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A Journey that hasn't yet ended

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 Quick update on my quest.  I am now nearly through Act II of Twelfth Night, and feeling much the same as I do when about two-thirds through a murder mystery.  Please, no more complications!  Just sort it all out already!   I also found another well-known quotation for which I didn't have context til now:  'journeys end in lovers meeting'.  In the play, it's part of a song sung by a clown, but even as the clown jokes and jests, these words have a sweet and simple poignancy.  I always thought them very sad for some reason, and the context seems to support that.  The clown is trying to sing a love song, but there is no love there to sing with him. One more note.  Is it cheating to watch the play while you read it?  I find it almost essential when it comes to Shakespeare's comedies, because it's often only in the delivery and staging that anything is funny. When you watch them, some of the quick-witted humour comes through, and yo...
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If Music Be the Food of Love...

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  The Shakespeare Quest has begun; I have read Act One of Twelfth Night .  My first thought is that I really enjoy finding the origins of a quotation I have long known, such as:  'If music be the food of love, play on'.  The quotation makes it seem like a request from a person revelling in their love, but the rest of the monologue is actually about disillusion.  The Duke, Orsino, is a little sick of being lovesick. I also enjoy how Shakespeare creates word pictures.  In Scene Two, the Captain of a wrecked ship tells Viola about the valiant effort her brother put into surviving the storm.   Hung on our driving boat, I saw your brother Most provident in peril, bind himself - Courage and hope both teaching him the practice -  To a strong mast that lived upon the sea; Where, like Arion on the dolphin's back, I saw him hold acquaintance with the waves So long as I could see. I could practically feel the salt water on my face as I read this, and I...
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Setting Up

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  Every time I try to take a Shakespeare module, I end up studying the same five plays over and over.  Either that, or I can't take the module at all because it clashes with other things, so I miss out entirely.  This has been a frustration since I was a teenager. I have tried many times to self-educate when it comes to Shakespeare, but it always seems to drop down to the bottom of the to-do list.  So now I'm trying a different method:  I'm going to track my progress via this blog, and hopefully complete my mission to read all the Shakespeare plays and keep a record of my favourite quotations as I go. This is the start.  I have studied A Midsummer Night's Dream , The Merchant of Venice ,  Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, King Lear  and Julius Caesar, so I'll skip those for now .  I have also read The Tempest and seen it performed (and wondered why it isn't more popular; I loved it).  So I intend to begin with Twelfth Night ...partly be...
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