Borrowing From The Bard
Next week is Midsummer’s Eve – the longest day of the year in the Northern half of the planet. Those two words always reminds me of Shakespeare and his play A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
If you haven’t read it, you should. It’s hysterically funny – mischievous little men, couples lost and drunk in the woods, a man turned into a donkey. And it’s not that hard to read.
Some people are intimidated by the “Bard,” but in actual fact, he was a talented hack trying to make a living in dinner theater, frequently drunk theater. Sometimes flying rotten fruit theater.
Queen Elizabeth Viewing ‘The Merry Wives of Windsor’ at the Globe Theatre, David Scott, 1840
April was the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death and while death isn’t usually something to celebrate, he left behind a wonderful legacy of poetry, word play, and powerful story telling. Four hundred years on, he’s still getting cool reviews:
- Which is Shakespeare’s greatest play?
- 400 Times William Shakespeare Totally Blew Our Minds
- The Poisons, Potions, and Charms of Shakespeare’s Plays
- Shakespeare’s Hipstery Millennial Dream Jobs
- 15 great William Shakespeare insults which are better than swearing
I love Shakespeare and borrowed heavily from him for my leprechaun love stories. He wrote comedies, so I like to think he would have appreciated them. You don’t have to read Shakespeare to follow the leprechauns’ adventures, but why short-change yourself?
- Paintings inspired by Shakespeare
- an exhaustive site for all things Shakespeare
- How the Bard Became a Legend
- Illuminating Shakespeare
- Sir Ian McKellen Releases New Apps On Shakespeare
kathybryson 