Category: Henry VI Part 1

PTS01/002: Shameful Complacency; Priapic Dolphins

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Henry VI Part 1:  Act 1

And off we go.  First-time visitor?  Click here and here to find out what Ponytail Shakespeare is all about.  Then come back, read, and comment – either here or at the Shakespeare Reddit sub.

On to the play, and post two of God knows how many in this project.

I wonder if I lowered my expectations too far …

To shrug and say it was fine, good, OK, would be to do the opening act of Henry VI part I a disservice. Sure, there were moments of clunkiness – not least when the French Master Gunner feels the need to declare – to himself, his son, and thereby the audience – his employment: 

‘Chief master gunner am I of this town’. (I.iv.6) 

But overall, it’s been an entertaining start.

Continue reading “PTS01/002: Shameful Complacency; Priapic Dolphins”

Shakespeare’s ‘Salad Days’. Expectations of HVI part 1

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Only 6 years between these albums:  less time than between Richard III and Macbeth …

‘Please Please Me’ or ‘Abbey Road’?

‘Surfin’ Safari’ or ‘Pet Sounds’?

‘Hangin’ Tough’ or ‘The Block’?

[please note – I’ve only ever listened to just four of those albums.  Promise.  I hope you can infer which they are!]

As I approach the first monthly instalment of my Arden Amble, what are my expectations from a work I know relatively little about?  Why start the journey of a thousand steps with a month reading and blogging about Henry VI Part 1?

Continue reading “Shakespeare’s ‘Salad Days’. Expectations of HVI part 1”

Cheaper than a Harley. Easier than growing a ponytail …

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How dull it is to pause, to make an end,

To rust unburnish’d, not to shine in use!


Why this?  Why now?  And why so slow?  What on earth would prompt someone to commit to a read-through of Shakespeare’s plays?

I decided to do this about 6 weeks ago, let’s say about the end of November 2016.  In many ways this post is a way to work through my motivations, as well as finally committing to the project.

Continue reading “Cheaper than a Harley. Easier than growing a ponytail …”

A chronological nightmare …

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“Like an Early Modern game of ‘Find The Lady’, my expectations seem to be defied at every turn, and no two results were the same!”

I’ve been toying with the idea of a Shakespeare readathon for a while, and am trying to justify it to myself.  When I do work out the ‘why?’, I’ll post …

In the meantime, a friend received a full set of BBC Shakespeare on DVD for Christmas.  This worried me quite a bit: mostly because I had a small (and I DO mean small) cameo in the gift’s selection. But, what if she hates them, or simply finds them staid and sooo-1980s? Their overwhelmingly earnest nature and general quaintness – which I find as endearing as original series Star Trek – might pall quickly.

Continue reading “A chronological nightmare …”