posted January 09, 2013 06:44 AM            

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Originally posted by SaturnineMoth:

@ Faith ~ yes ma'am~ I was known as the "Shakespeare-girl" in my school years, that's how well known my fandom was among my classmates, that each Valentine's day when the students would give each other roses or cards or chocolates... I would get Shakespeare-inspired gifts from the girls~ lmao =X yup~ I... was the "romantic" one.

Much Ado About Nothing is my favourite of his works, favourite over all, but I do like King Lear, and I can still remember all my lines from Hamlet, Romeo & Juliet, Macbeth, and even quite a few from Julius Caesar! When it comes to poetry I can remember so much, but in everything else I seem to be forgetting everything haha~! (should I put everything in iambic pentameter to make it stick, I wonder!?) lol

I love theatre, and oh yes... that version they had on Masterpiece Theatre, I remember watching it there, anyway! haha xD I adore seeing Emma Thompson play Beatrice, don't you? She did an amazing job~ haha of course Branagh opposite, he can play any Shakespearean character, he's that good of an actor, and not hard on the eyes either... lol
That version is awesome cause it has Denzel, Keanu and even Kate B in it too though! =X talk about star-studded cast! ^_^;

One of my favourites... absolutely~

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That is SO COOL that you were the Shakespeare girl!

You are obviously smarter than me, I have fumbled through Shakespeare in confusion most of the time. I have Saturn opposing my otherwise-strong Mercury, so while I can grasp Shakespeare, it can be slow and laborious.

Imagine my shock and awe when I meet people who get it all instantaneously.

I saw a few Shakespeare plays in London. Forgive me for not remembering which play I saw at the rebuilt Globe Theater (I think that's where Shakespeare's plays were originally performed.) But I couldn't understand any of it, which is why I forget, LOL.

I did have a few instances of totally "getting" Shakespeare that were profound and left me in awe. But this was after concentrating for a while. I'm going to try and find those sonnets I loved so much, years ago, and post them here.

Re: Much Ado about Nothing.

Agree on all points about the cast.

But actually, I saw it because I was totally completely in love with Robert Sean Leonard after seeing Dead Poet's Society. The only fan letter I ever wrote was to him, when I was like 14. His father called my house to thank me on behalf of his son (who is a Pisces <3 ...he asked his dad to call everyone living in NJ, where we both lived at the time.)

I wasn't home when he called but my mother talked to his dad for like 15 minutes (!!!) which almost made me die.

Other than that, I haven't seen many Shakespeare movies. I saw Romeo & Juliet with Danes & DiCaprio with my Virgo ex-soulate on Christmas, the year it came out. Sadly, he was exhausted from his wrestling schedule and fell asleep then asked to leave before it was over. Associating the movie with that memory basically ruined it for me...but I have never found DiCaprio attractive anyway. *shrug*

My husband used to be really in mnemonics, and I'm pretty sure he memorized Romeo & Juliet, the real play, in its entirety. It's one of the things I do love about him. =) He will comment on situations in our life by quoting that play. "This reminds me of when Mercutio says to Benvolio..."

I have more Shakespeare anecdotes but I don't want to make this too long or use them all up at once.

Your turn...tell me more! =)

posted January 09, 2013 11:15 PM            

It's been decades! Shakespeare was one of those alluring areas that I didn't delve into; there's just so much to take in! How I wish I could have done it all!

I remember references to Shakespeare made by author Benson Bobrick in his book, The Fated Sky: Astrology in History (2005). The index on page 368 lists at least 17 pages.

posted January 10, 2013 10:02 AM            

I was continuously inspired by my english/literature teachers during my middle and high school years especially. Our high school was a peculiar one, and still is, although some of these classes are no longer offered, sadly; we had British Literature (an 2 part honours course), and a specific elective class for Shakespeare! (We were fortunate to have a class on Classical Mythology and Literature as well, something you don't see at most normal American high schools, no doubt; and at one time my alma mater offered 4 languages - French, Spanish, German, and Latin!) I was a literature elective junkie... my mind can't wrap itself around mathematics, and always bored with science.... although I did take astronomy for a short time, since we had a planetarium of our own, (but the professor had the most lulling, monotonous voice in the world, and my class came just after the final lunch period of the day, plus.... well, I was a "walker" so my physical shape was in no need for physical education... haha! So, I'd failed gym the previous year, but it was still mandatory in our high school, which meant I had to take 2 gyms this one year... 2 gym classes, lunch, and then astronomy in a dark planetarium with a monotone-talking lecturer.... was a recipe for disaster... or snooze time! He forgave me, but I did have to drop the class!!! haha) ~ my mind is going off on a tangent...

I digress~ I had a lot of support in my Shakespearean fanaticism. lol

We had drama club, however they were dominated by the parent's of the cheerleading squad for most of my high school experience, and our town didn't have the theatre that it has now downtown, (was recently restored actually), so we never performed Shakespeare for our drama club presentations, sadly. In fact the only title I remember from my 4 years of drama club is Arsenic & Lace, I did understudy but mostly kept myself busy behind the scenes, and there was another where I did play, but as a young boy who dies early on from appendicitis! *sigh* (cast because I was shortest and had a pixie haircut! This was how the gang of soccer moms ran things!) During my brother's years though, he was able to perform in Once Upon a Mattress, which was a remarkable improvement to the previous 8 years our high school had in putting on shows.... >.< The auditorium was magnificent and wasted until then. ^^; They packed the house! lol

Our Shakespeare and British Literature classes would each pick a play from Shakespeare, however the choices were limited to his most widely recognized pieces only... by this I mean Romeo & Juliet and Macbeth, mostly... although I pushed for The Merchant of Venice, and Much Ado About Nothing, the short time frame and unavailable funds made it difficult to materialize our dreams of rivaling the drama club (since this wasn't a club activity at all but a class experience.)
Brit-Lit only had one portion of Shakespeare study, the rest was spent jumping through time periods in British Literature, which I had struggled to keep up with after the industrial revolution. lol I'm in my element more with renaissance, Gothic, romantic era, Western literary names, than the more modern ones.... ><

In our Shakespeare class we went through about 7 plays, I believe, and read a large number of sonnets and works studying Shakespeare... this was my favourite teacher's class, so it was always a thrill study under her guidance! When we did Romeo & Juliet (this was my second time performing, as we had done this play in my middle school years as well) I played Mercutio!~ I was elated beyond belief, though the part is also short lived!!! haha ... it's still one of my favourite roles/characters!

When we did Macbeth... we only had to remember a portion of the work and perform it solo before the class.... for this one, I'd chosen to recite as the Weird Sisters, which was a nerve-wracking choice, because I'd be reciting from "Double, double, toil and trouble;" which is still today one of the longest pieces I can remember. =x I have a shotty memory in most areas, but with poetry, quotes, and silly idioms or proverbs... haha
I can't remember really if it was Brit-Lit or Shakespeare that we did Caesar.... I only remember having to recite this one monologue of Cassius...

quote:

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Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world
Like a Colossus, and we petty men
Walk under his huge legs and peep about
To find ourselves dishonourable graves.
Men at some time are masters of their fates:
The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,
But in ourselves, that we are underlings.
Brutus and Caesar: what should be in that 'Caesar'?
Why should that name be sounded more than yours?
Write them together, yours is as fair a name;
Sound them, it doth become the mouth as well;
Weigh them, it is as heavy; conjure with 'em,
Brutus will start a spirit as soon as Caesar.
Now, in the names of all the gods at once,
Upon what meat doth this our Caesar feed,
That he is grown so great? Age, thou art shamed!
Rome, thou hast lost the breed of noble bloods!
When went there by an age, since the great flood,
But it was famed with more than with one man?
When could they say till now, that talk'd of Rome,
That her wide walls encompass'd but one man?
Now is it Rome indeed and room enough,
When there is in it but one only man.
O, you and I have heard our fathers say,
There was a Brutus once that would have brook'd
The eternal devil to keep his state in Rome
As easily as a king.

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... I turned crab apple pink to red half way through because I began to stumble on my words... >.<;;; (my memory is not perfect by any means! doomed for failure at the crucial moments! haha)

Oh, I could go on with these yarns... but, I guess I'll take one from Mr.Shakespeare himself, "Brevity is the soul of wit," because I am all too much like Polonius.

I can't believe you had frickin' Wilson's dad call your house!!! even if it was his father... omg Don't blame you any for being ecstatic for that one, I'm jealous!!! haha XD

Yeah, no... I don't get the DiCaprio-image as a handsome playboy thing either.... it's a 'thing" I never quite understood... although I did like his performance in What's Eating Gilbert Grape (but with Depp and Lewis in it that's an automatic given as a favourite film), and in Shutter Island, actually... I like seeing him expand his character-type I suppose... but in Romeo & Juliet... it just didn't feel right.... but, what does feel right when dealing with a character age difference like Juliet (who was a teenager) to Romeo..... I couldn't mesh what was in my mind to the film... but, I did like the push for modern interpretation, despite usually being opposed to touching classics... haha CD I'm a fan of, but I love-loved it because of John Leguizamo... ^^; I just think he's an adorable, versatile man/actor... coming from pretty much doing only B comedy roles to having solid, multidimensional characters, but still not shying away from silly ones... I love that~ !!! haha (Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, oui!)

I had a terrible experience like this at the movies once... but I was the one who fell asleep... =x It wasn't Shakespeare, thank heavens! But, Underworld.... (I was exhausted from traveling and not sleeping for 2 days and 2 nights time... dark cinaplex = instant snoozefest) =x

Your husband taking any pride in his knowledge of the classics is a huge blessing! Especially, since he can use them anecdotally like that! haha!!! *jealous* lmfao! I don't think my Sadgey husband has the slightest interest in any form of literature that doesn't come with a centerfold pull out, or translator notes defining the term "HH" for its readers... hmmmm... nope... lol (hh... echiechi... it just means something dirty-perverted-pronographic for manga/comic readers)~ lmfao~ (I wonder if Shakespeare would use "lmao" or "rofl".... in our time... hahaha!) ~don't mind me... I rarely get enough sleep! XD

Astronomical reference, and anachronisms are plentiful in Shakespeare's works... I'd have to do some digging but I remember my teacher mentioning something about Galileo being of some personal interest to WS... if I remember correctly... so he had a deep interest in the stars no doubt, it's not like he wasn't in tune with the more "provocative subjects" for his contemporaries... HAHAHA I think he thoroughly enjoyed bringing fringe subjects/theories/ideals into his musings as often as possible... or so it seems to me~

<3 ya Faith (((HUGS)))

<3 Shakespeare Enthusiasts! <3

posted January 11, 2013 01:09 PM            

you're favourite quote... had me rollin'~
seriously~ ear-to-ear grin~
*gigglefit*

<3 it's great knowing the astro-community has so many poetic and especially Shakespeare-inspired folks~ !

posted January 11, 2013 10:27 PM            

And thanks, Venus, for the link!

Is English your second language? If so, that's just amazing that you speak it so perfectly.

I have to *think* more about this stuff before I can get a full response together.

But real quick..Saturnine, you memorized all that? And I love it, too! (Partly because I think I understand it even after one reading...helps my ego!)

LOL about your astronomy class teacher turning astronomy into something like a lullabye. I think that would make a great nap, actually, having someone droning on about random galactic facts in the background!

And your high school sounds great. Mine wasn't, but I had good friends and that was all I really cared about at the time.

More later... one of my very dear friends has a birthday tomorrow (I love my fellow Caps!) and I'm off to compose a birthday email...where the emoticons replace eloquence, for the most part.

posted January 12, 2013 03:46 PM            

Faith, you get me goin' lol heyhey~ don't forget to mention the special holidays of the day to them~! haha OH but, if they are born on 12 they missed out on Rubber Ducky Day! haha

You know me... emoticons

that teacher was only half of my astronomy struggles... it was an actual dark planetarium... with thousands of stars overhead; (I sat just under Bootes btw!), and the only light was along the wall, dim and on the far end of the dome-shaped classroom... XD the air was always warm being on the 4th floor, highest point in the whole complex!
it was "nighty-night" almost as soon as you stepped through the door (portal)! haha

I have a lot of Shakespeare memorized... they come back to me at weird moments, kinda like with your husband, eh! I don't intend on remembering it, but usually something happens and my mind goes back into that time, and if I can't remember the whole piece, I have to refresh my memory or I won't be able to sleep... so, then it always remains "fresh" or at the top of my mind... I can't be sure enough to write verse for verse correctly, well not anymore. XD but, I can recite them correctly without much/any discrepancy. I like that one... "it's not in our stars" ~
stands out more now than ever! haha

Yes, I have to keep busy today, or I'll miss my brother and family --- it's my lil brother's 23rd birthday today. I'm gonna probably call him soon, bug him a bit, and tease him for getting old, call him a squirt.... he hates that... but it's normal for us! haha (2 goats so far apart in age but so close in birthdays... under one roof! my poor Libra mum... she went out of her wits with our head bashing! you know it!) ^^

posted January 12, 2013 11:42 PM            

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Originally posted by SaturnineMoth:
lol I <3 u guys!

Faith, you get me goin' lol heyhey~ don't forget to mention the special holidays of the day to them~! haha OH but, if they are born on 12 they missed out on Rubber Ducky Day! haha

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I would have spit out my drink if I had one. My Cap friend would so totally love being born on that day! She's both glamorous and crazy (all Caps are! hehehe) and I wish she were here on this forum to laugh with us.

She's German, we never met in person yet...actually we met at a weirdo Elvis forum 5 years ago. Freak accident that two able-minded individuals ended up talking amongst people who consider Elvis an actual deity and have group seances to contact him in his new home near the star Rigel...but come to think of it, this place isn't much different.

I love weird people, everyone else kind of bores me.

#AquariusMercury

quote:

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Originally posted by SaturnineMoth:
it was "nighty-night" almost as soon as you stepped through the door (portal)! haha

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ROTFL ~ "portal"

quote:

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Originally posted by SaturnineMoth:
I have a lot of Shakespeare memorized... they come back to me at weird moments, kinda like with your husband, eh! I don't intend on remembering it, but usually something happens and my mind goes back into that time, and if I can't remember the whole piece, I have to refresh my memory or I won't be able to sleep... so, then it always remains "fresh" or at the top of my mind... I can't be sure enough to write verse for verse correctly, well not anymore. XD but, I can recite them correctly without much/any discrepancy. I like that one... "it's not in our stars" ~
stands out more now than ever! haha

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That actually sounds fun, I'd love to have my mind stocked like that. I guess the only thing I have that comes close is large chunks of my favorite astrology books, but I almost always keep those thoughts to myself, no matter how frequent they are.

My 16 Gemini Mars is conjunct your NN so maybe we think alike in some ways...I wonder. One astro book I love is The Secret Language of Relationships (are you familiar with that?) which calls second decan Gemini "the week of new language" because people born then tend to express themselves so uniquely. You with your emoticons and me with...I don't know but everywhere I go in life it seems like people are shocked by what I am saying. Their eyebrows go up.

quote:

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Originally posted by SaturnineMoth:
Yes, I have to keep busy today, or I'll miss my brother and family --- it's my lil brother's 23rd birthday today. I'm gonna probably call him soon, bug him a bit, and tease him for getting old, call him a squirt.... he hates that... but it's normal for us! haha (2 goats so far apart in age but so close in birthdays... under one roof! my poor Libra mum... she went out of her wits with our head bashing! you know it!) ^^

everyone take care!!! ^^ <3

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Happy birthday to him AND you!!! <3

I love that you have matching b-days...any chance it corresponds to something in your ancestry? Is it your parents' suns' midpoint or something?

Will be gone tomorrow but have a great birthday..see you around next week, I have some catching up to do on this thread already and will tell you about this Scorpio I knew in college who was a Shakespeare fiend.

<3 !!! G'night =)

posted January 22, 2013 01:27 AM            

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Originally posted by Faith:

And thanks, Venus, for the link!

Is English your second language? If so, that's just amazing that you speak it so perfectly.

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