As you (should) know (by now), we’re doing a March Madness-bracket style review of the many video adaptations of Macbeth. We’ve finished the first round and now we’re down to the final four…and today’s second semifinal match-up:
Continue reading “Macbeth Movie Madness, Semifinal: Fassbender v. McKellen”
Once more into the concordance, dear readers, once more! Let’s double our efforts to find doubly redoubled doubles in Macbeth.
A concordance (as you may/probably do know) is a reference that contains and counts word usage for any given collection of texts; in my deeper dives into the texts, I like to take a look at words that pop up seemingly frequently in my reading [and as per usual: like all our discussions for concordances, we owe a great debt to OpenSource Shakespeare].
OK, I’m late to the party on this one.
Last night, my wife Lisa and I saw part of the final weekend (yes, Wednesday is now a part of the weekend in Griffith Park, Los Angeles) of Independent Shakespeare Company’s FREE production of Richard III. If I say it was worth the price that would sound snarky, but the truth of the matter is that in the run-up to their two-production summer season, I had donated a fairly large chunk of change, and then at the end of the show last night, dropped another $20 into their donation “bucket for ducats” for good measure.
And yes, the show was that good.
With apologies to Elizabeth Barrett Browning, let me count the ways (in an abbreviated Top Five listing, as I’ve got some Macbeth-related fish to fry later in this post):
Continue reading “Review (and more): Richard III by Independent Shakespeare Company”
As longtime readers of the blog know, I love me a good deep dive into the ol’ concordance. A concordance (as review for you first-timers) is a reference that contains and counts word usage for any given collection of texts; I like to take a look at words that tend to pop up seemingly frequently in my reading [and as per usual: like all our discussions for concordances, we owe a great debt to OpenSource Shakespeare]. As with every play, I did the same for ol’ Macbeth. And what I find there makes me sleepy.
Not because I’m bored, mind you…
As you (should) know (by now), we’re doing a March Madness-bracket style review of the many video adaptations of Macbeth. We’ve finished the first round and now we’re down to the final four…and today’s first semifinal match-up:
Continue reading “Macbeth Movie Madness, Semifinal: Welles v. Stewart”
OK, reading through Macbeth again, and I’m finding quite a bit of drinking imagery. And again, like the “manly” stuff from a few days back, it’s not as if there’s more here than in other plays (there isn’t), it’s just that it stands out (at least in my reading).
The last couple of non-review, non-Macbeth Movie Madness-related posts have dealt with gender in Macbeth. Bawdiness. Women. Witches. Let’s continue in the vein and discuss what it means to be a man.
Now for those of you who are thinking, o, Bill, it must be that time of the review cycle when you just love Love LOVE to dip into the ol’ concordance to show us what words are featured most prominently in the play at hand. I’d love to answer in the affirmative on that one. Only if Macbeth has a primary word, it ain’t “man.” If we take into account all the “man”-ly variations, Macbeth has 55 instances, which sounds impressive. Except comparatively speaking, it isn’t. The top four in the Canon (Much Ado About Nothing, Timon of Athens, As You Like It, and Julius Caesar) all have more than 100 uses, the top three all have more than double Macbeth’s. So there’s that.
Regardless, the concept of manhood does seem to be a major topic in the play.
As you (should) know (by now), we’re doing a March Madness-bracket style review of the many video adaptations of Macbeth. We’ve finished the first round and now we’re down to the elite eight…and today’s last quarterfinal match-up:
Continue reading “Macbeth Movie Madness, Round 2: Branagh v. Stewart”
As you (should) know (by now), we’re doing a March Madness-bracket style review of the many video adaptations of Macbeth. We’ve finished the first round and now we’re down to the elite eight…and today’s quarterfinal match-up:
Continue reading “Macbeth Movie Madness, Round 2: Worthington v. Fassbender”
As you (should) know (by now), we’re doing a March Madness-bracket style review of the many video adaptations of Macbeth. We’ve finished the first round and now we’re down to the elite eight…and today’s quarterfinal match-up:
Continue reading “Macbeth Movie Madness, Round 2: Millson v. McKellen”
