King Lear by Shakespeare

King Lear wound up being the only Shakespeare work I got to in January. It is an incredible work, albeit occasionally hard to follow for me. I remember in high school I had these great versions of Shakespeare that had modern text on the left and the original text on the right. The version I have on my Kindle doesn't even have footnotes so there are a few things that didn't make sense. However, even with certain passages opaque to me, the brilliance is tangible.

King Lear begins with an old king deciding to bequeath his kingdom to his three daughters. The first two essentially suck up to him, telling him about all his admirable qualities, but his youngest, Cordelia, states that she cannot express her love for him. Lear, falsely swayed by his other daughters' flattery, banishes Cordelia, who fortunately manages to catch the King of France as her husband, and gives his kingdom to his other two daughters and their husbands. These daughters then abandon their father, while also getting involved with Edmund, an illegitimate son of the Duke of Gloucester, who has his own underhanded plan of overthrowing the heir and taking over the land for himself. Because it is Shakespeare, there is disguise, putting out of eyes, real madness, false madness, and poisoning followed by suicide. I kept forgetting that it was a tragedy and had the sense that it would all come right in the end... until it didn't. However, it was beautifully written. The thing I love most about Shakespeare these days are his keen observations of human nature -- the way he truly nailed the way we as a species behave on the head. I wonder what it must have been like to live with a person like that.

This review is not really a review at this point but a series of musings on King Lear. But there you have it. One of the more lengthy, complicated Shakespearean plays I've read, but definitely a worthwhile investment of time and mental energy.

4 stars

Warnings: Puns that are beyond my understanding, violence

Henry VIII by William Shakespeare

'Tis the season for hurried blog posts, I'm afraid -- also known as finals week. In all honesty, it isn't finals week for me, just for my husband. It is the last week of classes, though, also known as the week of everything being due and many extra projects on top of normal programming. I should probably just take a blogging break and post reviews starting next week, when my spare time is abundant; however, I am so far behind that I just want to keep up. Overall this blog is not a place to be perfectly polished -- it is a place to record my reading excursions. So. This one will be short and sweet.

Henry VIII by William Shakespeare follows Henry VIII during his falling out with Cardinal Wolsey, his growing closeness with Oliver Cromwell, and his marriage to and coronation of Anne Boleyn (known as Anne Bullen in my version). I read it because after reading Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel, I was completely enthralled with every aspect of that era (anyone excited for Bring Up the Bodies? It comes out in like two weeks!). I had never read a Shakespeare history and thought that this one, placed in an era I am already familiar with and already enjoy reading about, would be perfect.

I was somewhat wrong. Don't get me wrong -- Shakespeare's writing always makes me happy. There is something very satisfying in any phrase he pens. However, for an era that has inspired so much excellent literature, the play itself was somewhat bland. I liked it, but it didn't offer me anything that I didn't already have. Which, I suppose, isn't really fair, because it came along before anything else did.

One thing I do appreciate is the fact that it is about Elizabeth I's family -- it ends with her birth. It is interesting that the play was written in her time and therefore really had to be presentable before her. If Wikipedia steers me correctly, it was written for Princess Elizabeth's (not the queen) marriage celebrations.

So -- to sum up, it is Shakespeare, so it's good, but as far as Shakespeare and Tudor England tales go, it is only mediocre. It was interesting to me in a historical sense but the actual reading experience wasn't stellar.

3 stars

Warnings: Dirty Shakespeare jokes that you have to be smart to get.

February Prompt -- A Classics Challenge

This month's prompt for A Classics Challenge (hosted by November's Autumn... beautiful name!) is on character. I am a little disappointed that I am not reading a classic I am more involved in, because character is the most important aspect of a book for me. However, maybe it will help me appreciate the book I am reading more if I focus in on the characters.

I am reading Shakespeare's Henry VIII. Lately I have become very interested in Henry and his assorted spouses, fueled initially by Phillippa Gregory novels and enriched further by Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall (which you -- all of you -- should read immediately if you haven't). As I haven't read any Shakespeare histories before and I wanted to read a play for Shakespeare Reading Month and another classics challenge, I thought this was the perfect choice. However, I have been slowly creeping through it, and am still not extremely involved with the characters.

However, one thing that is interesting about these characters is that they take on different personas and attributes as they are interpreted through the minds of different authors. While I am not very deep into Henry VIII yet, my perceptions of the characters are colored by my experiences with them in other books. One thing I have noticed that differs in Shakespeare's treatment of the characters is that Anne Boleyn (called Anne Bullen in the play), who normally is the dominant woman, takes a back seat to Catherine of Aragon, Princess of Wales and Queen of England. Catherine is given much more stage time and much more character.

So to get into the actual prompts...

Level 1
What phrases has the author used to introduce this character? What are your first impressions of them? Find a portrait or photograph that closely embodies how you imagine them. 


I am far too lazy to look up actual phrases used by Shakespeare to describe Catherine (a full week of school will do that to anyone), but my first impression of her in this particular play is that she is strong, despite the fact that she is being beaten down by her husband's rejection and the varying opinions of her people. There is a scene where she begs Henry to consider her, but it doesn't strike me as weak -- rather than begging, it seems as if she is taking him to task for not honoring her as he should. 

I tried to give credit for this source and my computer went kamikaze on me and I lost the website. So, be aware that I myself did not create this image, but some exceptionally talented person.

Although Catherine is supposed to be large by the time these events take place, and although I doubt she is really that pretty at that point in her life, I love this painting, and it is how I picture her. 

Level 2
How has the character changed? Has your opinion of them altered? Are there aspects of their character you aspire to? or hope never to be? What are their strengths and faults? Do you find them believable? If not, how could they have been molded so? Would you want to meet them?

Well, in this retelling in particular, I think Catherine is stronger. While she is a character that I have respected throughout all the stories about her, I think in Shakespeare's version she is more dignified. I would love to meet her.

Level 3
Try writing a short (four sentences +) note or letter as the character, addressed to you, another character, the author, anyone.

So, because I was intrigued by the scene when she begs Henry to consider her, I am going to write a note from her to Henry. I am worried I'll be a little cheesy, so bear with me. 

Dearest Henry,

It pains me that you are pursuing this errant course, and I cannot imagine why you have chosen it. There have been other women before, but they have never threatened our marriage. And in threatening  marriage between the two of us, the most visible couple in our world, you are threatening marriage for all of England. You are showing the gentlemen of England that if they find someone prettier or richer or in any other way better than they perceive their wives to be, they have license to cast her off, with no thought of decency, commitment, or persistence. And aside from the wider issues at stake, I am surprised that the years of our marriage mean so little to you. I have produced a son before -- it is no judgment upon us that he did not live. Children die frequently, and heartbreaking as it is, there is no one to blame. We can produce an heir together. Keep your self-respect and mine intact. Do not do this.

Queen Catherine

Poetry Corner: Shakespeare's Sonnet 52

So am I as the rich, whose blessed key 

Can bring him to his sweet up-locked treasure,

The which he will not every hour survey, 

For blunting the fine point of seldom pleasure.

Therefore are feasts so solemn and so rare, 

Since, seldom coming, in the long year set, 

Like stones of worth they thinly placed are, 

Or captain jewels in the carcanet. 

So is the time that keeps you as my chest,

Or as the wardrobe which the robe doth hide, 

To make some special instant special blest, 

By new unfolding his imprison'd pride. 

   Blessed are you, whose worthiness gives scope,

   Being had, to triumph, being lack'd, to hope.

I think the main reason this sonnet appealed to me is because I am a savorer -- I like things to last. If a book is amazing, I don't want to finish it -- I'll cut down to a few pages a day because I don't want it to end. I could relate to the metaphor of the rich man not surveying his treasure constantly due to the desire to keep it a rare and special pleasure. And I think this idea does translate well into love -- while I am always happy to be with my husband, I definitely appreciate and crave his company more when I have been away from him all day. I love the image of moments with the poet's love being placed in a chest as jewels carefully preserved, to be looked at only on special occasions but dreamt of and savored always. 

For more posts about Shakespeare, check out Allie's Shakespeare Month. 

Sunday Salon: Challenge FRENZY

SHappy pre-Thanksgiving, Americans, and happy almost-Christmastime, people who celebrate Christmas, and happy winter, everyone else. I started that sentence out wanting to be so very politically correct but it came back and bit me in the butt, as usual. I am looking forward to this week -- I plan on going home to Boise for Thanksgiving, if the weather cooperates. My parents are hosting Thanksgiving at our house for the first time ever, and we are excited to be in control of a few things. Mostly, the fact that we are having dinner at 2pm instead of 6pm.

Remember how a few weeks ago, I was feeling so wishy-washy about challenges and how I wasn't sure if I wanted to do them anymore since I couldn't possibly finish them all this year? Well, about that... so many interesting challenges have popped up this month that I want to join them all. Le sigh. So here are all the ones that I am interested in. Will I finish them all? Assuredly not. Will I enjoy tracking down the books I want to read for them and then ignoring them completely? Of course.

The Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge. Because, as evidenced by the madness that went on during R.I.P. VI, I am very much a seasonal reader. I'm just planning on doing two rereads this year, so the level is Mistletoe:

:: Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher - Comfort reading at its best. I'm pretty into comfort reading right now, as I'm sure you'll be seeing on the blog in a couple of weeks, so this fits right in.

:: Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan - Loved this one last year, and I've dipped into it a few times since last year. I'm excited to revisit, probably on my lovely CRUISE!

Shakespeare Reading Month. I love The Bard, and it's been way too long since I've read any of his plays. I went through a phase in high school when I read most of the comedies, but I've never touched the histories, so I am going to pick up either Henry VIII or Richard III. I'll also continue my slow trek through the sonnets.

The 2012 Harry Potter Reading Challenge is too perfect for me -- I was planning on rereading all of the Harry Potters and then watching the movies next year, probably in the summer, although I've had a hankering lately and might cave sooner. I might do all audiobooks this time, we will see.

November's Autumn is hosting a classics challenge that is a little different. You read seven different classics, and then on the fourth of each month you return to the webpage and answer a question about the classic that you read. This overlaps perfectly with the other classics challenges I am participating in, and I love the idea of everyone answering a prompt about the classic they are reading, so I couldn't resist. {And also, how gorgeous is the name November's Autumn? It made me feel like Anne of Green Gables, geeking out about it.}

And then, as an eclectic blogger, how could I resist Ellie's Mixing it Up Challenge?  The premise of this one is to read books in different genres. Ellie lists sixteen, and I am going for the level of the Mixing Bowl, meaning I will try from 9-12 different categories. Many of them will be categories I am used to, just because that is the nature of the beast, but I am going to try a graphic novel, some humor, and maybe even a travelogue -- all things I haven't experienced before. Hooray!

And then, this morning, I stumbled across the New Adult Challenge. So many people have been saying they wish there were books about adults in their early twenties, and I couldn't agree more, being in that range myself and working on a novel that fits into that range. So I am going to try out this challenge at the Just Graduated level and read 3 books. I am probably going to read The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons and get my little fingers on the Jessica Darling books. Or possibly read The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta, because Jellicoe Road was fantastic.

Okay, and finally, finally, {unless I forgot someone}, the Wolf Hall readalong. I have been wanting to read this baby, and was happy to see this excuse for it. I love readalongs, and haven't been participating in any but my own for months. The schedule is:
{November 28} - Open the book.
{December 4} - Post about parts 1 and 2
{December 11} - Post about parts 3 and 4
{December 18} - Post about parts 5 and 6

I might cheat and post on Saturday, because I like my Sunday Salon posts and I don't like double-posting. We'll see.

I'm not even going to tell myself no more, because that just seems to invite me to give in on more and more challenges. Even though I know I'm going crazy, I can't wait for all of these. I love thinking about the new year and what I will read. I love thinking about books, period. I hope that I possibly inspired you to check out something new. Now I have to go update my sadly abandoned challenge page!