June 2020

I remember doing a skit in English Class (I wrote the script), where Julius Caesar and team go to the Taj Mahal😂😂😂. We put Cassius's wife, Junia, who we only knew about from the notes and who never appears in the play either. Cassius: I shouldn't have brought you along, women— Junia: Yes, my dear? Cassius: *gulping* Make EXCELLENT companions I played Cassius. We basically had him be scared of his wife as a repayment for dissing women throughout the play. I shall see thee at Philippi.

Nice! I like that! Cassius is definitely the type to be secretly terrified of his wife

How would you rank the Shakespeare plays that you have read?

I’m gonna go in the order I read them-

The Tempest: 5/10. Not so into the storyline. There where some good parts but not enough of them for me to rank it higher than that

The Merchant of Venice: 6/10. Also good but the antisemitism kinda ruined it for me (I know other plays are also racist and discriminatory but the racism is either  a) clearly a bad thing- you’re not supposed to root for the racist character, or b) a passing comment made by a side character that’s pretty much never brought up again.)

Macbeth: 7/10 Very good story, not funny enough. You maybe be wondering “but edette, it’s a tragedy! It’s not supposed to be funny!” To which I will respond with “oh yeah? Then what’s Hamlet doing here, being hilarious, with jokes on every other line until the last few pages where everyone dies?”

Julius Caesar: 7.5/10. Mark Antony’s parts are fantastic. He’s all like “oh yeah I’m totally on your side- I totally support you killing MY BEST FRIEND, THIS NOBLE ROMAN WHO DIDN’T DESERVE TO DIE, HOW DARE ANYONE KILL HIM” and everyone’s like “hey Antony? You still with us?” And he’s like “Oh yeah totally, what makes you think I’m not?”

King Lear: 8/10. It’s so good. Edmund’s plan isn’t even good, but it works so incredibly perfectly because everyone is very stupid.

Hamlet: 9/10 It’s hilarious. I don’t care what you say about it being deep and meaningful. Yeah it has some soliloquies, but most of it is just a huge pile of jokes. Literally the funniest thing I’ve ever read. The only people who think Hamlet isn’t hilarious are the people who’ve watched some film version of it before reading the play. 

I know I haven’t read that many Shakespeare plays yet, but my local bookstore is reopening tomorrow, so I’m gonna go and see if I could find a copy of Othello and Twelfth Night

Also I just noticed that the ratings go in order of worst to best- that was unintentional but also kinda interesting

Would you rather be stuck on a deserted island with Antony or Horatio? Give reasons. (10 marks)

Horatio- because he’s a very logical guy who either would get us off the island, or at least wouldn’t let any drama or arguments happen while we were there because he doesn’t seem to like drama and arguments

Antony, however, might start drama and possibly not be very helpful for getting off the island