NationStates Jolt Archive

I was just wondering what people of this board think of the play, those who have seen it/read it because I recently started it as Benvolio and I just plain love the role for some reason...and we've barely made it halfway through the first act. I know it seems random but I'm curious as to what members of this board think of the play.

I detest the play.

I detest most Skakespeare actually.

its fun in a "good lord teenagers are stupid" kind of way.

I played Benvolio!

It's not a great play, unfortunately, but it was quite fun when we did it in school.

Makes a better ballet.

The tragedies are much more fun.

I detest the play.

I detest most Skakespeare actually.

Hamlet?

Makes a better ballet.

The tragedies are much more fun.

*Prokofiev plays*

Hamlet?

Yes.

Yes.

You hate Hamlet? That is one the few works by Shakespeare that I like.

You said: "most"; so what do you like by him?

You hate Hamlet? That is one the few works by Shakespeare that I like.

You said: "most"; so what do you like by him?

Henry V and Caeser.

Henry V and Caeser.

Those are good ones. The one I really cannot stand is A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Those are good ones. The one I really cannot stand is A Midsummer Night's Dream.

That ones up there with Romeo and Juliet and Taming of the Shrew for the "Why the fuck is this a classic?" list.

That ones up there with Romeo and Juliet and Taming of the Shrew for the "Why the fuck is this a classic?" list.
Um...they're not? Those two are usually ranked towards the bottom of any list of Shakespeare plays.

Those are good ones. The one I really cannot stand is A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Me too, The thought of having to watch or read it makes me feel nauseous.

I think the weariness I have for so much Shakespeare is simply because they are so full of cliché - whereas in the day, they weren't. A victim of his own success in that respect.

I like the play, but not the standard interpretation of "Greatest Love Story EVER". I much prefer a reading in which the kids are snotting and bratty (you know, like 14 year olds). Where the discussion about the lark and nightinggale is actually bitterly sarcastic.

I also saw one version in which the prince commits suicide at the end.

It's a play that is easily reinterpreted, which I like. The standard interpretation, however, I could do without.

Um...they're not? Those two are usually ranked towards the bottom of any list of Shakespeare plays.

They are still considered "classics", so they qualify for the top of a "WTFITAC" list.

I still have trouble understanding how it's a tragedy - perhaps I'm wrong, but most tragedies don't make you wishing that the protagonists would just die already. I personally view the play as just a really, really, sarcastic comedy.

It's a good play, although all too often misinterpreted by idiots. The idea that it's some sort of amazing love story is absurd. It's a story about how revenge is stupid and even stupid horny teenagers can sometimes be brighter than adults at least when it comes to understanding that holding moronic grudges forever is a waste of time. It is not, by any sane definition, a love story at all, seeing as Romeo and Juliet's actual interaction goes something like this:

Romeo: OMG, my girlfriend totally won't put out, she's such a bitch.
Benny and Merc: You should, like, totally come to this badass party where there are chicks WAY hotter than that bitch.
Romeo: Okay!
Romeo: Dude, that chick over there is totally smokin'. I bet she'd go all the way, too, hur hur.
Juliet: Ooh, you're hot.
Romeo: Um, you're, like, super hot too. Heh.
Juliet: I totally want to do you.
Romeo: SCORE!
Juliet: Wait, that hot guy was a Montague? Fuck! Oh well, I'll totally do him anyway, even though that kinda sucks.
Romeo: LOL I IS OUTSIDE UR WINDOW STALKIN U.
Juliet: Hee hee, stalking is cute. Hey, we should get married so our parents will let us do the wild thing!
Romeo: Okay!
Juliet: I do!
Romeo: I do too! Now let's get it on!
Juliet: Yay!
Romeo: Yay, sex! Okay, I totally have to run away now so your folks don't kill me since I got in a stupid fight with your cousin.
Juliet: Man, that sucks. Oh well, we'll get together later, okay?
Romeo: Okee dokee!
Juliet: Moooooooooooooooooom, I don't WANNA marry Paris! I'm going to go die and then you'll be sorry! *stomp stomp stomp takes potion*
Parents: Oh noes!
Romeo: Oh noes! I am filled with teenage angst and will now throw an emo fit and kill myself!
Juliet: Oh noes! I am also filled with teenage angst and will kill myself too!
Parents: ...shit, now our kids are dead. Well, that sucked.

I'm more partial to MacBeth and Hamlet than to Romeo and Juliet. In other words, I don't think much of this play.

its fun in a "good lord teenagers are stupid" kind of way.

The adults are all the stupid ones in the play.

IT is alright, but I suppose because you see stuff all the time with a similar storyline it does get boring and cliche, I am aware that Romeo and Juliet came first but it still remains.I would disagree that it isn't a love story as there are elements within it but I would also say that it is story of rebellion and going against the social norm.

Romeo: OMG, my girlfriend totally won't put out, she's such a bitch.
Benny and Merc: You should, like, totally come to this badass party where there are chicks WAY hotter than that bitch.
Romeo: Okay!
Romeo: Dude, that chick over there is totally smokin'. I bet she'd go all the way, too, hur hur.
Juliet: Ooh, you're hot.
Romeo: Um, you're, like, super hot too. Heh.
Juliet: I totally want to do you.
Romeo: SCORE!
Juliet: Wait, that hot guy was a Montague? Fuck! Oh well, I'll totally do him anyway, even though that kinda sucks.
Romeo: LOL I IS OUTSIDE UR WINDOW STALKIN U.
Juliet: Hee hee, stalking is cute. Hey, we should get married so our parents will let us do the wild thing!
Romeo: Okay!
Juliet: I do!
Romeo: I do too! Now let's get it on!
Juliet: Yay!
Romeo: Yay, sex! Okay, I totally have to run away now so your folks don't kill me since I got in a stupid fight with your cousin.
Juliet: Man, that sucks. Oh well, we'll get together later, okay?
Romeo: Okee dokee!
Juliet: Moooooooooooooooooom, I don't WANNA marry Paris! I'm going to go die and then you'll be sorry! *stomp stomp stomp takes potion*
Parents: Oh noes!
Romeo: Oh noes! I am filled with teenage angst and will now throw an emo fit and kill myself!
Juliet: Oh noes! I am also filled with teenage angst and will kill myself too!
Parents: ...shit, now our kids are dead. Well, that sucked.

lol, Poli is the next great poet.

Shakespeare plays I do prefer however include Henry V and Macbeth

I am aware that Romeo and Juliet came first

Pardon?

Pardon?

Que?

It came before everything else I had seen up to year 9.

I'm rather partial to it. It's an emo play, but it's rather fun. It's also rather ranchy which also makes it rather enjoyable. It can be very badly staged of course, but when you see it done right...

That ones up there with Romeo and Juliet and Taming of the Shrew for the "Why the fuck is this a classic?" list.
Yeah, I mean they've only had a massive influence on other works in the West and are now instantly reconiseable even if you have never seen or read the original work. No reason at all why they should be considered classic.

Henry V and Caeser.

Those are some of my favorites too, along with Macbeth and King Lear. Romeo and Juliet always annoyed me, but not as much as Midsummer's Night's Dream. That one always seemed incredibly stupid.

I detest the play.

I detest most Skakespeare actually.
No surprises there...
It is not, by any sane definition, a love story at all, seeing as Romeo and Juliet's actual interaction goes something like this:

Romeo: OMG, my girlfriend totally won't put out, she's such a bitch.
Benny and Merc: You should, like, totally come to this badass party where there are chicks WAY hotter than that bitch.
Romeo: Okay!
Romeo: Dude, that chick over there is totally smokin'. I bet she'd go all the way, too, hur hur.
Juliet: Ooh, you're hot.
Romeo: Um, you're, like, super hot too. Heh.
Juliet: I totally want to do you.
Romeo: SCORE!
Juliet: Wait, that hot guy was a Montague? Fuck! Oh well, I'll totally do him anyway, even though that kinda sucks.
Romeo: LOL I IS OUTSIDE UR WINDOW STALKIN U.
Juliet: Hee hee, stalking is cute. Hey, we should get married so our parents will let us do the wild thing!
Romeo: Okay!
Juliet: I do!
Romeo: I do too! Now let's get it on!
Juliet: Yay!
Romeo: Yay, sex! Okay, I totally have to run away now so your folks don't kill me since I got in a stupid fight with your cousin.
Juliet: Man, that sucks. Oh well, we'll get together later, okay?
Romeo: Okee dokee!
Juliet: Moooooooooooooooooom, I don't WANNA marry Paris! I'm going to go die and then you'll be sorry! *stomp stomp stomp takes potion*
Parents: Oh noes!
Romeo: Oh noes! I am filled with teenage angst and will now throw an emo fit and kill myself!
Juliet: Oh noes! I am also filled with teenage angst and will kill myself too!
Parents: ...shit, now our kids are dead. Well, that sucked.
My god, Poli just invented Shakespeare on Twitter...lord help us...

So, Romeo & Juliet has one of my favorite characters in it, Mercutio. Aside from the Queen Mab speech, he has one of my favorite lines, a line that NSG often makes me think of, actually:
Thou art like one of those fellows that when he
enters the confines of a tavern claps me his sword
upon the table and says "God send me no need of
thee!" and by the operation of the second cup draws
it on the drawer, when indeed there is no need.

Shakespeare's actually quite awesome.

Hamlet?

And it's sequels: Village, Town and City.

I was just wondering what people of this board think of the play

Definitely overrated. The Tempest, Othello, Richard III, Titus Andronicus, Julius Caesar, A Midsummer's Night Dream, MacBeth (just to quote some) are far, far better than Romeo and Juliet.

Though Romeo and Juliet served as inspiration for a couple of masterpieces of music (I'm thinking of the namesake ballet by Stravinskij and of Bernstein's "West Side Story").

This kind of filth has been encouraging underage sex and suicide for over 500 years. Children should not be exposed to this kind of material, instead I suggest a wholesome game of GTA San Andreas while listening to some educational songs from Marilyn Manson.

A Mid Summer's Nights Dream, and Oh Brother Where Art Though have always been my favorites. Romeo and Juliet was not so good really but had a decent message.

Romeo: OMG, my girlfriend totally won't put out, she's such a bitch.
Benny and Merc: You should, like, totally come to this badass party where there are chicks WAY hotter than that bitch.
Romeo: Okay!
Romeo: Dude, that chick over there is totally smokin'. I bet she'd go all the way, too, hur hur.
Juliet: Ooh, you're hot.
Romeo: Um, you're, like, super hot too. Heh.
Juliet: I totally want to do you.
Romeo: SCORE!
Juliet: Wait, that hot guy was a Montague? Fuck! Oh well, I'll totally do him anyway, even though that kinda sucks.
Romeo: LOL I IS OUTSIDE UR WINDOW STALKIN U.
Juliet: Hee hee, stalking is cute. Hey, we should get married so our parents will let us do the wild thing!
Romeo: Okay!
Juliet: I do!
Romeo: I do too! Now let's get it on!
Juliet: Yay!
Romeo: Yay, sex! Okay, I totally have to run away now so your folks don't kill me since I got in a stupid fight with your cousin.
Juliet: Man, that sucks. Oh well, we'll get together later, okay?
Romeo: Okee dokee!
Juliet: Moooooooooooooooooom, I don't WANNA marry Paris! I'm going to go die and then you'll be sorry! *stomp stomp stomp takes potion*
Parents: Oh noes!
Romeo: Oh noes! I am filled with teenage angst and will now throw an emo fit and kill myself!
Juliet: Oh noes! I am also filled with teenage angst and will kill myself too!
Parents: ...shit, now our kids are dead. Well, that sucked.

Fantastic.

Maybe we should all have a go, though I'm not sure anyone will top your Romeo and Juliet.

King Lear

Lear: I'm old and want to retire - first tell me how much you love me.
Goneril: I love you more than rainbows, daddy!
Regan: I love you more than daisies, daddy!
Cordelia: Are you seriously going to fall for this shit?
Lear: Yes. Now get out of my sight, you ungrateful bitch. My remaining daughters can look after me.
Edmund: I am a bastard, which is relevant to a complex sub-plot involving my resentment of my far nicer brother, but which we'll largely skip here except to establish that I'm a nasty piece of work.
Goneril: Now that you've handed over half your land, you stupid old fart, I don't need you anymore. Now get lost.
Lear: You ungrateful bitch. I'll go and stay with my other daughter.
Regan: What she said.
Lear: You ungrateful bitch. I'll go and... oh wait, I banished Cordelia didn't I? I'll just go mad instead. Gosh, it's wet and windy.
Goneril and Regan: Aren't our nice husbands boring? Let's dump'em and shag that bastard from the complex subplot instead once that French invasion's defeated.
<the French invasion is defeated>
Goneril: I saw him first, you bitch.
Regan: No, I saw him first, you bitch.
Lear: Still mad here - and worse, captured by my bitch daughters.
Edmund: Oh dear - I've promised myself to both bitches. How the hell am I going to get out of this one? I'll just arrange to kill lots of people, shall I?
Regan: Oh no! I've been poisoned by my bitch sister!
Goneril: HA HA! Now I get the bastard all to myself!
Goneril's Husband: Oh no you don't - I shall expose your shameless lies, you bitch.
Goneril: Gosh, didn't see that one coming from my nice boring husband. I shall stab myself in shame.
Edmund: And I've been stabbed by my nice brother from that complex sub-plot we skipped. I didn't see that one coming, either!
Lear: Hello - not mad anymore. Unfortunately my nice daughter - you know, the one who refused to pander to me back at the beginning - has been killed by agents of the dead bastard. So I'll die from shame and grief to make sure we have a really miserable ending.
Goneril's Husband: Everyone's dead, and they made me king by default. That was all pretty depressing, wasn't it?

...<synoptic snip>...

Bugger, I was wanting to see that! Oh well, saved me the ticket price.

Ever considered membership in 'The reduced Shakespeare Company"?

My god, Poli just invented Shakespeare on Twitter...lord help us...


:D


King Lear
*snip*


I like it! Needs more eyeball-removal, though. :p

Since I seem to have started a trend...

Hamlet: Wah, I am emo.
Gertrude: Stop being so emo, Hamlet.
Hamlet: Wah, I am emo.
Horatio: Hey, Hamlet, wanna see something spooky?
Hamlet: Wah, I am emo. But sure, whatever.
Ghost: WOOOOOOOO I'M A GHOST!
Hamlet/Horatio/guards: Eek!
Ghost: HAMLET! AVENGE ME! WOOOOOOOOO!
Hamlet: Wah, now I'm emo AND pissed off!
Polonius: I talk a whole lot!
Laertes: Yes, yes you do. I'm going to Paris now.
Hamlet: Wah, I am emo.
Claudius: Wow, that Hamlet sure is emo. Let's get guys with funny names to figure out why.
Rosencrantz & Guildenstern: We come as a set!
Hamlet: Hi, guys! You're my bestestest friends and I totally hate you. Ha ha.
R & G: ...we're confused.
Ophelia: Hi, Hammy-poo!
Hamlet: Wah, I am emo. Also, you're a ho-bag.
Ophelia: Waaaah!
Polonius: I talk a whole lot!
Hamlet: Yes, yes you do. I'm being crazy, though. Craaaaaaaaaaazy.
Polonius: Hmph.
Hamlet: Wah, I am emo.
R & G: Wanna see a play?
Hamlet: Wah, I am - actually, that's an idea.
Actors: *act*
Ophelia: Hi, Hammy-poo!
Hamlet: You're still a ho-bag.
Ophelia: Waaaah!
Actors: *act some more*
Claudius: OH MY GOD THE PLAY IS ABOUT ME.
Hamlet: A-HA!
Claudius: I feel guilty now.
Hamlet: I should totally kill you, but I'm not going to. Instead I'm gonna talk to mommy.
Gertrude: Dammit, Hamlet.
Hamlet: Wah, I am emo. I think I'll stab things!
Polonius: I talk a whole - hey! Stop stabbing me! *dies*
Gertrude: DAMMIT, Hamlet!
Hamlet: Wah, I am emo, and now I have to dispose of a corpse. This is so lame.
Claudius: Okay, first he's all whiny and emo, and now he's killing people. There's only one thing to do: execute him! No, wait, that would be too simple. Concoct an elaborate plan to send him to England on vacation and have them execute him!
R & G: Okay!
Ophelia: Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee I'm crazy! I have flowers! *dies*
Hamlet: Wah, I am emo and in England.
Gertrude: Now Ophelia's dead, too. This is getting annoying.
Hamlet: Wait, the ho-bag is dead? OMG I TOTALLY LOVED HER.
Laertes: YOU DID NOT.
Hamlet: DID TOO.
Laertes: DID NOT.
Hamlet: Wah, I am SUPER emo now!
Horatio: What happened to those weird interchangeable guys, anyway?
Hamlet: Oh, I had them killed. Anyway, I'm going to fight Laertes now.
Claudius: Hey, Laertes, you should totally cheat and kill him.
Laertes: Okee doke!
Hamlet: *stabby stabby*
Laertes: *stabby stabby*
Hamlet: *stabby stabby*
Laertes: *stabby stabby*
Gertrude: Ooh, smells like poison! *glug glug*
Claudius: Aw shit.
Gertrude: *dies*
Laertes: So, Hamlet, we're all gonna die now, just so's you know.
Hamlet: What? Cool! Now I can finally DO something! *stabby stabby poison poison*
Claudius: *dies*
Laertes: *dies*
Hamlet: *dies*
Horatio: Bah.
Fortinbras: Shit, you Danish people are weird.