I have read that Shakespeare's birthday is traditionally celebrated on April 23. It seems only fitting then, that today's post be on Shakespeare. I finished reading Romeo and Juliet on Friday. Over the weekend I followed up by watching the BBC production (1978) starring John Gielgud (as the chorus) and Alan Rickman (as Tybalt)--I wasn't familiar with any of the other actors. I have to say it makes a huge difference reading the play and then watching it. All of a sudden so many things made sense. There are so many asides and pauses and inflections of the voice that I completely missed when I was reading. Needless to say, for myself anyway, it is really necessary to both read and watch to get everything out of the play that I can! Each time I watched it, and then reading the play I understood it a little bit better.
I think I was a bit spoiled by watching the Zeffirelli version of the play first. Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting seem to fit the roles of Romeo and Juliet so perfectly. I had a hard time believing the actors playing the leads in the BBC version, though the BBC seemed to stay fairly true to the play. I followed along reading as I watched. The actor playing Romeo seemed a tad too old, though the actress playing Juliet seemed about right. The other actors were quite good, however--especially Juliet's father. And a young Alan Rickman, too--that was sort of weird. Either I was more attuned to the language and was simply catching more, or they spoke slightly slower, but it all made so much more sense to me the second time around. I still have the Baz Luhrmann version to watch (yes, I know, I am sort of getting my fill now of Romeo and Juliet, but it has been quite enjoyable). I will probably save that one for next weekend, and then I will be ready to move on to Twelfth Night. It's sort of nice to have something shorter to read on the side, and I think I have found the perfect type of literature to read while I read longer novels. I haven't done well with short stories, and I am okay with essays, but I seem to stick with plays more so than the others. That's not to say I will not be reading short stories or essays--I hope to read more of them (lately I have read nothing at all)!
Now that I have read and seen the play performed, perhaps a little criticism? This is from Studying Shakespeare by Martin Stephen:
"Romeo and Juliet was written comparatively early in Shakespeare's career, and, great work though it is, it does show signs of immaturity and lack of control on the part of the author. There is no sub-plot or relief from the main story-line; in itself, this is no bad thing and occurs in a number of plays, but the play is also quite long, and this coupled with frequent halts for lengthy soliloquies, can be tedious. There is great variety in the language of the play, but also occasional clumsiness and a tendency for the characters to become long-winded. There is perhaps rather too much word-play and punning for modern taste, and the huge number of coincidences upon which the plot rests can strain credibility. It is probably slightly less fair to say the same of the vast changes in characterisation that Romeo and Juliet undergo as the play progresses: in this respect the play demands to be treated as a romance, rather than a direct attempt to re-create reality."
"The play's strengths are its language, and the central portrayal of the lovers, so much so that Romeo and Juliet and their love have become part of folk-lore."
The author heaped rather a lot of criticism on Shakespeare there--perhaps it is fair--as this is my first play I guess I will see as I go along in my reading! He did later say Romeo and Juliet has a "magnificent plot", which made me feel better, as I found it thoroughly enjoyable. Even not as his best (?), Shakespeare is pretty darn good! So, my first play down. I might not have understood every little detail (definitely didn't), but all in all this was a wonderful experience. And I can't wait to get started on Twelfth Night!