The Shakespeare Quest

  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...

  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...