I’ve always found it interesting that Hamlet and Mercutio’s deaths could ultimately reverse their closest friend’s strongest character trait.
Starting with Horatio: Through all the death and drama that tears Hamlet up inside, it is important that Horatio is “not passion’s slave”. He is the one able to think clearly and hold it together when Hamlet can’t and it makes sense that during Hamlet’s death he would try to kill himself out of some sense of duty. However I like the idea that Hamlet’s death could switch Horatio from a level-headed stoic to a sobbing shuddering mess completely unprepared to live without Hamlet.
Benvolio is the pacifist and voice of reason for the ill-tempered Mercutio. At Mercutio’s death Benvolio’s “brave Mercutio is dead” is usually delivered with sadness and meek regret. What I really wanna see is a Benvolio who, upon seeing his best friend die in his arms, forgets every reason he ever wanted to be peaceful. This is a Benvolio who would walk straight past Romeo, gaze set, ready to fight Tybalt himself until Romeo pulls him back.
The idea that these characters’ entire establishing trait could become something so flimsy when faced with tragedy is.. incredible
Today’s DAILY SNACK provided by: @shakespeerintomysoul who wrote this meta and who I am shamelessly reblogging it from.
This reminds me of a post I read that suggests that the real tragedy of Othello and Hamlet is that the protagonists are respectively trapped in the wrong play:
If Othello were in Hamlet’s situation, he’d kill Claudius quickly, efficiently, and with soldierly precision. No fuss, no dithering. Just action.
Whereas if Hamlet were presented with Iago’s poisonous lies, he would be incredibly suspicious, doubtful, thoughtful, and prepared to do ALL the necessary research before enacting any sort of vengeance on Desdemona.
If Shakespearean tragedy really is its own unique form, then I think it could be (simplistically) defined as the tragedy of living in the wrong world.
okay but if you’re ever in london and you have the chance to see a shakespeare play performed at the globe theatre itself DO IT even if you don’t think you’d dig shakespeare
if you need convincing here are a few highlights from when my family and i went to see the official globe theatre production of a midsummer night’s dream:
they cast helena as a guy (helenus), first of all. they took a straight love square between two girls and two guys and made it a love square between a girl and three guys, only one of which was white. both sets of couples get happy endings and it’s fuckin adorable
it was reimagined with an indian setting
puck had a water pistol and kept shooting at the audience
historical accuracy?? who cares everyone’s gonna dress like a modern hipster teenager
bottom and his acting troupe sung bon jovi
oh yeah also the acting troupe were reimagined as globe theatre employees with delusions of acting skills
hermia and helenus sung single ladies by beyonce
innuendos. innuendoes everywhere
oberon walked onstage for the fight between oberon and titania drunk with a half-empty bottle of schweppes
lysander spent a significant length of time in the play wandering around in just boxers and a leather jacket
oberon made out with puck
demetrius dabbed
I went to see Romeo and Juliet and can confirm, they’re lit as fuck
Everyone was a Juggalo.
Except Romeo, who managed to straddle the line between being a juggalo and also being extremely emo
Seriously forget historical accuracy here too, everyone was in rave gear and clown makeup the entire goddamn production.
During the party scene, which was obviously a rave, Lord Capulet broke up the rave to do a full cast (and audience) karaoke rendition of YMCA
Lord Capulet was also the only one sporting a costume, which was a T-Rex costume, naturally
Speaking of Lord Capulet, he was also going around with something on leash – I say something, because to this day, it’s a conscientious topic of debate.
Either a), Lord Capulet had a dog for absolutely no reason, with the express purpose of letting it piss on the audience, OR,
b) Lord Capulet had a live-in petplay sub who he walked around on a BDSM harness, and the sub also happened to piss on everyone
either way the front of the pit got sprayed with fake piss every time Lord Capulet was on stage.
Yes even during the rave.
This is Shakespeare of course there were innuendos.
A female Mercutio, with what I think was a heavily implied past (or current) relationship with Romeo
this is one of few things that I cannot look at without compulsively reblogging
I love this picture and I have no clue what the fuck is going on but oh my god
i don’t know what’s happening but it’s good
someday i’m gonna write a faux-historical queer drama and people will ask “what was ur inspiration” and i’ll be like that one picture of anne hathaway in drag kissing the pretty lady
For the record, this was Anne in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night.
she played Viola. Since a lot of people are like WHERE IS THIS FROM????
You might also know its adaption with Amanda Bynes: She’s the Man.
“Viola is shipwrecked on the coast of Illyria and she comes ashore with the help of a captain. She loses contact with her twin brother, Sebastian, whom she believes to be dead. Disguising herself as a young man under the name Cesario, she enters the service of Duke Orsino through the help of the sea captain who rescues her. Orsino has convinced himself that he is in love with Olivia, whose father and brother have recently died, and refuses to see any suitor until seven years have passed, the Duke included. Orsino then uses Cesario (Viola) as an intermediary to profess his passionate love before Olivia. Olivia however, believing Viola to be a man, falls in love with Cesario (Viola), while Viola has fallen in love with the Duke.”
so pictured is Olivia, Viola, and the Duke Orsino.
the best shakespeare play hands down
also in one of the film adaptions the duke, Orsino, kisses ‘Cesario’ while he still believes she’s a man.
Play idea: perform MacBeth, but when the witches are doing their prophecy thing, they segue into telling the story of Hamlet. Hamlet is chatting with the ghost when it starts telling a Midsummer Night’s Dream. The audience becomes slowly aware that the programs and advertisements did not publish a runtime for the performance. Ushers start handing out new programs, with new actors’ names on them in previously unmentioned roles. Every single known Shakespeare play is nested inside the performance. The theatre doors are locked.
At intermission they play one (1) It’s Not Unusual
I want to write an alternative version of Romeo and Juliet where instead of being a little ponce and trying to work things out for himself, Romeo asks his smarter friends what to do about the whole thing and Benvolio and Mercutio come up with the world’s greatest plan:
Marriage of convenience between Juliet and Mercutio.
Think about it.
Juliet’s parents want her to marry into the Prince’s family. Mercutio is a good compromise between no marriage and Paris.
Mercutio probably won’t get his inheritance if he keeps being HELLA FUCKING GAY ALL OVER THE PLACE so a beard is only a benefit to him.
They would probably get along great rolling their eyes at how adorably stupid Romeo is.
Romeo and Benvolio could get a “bachelor pad” right next to Juliet and Mercutio’s house. Every night, Romeo and Mercutio high five as they hop the fence to go bang their one true love.
The second half of the play is just all of them trying to keep up the charade and being “THIS CLOSE” to getting caught all the time. But everything ends nicely because true love conquers all.
Everybody wins. Nobody dies.
THE SHAKESPERE AU I NEVER KNEW I NEEDED
DUDE DID YOU JUST FIX ONE OF THE MOST ICONIC PLAYS EVER CREATED?!
ONCE AGAIN EVERYTHING IS SOLVED BY THE QUEER LENS.
Procrastination Station 