Saturday, April 24, 2010

Act I:

(academically speaking)

My first introduction to William happened my freshman year of high school. Ms. Moss had us reading Romeo & Juliet...

isn't this everyone's first Shakespeare?

We even got to spend two class periods watching the Franco Zeffirelli (1968) version.

LOVED IT! (own it)

Of course I had to endure the widespread giggling over the men in tights--which didn't compare to the widespread swooning. It was an event!

I'm quite sure I caught the film again that summer on TCM and watched it simultaneously on the phone (cord outstretched) with my best friend late one night.

Fast forward a year and we were reading Julius Caesar. I don't remember too much about that experience. We had three English teachers my sophomore year--you can't blame me for this one.

Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears;
I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him...

That's all I got...except the Ides of March...beware, beware, beware!

We didn't read Shakespeare my junior year--it was all about American literature--but my senior year more than made up for it because we read two plays:

Hamlet-- which I usually claim as my favorite--it has my favorite tragic heroine, Ophelia.

I can still spout off several lines from memory (and STILL have my notes/work from Mrs. Halford's class, thank you very much).

The best screen adaptation in my opinion is the Franco Zeffirelli (1990) version. We didn't watch it in class (I don't think), but I own it...of course.

&

Macbeth-- another favorite, that has me swooning over evil, evil women!

Again, more lines are still in my memory (although the "line quiz" I still have in my possession reflects a horrible study moment--I didn't fail, but it was close).

Rounding off Act I is the film that came out after I graduated from high school (but the same year).

I saw it on opening weekend, have both soundtracks...

and then there are the little promotional postcards I collected from different magazines...

and they MEET..it's such a great adaptation...SO VERY GOOD!

...the which if you with patient ears attend, what here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend.

~~J

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh!! Macbeth! Senior year I had to remember a piece from it and either write it down word for word, or say it in front of the class. Mine was Macbeth's speech in Act I Scene 3 "Cannot be ill, cannot be good;if ill". I wrote it down.

janet said...

That's cool that your teacher gave you the option.

I still can recite the Prologue to R+J...I think we had to write it out...

~~J

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