This is the second in a five-part series of Shakespeare Lipograms. For my second lipogram, I have chosen to summarize a Comedy, As You Like It, using “E” as the only vowel.

Enjoy!

The elder gentle begets three men, then meets the end. He cedes the eldest, the Stern Keeper, the effects. The next, the Descent Between, he sends hence. The wee seed, the Extreme Teen, dwells the lesser. The Extreme Teen resents the settlement’s terms. He self-tests the mettle when he enters the Esteemed Wrestler’s meet.

Pretender Fred, the regent, sees the wrestlers meet. (Pretender Fred sent hence the pre-empted regent, Excellent Elder, when he wrested the scepter.) The Esteemed Wrestler wrestles well, yet the Extreme Teen sweeps the meet. The Effervescent Belle sees the Extreme Teen edge the Esteemed Wrestler. She expresses her preference. He gets her present: her jewels. He’s speechless.

Pretender Fred sends the Effervescent Belle hence. She seeks her begetter, the Excellent Elder, between the trees. The Sweet Eggshell tempts the Clever Jester. The three enter between the trees. They dress the sheep herder ensemble. The Effervescent Belle effects the Pretend Gent pretense. The Sweet Eggshell effects the Pretend Shepherdess pretense.

The Feeble Server tells the Extreme Teen severe news. The Stern Keeper’s scheme expects Extreme Teen’s end. They flee between the trees, where the Excellent Elder’s gentlemen dwell (e.g., the Depressed Gentle, etc.). They trek, they even jet, except when Feeble Server needs rest. When he sleeps, Extreme Teen seeks refreshment.

The Effervescent Belle wends between the trees. She precedes the Sweet Eggshell. The Sweet Eggshell precedes the Clever Jester. They see the Senseless Shepherd tell the Elder Shepherd he reveres the Relentless Shepherdess. The Elder Shepherd sells the three the effects, the sheep, even the shelter where they’ll dwell.

The Excellent Elder serves refreshments when he meets the blessed gentlemen. Even the Depressed Gentle enters well-cheered: he met the Clever Jester. Yet, when the Extreme Teen enters, he expects he’ll fence. When the Excellent Elder’s clement, the Extreme Teen repents: he’ll be meek. The Extreme Teen seeks the Feeble Server. Then, the Depressed Gentle renders the best speech yet:

“The scene-set emblem expresses well the sphere’s extent. Men enter. They egress. They represent seven degrees. When they enter, they represent the new-bred fledge. Then, the cheerless prep. Then, the tender teen. Next, the reckless selectee. Then, the well-versed expert. Then, the effete elder. When the event ends, they’re the mere speck: less teeth, less eyes, less keenness, less self.”

The Extreme Teen pens metered verses. They revere the Effervescent Belle’s esteem. She sees the trees where he embeds them. He meets her between the trees, except she yet effects her Pretend Gent pretense. The Extreme Teen tells the Pretend Gent he reveres the Effervescent Belle. He’s dense, yet she relents. The Pretend Gent tells the Extreme Teen he’ll pretend he’s the Effervescent Belle. Remember the Pretend Gent pretense: he’s the Effervescent Belle! Hence, the Effervescent Belle pretends she’s the Pretend Gent, then he (the Pretend Gent) pretends he’s the Effervescent Belle. Get the scheme?

The Relentless Shepherdess rejects the Senseless Shepherd. The Pretend Gent tells the Relentless Shepherdess she needs the Senseless Shepherd. The Relentless Shepherdess prefers the Pretend Gent. Gee. The Depressed Gentle cheers the gentlemen’s deer. The Relentless Shepherdess sends the Pretend Gent her letter. The Senseless Shepherd schleps the letter. The Pretend Gent tells the Senseless Shepherd he needs less Relentless Shepherdess. The Stern Keeper enters. He tells them the Extreme Teen bled. The red sheet lessens the Effervescent Belle’s tender senses. The Sweet Eggshell prefers the Stern Keeper. The Stern Keeper tells her Yes!

The Tree-dweller Plebe reveres the Wretched Wench. The Clever Jester jeers. The Wretched Wench prefers the Clever Jester. The Tree-dweller Plebe flees, dejected. The Extreme Teen, the Pretend Gent, the Senseless Shepherd, even the Relentless Shepherdess, meet. The Senseless Shepherd tells them he reveres the Relentless Shepherdess. The Relentless Shepherdess tells them she reveres the Pretend Gent. The Extreme Teen tells them he reveres the Effervescent Belle. The Pretend Gent tells them he’ll get them wed.

The gentlemen meet. The Stern Keeper expects he’ll wed the Pretend Shepherdess (the Sweet Eggshell, remember?). The Clever Jester enters. He expects he’ll wed the Wretched Wench. The Clever Jester tells the Depressed Gentle the seven effects. The Effervescent Belle enters, less the Pretend Gent pretense. Next, the Sweet Eggshell enters, less the Pretend Shepherdess pretense. They cheer.

The Extreme Teen weds the Effervescent Belle. The Stern Keeper weds the Sweet Eggshell. The Clever Jester weds the Wretched Wench. The Senseless Shepherd weds – yes – the Relentless Shepherdess! The Descent Between (remember?) enters. He tells them Pretender Fred repented! The Excellent Elder expects he’ll be regent. They cheer, except the Depressed Gentle. He recedes. The rest revel.

The First Folio (1623) delineates Shakespeare’s plays into three genres: Comedy, Tragedy, and History. More recent scholars added the category of Romance to describe some of his later plays, and there is also a fifth, more nebulous, category that goes by several different names, which describes plays like Troilus and Cressida that seem to defy genre.

How meaningful are these genres? Certainly, a play like King Lear has a very different tenor than, say, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It’s not just a question of mood, but even the rules are different. These are plays in different genres. But does this distinction hold up across the canon? Or does each play speak for itself? This is the Question of the Week.

How much stock should we put in Shakespearean genres?

And if you say that these genres are correct, I have a few follow-up questions. Perhaps you’d like to tackle one of these as well:

• Why is Macbeth a Tragedy while Richard III is a History?
• Why is As You Like It a Comedy, while The Winter’s Tale is a Romance?
• Why is Much Ado About Nothing a Comedy, while Romeo and Juliet is a Tragedy? (Is it just the ending? Is that enough to consider it a different genre?)

We did a reading of As You Like It yesterday, and the question of the best marriage in Shakespeare came up again.

Here’s what I had to say last year in response to Cesario, a fellow blogger who suggested that it was the Macbeths:

I’ve heard Harold Bloom express this opinion, and I get the equal partnership aspect, but I find their relationship too dysfunctional and codependent to pay them this compliment. The title “Best Marriage in Shakespeare” is a dubious honor, but I think I’d have to go with Brutus and Portia. They seem like they have a really strong relationship. The fact that it can be torn apart by the assassination is a testament to the earth-shattering significance of that event. We won’t count the marriages at the end of the comedies, because who knows how they’ll fare?

But now, I turn the question over to you.

What’s the best marriage in Shakespeare?

P.S. Cesario is currently annotating the text of Hamlet, scene by scene, on her blog. Check it out.

Bing Miller put me on his meme list, which is kind of like the blog version of a chain letter.

Post a picture or make/take/create your own that captures what YOU are most passionate about for kids to learn about and give your picture a short title.
Title your blog post “Meme: Passion Quilt” and link back to this blog entry.
Include links to 5 folks in your professional learning network

So I’ve thought about it, and I decided to go with this image of the Globe theatre stage.

I want my students to understand that they can be performers in the world and not just audience members. I want them to understand that they can write things that affect other people. I want them to know they can have a voice in the world. I want them to learn that they way things are now isn’t the way things have always been, so they can understand that things don’t always have to be the way they are now.

My title is “Totus Mundus Agit Histrionem.” All the world’s a stage.

I invite Benjamin, Kenneth, Lee, Mike, and Ro to continue the conversation if it would please them to do so.

So I started Cymbeline with the 8th grade class today. I posted a request for suggestions yesterday, but the answer was staring right back at me from the post itself. Show the students the Taming of the Shrew video that the 11th grade students made.

We did a basic K/W/L activity on Shakespeare and the teacher was so impressed by her students’ prior knowledge that she decided to let the students choose the play. But they didn’t really know very many plays, though one student remarked that Romeo and Juliet was “so played out.”

I showed them the Shrew video, and invited them to discuss at their tables how they would do the project differently. They came up with some great ideas, and earnest critiques of the project. They also decided that they wanted to do The Taming of the Shrew. Yeah, because Romeo and Juliet is “so played out.”

We discussed some other plays, including As You Like It and Othello, which seemed to be strong contenders. One of the students asked about Cymbeline, and the teacher gave a brief description of the opening situation with Imogen, Cymbeline, Posthumous, Cloten, and the wicked Queen. I talked about how Iachimo bet Postumous that he could seduce his wife. The teacher described with some detail how Iachimo was able to “win” his bet, as it slowly dawned on me why we don’t teach this play. Still, it’s Shakespeare, and we’re totally going to get away with it. I described the beheading of Cloten, and now all the students want to do Cymbeline.

So we ended up where we started on the play, but at least the students now have ownership of the choice. I’m looking forward to seeing what they do with it.

UPDATE: The project has been completed.

When director Kenneth Branagh set the opening speech of Henry V in a movie lot, he was announcing a new philosophy for putting Shakespeare on film. This philosophy is well explored in his latest film, As You Like It. It’s not a perfect film, but I greatly enjoyed watching it, and I expect to give it many more viewings in the near future and likely for years to come.

Shakespeare was writing for the stage, but Branagh has the ability to show with vivid action events that Shakespeare could only describe. In some cases, that worked well, like in the exciting palace coup in the beginning. In other cases, I missed Shakespeare’s language. Believe it or not, actually seeing Orlando wrestle with the lion was far less satisfying than those times when I’ve heard Oliver describe it.

Branagh set his film in Japan, a bold choice that is supported by an on-screen description of 19th century British enclaves in Japan. This had the potential to draw a much sharper distinction between those fleeing the court and the rustics of the forest. However, Branagh contrived to allow Corin and Audrey to remain English. Both actors did a fine job, but an opportunity was lost. Phoebe and Silvius seemed to be English actors of Asian descent. Only the character of William truly embodied the potential of setting the play in a 19th century Japanese forest. I was left wondering why the film was set in Japan at all. Still, the external trappings of the Japanese setting were visually impressive. I enjoyed the ninja soldiers and Charles as sumo wrestler, the Japanese characters and kimonos, but in the end, there seemed to be very little actual consequence to choosing Japan as a setting.

I enjoyed most of the performances, but I feel that Phoebe and Silvus were botched, in that their relationship was not well articulated. I would not have minded if the issue was simply that they didn’t remain faithful to the play, but I didn’t know what they were supposed to be. Most troublingly, the lines explaining the “bargain” between Phoebe and “Ganymede” in the end were cut, and so we don’t even know why Phoebe is marrying Silvius. In general, there were more script cuts than I generally like to see, but again, Branagh is adapting for another medium and we must allow for the conventions of film.

I’ve always felt that Rosalind carries this play on force of personality, and Branagh found a wonderful Rosalind in Bryce Dallas Howard. Adrian Lester is brilliant in everything he does, and this is no exception. But the real standout for me was Brian Blessed in the double role of Duke Senior and Duke Frederick. As the former, he is able to set one of the main themes of the play - the contrast between the false court and the natural world of Arden. As the latter, he movingly demonstrates the transformation and ultimate redemption of the evil Duke in a way that I’ve never seen before, nor found more satisfying.

As You Like It continues to run on HBO. I highly recommend checking it out!

Kenneth Branagh’s new film of As You Like It premieres tonight at 9pm on HBO, and will continue to run for at least the next month. Be sure to check it out!

I did a history and a tragedy, so now I have to do a comedy.

From As You Like It:

All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages.

Shift around the letters, and it becomes:

My sane ashen melancholy gentleman harshly says an existential narrative wellspring and, with a serene rhythm, anticipates the modern stage-based development ideas.

At the risk of appearing like I’m trying to out-geek the Shakespeare Geek, here’s another list.

You’ve seen my top 25 favorite plays and my top 25 favorite scenes (then expanded to 50). Here are my top 50 favorite characters (or groups of characters) from Shakespeare’s plays at the present moment. Enjoy! And feel free to add to the conversation, especially if I’ve left some of your favorites out!

50. The Nurse (Romeo and Juliet) - The play may be a tragedy, but the Nurse is one of the great comic roles in Shakespeare.

49. The Duke of York (Richard the Second) - The remaining son of Edward III is so loyal to the King, he’ll turn in his own son as a traitor.

48. Sir Toby Belch (Twelfth Night) - Think Falstaff without the good manners. Half the time he’s plotting; the other half he’s drunk.

47. The Prince of Morocco & The Prince of Arragon (The Merchant of Venice) - It’s hard to tell which of these two suitors to Portia is more unsuitable, or more hilarious.

46. Dogberry (Much Ado About Nothing) - The muddled constable of the watch who bumbles his way into uncovering the evil plot!

45. Helena (All’s Well That Ends Well) - I’ll never understand what a quality woman like Helena sees in a loser like Bertram. Sigh.

44. Richard the Second (Richard the Second) - Too much philosopher, not enough king. But divine right is divine right. Isn’t it?

43. Philip the Bastard (King John) - When you’re already a bastard, who cares what people think of you? Certainly not Philip.

42. Polonius (Hamlet) - He may be a rash, intruding, doddering old fool, but his madness has a method to it. I think.

41. Beatrice and Benedick (Much Ado About Nothing) - You can’t have one without the other. Sharp banter hiding a deep affection - very cool.

40. Portia (The Merchant of Venice) - Unlike some love interests, Portia is actually worth the winning, and not just for her money.

39. Puck (A Midsummer Night’s Dream) - The mischievous sprite who doesn’t mind helping mortals at times, as long as it’s funny.

38. Mercutio (Romeo and Juliet) - The madcap kinsman to the Prince is a grave man when caught between the two houses.

37. Lucio (Measure for Measure) - This guy is a riot from beginning to end, but slandering the Duke to his disguised face rules.

36. Marc Antony (Multiple plays) - His funeral oration is a masterpiece, but his most powerful line? “I am dying, Egypt, dying.”

35. Viola (Twelfth Night) - Her disguise-as-a-boy plan plunges her in over her head, but she handles it all with grace.

34. Brutus (Julius Caesar) - This was the noblest Roman of them all, deeply conflicted and ultimately his own undoing.

33. Cloten (Cymbeline) - Proud, arrogant, foolish, entitled, and a bully, Cloten is nothing but a suit and a title. Fun!

32. The Earl of Kent (King Lear) - Deeply loyal to the King who has banished him, Kent has something to teach us all.

31. Malvolio (Twelfth Night) - He didn’t really deserve what he got in the play, but he is a Puritan, after all.

30. Jacques (As You Like It) - He’s probably bipolar, but he’s a deep thinker and a keen observer of the human condition.

29. Caliban (The Tempest) - Caliban’s antics are a lot of fun, but I’m more interested in his backstory and its meaning.

28. The Weird Sisters (Macbeth) - Do you think the three witches predict the future? Or do they cause it?

27. Tranio (The Taming of the Shrew) - A servant, who we mostly see playing gentleman. At the end, he’s back to waiting tables.

26. Lewis the Dauphin (Henry the Fifth) - We’re shown Henry’s suitability to be the next French king by seeing a weak Dauphin.

25. Isabella (Measure for Measure) - After all she’s been through, the Duke gives her one final impossible test. She passes.

24. Petruchio & Katherine (The Taming of the Shrew) - When an irresistible force meets an immovable object, somethin’s gotta give…

23. Emilia (Othello) - She’d make her husband a cuckold to make him a king, but won’t cover for his wickedness.

22. Iachimo (Cymbeline) - This “Little Iago” is clever and dishonest, and starts up way more trouble than he means to.

21. Enobarbus (Antony and Cleopatra) - A loyal soldier who can’t support Antony’s self-destructive course, and dies of shame.

20. Goneril & Regan (King Lear) - The wicked ones turn on their father, their husbands, their sister, and finally, each other.

19. Jack Cade (Henry the Sixth, Part Two) - This rough-hewn pretender to the throne would abolish money and kill all the lawyers.

18. Helena (A Midsummer Night’s Dream) - My heart just goes out to Helena, who is such a sweet person and gets rotten treatment.

17. Prospero (The Tempest) - The Duke of Milan, and wise old master of knowledge, books, and the elements of nature.

16. Hamlet (Hamlet) - The melancholy Dane helps us understand that murky place between thought and action.

15. Queen Margaret (Multiple plays) - With an amazing character arc that spans four plays, Margaret puts the “It” back in bitch.

14. Rosalind (As You Like It) - Let’s face it - Rosalind carries the whole plot on force of personality. We like her, so it works.

13. Macbeth (Macbeth) - From noble warrior to homicidal maniac, Macbeth experiences an incredible transformation.

12. Bottom (A Midsummer Night’s Dream) - The megalomaniac actor! We can all recognize him, but do we recognize ourselves in him?

11. Cleopatra (Antony and Cleopatra) - She’s a strong, empowered woman who’s not above using sex as a political tactic.

10. Edmund (King Lear) - A charming villain - all honor on the outside, and evil on the inside. What a bastard!

9. Othello (Othello) - A complex and passionate character, who loved (and trusted) not wisely, but too well.

8. Sir John Falstaff (Multiple plays) - A drunk, a theif, a liar, a glutton, and a pure hedonist. And those are his good points.

7. Duke of Gloucester/ Richard the Third (Multiple plays) - Since he cannot prove a lover, he is determined to prove a villain!

6. Shylock (The Merchant of Venice) - The Jewish moneylender may be the villain, but Shakespeare shows us his human side.

5. King Lear (King Lear) - Is dying the worst thing that can happen? What about having it all and watching it fade?

4. Prince Hal/ Henry the Fifth (Multiple plays) - Shakespeare traces England’s great hero from his wayward youth to his victory in France.

3. Lady Macbeth (Macbeth) - An equal partner in evil to Macbeth, and a force to be reckoned with. But then she breaks.

2. The Fool (King Lear) - The Fool balances that fine line between jesting clown, and sharp commentator on events.

1. Iago (Othello) - The hands-down, pure evil incarnate, puppet master general. But why does he do it?

Based on the overwhelming response to yesterday’s post listing my top five and twenty favorite scenes from Shakespeare, I’ve decided to post my next five and twenty favorite scenes from Shakespeare. The standard disclaimers apply.

50. Antony and Cleopatra: Act 5, Scene 2
The captured Cleopatra has been placed on suicide watch. But she has a poisonous asp smuggled in, and delivers the fatal wound to her bosom. “Does thou not see the baby at my breast,/That sucks the nurse asleep?”

49. Macbeth: Act 5, Scene 5
In the heat of battle preparations, Macbeth receives news that his wife has died. He allows himself a reflective moment where he ponders the meaninglessness of brief life. And for that moment, we remember that this monster was once a human being with the capacity for reason and love.

48. Richard the Third: Act 3, Scene 7
In the final stages of his plan to seize the crown, Richard orchestrates a show where his friends and lackeys beg him to be king, and he says no. Finally, he relents. “I am not made of stone”

47. Henry the Fourth, Part Two: Act 5, Scene 5
Now that his buddy Prince Hal has become King Henry the Fifth, Falstaff thinks that he’s going to play a very important role in the new administration. Falstaff has another think coming.

46. As You Like It: Act 3, Scene 2
This is a somewhat varied scene, and a lot of fun things happen in it, but the main point is that, having discovered that Orlando is writing love poems to her and hanging them on trees in the forest, Rosalind decides to allow him to believe she is a boy, and offers to cure him of his love by pretending to be his love.

45. Henry the Sixth, Part One: Act 2, Scene 4
In the Temple garden, partisans of the King and of Richard Plantagenet pluck red and white roses respectively to show their support. Could this lead to war? And what might we call such a war?

44. Macbeth: Act 1, Scene 3
Returning from battle, Banquo and Macbeth are greeted by three witches who predict that Macbeth will become Thane of Cawdor and then King. Then, messengers from the King arrive and tell Macbeth he has just been named Thane of Cawdor. Things that make you go hmmm…

43. Hamlet: Act 3, Scene 2
Unsure whether or not to trust the ghost’s word, Hamlet stages a play mirroring the circumstances of his father’s death, so he can watch his uncle’s reaction. Does the plan work? Big time. And Hamlet’s famous advice to the players is in this scene, too.

42. Henry the Sixth, Part One: Act 4, Scene 5
The great Lord Talbot fears that his forces will be defeated in tomorrow’s battle. So he sends for his son, young John Talbot, and tells him to flee before the battle. John refuses, and they debate in rhymed couplets. It’s not a long scene - go read it.

41. King Lear: Act 1, Scene 4
The banished Kent returns in disguise and offers to serve Lear. We meet the Fool, whose jests reveal both a fondness for Lear and a bitter disapproval of his actions. Lear’s curse on Goneril at the end makes the scene extraordinary.

40. Henry the Fifth: Act 2, Scene 2
Henry has discovered three traitors among his officers. Before revealing this, he asks them what the penalty should be for traitors. His own oratory in this scene is powerful.

39. Julius Caesar: Act 4, Scene 3
Brutus and Cassius, having murdered Caesar, now lead an army against his partisans. In this scene, the growing tensions between them explode, and lead to an unexpected outcome.

38. Henry the Fourth, Part Two: Act 4, Scene 5
Prince Hal finds his father asleep, assumes he’s dead, and helps himself to the crown. When Hal returns, Dad’s awake, and the two of them have at it. And at the end of the scene, the prophecy he’s been talking about since like two plays ago is fulfilled.

37. Othello: Act 4, Scene 3
A quiet scene between Emilia and Desdemona before all hell breaks loose. This is a study in contrast between the innocent naif Desdemona and the world-wise Emelia.

36. Macbeth: Act 5, Scene 1
Lady Macbeth has been a rock through all of the killing and deception that put her husband on the throne. But now she’s sleepwalking, and everything comes out. Except for that spot of blood.

35. King John: Act 4, Scene 1
King John has sent Hubert to murder the young Arthur to eliminate his challenge to the throne. But the boy talks Hubert out of it. Shakespeare wrote this play after losing his own young son to the plague.

34. Romeo and Juliet: Act 2, Scene 2
Well, what can I say? It’s the balcony scene.

33. Much Ado About Nothing: Act 4, Scene 1
Hero is disgraced by Claudio at their wedding and her cousin Beatrice is beside herself. Claudio’s friend Benedick stays to comfort her. And amid this emotional turmoil, they confess their feelings for each other. He tells her he’ll do anything for her. Her response: “Kill Claudio.”

32. Hamlet: Act 5, Scene 2
Talk about a big finish. This scene is so imprinted on our collective psyche that it almost turns invisible when making a list like this. Almost.

31. Julius Caesar: Act 3, Scene 1
I really like the pacing of the lines just before the assassination. After the deed, the killers are so sure of history’s favorable judgment. And finally comes Antony’s stirring monologue. But my favorite part of this scene is the first two lines.

30. The Taming of the Shrew: Act 2, Scene 1
The first meeting between Petruchio and Kate. Need I say more?

29. King Lear: Act 4, Scene 7
Lear is rescued by and reunited with the daughter he banished. His mind is nearly gone by now, but as he begins to recognize her, he is deeply ashamed of his earlier behavior.

28. Macbeth: Act 3, Scene 4
King Macbeth sees the murdered Banquo at a banquet, but nobody else can see him. Is this the ghost of Banquo come to haunt him, or another hallucination brought on by guilt?

27. Twelfth Night: Act 1, Scene 5
Here we see the first meeting between Olivia and the disguised Viola. At first, Olivia toys with the youth, but then realizes that there’s more to this young “man” than meets the eye.

26. Richard the Second: Act 4, Scene 1
Richard’s reluctant abdication paints a portrait of a man who never asked to be king, but can’t quite give it up. It’s a moment in English history that sparked enough strife for no less than eight Shakespearean histories.

The Top Five and Twenty