Comments on: Is Shakespeare All That?

By: Charlee

Charlee — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 15:56:37 +0000

It’s Kenneth Branagh not Brannagh and he not only starred but also wrote and directed his adaptation of Hamlet in 1996. (also, Much Ado About Nothing, 1993) Sorry. The only proof I need for the existence of God is Kenneth Branagh.

By: Alex Burke

Alex Burke — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 03:30:57 +0000

Kurt Vonnegut said that the only proof he needs for the existence of God is music. I feel the same way about Shakespeare, and it is re-assuring to know I am in good company – Nabokov, Keats, and Melville is not a bad line-up. My mother is 93 years old and has never read Shakespeare in her life. The other day I was driving in the car with her and I started reciting from memory, for no apparent reason, the “to be or not to be” soliloquy. I am sure she didn’t understand the half of its meaning, but she got so caught up in the rhythm and the power of the words and imagery, that when I was finished, she said, “Well whoever wrote that certainly had a way with words.” Say what you will, it was a supernatural moment. – Alex Burke

By: Jacobean

Jacobean — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 13:04:23 +0000

Bedazzled Crone, it would be fascinating if Lanier were the author, but have you read her dreary poetry? It’s totally unlike anything Shakespeare wrote. So what would the theory be–she wrote dull stuff to hide the real stuff she wrote? The same gap works with Marlowe–his plays don’t sound at all like Shakespeare’s.

As for Lanier’s Jewishness: no way. Her mother was a Gentile, which made her a Gentile. There’s also no proof whatsoever that her father was Jewish. Check out this article discussing and dishing the Lanier theory: http://www.bibliobuffet.com/book-brunch-columns-322/1304-anyone-but-shakespeare-062010

By: Partner

Partner — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 12:59:30 +0000

I adore Hamlet, having seen it three times on video recently: the productions with Kenneth Brannagh, the actor who plays Dr. Who; and Derek Jacobi. The play is fierce and funny and reveals more and more each time I see it.

By: Shakespeare, Nabokov, and doobies « FemBot

Shakespeare, Nabokov, and doobies « FemBot — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 19:42:24 +0000

[...] think it’s funny that criticism of William Shakespeare is titled “Is Shakespeare All That?” and written by a guy named [...]

By: BedazzledCrone

BedazzledCrone — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 21:51:49 +0000

Love Shakespeare canon as a whole. Hated Hamlet – I always thought he was a whiny twirp with the brains of a flea (that opinion caused me grief in high school) – mind you it was a good play but how many hours can you listen to someone try to make up his mind – Macbeth is the best & Orson Wells playing macbeth – what could be better – “bubble bubble, toil and trouble”

And did you know that another contender for authorship of the Shakespeare canon is a woman called Amelia Bassanio Lanier? (“Rethinking Shakespeare”: Magazine article by Michael Posner; Queen’s Quarterly, Vol. 115, Summer 2008.) Here’s a link to a slide show arguing some of the points – it is rather long and tedious – http://www.slideshare.net/guestaf0598/amelia-bassano-lanier-the-dark-lady-presentation. It’s called “Rethinking Jewish History” which is sort a weird title given the topic. The only difference it makes to Jewish history is that if it could be proven that she did write the plays, it would really shake up the literary world. It shouldn’t make a difference, but I’ll bet it would.

By: Ray

Ray — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 20:39:58 +0000

Stop useing [sic] his name if I don’t like him!? Are you kidding me?

By: Ryan Brown

Ryan Brown — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 19:33:40 +0000

Which Howard Bloom are you speaking of? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vci-CJ8Z3UY is this the Hack? If so, and you don’t like him…stop useing his name… It triggers our Google Alerts, and mistakenly leads us to this Blog.

If we are speaking of a different Howard Bloom…well then… very nice Blog. I am a fan of Harold Bloom.

By: Ray

Ray — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 18:53:49 +0000

Hey, fella! Thanks for your coruscating comments, and thank you for dropping by.

Still nothing yet in the mail?

By: cowsarejustfood

cowsarejustfood — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 09:44:12 +0000

in the interest of balance i will say that some of the comedies are risible.

more matter, less art. said the queen…

romeo and juliet is frankly awful. and it pains me that it’s probably his most widely read play.

but even the forced academic readings (and blooms school of resentment interpretations) can’t dull the shiny majesty of hamlet or macbeth or lear or some of the histories and even by god yes titus andronicus.

good read fella.