Reading Shakespeare in its original form can be taxing for someone like me whose mother tongue is not even English. What more for the native English speakers who happened to be compatriots of the The Bard? It can put your mental stamina to the test especially when faced with text peppered with apostrophes and Victorian references that may not be always applicable today.
So how about analyzing the storylines as condensed in the books found on Project Gutenberg? Summarized versions of the books are found there for everyone to get a gist on the play that some folks plan to stage. A few ideas won’t hurt granted that I remove the spoilers. If you insist on the spoilers, just click on the images to see them.
– As You Like It
Perhaps the laziest title ever, it was the story about Orlando and Rosalind. The fact that Orlando had a brother who treated him like crap and Rosalind’s father got exiled by his brother to steal the duke title meant destiny. Well, more like finding a kindred spirit except that the next time Orlando met Rosalind, he didn’t recognize her anymore. Rosalind disguised herself as a guy when she escaped her uncle with her cousin, Celia, who in turn disguised herself as a poor lady. Yeah, long before Pinoys enjoyed gender-bending soaps from J-Drama and K-Drama, The Bard has been writing stuff like this. “As You Like It” is his best among them though. And the part about lazy titles has some truth to it too.
– Macbeth
Originally titled “The Tragedy of Macbeth”, it is about Macbeth who realized he got some malevolence in him the moment he received the prophecy from the 3 witches about him being the next king of Scotland. He never knew he wanted to be king until Lady Macbeth pushed him to. Maybe she’s just the flicker needed. So he killed the king. She framed the sons and the remaining heirs to the throne escaped, which gets you thinking what kind of upbringing they received. He accumulated power and wealth and thought that he’s invincible. The moment he realized that his reign is endangered, he had to go back to the 3 witches who told him about prophecies related to the only things that can endanger his rule. Too bad he read them all wrong especially the part about no human being born of a woman could ever kill him.
If there is one love story that set the trend for most soaps today, it’s “Romeo and Juliet”. Young teens that fell in love way before they realized their families are enemies, sometimes it serves as a commentary about how the young fall too fast and think too slow. Not that falling in love is a bad thing but a series of coincidences and a whole lot of recklessness later [SPOILER ALERT], the couple is dead. And it all began with a letter that did not make it to the recipient. Such is the time when smartphones don’t exist yet.
– Othello
A tale of jealousy gone wrong, it showed how the jealousy of Iago spurned him to push Othello to be jealous of his wife, Desdemona. And all because Othello picked Cassio instead of Iago for promotion. Iago then made it look like Desdemona is having an affair with Cassio, driving Othello mad with jealousy. Knowing how the opera version composed by Giuseppe Verdi chose to focus on this drama shows how Othello, as much as he is dubbed as “The Lion of Venice”, is just as guilible and powerless when it comes to wolves in sheep’s clothing just like Iago. Othello chose to believe his new aide instead of his own wife and it produced irreversible and painful consequences. I told you I won’t spoil much.
– Hamlet
And of course, Hamlet, the inspiration behind Lion King except that it was not mentioned in the animated film whether Scar had to marry Simba’s mom to be king. Here, it’s the marriage between his mother, Gertrude, and his uncle, Claudius. He was like “Mom, Dad’s barely a year dead and you got remarried? And to uncle, of all people?” It drove him nuts and jumped to the conclusion that no woman can’t live without a man, to hell with being a virtuous woman. He delivered a series of soliloquies that suggested he’s bonkers. He pushed Ophelia away before he could cheat on him (I told you he’s bonkers) and staged his plan for vengeance that could have suggested that he may not be as bonkers as we thought him to be. One big guarantee is that it turned out to be the greatest play that The Bard had ever written.
And so was the title of the play that I will be headlining as shown on the dates written on the poster. Everybody knew I’m bonkers and I can’t blame them if that’s best criteria they used for casting me as Hamlet. I hope to see you there. Don’t worry, I don’t bite. I would appreciate it more if you like my official Facebook page, Kuya Manzano Fan Club, and follow me on Twitter @kuyamanzano. Gracias!