Shakespeare, our contemporary?

Through our glog we aimed to represent visually how Shakespeare is present in our everyday lives. The English language owes a lot to him as tons of words were put into use because of their appearance in his plays - some of them being borrowings and others his own creation. We use the English language on a daily basis without realising that much of what we are saying is due to his brilliance. Even some proverbs and entire phrases or part of his soliloquys are employed as part of our everyday speech. Besides, there are plenty of songs based on his masterpieces; and appart from that, a large number of films have been made out of his plays or taking some aspects of them. Shakespeare is also present worldwide in places such as Stratford-upon-Avon, where his own house as well as his wife's cottage are open to the public as tourist attractions, and Verona where you can find Juliet's balcony and where couples from all over the world go to make their vows and promise eternal love as Romeo and Juliet do in the play. What makes Shakespeare our contemporary is the universality of the themes and values he depicts in his plays: love in all its forms, lust, appearance and reality, ambition, loyalty, order and disorder, identity, death and illness, good and evil, among others. It is impossible not to feel identified with some of his characters; and this is where his genius lies: he gave his characters and plays in general a universal appeal. ROMINA, AILÍN AND MELISA.

Hamlet on screen

There are probably countless film versions of Hamlet, ranging from the one starring Sir Laurence Olivier (1948)





to the one with Kenneth Brannagh (1996) 






 Next Saturday 26th Film and Arts is airing a version featuring Ethan Hawke (2000)

 

 It has met with highly mixed  reviews

 It can be a good idea to compare these five different renderings of the (perhaps) most famous soliloquy in drama. There are some questions to help you in the video itself. You can also compare the video from Hamlet la Metamorfosis available in the previous post

Hamlet

In order to celebrate Shakespeare's 450th birthday we are going to start the year reading Hamlet.

Try to get  an edition that is rich in explanatory notes (eg Longman Shakespeare, Cambridge School Shakespeare or many others)

As you read, you will make comments in the Goodreads group. Click on the link on the right-hand side menu to join (you will need an account, which is free).

If you have trouble finding a copy, you can start with Open Source Shakespeare .

"Hamlet la Metamorfosis" from Shakespeare Argentina on Vimeo.