RSS
Home
Shakespeare sure can write them
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
.jpg)
On July 9th I was privileged to see “Kiss Me Kate” put on by the Music Theater of Wichita. I loved every minute of it! The music, the costumes, the dancing it was truly a treat. As the second act opened they nailed it on the head when they sang “It’s too darn hot!”
“Kiss Me Kate” is based off of one of my favorite Shakespeare plays “Taming of the Shrew”. Both “Kiss Me Kate” with the main characters Bill Calhoun and Lilli Vanessi and “Taming of the Shrew” with Lucentio and Katherine encounter power struggles through the whole thing. Each person trying to get the upper hand. It’s sad to think that Shakespeare really wasn’t celebrated for his writing talent until many years later after he died. He was one of the first playwrights to use the subject of love (Romeo and Juliet) as the subject of a tragedy. He was well known and very gifted putting the right combination of comedy and tragedy into the same play.
I have always admired Shakespeare for his strong, female, no nonsense characters. He wasn’t afraid to write a woman who wasn’t afraid to speak her mind. It was unusual for Shakespeare to write such strong, women, characters in a time where women were not to have a voice and considered subservient to the men. Shakespeare went out on a limb when he wrote about outspoken women. Take for instance “Much Ado About Nothing”; a comedy about gossip. Lady Beatrice always seems to get into a verbal feud with Sr. Benedict; her rival. She always spoke what was on her mind no matter who was around. Sometimes this would come back to haunt her. May favorite line from this play is when Lady Beatrice says to Lord Benedict “I would rather listen to a cock crow than listen to another word from you!” In the end she found out if she dropped her discrimination and her pre-notions about Sr. Benedict and men in general she could find true love.
“Taming of the Shrew” takes women’s liberation to new heights. Katherine for some reason hates all men. She is very violent tempered and has a very sharp tongue. Bianca on the other hand is the complete opposite with her good, soft, looks and her sweet disposition. Three suitors want to peruse Bianca’s hand in marriage and know they cannot do so until Katherine “the shrew” is wedded. So they pay a suitor, Lucentio, to wed Katherine. Lucentio got more than he bargained for when he married Katherine. They went round and round about being civil to each other, the wedding, marriage and the roles each one takes on while being married.
Another strong woman character that Shakespeare created was Juliet in “Romeo and Juliet”. Although Juliet’s stance and speeches were not strong standing up against her father and the rest of her family to marry the son of the “enemy” was not only brave, but considered scandalous.
Although I praise Shakespeare for taking a strong step towards writing confident, women, characters he does have some drawbacks though. Most of the play he wrote concerning women revolved around marriage. “Taming of the Shrew”, “The Twelfth Night”, “Much Ado About Nothing”, “Romeo and Juliet” and even Ophelia in “Hamlet” had women concerned about marriage. It was as if a woman wasn’t married she wasn’t complete. As if a woman should always be thinking about marriage. And if she wasn’t thinking about marriage it was against nature. I know that things have changed a lot since the 1500’s. I know several women that are single and have been single for quite sometime and are happy. Thankfully their singleness isn’t necessary a topic for one of Shakespeare’s tragedies.
Shakespeare was truly a good writer. “The proof is in the pudding” as the say when it comes to the longevity of his work. There have been some recent remakes of his plays in the movies. In “A Mid-summers Night Dream” was created with Michele Pfeiffer and Calista Flockhart in 1999. Claire Danes and Leonardo DiCaprio did a remake of “Romeo and Juliet” in 1996. Emma Thompson and Kenneth Branagh in “Much Ado About Nothing” made in 1993. Mel Gibson did the starring role in “Hamlet” with Glenn Close and Helen Bonhan Carter made in 1990.
Not only have movies been remade off of his plays there have been several movies inspired by his work also. “She’s the Man” in 2006 with Amanda Bynes who plays a girl (Viola) who transfers to a private school to portray her brother (Sebastian) so that she can play on the soccer team. “She’s the Man” was inspired by the play “Twelfth Night”. Another teen movie “10 Things I Hate about You” Staring Heath Ledger and Julia Stiles is a younger version of “Taming of the Shrew” made in 1999. It is amazing to think that topics that Shakespeare wrote about literally 400 years ago are still relevant today. I think one of his quotes is the most relevant today “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts…” As You Like It, Act II, Scene 7.
Related Articles:
Add a Comment
.jpg)
