Although Shakespeare’s home stage was the Globe Theater, and his plays are set in places as far flung as Denmark, Cyprus, Verona, Egypt, and Rome, there is not much in evidence that he actually traveled to any of those places. Rick Steves’ guidebooks and travel episodes were not available, so Wm. S. did the next best when it came to creating his settings: research sprinkled with imagination.
Steve probably finds some of Shakespeare’s setting descriptions amusing
Then again, why not set plays in jolly old London? No doubt the fear of offending present citizens played into the scriptwriting. Or not having as much wiggle room with creative license. Plus, it’s much easier to imply unknown cultural aspects such as young marriages and sparring families as found in Romeo and Juliet or having a widower mandating the oldest daughter is married off first as stated in Taming of the Shrew. Wild flora and fauna can be invented, which is seen in The Tempest. Conquering queens and funny forest business is better placed in Athens than in England in terms of sparking the imagination (also known as “getting away with suspension of disbelief).
While there is not much Danish about Shakespeare’s Denmark in Hamlet, there is the hint of the romance of Venice in Othello, and there is definitely Roman reign in Julius Caesar. Shakespeare did stick around Britain for his histories, all those Henry plays and what have you. Perhaps it was more than inventing or embellishing cultural aspects in his plays, that encouraged Wm. S. to spin elaborate settings. Methinks the draw of experiencing a two hour traffic set in a land far from London’s teeming streets appealed to the audience.
Shakespeare was no doubt an amazing wordsmith, but he also knew how to plump up box office interest. The show must go on, and it has, hasn’t it?
All the world’s a stage, especially the Globe Theatre
In case you missed it in September, you can also decide to read a new book in December.
Reading is next to breathing—it comes naturally
Then again, it doesn’t have to be a designated month for me to read a book. And if I haven’t read it yet it’s a new book to me.
Having librarian experience, both paid and volunteer, for over fifteen years, creates in me this urgency to promote reading. Now that I am in the classroom I promote reading to my students with having them read the first 10 minutes of class. Their reactions range from groans to smiles. There seems to be a firm indication that reading is either in terms of endearment or terms of endurement among teens I have encountered in the last few years.
Anyone have a study on how reading fares among our youth?
As for me—I began to seriously get into reading in fifth grade, prompted by my teacher (Hi, Mr. Cassidy) and have increased my passion for holding words upon pages (no thanks Kindle—gotta turn those pages, feel that paper).
In fact, I just hit my reading goal of 101 books for the year just the other day and I still have time and inclination to keep going.
How about you? Do you have a reading goal? Have you read any new books lately?
It’s December, the last month of the year. Getting through another tough year might involve celebrating and celebrating might also involve some appropriate words.
nimiety: excess, overabundance
galimatias: confused or unintelligible talk
pharaonic: impressively or overwhelmingly large, luxurious, etc.
foozle: to bungle; play clumsily
effulgent: shining forth brilliantly; radiant
specious: apparently good or right though lacking real merit; superficially pleasing or plausible
brummagem: showy but inferior and worthless
encomium: a speech or piece of writing that praises someone or something highly
terpsichorean: pertaining to dancing
shivoo: a boisterous party or celebration
So, celebrate this last month of a challenging year, and let’s hope the new year brings new hope and healing.
Lately I find myself drifting towards watching movies rather than reading. Having a bit of a brain fizz from teaching this year. It’s been a stressful year, as was the year before, and the one before that one. Reading, my usual standard of decompressing, is not the tonic is once was.
I am turning towards old favorites, movies that make me feel good, or are entertaining or offer a sense of escape. Here are a few that have helped me cope through the odd and strenuous days from teaching, grading, coping with students present and those missing, not to mention coping with parents and policies.
The Prisoner: I relate to how Patrick McGoohan tries to find answers to the question of “Why Am I Here?”
Field of Dreams: Believing in the impossible is encouraging
Thin Man Series: Solving mysteries in a humorous fashion is something I understand as I try to track down missing assignments from missing students.
Cadfael: Derek Jacobi as a mystery solving monk from the Middle Ages provided inspiration to making sense of the insensible
Silverado: A good laugh, and I need those lately
The Hunger Games series: Katniss is resourceful, loyal, and tenacious. She might consider becoming a teacher.
Stranger than Fiction: definitely English teacher humor at work here.
Animal documentaries are quite soothing and inspiring as critters deal with their environment
I also discovered a 24 hour Western station. There is something satisfying about the good guys getting the bad guys.
Wouldn’t it be amazing to pop in a time machine and travel to better times, let alone experience new adventures and be home by tea time?
What movies or series do you gravitate towards for escaping or coping?
Even if you are not familiar with Hamlet you are probably aware of Hamlet’s anguished soliloquy of questioning his existence. It’s such a well-known speech that it is almost a cliché. It’s ripe for parody.
A “B” by any other name…
However, there is a wee bit of scholarly doubt if the “To Be” speech that is proffered in plays is the “To Be” that Shakespeare intended. The problem being (yes, a bit of play on the play’s speech) is that Shakespeare’s plays were published without him having proofed the final copy, and most of his plays were published after his death. That’s another post.
When his plays were sent to the printer, they might have been copies taken from someone’s memory, such as an actor or an audience member—accuracy wasn’t exactly sound. These manuscripts came in three forms: good (from the theatre company and with permission), bad (someone’s recall), and dubious (another version of recall, but even worse in content).
The printer would create “quartos,” which were pages folded twice to create four leaves, or eight pages. Scholars have divided the available found quartos in “good” and “bad.”
Bad quartos have no authority and the manuscript content is suspect. Here is an example of a “bad” quarto line:
To be, or not to be, Ay, there’s the point,
To Die, to sleepe, is that all? Ay all:
No, to sleep to dreame, I marry there it goes.
Compared with the standard, recognized lines:
To be, or not to be–that is the question:
Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles
And by opposing end them. To die to sleep–
Some scholarly squabbles exist concerning if “bad” quartos are really all that bad.. The lines might have been rough drafts and since Shakespeare isn’t about for consultation, it’s suggested to leave the matter be.
A collection of everyday sayings from Christine Ammer’s Have a Nice Day–No Problem: A Dictionary of Clichés.
Beggars can’t be choosers If one is in need, being selective isn’t always an option, an adage which remains today. This expression of not being overly particular has two possible beginnings. John Heywood’s 1546 proverb collection is one, and Thomas fuller’s version (1732) “Beggars and Borrowers must be no Chusers” is another.
Behind the scenes A term originating from seventeenth and eighteenth century theater where violent action took place behind the scenery. The idea of activity, especially secrets or hidden information taking place out of the public view, was summed up in the phrase of “behind the scenes.”
What can’t be seen might be a scene not meant to be seen
Betting one’s bottom dollar Being very certain of something is the general meaning. This mid-nineteenth century phrase refers to gambling, when a person referred to betting the last of their gambling chips, or the bottom of their stack.
The Big Cheese The Boss. The Head Person. The origins are solid on this phrase. It’s thought to be nineteenth century American slang American. The word could be derived from the Persian or Urdu word chiz or cheez which means “thing.” It’s also thought it’s a derivation of the word “chief.”
The Big Cheese: what rates as the chosen cheese?
Bite the bullet Facing a painful situation might have come from those wounded in battle who had to face treatment without anesthesia and would bite down on a bullet to bear the pain. Rudyard Kipling has the line “Bite on the bullet, old man, and don’t let them think you’re afraid,” in his 1891 The Light That Failed. P.J. Wodehouse wrote the line in his 1923 The Inimitable Jeeves, “Brace up and bite the bullet. I’m afraid I have bad news.”
Bite the dust To become defeated, even to one’s death conjures visions of old Western films where either the cowboys or the Indians fell in the fight to the dusty ground. In actuality this phrase has much earlier roots, as it is found in Homer’s Iliad, “…his fellow warriors…fall round him to the earth and bite the dust.”
Black sheep To be a sheep culled out of the flock due to having wool that could not be dyed became an application for people. Sir Walter Scott wrote in 1816, “The curates know best the black sheep of the flock.” This later became known as “the black sheep of the family” referring to that one family member who stood out as an undesirable or had unacceptable characteristics.
“Just another baaaad label”
Blood is thicker than water Family relationships being considered more valued than other bonds comes from the Middle Ages application that water will evaporate, becoming invisible, with no trace of existence; however, blood, even when dried leaves its mark, implying how blood ties are essential is still relevant today.
Break the ice Originally this referred to how it was necessary to break up the ice so ships could sail through the water. Special vessels called “icebreakers” cleared away the ice and by the sixteenth century this term became more figurative than literal. Shakespeare applied this phrase, among other authors.
Kate broke more than ice in this farcical play
Business as usual Carrying on, even when circumstances are difficult might have come from the practice of businesses posting a notice that stated that they would continue operating despite circumstances such as fire, flood, construction or other situations that might indicate not being available. Winston Churchill applied this idea in his November 1914 speech when he stated “The maxim of the British people ‘Business as usual,” which became a slogan for World War I.
Carry On, It’s Business as Usual
By the book To strictly follow the rules is thought to originate from established criteria, as found in religious applications. This idea could be found in literature such as Edgar Allan Poe’s 1841 The Murders in the Rue Morgue, “To have a retentive memory, and to proceed ‘by the book,” as a reference to the game whist.
By the same token In the fifteenth century into the 1600s a “token” was a sign or symbol and “by the same token” had the meaning of “for the same reason” or “on the same grounds.” After 1600 “by the same token” referred to “the proof of this being…”, leading Charles Dickens to write in 1857, “Others caused large Fires to be made…; by the same token that two or three were please d to set their house on Fire…”
The “B” section is booming with cliché phrases. All these are from Christine Ammer’s Have a Nice Day–No Problem: A Dictionary of Clichés.
A backseat driver can be found anywhere
Backseat driver: unwanted advice. In the 1920’s, those who could afford to do so, engaged a chauffer to drive them. The chauffer sat up front and the passenger or employer sat in the back and gave their driver instructions. Today the term applies to someone giving what they perceive as helpful advice, usually to the chagrin to the person doing the task. Other applicable phrases are Armchair General and Monday-Morning Quarterback.
Back to square one: back to the beginning Though it sounds like a math problem, thoughts on this one are related to games where the start is a square, as in hopscotch or in a number of board games. Putting in hard work only to start over is frustrating and this term goes with back to the drawing board when the blueprints don’t pan out.
And put some pepper in your efforts…
Back to the salt mines: returning to work At one point in history, Russian prisoners during communist times were sent to work in the Siberian salt mines. While coming off of break can be tough, it probably is easier going that chipping away at rocks.
(The) ball is in your court: take your turn A current expression from sports, which is attributed in the mid 20th century which is said when one person is a)being polite b)pushing the other person to take their turn c)a strategy to get the other person to reveal their intentions through action or words.
Bald face or barefaced liar/lie: an obvious, if not bold untruth. Bare could be brazen, but it is likely is related to “beardless” which connects to only the young (not old enough to grow a beard yet) could so unashamedly tell such outrageous lies.
Categorically funny to Cocoa
(To) bark up the wrong tree: waste time or effort going in the wrong direction Once when hunting racoons with dogs was prevalent, sometimes dogs, so pleased with themselves, would bound up to a tree so sure they had caught the varmint, would bark to their owners their success. Raccoons, being the clever creatures that they are often led the dogs astray by jumping to another tree or applying some other witty escape strategy. For those out there thinking they have solved the problem through what seems to be a long and productive chase, they might find themselves baying at empty branches and must go back to square one.
(To have) bats in one’s belfry: deemed slightly crazy Bats in flight fly in a more irregular than regular pattern. At one time people watching bat flight thought the irregular flight reflected how bats thought–erratically. Since then it has been proven bats have a sophisticated flying system that employs sonar which keeps them from bumping into obstacles. While belfrys are not much in current use, one might be considered batty if their thoughts or speaking seems random, which might at first seem like an insult, yet it’s actually a compliment since bats are considered sophisticated creatures.
(To) beard the lion: to take a risk If you haven’t heard this term recently, that makes two of us. Considered cliché for over a century, this phrase has Biblical roots coming from when David related how by grabbing a lion by its beard he slew him. Facing danger and vanquishing it is one thing, grabbing lions is quite another. Granted, David showed his bravery. Look how this lion’s beard–that’s up close and personal.
Bearding the lion (looks more like a goatee)
Beat (scare) the living daylights out of: to punish or scare someone tremendously A 19th century American colloquialism for a person’s internal organs was “daylights.” To punish or scare someone so severely that there innards would fall out is indeed severe.
Bed or roses: an implied place of comfort Metaphorically, lying in a bed of roses sounds pleasant, being surrounded by the fragrant petals. However, there are thorns to consider. And a literal bed of roses demands constant care, so this phrase implies the opposite, as in the situation is not comfortable.
Thanksgiving comes around in November and getting together with friends and family can be emotional for some. Needing a few choice words to express feelings might be handy.
verklempt: overly emotional and unable to speak.
velleity: a mere wish, unaccompanied by an effort to obtain it.
stultify: to render absurdly or wholly futile or ineffectual, especially by degrading or frustrating means
thrawn: contrary; peevish; stubborn
longanimity: patient endurance of hardship, injuries, or offense; forbearance
foofaraw: a great fuss or disturbance about something very insignificant
megillah: a lengthy, detailed explanation or account
brabble: to argue stubbornly about trifles; wrangle
fustigate: to criticize harshly; castigate
gasconade: extravagant boasting; boastful talk
nescience: lack of knowledge; ignorance
frumious: very angry
snollygoster: a clever, unscrupulous person
beamish: bright, cheerful, and optimistic
Let’s hope if someone should start a megillah at the table no one will fustigate or brabble should it lead to gasconade. Instead, the gathering be one that is beamish.
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Pam Webb 