Thanks for the comment, Brian! Please do – the world needs more stage productions of Coriolanus! What a fantastic blog post! Yeah, didn’t think so. The Underrated Heroines of Shakespeare Cordelia ( King Lear) Imogen ( Cymbeline) Paulina ( The Winter's Tale) Miranda ( The Tempest) ), though. Fiennes’ film helped to bring it to a wider audience, though, I think. Use it well! come, come, come, come, give me your hand. That is interesting about part 2 being written earlier than 1 and 3. He after honour hunts. The Henry the VIs were pretty good, thanks mostly to the actor the BBC chose to play the role. One could say that all of Shakespeare’s plays are underperformed. Shakespeare reading principles. Troilus and Cressida. Go ahead and give this a try to see for yourself. engage in life that he runs off and joins a monastery. Thanks for the comment! advice from toothless soothsayers and had oddly prophetic dreams. Sorry, that should have been King Richard II to King Richard III (which sounds so short when it’s phrased like that, but one forgets how many Henries are interposed between). Its standout scenes undoubtedly involve the rebels, led by Jack Cade, marching on London (echoing real-life events in the capital in 1450 where the conflict centred on London Bridge). Will have to take the time to watch it soon. Of these plays I have seen two performed. Thanks Rajiv some very good points. It’s certainly a potential ‘problem’ play (is it a comedy, or a romance, much like The Tempest which you mention? Raise your hand if you’ve ever actually LOL-ed This one is about the Roman leader who conquered the city of Corioles, hence his nickname (or ‘agnomen’) of Coriolanus. He still manages to steal a few scenes here and there and doesn’t Excellent, factual essay. Since my (digital) copy of the Folio doesn’t have the play in it, it’s not in the contents list either. It is surprising to me how difficult it is to get my “peers” interested in Shakespeare at all – they are intelligent people, well-educated as in university graduates, and yet find the Bard “not accessible” or something like that. to a sidekick. to the every wish of a half-man, half-donkey. Meanwhile, the note about Troilus and Cressida doesn’t seem quite right to me, The First Folio printed the play between the tragedies and histories according to David Bevington’s Arden edition you have pictured (I have a digital edition of the Folio from Project Gutenberg that doesn’t have it at all). Great post. while reading a Shakespearean comedy. Shakespeare wasn’t a novelist like Charles Dickens or Stephen King. 15 Overrated: Overhyped No Jutsu! A cannon shot, used for special effects in the play, hit the thatched roof of the playhouse and it quickly burned to the ground. The Underrated: Gnomeo and Juliet (2011) I picture this one as a My First Shakespeare kind of movie since it’s a fun, wildly entertaining version of the classic tale that you can watch with children. Romeo and Juliet remains one of the most iconic love stories of all time and remains relevant centuries after the performances in England’s Globe Theatre. patriarchy/the crazies. Much appreciated, and I’m glad you enjoyed the post. Claiming one’s love for Hamlet is so cliche. represents us, the reader: an overly judgmental observer who is so unable to But I think it’s a magnificent work. Even Richard II, As You Like It, and Antony and Cleopatra can be said to be well-known William Shakespeare plays. Coriolanus is one of my favorite things ever written by anyone ever. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! You’re right, I should have put in Two Gentlemen, I think – I actually quite like it. Interesting about the Michael Jackson overtones to Whishaw’s Richard II (got it right that time! major) I at first found some of the old language troublesome until I learned some of the slang. I love Coriolanus – I think it tells us more about politics and the public than anything I ever read. That old BBC Shakespeare production sounds like it’s worth seeking out though. Cymbeline. It’s always somewhat of a cop out when a brand new Everyone will have his or her own favorite Shakespeare that one would like to re-watch, re-read and revisit time and again. Not being “interesting literature” but keen on Shakespeare, Arden is my preferred edition but Oxford also does some good ones. In Shakespeare’s source material for the play, a short Italian novella titled Un Capitano Moro, many of the characters that Shakespeare includes in his play are featured, but all except one are simply known by their rank or title. Surveying literature, art & culture from an altitude of 5,000 feet while traveling at 53 miles per hour. Anyone who’s intrigued by the ‘break with Rome’ and Henry’s divorce from Catherine of Aragon should find much to enjoy here. I’ll keep you informed of our progress. Thank you for the reminder! Will have to check Stratford/London for new productions in the future. Superb! I also don’t rate the play much; but then this is a contentious list which I knew people would wish to quibble over, and rightly, too. That is interesting – I think where I teach it’s quite well known because it’s one of the set texts on a core module in British Drama, so it’s always good to hear what it’s like elsewhere. This is unusual among Shakespeare’s plays, being one of the ‘problem plays’ – named partly because the central character must face some sort of social problem (in this case, Cunobelinus, the British king – or ‘Cymbeline’ – has to deal with the Romans who have occupied Britain) and partly because the play doesn’t fit comfortably into either genre, comedy or tragedy. I had to think about the bananas/Coriolanus point, and then I saw the “a:” and realized it must be the UK pronunciation of “bananas,” not my US one with /æ/ in the second-to-last syllable. And I agree about the underrated Timon…. Ah, really? Shakespearean clowns are usually insufferable He wrote some of the world’s most famous plays, including Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet, so it's no wonder Hollywood adapted his literary works for the big screen. I’ve also seen Troilus and Cressida twice, both times at Stratford. Wallace Stevens wrote that “death is the mother of I have always had a soft spot for Cymbeline and its glorious heroine. in a Shakespearean comedy where most of those jokes just happen to be ... hit amongst critics or audiences, with both wondering why Mater, usually the comic relief and sidekick, became the main character. Interesting Fact: This is the shortest of all of Shakespeare’s plays. is the dry, put-upon Louis C.K. No need for flashy sets or a large supporting cast: play it roughly as it might have been played on the stage in Shakespeare’s time, with plenty of drama, a bit of action where necessary, but also lots of close-up emotive detail. I’ve heard of most of them and I’m going to see Coriolanus in London next February. David Bevington’s Troilus and Cressida is in a class of its own compared to all others I’ve seen. Some excellent notes on Troilus and Cressida, and we take your point about ‘pander’ – though the verb is also evidently derived from Pandarus, if not from Shakespeare’s play itself. I am looking forward to watching Fienne’s film, and bringing up to date my readings of Shakes. The leader returns home to Rome but ends up being condemned as a traitor (for railing against the common people) and exiled from the city. The story of Troilus and Cressida does not come from the ancients and has a medieval source; The meaning of the word “pander” I take from the play is “pimp”. Getting the more well-known scenes out of the way, this is one of the greatest examples of a female having a breakdown in Shakespeare’s work. Everyone knows Romeo and Juliet, Twelfth Night, Hamlet, Macbeth, and Richard III (or knows of them at least). King John, I think, was a collaboration, not entirely written by Shakespeare? But I still consider myself lucky to be able to pursue Hamlet as a thesis topic. For every Hamlet, Juliet, and Othello, you have a When it comes to the stage play, the name of the great William Shakespeare is the very first thing that pops up in our mind. I didn’t know the play at all until recently, when the BBC did it as part of their ‘Hollow Crown’ series (alongside Henry IV parts 1 and 2, and Henry V), with Ben Whishaw as King John. I might need to read it again, though. 2 (Arden Shakespeare.Third Series) (The Arden Shakespeare). Well noted, thanks :), Reblogged this on Rosemarie Cawkwell and commented: Shakespeare is again believed to have written Henry VI, Part Two and Henry VI, Part III. I wasn’t aware King John was a collaboration – my understanding was that Shakespeare collaborated very early on and very late in his career (Titus, 1 Henry VI; Henry VIII, Pericles, Two Noble Kinsmen), though I know there are exceptions in between, too…. Nobody has known what to do with it: the first printing of it, as a Quarto edition in 1609, labelled it a ‘history’, while the First Folio (printed in 1623) put it with the tragedies. They don’t get much in the way of The Bard’s retelling of the classic love story between the Trojan prince and the daughter of a Trojan priest who has defected to the Greek side in the Trojan war. Recommended edition: Timon of Athens (Arden Shakespeare: Third Series). Ben Whishaw was great – I missed the Michael Jackson overtones to his performance (the monkey, the voice) picked up on by some of the reviewers, but for me his rendering of the role worked! 1. Here are ten of the least-known plays by the Bard, with the reasons why people should read them (or reread them), along with an interesting fact about each. Loved reading the post. We'll be seeing you next Thursday. Seven of the Best Underrated Shakespeare Plays Eliza | 18 - 11 - 2020. I just posted a comment on someone’s blog regretting that I am not doing master’s in History instead! His characters are at their most human, his language is at its wittiest and most inventive. It’s amazing how overlooked some of his plays are but I’ll definitely make more time for some more obscure Shakespeare – loved the interesting facts too. Othello’s Clown doesn’t exactly break this trend, but in a play so Somewhere along the line, the pre-existing name ‘Innogen’ (meaning ‘girl, maiden’) was misread as ‘Imogen’, with the ‘nn’ being confused for a letter ‘m’. He was a playwright. So I will stop moaning and count my blessings :-). Interesting Fact: This play has the largest cast of all of Shakespeare’s plays, with over fifty named parts and several smaller roles. People make fun of her “low brow” and “round face,” and her husband is forced Yup, Roger Daltry’s performance is as good as I remember it. I like Shakespeares plays The play is widely viewed as something of an experiment; many scholars believe the play to have been the work of two hands, namely Shakespeare and Thomas Middleton. You’re becoming an IL regular – I’ll have to add your blog to our ‘Cafe’ section soon…. melodramatic heroes and heroines. And do find time to watch Coriolanus … I would love to hear your thoughts on it. You might like my audio books of Conrad’s work. And thanks for your comment, as ever, Angela! (A Midsummer Night's Dream). When we finally settled down, he still didn’t speak. Interesting Fact: It was during a performance of this play that the Globe theatre burned down in 1613. I’ve only ever read one of those plays (A Comedy of Errors), I need to step it up! We hope you enjoy them. I always wonder why no one talks about Loves Labours Lost. (It had previously been told by Chaucer in his poem Troilus and Criseyde.) This is quite an early Shakespeare comedy, and involves the king of Navarre and three male companions agreeing to take an oath to swear off the company of women for three years. Thanks for this post. Thank you, as usual, for this summary, IL … it made everything very clear. Also, Roger Daltry, singer for The Who, did a charming job of playing the lead role(s) in “A Comedy of Errors.”, Roger Daltrey in The Comedy of Errors? They showed Kenneth Branagh’s Macbeth the other night, and they’re broadcasting Adrian Lester / Rory Kinnear in Othello in September. As for underrated plays, I thought you would put Measure for Measure in the list? It’s not popular because it is (deliberately) plotless, and because it’s full of wordplay that is virtually impossible to follow without notes (and then, the immediacy is gone). I’ve seen it three times – in Stratford in the 1980s, and twice in Scotland; each production was wildly different from the others. Interesting Fact: Although the title character’s name is pronounced with the final two syllables pronounced as ‘anus’ (leading to many jokes), in classical Latin the name would have been pronounced to rhyme with ‘bananas’, with an ‘a:’ rather than ‘ei’ sound on the penultimate syllable. He wrote or collaborated on nearly forty, after all. The last one changed my mind about the play; I had been corrupted by prejudice which was of course my own fault. If you enjoyed Henry VI Part 2, then I’d recommend going to King John next – not the most celebrated of the Shakespeare histories, but I think a good performance of it – the Rossiter one is on Youtube in its entirety I think – gets all the pomp and pageantry across nicely. As I read through your list, I’m sure I must have seen some of those, but it’s been so long I don’t remember. 2. :) Marsha :). Pericles is an excellent addition, though I think The Winter’s Tale is not quite underrated enough, at least to my mind. The violence in Scene Four where nearly all the characters are left dead illuminates the violence pervading the whole play, as each action is merely a reaction to a previous event. Oxford did a Hamlet (said to be “the most complete” or some such) shortly after Jenkins’ was out and called it “magisterial”.. To me it was as hard to put down as a good detective novel. Perhaps it’s because the plot is quite political…? likes to go the literal route. I am very familiar with Shakespeare but mostly just his tragedies and histories. Apparently not. from being mentally subnormal. It’s the quality of acting that matters – it’s what made last year’s BBC Hollow Crown adaptations such a joy, in the main. Cleo’s Mary Crawley. 1592. Recommended edition: “Love’s Labours Lost” (Arden Shakespeare.Third Series) (The Arden Shakespeare). I’d be interested to know what you make of the other plays on the list if you get a chance to read/see them. Both such interesting subject choices for a man approaching the end of his career, especially if read in concert with The Tempest. I’m not even sure if tragicomedy describes it properly. Shakespeare broadened the characters in the stories he found but rarely invented any. 8. Interesting Fact: Slightly off-topic, but rather interesting nevertheless, one of the original titles Tolstoy considered for War and Peace was ‘All’s Well That Ends Well’. Servant to More (SERVANT.) Oops! There’s another good reason to read it: even if it doesn’t turn out to be among your favourite plays of the Bard, at least it won’t take long to find out…. I’ll know how to pronounce it properly now :-D. Thank you for your blogpost! Agreed, the Hollow Crown series was superb! NOTE: Characters who exist outside Shakespeare are marked "(hist)" where they are historical, and "(myth)" where they are mythical.Where that annotation is a link (e.g. Bet it would be great in performance, as you outline here. … Bertram tells Helena that she may not call him husband until she receives a ring from him and can bear him a child. to marry her out of loyalty, thus making her the Lavinia Swire to Recommended edition: All’s Well That Ends Well (Arden Shakespeare: Second Series). In college, I watched Love’s Labour’s Lost and found parts of it very funny. I’d have to rhyme it with “upon us” or something. Interesting Fact: The phrase ‘gild the lily’ derives from this play, though it is the result of a misquotation. I’m still waiting for a production of Two Noble Kinsmen…. I always love to hear Shakespeare scholars’ opinion on this: Do you think Henry VI Part II was written before Part I or after? Well, I guess that just proves that both plays aren’t performed enough, as if they were, i would never have confused them. Read full Antony Monologue ….more monologues from Antony and Cleopatra Personally I’d have included Titus Andronicus (currently playing in a very good RSC production at the Swan Theatre) instead of Coriolanus, and Two Gentlemen of Verona instead of Comedy of Errors, which is done a great deal. I saw the Loughborough Students’ Union Shakespeare Society perform Titus a couple of years ago, in which they reversed all of the gender roles and so Lavinia becomes a man who is raped by two women. Now that’s good – thanks for that! What else could he do but save the day? Five Fascinating Facts about Shakespeare | Interesting Literature, Tip Number 1 | Another Wannabe Actor Blog, Confronting the Bard: Shakespeare Rap by Suzanna Lawrence | King Solomon English Blog, Ten Underrated Shakespeare Plays | Shakespearenne, http://foodpeopleloveandstuff.wordpress.com/, Imogen and the Jellicle Cats | Cadmium Diamond Dreams, Ten Underrated Shakespeare Plays | lauraleighlinker. Thanks for signing up for The Airdrop! Congratulations to good ol’ Calpy for not joining the great tradition of … It found it to be a quite strange and unique play that does not seem to fit precisely into any one genre. It is not clear just what kind of play it actually is: I plan a post on my own blog about the play soon. Shakespeare Day is celebrated every April 23 to recognize the birth and death of English poet and playwright William Shakespeare. Henry VIII. I always thought they were written in order, purely because the quality of the first is so much weaker than that of part 2, but I know this has been challenged by scholars…, I admire your expertise! Crofts (CROFTS.) I thought the ending was off, and for me, did not match the story. It is very fat. Superb! Best of luck with the endeavour…. This mysterious word has also been cited as ‘evidence’ for the Baconian theory – that Francis Bacon wrote Shakespeare’s plays – on the strength of the fact that Honorificabilitudinitatibus can be rearranged into the anagram hi ludi, F. Baconis nati, tuiti orbi, which is Latin for ‘these plays, F. Bacon’s offspring, are preserved for the world’. Thanks for your comment, Rebecca! I’ve not got much time for Titus either, which is a bit of a pastiche of Seneca (or at least it reads/performs like pastiche), and shows the revenge tragedy in its early, raw form before writers – including Shakespeare himself, but also Thomas Middleton – modified and developed it, making it a more subtle and complex genre. Timon of Athens. 37. Love’s Labour’s Lost. ….. And I love your blog – just read your review of the book on Catherine the Great, which was excellent. Many of his characters are stock characters or similar to them. Your comment about the dog in the play put me in mind of Shakespeare in Love – I think that scene in the film reflects how the play has been overshadowed by the dog for the last 400 years! Ophelia’s Breakdown, “Hamlet,” Act 4, Scene 5. Interesting Fact: The girls’ name Imogen derives from this play – probably from a misprint. I must admit, I am more interested in reading Shakespeare than watching his plays being performed. If you’re a fan of hapless sidekicks, Tranio is It was also the very first Shakespeare play to be filmed, in 1899 by Herbert Beerbohm Tree. Reblogged this on Mark Whelan's Literary Blog. The works continue to inspire Hollywood, like Baz Luhrmann’s glamourous 1996 adaptation Romeo+Juliet, … I remember seeing The Comedy of Errors performed by a relatively small group – they kept charging in and out of the hall they were performing it in, it was so funny! Much appreciated. It was one of his early plays, but represents a vast improvement on the first part of the cycle. Everything Shakespeare does well in other plays he does brilliantly here. Watch these 17 best Shakespeare movies now. (Real life doesn’t quite work like that unfortunately. It is very interesting to notice Shakespeare’s obsession with certain themes, phrases or ideas. T. S. Eliot, in his 1919 essay ‘Hamlet and His Problems’, considered Coriolanus a greater achievement than Hamlet (which he considered a failure). Thanks to Nicholas Hytner’s 2012 production at the National Theatre in London … is named after rejected Essie nail colors, but on top of that, they must cater Great post. I must confess I haven’t actually seen the Fiennes film, only clips, but everything I’ve heard about it, and the bits I’ve been fortunate enough to see, have borne out what you say here. fart-related. QUIZ: Which Underrated Literary Heartthrob Is Your Soulmate? Wider reading of his “other” plays gives newer insights into our own “favourite” Shakespeare plays. Lieutenant of the Tower (LIEUTENANT.) I wonder how many people were sent to Shakespeare’s play as a result of it…. :). Thanks a lot for following my blog. I know Jo March, Lucy Pevansie, and Anne of Green Gables and had an impact on who I was and who I am. Some were tough to sit through. Interesting Fact: Vladimir Nabokov borrowed the title of his classic novel Pale Fire from this play (and fittingly, since this was an act of borrowing, and Nabokov’s novel is about literary theft, the precise lines he pilfered from were ‘the moon’s an arrant thief, / And her pale fire she snatches from the sun…’). But, speaking of The Hollow Crown makes me think of Tom Hiddleston… I’m very excited about the production of Coriolanus that he’s in this winter. him an unofficial member of the Hot Cops. the privilege to literally live out the lyrics to this amazing song. Friends, Romans, Countrymen: Eleven Underappreciated Shakepearean Characters, "Friends, Romans, Countrymen: Eleven Underappreciated Shakepearean Characters", "Reject This Remake: Six Shakespearean Plays Due for a Reboot", "Building Hamlet: Behind the Scenes at Yale Rep (pt. This article is an index of characters appearing in the plays of William Shakespeare whose names begin with the letters A to K. Characters with names beginning with the letters L to Z may be found here.. I thought about including Titus but didn’t because I know it has garnered quite a lot of support (and been adapted a fair few times) by students in recent times, because of the horrific spectacle of the thing, I suppose. Cinema has even taken a fancy to Hamlet, with movies like Ophelia, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead and The Lion King taking inspiration.. That is one thought I recommend everyone read. And Tom Hiddleston in the lead role probably won’t hurt its popularity either! Very often I would re-read one of Shakespeare’s “popular plays” and come upon dozens of new discoveries and epiphanies. :) I look forward to becoming better acquainted and informed through the years. characters. But then I think the Oxford editions have the same advantages. I’ve still never seen a production of King John. Often times, they get the best lines and even I have to admit, I’ve never heard of Coriolanus. It is now widely regarded as a tragicomedy. I’m glad ‘King John’ is at the top of this list. The Two Gentlemen of Verona. I agree with the other blogger’s comment about Titus Andronicus. What interesting about TITUS ANDRONICUS is that, for all its problems (and it has a lot of them), it makes for quite a lively staged production. We all knew Shakespeare loved wordplay, but poor Dogberry is one malaprop away I agree with Steve about the Arden editions: they’re often the best, and have extensive notes (on the same page as the text, so none of that fiddly ‘go to the back of the book every time you want a word glossed’ business you get with Penguin editions). 4. Will have to keep my eyes peeled for new productions! I was hoping the BBC would follow up their success with last year’s ‘Hollow Crown’ versions of the later tetralogy by doing justice to the earlier quartet this year, but alas, even with the buzz surrounding Richard III recently, no such adaptations have materialised. All’s Well That Ends Well is funny in places if you like that kind of thing, but the plot is tedious and predictable: girl gets boy, girl loses boy, girl gets boy back. The one exception is Desdemona. Part 2 was such a smash hit with Elizabethan audiences that Shakespeare wrote a sequel, and followed that up with a prequel. Haha! Bless you, IL! Wow, sounds like one of those once-in-a-blue-moon classes that just blows you away. That’s great, thanks Steve! Then I saw it performed a couple of years ago, and it was great fun on stage if you didn’t take it seriously. It’s perhaps still a bit too much for us. 6)", The Biggest Little-Known Influence on H. P. 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