tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2164185959238733667.post8352525394026837816..comments2023-09-29T04:22:04.132-07:00Comments on Quills: Shakesblogging: Measure for MeasureFretful Porpentinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11165078003123517013noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2164185959238733667.post-45544444119048748172010-04-25T20:56:35.533-07:002010-04-25T20:56:35.533-07:00I LOVE teaching Measure for Measure. The students ...I LOVE teaching Measure for Measure. The students love it! For some very odd reason, they seemed sort of shocked at the sex scandal. Why, I don't know. Incorrect stereotypes about the Renaissance, I suppose.<br /><br />I inherited a bunch of old LPs that are Shakespeare plays -- one of them is Measure for Measure with John Gielgud in the role of Angelo. Listening to his awesome voice in that role was such a delight. I loved it. One of these days I'm going to have to get all these LPs converted to CD so that I can preserve them (and easily use them for class!!).Fie upon this quiet life!https://www.blogger.com/profile/12047096700049201873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2164185959238733667.post-78055042995137353302010-04-25T18:31:01.084-07:002010-04-25T18:31:01.084-07:00Oh, good, I'm glad I'm not the only Angelo...Oh, good, I'm glad I'm not the only Angelo sorta-fan out there :)<br /><br />And Ceirseach, I sometimes think Venice = Vienna = Verona in Shakespeare. It's all Furrin Parts, right?Fretful Porpentinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11165078003123517013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2164185959238733667.post-18928355085217937452010-04-25T10:55:09.071-07:002010-04-25T10:55:09.071-07:00I'm with you, Fretful: I love Angelo, by which...I'm with you, Fretful: I love Angelo, by which I mean both that I think he's the most fascinating character in what is already one of my favorite plays, and that I, too, kinda think he's hot. <br /><br />In any case, I <i>don't</i> think he's just a creep, as Bardiac does; there's some real anguish and (initially) soul-searching there, once he realizes he's in love with Isabella. I think of him as someone who reflects the phenomenology of the closet: he's so convinced that sex and sexuality are so vile and criminal that when he realizes he has feelings for Isabella he's not able to say, "well how about that! I have sexual feelings! maybe that's okay, and I should ask her out on a date, or something." He's so wedded to his own morality that instead of being able to reassess and rethink those values or come to a more compassionate and human understanding of desire, he decides that HE'S as loathsome as he's believed other sinners are--and having decided that, he embraces the most vile and criminal expression of his sexual desires.<br /><br />And, I don't know. I find that combination--his rigidity, the intensity and desperation of his desire, and his deep self-loathing--to be really fascinating, true to life, and ultimately moving.Flaviahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17832765671541392835noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2164185959238733667.post-48008952023202250322010-04-25T08:09:56.543-07:002010-04-25T08:09:56.543-07:00Oh, I get really annoyed when I see a production o...Oh, I get really annoyed when I see a production of this that thinks Isabella says yes. I do love all the struggles with moral ambiguity... And you can see productions where the central moral struggle is Angelo's, and others where it's Isabella's.Susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09716705206734059708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2164185959238733667.post-18902411297637306242010-04-25T07:57:04.006-07:002010-04-25T07:57:04.006-07:00You hit this well, except Angelo is just a creep. ...You hit this well, except Angelo is just a creep. There's no male in this play that isn't corrupt and detestable, except perhaps Escalus, and he's stupid enough to trust Angelo.<br /><br />I think of Vincentio as Prospero in his early days (or vice versa). A ruler who spends too much time at the library is inadequate at doing his job. Go education! :)<br /><br />And yet, this is always a great play to teach! (I like that you think of the silence as a "no.")Bardiachttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11846065504793800266noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2164185959238733667.post-40546406374064205992010-04-25T04:16:54.505-07:002010-04-25T04:16:54.505-07:00Vienna = Venice, right? It's just pronounced w...Vienna = Venice, right? It's just pronounced with and Italian accent?Hannah Kilpatrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06750010843246514032noreply@blogger.com