’s vision of a future in which truth is fluid, privacy is gone, and even your thoughts can be enough to send you to prison ranks among the most terrifying novels ever written.
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead, serving in the household of the enigmatic Commander and his bitter wife. She may go out once a day to markets whose signs are now pictures because women are not allowed to read. She must pray that the Commander makes her pregnant, for in a time of declining birthrates her value lies in her fertility, and failure means exile to the dangerously polluted Colonies. Offred can remember a time when she lived with her husband and daughter and had a job, money of her own, and access to knowledge. But all of that is gone now…everything has changed.
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
The 1931 debut of Brave New World reflected the fears European society held after the Great War and how the explosion of technology and industry would impact individual identity. Huxley’s darkly satiric vision of the future envisions a “utopian” world of tomorrow in which capitalist civilization has been reconstituted through the most efficient scientific and psychological engineering, where humans are genetically bred and pharmaceutically anesthetized to passively serve a ruling order–and what happens when a “savage” asking questions about humanity, society, and love shows up.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey
Boisterous, ribald, and ultimately shattering, Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest has left an indelible mark on the literature of our time. Turning conventional notions of sanity and insanity on their heads, the novel tells the unforgettable story of a mental ward and its inhabitants, especially tyrannical Big Nurse Ratched and Randle Patrick McMurphy, the brawling, fun-loving new inmate who resolves to oppose her. We see the story through the eyes of Chief Bromden, the seemingly mute half-Indian patient who witnesses and understands McMurphy’s heroic attempt to do battle with the powers that keep them all imprisoned.
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Alas, until Sparky Sweets, Ph.D. and the good folks at Thug Notes produce one for The Awakening, we’ll have to look for other sources. This video study guide from Brittany Reads is quite good. Check the file on YouTube for more links.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRdTRpXnLPM
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This essay appeared in the January 20, 1917 edition of The New Republic. Although its origins come some twenty years after the publication of The Awakening, many of the sentiments could have been uttered by Edna Pontellier. Consider the context and tone of the remarks to understand more about Edna’s state of mind.
I HAVE two babies; I hope they may never know how warmly at this moment I hate them. I have a husband; we were married because we were very much in love-and him I hate too. I have a large stock of relatives, and them I hate with the heart and should hate with the hand if I had not the misfortune to be well brought up. This emotion of mine, especially in connection with my spouse and offspring, is, up to the present, local and temporary; indeed I think it will not grow into a permanent hatred, but will gradually assume two peculiar forms: toward my children a passionate and slavish devotion, which will make me resent my daughters-in-law; and toward my husband regards, reasonably kind, which will be reciprocated. My feeling toward my relatives, on the other hand, is becoming quite, quite fixed.
It is all the fault of the children. I wanted children very much; I am fond of children, mentally and physically; and the sheer normality of having them I rejoice in. Furthermore, having been an only child myself, I wanted my children close together so that they might enjoy one another all the way up. I seemed to think I could have babies as easily as a geranium has red blossoms. But I find they commonly come rather hard and that I am not the only woman who for months after a baby is born has an aching body and a dull mind and a defective sense of humor. During this period one’s husband is very fatherly toward one, and one begins to feel the small asp of hate nipping at one’s heart.
The semi-invalidated stage that I have gone through with each of my babies is well past: I am normally sturdy—I have to be. I shall not tell over the tale of the things there are to do, cooking and mending and washing and baby-tending. It happens that I relate my daily household misadventures in a way diverting to my relatives, and they think I dote on housework. A really model wife and mother, say my kin; so unexpected, they say, considering her education, and all. And when I crawl to bed at half past eight, no thought save detail of housework and child-rearing has found place in my mind all day; I have done no reading save snips from a book propped against the sink faucets while I washed dishes; and I have simply heard, not shared even mentally such stimulating conversation as my husband brings home to dinner.
I know house and children ought not to take all my day and all my strength. If I had had special training in domestic science and child-psychology and nursing I should doubtless be able to do my work in less time and with far less effort. But in college and university I flew straight in the face of providence, which is a war-name of advising relatives, and worked at mathematics, while in the spare time which I might have devoted to stray courses in home economics as a sop to the gods, I took ‘cello. Furthermore, I am glad of it. If I were to have a vacation tomorrow and a financial windfall, I should take two courses in mathematics at the university, and a ‘cello lesson a week, and bask in it as my sister-in-law does in chiffon underwear.
You ought to have help, say my relatives, and I add a verse to my hymn of hate for them. Among the qualities for which I love my husband are generosity, sensitiveness, modesty and conscientiousness, and I take it each of these characteristics has lower money-making value than the others. Some day when we have got middle-aged, we shall have the salary we need now; and just about that time our relatives will die and leave us money we could get on without. If I happened to be male instead of female, which God forfend, could double the family income by teaching at the university, but the university does not yet see its way to employing women on its teaching staff, and I therefore scrub the square of my kitchen floor instead.
The truth is, however, that it is not a floor-scrubber and dishwasher that I desire. I could get along with that work or leave it happily undone. It is the care of two children under three that concerns me. It is unremitting and nerve-tearing, and the day in and day out of it is under mining mercilessly my ability to be lovable and to love. Furthermore, I have not the qualifications that would justify entrusting me with sole responsibility for the growth of human beings. Maternal instinct I have in normal amount; I could be trusted to rescue my infants from a burning building, but that is a very different matter from knowing what to do with twenty-four hours’ worth of bodily and mental development every day. I do not want a nursemaid; I have no training for my job, but I have an occasional vagrant idea, and it does not appeal to me to exchange my services to my offspring for those of a hand-maiden with neither training nor ideas. The helper for me should be a trained psychologist, a child-lover, to be sure, but a child-lover with expert knowledge of the needs of growing minds. She should have also training in the treatment of the smaller physical ailments of children. She ought to cost me two thousand dollars a year, but in the present state of women’s wages I have no doubt I could get her for a thousand. And I want her only half the day-five hundred dollars. Our income is sixteen hundred.
Such a woman as I have in mind, however, take charge of a very appreciable number of children along with my important two. For five or six hours a day she could take care of a nursery-full, and still have time for life and love; while the sigh of relief that a mother breathes when she ties her son’s Windsor under his chin and posts him off to school would be breathed five years earlier. Indeed she might enjoy her children, and the sigh be dispensed with. Four hours a day of freedom for us educated, reasonably intelligent, good-stock, middle-class mothers—! The possibilities are limitless. We might even have more children.
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As the critic Per Seyersted phrases it, Kate Chopin “broke new ground in American literature. She was the first woman writer in her country to accept passion as a legitimate subject for serious, outspoken fiction. Revolting against tradition and authority; with a daring which we can hardy fathom today; with an uncompromising honesty and no trace of sensationalism, she undertook to give the unsparing truth about woman’s submerged life. She was something of a pioneer in the amoral treatment of sexuality, of divorce, and of woman’s urge for an existential authenticity. She is in many respects a modern writer, particularly in her awareness of the complexities of truth and the complications of freedom.” (The Kate Chopin International Society)
Edna Pontellier reveals this dynamic throughout The Awakening. The women around her represent two potential choices for her development. But in order to understand her journey, we have to understand her starting point. Victorian society in the United States demanded rigid, defined roles for both men and women. The ideal Victorian woman was exemplified by the English poet Coventry Patmore”s 1854 narrative poem “The Angel in the House.” The paragon of female virtue described in the poem, who Patmore based on his own wife, is a creature whose feminine beauty, virtue, attention to family, and devotion to husband set her apart from mere mortals (these expectations carried with them a suppressive, near overwhelming demand for perfection which few women could hope to maintain). When you add on the cultural expectations of New Orleans, you can see why change, for Edna, is a gradual process.
These expectations are laid out beautifully in the following 1901 excerpt from The Picayune’s Creole Cook Book, published in 1901 by the New Orleans Picayune, one of the three leading newspapers in the latter part of the 19th century. The Picayune was the first Southern daily to be published by a woman, Eliza Poitevent Nicholson, who took over the paper after the death of her husband in 1876.
The Creole mother eminently merits the term that was bestowed upon her long ago by a sweet Louisiana poet, and which has become a household word in the French Quarter, Femme de l’Intérieure. These words indicate her life, that beautiful, interior, hidden home life, not given to solving the many vexing questions of woman suffrage and woman’s rights, that agitate the minds of many of the sex in our day, for she is no aggressive competitor in the ranks and callings of men; she is indeed the “Femme de l’Intérieure”, the queen of the hearth and home. She holds the home as woman’s supreme sphere, her ideal realm, where Love is her throne, a throne reared in the hearts of her husband and children, and of which the attendant ministers are Purity, Truth and Fidelity. She is cultured, gracious, refined, as able to grace the parlor as she is capable of presiding in the kitchen; thoroughly conversant with all the leading topics of the day, with which she familiarizes herself, not that she may be regarded simply as a brilliant woman, not for the sake of argumentative discourse on public platforms, but for her own inner satisfaction and pleasure, and that she may be the fitting companion of her husband, the pleasing, intelligent confidant of her children, the wise and earnest director of their moral and intellectual aspirations and ambitions. And so her husband learns to look to his home during the weary working hours of the day as to a beacon star, for he knows that within bloom the fairest flowers of modest worth; the violet and the rose are there, the chrysanthemum and the lily, and those that bloom in God’s own garden shed not a sweeter fragrance than these heavenly exotics around the hearth of the true Creole home…
Essentially, Edna Pontellier has two choices for her life, as characterized by her two closest friends.
Young Mother and Two Children
by Mary Cassatt, 1905
Secure
Good mother
Inner peace
Beautiful
but…
Repressed by society
Chained to husband
Child bearer
Girl at the Piano
by Theodore Robinson, 1887
Devoted musician
Independent
but…
Bitter and unfriendly
Scorned by society
Victorian family painting at top: “The Golden Butterfly – The Harvey Family.” John Henry Frederick Bacon (1868-1914)
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Life gets tough when your mama wants you to lead it the way she thinks you should. Salty language and adult themes ahead. Proceed with caution.
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Since its debut in 1945, The Glass Menagerie has been revived on Broadway seven times, in 1965, 1975, 1983, 1994, 2005, 2013, and most recently in 2017. PBS commentator Charlie Rose featured the 2013 revival cast of The Glass Menagerie on his October 4, 2013 show, including actors Cherry Jones (Amanda), Zachary Quinto (Tom), Celia Keenan-Bolger (Laura), and Brian J. Smith (Jim). The production received a total of seven 2014 Tony Award nominations for the run, including Best Revival of a Play, Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play (Jones), Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play (Smith), Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play (Keenan-Bolger), Best Scenic Design of a Play, Best Lighting Design of a Play (winner), and Best Direction of a Play. The production was also nominated for three Drama Desk Awards.
In the interview, the actors discuss Williams’ text, their approach to the roles, and the enduring appeal of The Glass Menagerie in American theater.
The most recent revival premiered in March, 2017, starring Sally Field as Amanda, Joe Mantello as Tom, and Finn Wittrock as Jim. The stripped-down production also featured actress Madison Ferris, who has muscular dystrophy, as Laura, prompting a wider discussion of disability in the theater. In the interview below, Sally Field discusses the role of Amanda and its importance in American theater history.
Madison Ferris was featured in a March 23 article in People magazine discussing the new production of The Glass Menagerie and how she pursues her ambitions despite the challenges her MS creates for her. Read the article, which includes a video interview, here.
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Since its debut in 1944, The Glass Menagerie has been in nearly constant production. From Broadway to the high school stage, Williams’ play has long been a favorite choice for actors, directors, and audiences alike.
This clip from the 1973 film features the argument concluding Scene Three, starring Katharine Hepburn as Amanda and Sam Waterson as Tom. The entire film may be viewed online.
This clip from the 1987 film version features John Malkovich as Tom and Joanne Woodward as Amanda. The Tom/Amanda argument from Scene Three begins at 3:35. This film was directed by Woodward’s husband, Paul Newman. The entire film may be viewed online.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcNt3IHRKZ0
The “gentleman caller” scene from the 1987 film, with Karen Allen as Laura and James Naughton as Jim.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSsldvJNYgc
The 2013 Broadway revival of The Glass Menagerie was nominated for seven Tony Awards. This feature article from the New York Times discusses the revival and the choices its designers made to re-launch the play for our contemporary audience. This is a selection of clips from the play shown during the Tony Awards broadcast. The production starred Cherry Jones as Amanda, Zachary Quinto as Tom, Celia Keenan-Bolger as Laura, and Brian J. Smith as Jim.
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Shakespeare: Let It All Out
Some of my favorite comments you wrote about Shakespeare:
“I once got knocked out by being slammed on my head. Compared to Shakespeare, getting knocked out is fun. At least it is quicker.”
“I think Shakespeare is pretty freaking cool, even though sometimes it can be hella hard to translate.”
“His works are a vile thing, equivalent to castration and fingernail-bamboo torture.”
“I bite my thumb at Shakespeare.”
“In every play he kills almost everyone. IN EVERY PLAY. I can’t. I can’t even.”
“Let’s begin with the spelling of his name. It irritates me.”
“Shakespeare is my dog.”
“Shakespeare…to hate him or not to hate him…”
“I’ve always disliked any book that is older than me.”
“I don’t hate Shakespeare. I just don’t understand what he is saying.”
“I absolutely adore the Bard of Avon!”
“He’s a pretty cool guy I guess. His hair is ugly tho. He got MAD CLOUT.”
“OMG I love Shakespeare because of his plots and how it relates to us but that language? Oh no no honey!”
“I like that Shakespeare is Sex, Love, Death. But he has to be extra with his writing.”
“I think reading Shakespeare is like being suffocated with a pillow. I dislike the topics, the vocabulary, and the confusing names—”Mustardseed”? What is that??
“People say Shakespeare is a classic, a legend of the arts, a genius, can never be compared to, he is credited with some of the greatest works of all time, like Biggie.”
“I’ve been told many times that I was going to study Shakespeare. Never have I actually done that. Why? Because whenever it comes to that time, I stop paying attention.”
“Just stop with all of the ‘thou’ and ‘O’ stuff. But I guess it’s just a style, so you keep doing you, man. Shakespeare –> 7/10”
“I feel that people like him because of his name, like identical off-brand shoes to Nike.”
“I’m not a fan of ye olde English because it makes my brain melt out of my ears, but I haven’t read enough Willy to pass an unbiased judgment of him and his work. XOth XOth, Ye Olde Gossip Girl.”
“I’m not in love with him, but I don’t cringe at his name either.”
“When I hear the word ‘Shakespeare,’ I feel like imitating Romeo and killing myself. I also have the burning desire to have Macbeth’s fate (decapitation). I also feel like having the same ending as Julius Caesar: being stabbed thirteen times in the back.”
“Shakespeare and I have a hate-love relationship. I love his work, but the way he writes irks me with a raging passion.”
“So usually when I receive a Shakespeare play to read, I never read it because I feel stupid just trying.”
“Freaked out. Can’t understand. Grade will drop. I do like his stories when I understand them tho.”
“He’s super awesome, he lives up to the hype that surrounds his name. His works are the base of what many other works are written on.”
“Why does everything have to include something sad or love? Why can’t we read about trees or something when it comes to you? Why do I have to think twice as hard to figure out what you’re trying to say? GIVE ME A BREAK, SHAKESPEARE.”
“Meh. He’s chill, not for or against, but he’s for sure overhyped. Meh.”
“You want to know what I think about Shakespeare? You REALLY want to know? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ”
“Raw. Sexual. Ladies’ man. Hat with feather. Poet. Playwright.”
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Tagged as AP, authors, commentary, Shakespeare