Much Ado About Nothing
This is my first attempt at Shakespeare in a non-classroom setting. I've read several plays before now (Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, King Leer, and King John), but they were all for assignments. And they were all really hard to get through.
I have a tendency to get lost in the rhythm of Shakespeare's language. It flows so well that, without even realizing it, I'll have read two pages and retained nothing. I'll be so eager to finish a line that I won't even realize it's switched characters. I have difficulty keeping track of who's talking because that interrupts the flow of the language.
To get around this, I used to go through and highlight each character in a different color before reading so I'd have a visual cue to keep me on track. But since I didn't want to do that to my fancy Complete Works (or carry that beast of a book around), I never got around to any plays that hadn't been assigned.
Then Joss Whedon decided to make a film version of Much Ado. So I tracked down an annotated version in a used book store and decided that I would get through it, even if it took me a week. I would force myself to go slowly, to read the notes and scene summaries, and to really absorb what was being said and not just the pretty language it was being said in.
I went through something similar when I decided to start reading comic books. There's a rather steep learning curve whenever you switch to new style of media. But after some practice, things get easier.
So. Much Ado About Nothing.
I knew it was a comedy, but I didn't really expect to find myself laughing out loud during the first scene. The fact that I understood a joke was a big encouragement.
I did stumble my way through this story. I had to rely on the scene summaries pretty heavily to keep track of who had what information. The plot relies pretty heavily on characters disguising themselves as other characters and the spread of misinformation. This works way better in a visual medium than a written one, and that makes sense since Shakespeare's plays are meant to be seen more than read.
Even though I had to read some scenes two or three times before I understood them, the word play kept me from getting too frustrated. About halfway through the play I started to get familiar enough with the language and rhythm that things got easier. I did still find myself getting fatigued after 20 minutes or so of reading, but that works out pretty well with my commute. And the play is short enough that I still breezed through it in a few days.
I'm really excited for the movie to (eventually) hit theaters. I can't wait to see so many of my favorite actors playing these parts.
I have a tendency to get lost in the rhythm of Shakespeare's language. It flows so well that, without even realizing it, I'll have read two pages and retained nothing. I'll be so eager to finish a line that I won't even realize it's switched characters. I have difficulty keeping track of who's talking because that interrupts the flow of the language.
To get around this, I used to go through and highlight each character in a different color before reading so I'd have a visual cue to keep me on track. But since I didn't want to do that to my fancy Complete Works (or carry that beast of a book around), I never got around to any plays that hadn't been assigned.
Then Joss Whedon decided to make a film version of Much Ado. So I tracked down an annotated version in a used book store and decided that I would get through it, even if it took me a week. I would force myself to go slowly, to read the notes and scene summaries, and to really absorb what was being said and not just the pretty language it was being said in.
I went through something similar when I decided to start reading comic books. There's a rather steep learning curve whenever you switch to new style of media. But after some practice, things get easier.
So. Much Ado About Nothing.
I knew it was a comedy, but I didn't really expect to find myself laughing out loud during the first scene. The fact that I understood a joke was a big encouragement.
I did stumble my way through this story. I had to rely on the scene summaries pretty heavily to keep track of who had what information. The plot relies pretty heavily on characters disguising themselves as other characters and the spread of misinformation. This works way better in a visual medium than a written one, and that makes sense since Shakespeare's plays are meant to be seen more than read.
Even though I had to read some scenes two or three times before I understood them, the word play kept me from getting too frustrated. About halfway through the play I started to get familiar enough with the language and rhythm that things got easier. I did still find myself getting fatigued after 20 minutes or so of reading, but that works out pretty well with my commute. And the play is short enough that I still breezed through it in a few days.
I'm really excited for the movie to (eventually) hit theaters. I can't wait to see so many of my favorite actors playing these parts.
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