Henry V - William Shakespeare

Title: Henry V
Author: William Shakespeare
Pages: 352
Published: 2004 (first published 1599)
Challenges: The Classics Club, Reading Shakespeare
Genre: Drama, Classic
Edition: E-book
Source: Free download from Kobo

Description: After the turmoil and uncertainty of Henry IV a new era appears to dawn for England with the accession of the eponymous Henry V. In this sunny pageant, the Chorus guides us along Henry's glittering carpet ride of success as the new king completes his transformation from rebellious wastrel to a truly regal potentate. Of course, there is an underlying feeling that the good times won't last, and this is all the more reason to enjoy the Indian summer before the protracted and bitter fall of the house of Lancaster. (via LibriVox)

Thoughts: I put this one off for quite sometime and probably should have read this one pretty much right away, as I could have read the play in a few hours and for some reason, this one just kept being pushed to back of the ever increasing book pile, so my thoughts are pretty much muddled and honestly I really don't know what to think of the play, except that probably a bit of a read on Wikipedia on Henry V or even reading the summary of the play on Sparknotes would have helped with my understanding of the play.  Basically I don't know what to think of the play and maybe a re-read should be in order for this play.

Bottom line:  Probably would recommend this play for those that are diehard Shakespeare fans rather than those of us who are fans of his comedies and tragedies; the history plays are more dense and do require a bit more background reading before you do actually go ahead and read them.

Rating: 3/5

Pages for 2012: 15815

Macbeth - William Shakespeare

Title: Macbeth
Author: William Shakespeare
Pages: 272
Published: 2011 (first published 1606)
Challenges: 2012 Reading Shakespeare: A Play a month
Genre: Drama, Classic
Edition: E-book
Source: Downloaded for free

Description: This drama is one of the great tragedy themed plays by William Shakespeare. The themes illustrated in the play include ambition, fate, deception and treachery. Three witches decide to confront the great Scottish general Macbeth on his victorious return from a war between Scotland and Norway. The Scottish king, Duncan, decides that he will confer the title of the traitorous Cawdor on the heroic Macbeth. Macbeth, and another General called Banquo, happen upon the three witches. The witches predict that he will one day become king. He decides that he will murder Duncan. Macbeth's wife agrees to his plan. He then murders Duncan assisted by his wife who smears the blood of Duncan on the daggers of the sleeping guards. A nobleman called Macduff discovers the body. Macbeth kills the guards insisting that their daggers smeared with Duncan's blood are proof that they committed the murder. The crown passes to Macbeth. More murders ensue and the bloodied ghost of Banquo appears to Macbeth. Lady Macbeth's conscience now begins to torture her and she imagines that she can see her hands covered with blood. She commits suicide. Macduff kills Macbeth and becomes king. (via http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100906200721AAtWKz3)


Thoughts: I have seen Macbeth performed, but I had never read it and this was something that I did enjoy but was not necessarily something that I just wanted to pick up for the sake of reading and honestly felt it was hard to find the motivation to read it.  Overall, the play was really good, but it wasn't something that I liked.  It felt like it was dark and morbid and maybe Shakespeare was playing with those themes as he was about 10 years away from dying when he wrote this play.  I think the most enjoyable scene was the witches scene in which they go "Double Double toil and trouble.  Clearly this play has a threshold quality to it, as Shakespeare companies and schools put on this play time and time again and clearly attracts people to come and see, but not necessarily read it.  I don't think that reading something like this is exactly popular (but neither is Titus Andronicus, which I never want to ever read again; trust me, its horrible).


While this is an excellent play, it didn't have the addictiveness that I have found with most of his plays that I have read beforehand (there are a number that I have read before that are good that aren't that addictive) and I also didn't feel that the themes were particularly strong in this play, especially when compared with Hamlet, which I find was a little more original and a little more addictive than Macbeth, but then that's me.


Bottom line: Overall it is pretty good and I was quite impressed with the play and the language and if you are a big fan of Shakespeare or of classic literature, I would highly recommend this play.


Rating: 4/5


Pages for 2012: 7701


If you have read this play, what did you think of it? Anything about this play that piqued your interest in maybe finally picking it up?

A Midsummer Night's Dream - William Shakespeare

Title: A Midsummer Night's Dream
Author: William Shakespeare
Size: 66 KB (copy used on Goodreads had 256 pages)
Published: 2009 (First published 1595)
Challenges: Reading Shakespeare: a play a month in 2012
Genre: Drama, Classics, Shakespeare
Edition: ebook
Source: Free download
Rating: 3/5

Shakespeare's intertwined love polygons begin to get complicated from the start--Demetrius and Lysander both want Hermia but she only has eyes for Lysander. Bad news is, Hermia's father wants Demetrius for a son-in-law. On the outside is Helena, whose unreturned love burns hot for Demetrius. Hermia and Lysander plan to flee from the city under cover of darkness but are pursued by an enraged Demetrius (who is himself pursued by an enraptured Helena). In the forest, unbeknownst to the mortals, Oberon and Titania (King and Queen of the faeries) are having a spat over a servant boy. The plot twists up when Oberon's head mischief-maker, Puck, runs loose with a flower which causes people to fall in love with the first thing they see upon waking. Throw in a group of labourers preparing a play for the Duke's wedding (one of whom is given a donkey's head and Titania for a lover by Puck) and the complications become fantastically funny. (via Goodreads)


Thoughts: Its been a couple of days since I last read the play, as I read it in one sitting, but overall I felt that the book flew me by pretty quick to form a complete opinion.  Certainly not one of my favourite plays by Shakespeare, but even then the play is pretty good.  Reading a play by Shakespeare does not do it justice and one really has to see the play in order to get a better sense of the play and quite honestly I can see why.  The language, especially in regards to this particular play, is action oriented.  What I basically mean is that the language indicates the action and is predicated on somebody on seeing what is going on, not somebody just hearing the action or reading it on a page.


Bottom line: Not one of my favourites, but definitely worth the read.    I will have more to say on the play in the next couple of weeks.


Page total for 2012: 608

Reading Shakespeare: A Play a Month Challenge 2012

 
Risa over at Breadcrumb Reads figured that the best way to read the Shakespeare plays that she hadn’t studied in school would be to read the with others, and to have a read-along. Hence Reading Shakespeare: A Play a Month in 2012 was born. A poll held from 01 November 2011 till 01 December 2011 determined the 12 plays we would be reading in 2012.  Yes, this means that I am going to be cracking opening that big behemoth that is my Norton Shakespeare anthology to read the plays or maybe I could get a free copy on Gutenberg.

Here is the reading schedule:
January — A Midsummer Night’s Dream
February — Macbeth
March — Henry V
April — Much Ado About Nothing
May — Antony and Cleopatra
June — Richard III
July — As You Like It
August — King Lear
September — Cymbeline
October — Twelfth Night
November — Othello
December — Pericles