Laura H.

One thing that I could never get over is the amount of racism in this play.  I of course realize it was much worse than it is now, but holy smokes!  I wonder what the playgoers thought when they saw the black male married to a white female.  I assume it was very uncommon at that point.  Why do you think Shakespeare wrote Othello as being black?  Do you think he was trying to portray him, and possibly others in a positive or negative light?  Yes, he killed his wife, but before that he was portrayed as a stable-minded, intelligent and powerful man. 

"Our bodies are our gardens, to the which our wills are gardeners. So that if we will plant nettles or sow lettuce, set hyssop and weed up thyme, supply it with one gender of herbs or distract it with many—either to have it sterile with idleness, or manured with industry—why, the power and corrigible authority of this lies in our wills."

I had a hard time reading this one.  The plot was interesting, but I found the length and amount of characters overwhelming.  I found the curses to be interesting, as well as his manipulative way to work his way up to the thrown. I think the part that threw me the most is Anne accepting his flirtatious behavior during her father-in-law's funeral.  Was she just so upset that she needed to find a way to release the emotions, or was she just nuts?  Also, although I understand Queen Margaret's depression and spite, I didn't understand how she could be so cold about Queen Elizabeth's losses.  In the end, I'm not sure this is a play I would choose to read again, but I didn't find it too awful.

What a great quote for shorter people!

Even if that wasn't his intention, I liked the play.  I love the love Prospero has for his daughter.  Even though he is conjuring everything to make amends with his brother, I don't know that I would be so easy to trust my evil brother's son or daughter so quickly.  Another thing I liked was Miranda's character.  I love seeing women portrayed as strong, confident, and intelligent.  When she offered to carry wood to give Ferdinand a break, I was glad to finally see a female character unafraid to get dirty! :)

Against what should ensue."

So was anyone else bothered by the women fighting over the men, even though they had been friends for so long?  I hate when stories portray women as bimbos who would give up their relationships with other women and cat fight over a man.  All-in-all I liked the story, even though I was disappointed it had so many story lines to follow.  I thought it was funny how Bottom and the other characters were referred to as an "ass" so frequently throughout the play, as a nod to him having a donkey's head.  I tried to look it up, but couldn't find whether or not Romeo And Juliet was written before or after, considering the play that went on within this story.  Do you think Shakespeare included that within this story to see if people would be interested in a similar plot?

Love this quote from A Midsummer Night's Dream.  Reminds me of my 5-month-old daughter.  Even though she is itty bitty, when she is mad or hungry she demands attention!

I can't really say this has been my favorite work from Shakespeare so far.  It had some funny points and lessons to be learned, but it just didn't grab me like others have.  Even though Hal is pretty rough, I can't say I really blame him.  His father is pretty brutal and it would be hard to feel like you need to please him and the rest of the kingdom all the time.  It seems like he has a lot of pressure put on him and I imagine most people would cave and end up drinking and hanging out with the wrong crowd as well.  I wonder if/when Hal does become king if his history will affect what people think of him.  One thing that this play shows is the influence Shakespeare still has today.  While I was reading it, my husband pointed out that Falstaff is (was?) a brand of beer named after the character.