Young Fortinbras...gives this warlike volley

[King Jan III Sobieski]

What are our favorite Shakeperean plays? Of course, I'm more interested in the histories, tragedies and historic-tragic. If you answer Romeo & Juliet, fine, but I'll be inclined to slap you

For all-time favorite, I'm torn between Henry V and Hamlet.

For favorite interpretation, I'm overwhelmingly inclined to pick Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet (1996).

[Incongruous]

Henry V is too bawdy for me.
I prefer Macbeth. Oh the horror!

[Tiberius of the Drake]

I like Titus Andronicus. full of blood, gore, violence, and murder. just like modern television!

[KARTLOS]

does anyone know wher you might get audio versions of shakespeare plays for free on the internet?

[Didz]

The Merchant of Venice, the film made of it was also brilliant.

[King Kurt]

At the risk of being slapped I would say Romeo and Juliet

I studied it for O level and really got into the play at that time. It has a great story and is most certainly not some form of 16th century chick flick. It has a superb set of characters including my all time favourite Mercutio who gives my favorite speech - the Queen Mab speech

"O, then, I see Queen Mab hath been with you.
She is the fairies’ midwife, and she comes
In shape no bigger than an agate-stone
On the fore-finger of an alderman,
Drawn with a team of little atomies
Athwart men’s noses as they lie asleep;"

This sweeping speech starts with a beautiful discription of this fairy figure, but as the speech continues, the mood becomes darker as the evil side of Queen Mab emerges. By the end the romantic illusion is shattered as she is described as:

"Sometime she driveth o’er a soldier’s neck,
And then dreams he of cutting foreign throats,
Of breaches, ambuscadoes, Spanish blades,
Of healths five-fathom deep; and then anon
Drums in his ear, at which he starts and wakes,
And being thus frighted swears a prayer or two
And sleeps again. This is that very Mab
That plaits the manes of horses in the night,
And bakes the elflocks in foul sluttish hairs,
Which once untangled, much misfortune bodes:
This is the hag, when maids lie on their backs,
That presses them and learns them first to bear,
Making them women of good carriage:
This is she—"


The play has all aspects of life - comedy, tradegy, life, love, death - plenty of death with many characters being killed during the course of the play.

As for a good version - there are many - I quite liked Franco Zeffirelli's version, even if it did leave a few bits out. My favourite is Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet which captures the passion of the whole play excellently.

So, why not put preconceptions aside and give it a look - I'm sure you will enjoy it - but then I love most of the Bard's work, probably loving Macbeth and Hamlet nearly as much as Romeo and Juliet.

[ELITEofWARMANGINGERYBREADMEN88]

At the risk of being slapped I would say Romeo and Juliet

I studied it for O level and really got into the play at that time. It has a great story and is most certainly not some form of 16th century chick flick. It has a superb set of characters including my all time favourite Mercutio who gives my favorite speech - the Queen Mab speech

"O, then, I see Queen Mab hath been with you.
She is the fairies’ midwife, and she comes
In shape no bigger than an agate-stone
On the fore-finger of an alderman,
Drawn with a team of little atomies
Athwart men’s noses as they lie asleep;"

This sweeping speech starts with a beautiful discription of this fairy figure, but as the speech continues, the mood becomes darker as the evil side of Queen Mab emerges. By the end the romantic illusion is shattered as she is described as:

"Sometime she driveth o’er a soldier’s neck,
And then dreams he of cutting foreign throats,
Of breaches, ambuscadoes, Spanish blades,
Of healths five-fathom deep; and then anon
Drums in his ear, at which he starts and wakes,
And being thus frighted swears a prayer or two
And sleeps again. This is that very Mab
That plaits the manes of horses in the night,
And bakes the elflocks in foul sluttish hairs,
Which once untangled, much misfortune bodes:
This is the hag, when maids lie on their backs,
That presses them and learns them first to bear,
Making them women of good carriage:
This is she—"


The play has all aspects of life - comedy, tradegy, life, love, death - plenty of death with many characters being killed during the course of the play.

As for a good version - there are many - I quite liked Franco Zeffirelli's version, even if it did leave a few bits out. My favourite is Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet which captures the passion of the whole play excellently.

So, why not put preconceptions aside and give it a look - I'm sure you will enjoy it - but then I love most of the Bard's work, probably loving Macbeth and Hamlet nearly as much as Romeo and Juliet.

I hated reading about that play *grabs a knife and kills meself*

[Kralizec]

I've only read Hamlet, so that makes for an easy choice.

I did watch a movie based on Titus Adronicus though. It was good, but very...odd.

[Marshal Murat]

I liked the movie Titus Andronicus. Very tragic but the just and loyal repay the foul deeds in the end.

As far as actual plays I enjoyed Hamlet.

[Orb]

Henry VI and Macbeth are certainly my favourites, although the former's probably in there only because I saw a fantastic production of it at Stratford last Autumn (I think, time memory isn't good).

[Conradus]

I haven't seen much of Shakespeare's plays, so this is a very narrow comment.

From what I've read I prefer Hamlet as a tragedy. I've seen a part of a performance of MacBeth and it could interest me -I was still young at the time though.
Blame "Shakespeare in Love", but I've read some parts of Romeo & Julia and I enjoyed them. It comes very close to Hamlet, though I don't know which I'd prefer.
The movie Hamlet (with Kate Winslet as Ophelia) is the version I like best.

[Csargo]

Henry V

[The Stranger]

shakespear is just plainly brilliant. i like merchant of venice a lot :P. one pound of flesh but not one pound of blood.

[King Jan III Sobieski]

shakespear is just plainly brilliant. i like merchant of venice a lot :P. one pound of flesh but not one pound of blood.

Amen.


And don't worry, King Kurt, I won't slap you; everyone has their own likes!...although I still don't like Romeo and Jules very much! I think it just reminds me of high school or something, I dunno.

[The Wizard]

I don't have any. 'Cause I'm a savage like that.

[Veho Nex]

Well technically its not shakespeare but it is based off two of his best characters

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead.

[King Jan III Sobieski]

Well technically its not shakespeare but it is based off two of his best characters

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead.

???


Speaking of Hamlet, I love Kenneth Branagh's version. Does anyone else have any feelings about his literary license of taking it from the 12th century to the 19th century? I personally have no qualms about it since I think it was so well produced; just wondering if anyone else had feelings on this?

[Justiciar]

12th? I though hamlet was set in the 4th-5th century? Meh. I don't mind people playing with Shakespeare's work. It's ultimately about the stories, rather than facts. They all seem to translate pretty well.

[_Tristan_]

Speaking of Brannagh, I have a liking to his "Much Ado about Nothing"...

[King Jan III Sobieski]

Speaking of Brannagh, I have a liking to his "Much Ado about Nothing"...

It's been a while since I saw that; that's pretty good too!

[Martok]

Speaking of Hamlet, I love Kenneth Branagh's version. Does anyone else have any feelings about his literary license of taking it from the 12th century to the 19th century? I personally have no qualms about it since I think it was so well produced; just wondering if anyone else had feelings on this?

I don't mind at all. But then, I'm an unabashed fan of all of Branagh's Shakespeare film adaptations -- he has a knack for bringing the Bard's works to life like no one else. Much Ado About Nothing is my personal favorite, but I also have Hamlet (which is a close second for me), Othello, and Henry V.

[Adrian II]

I hated reading about that play *grabs a knife and kills meself*

Now now, young man, you are clearly under the influence of that gory playwright. Why don't you turn to something wholesome and educational and play a video game instead, hm?

Oh, and it's Da Moichant a Veniss for me.

On a side-note, the Synthetic Worlds Initiative (a think tank started by games author Edward Castronova) is developing an online world called Arden based on the life and times (and more specifically the works) of said William. Have a looksee.

[Geoffrey S]

I've only read Hamlet, so that makes for an easy choice.

I did watch a movie based on Titus Adronicus though. It was good, but very...odd.

That movie is brilliant. Very original.

I'll have to plump for Merchant of Venice. Also saw the version with Al Pacino as Shylock recently; I disliked the film by and large (in particular some of the casting), but Pacino did justice to the part.

[ELITEofWARMANGINGERYBREADMEN88]

Now now, young man, you are clearly under the influence of that gory playwright. Why don't you turn to something wholesome and educational and play a video game instead, hm?

Oh, and it's Da Moichant a Veniss for me.

On a side-note, the Synthetic Worlds Initiative (a think tank started by games author Edward Castronova) is developing an online world called Arden based on the life and times (and more specifically the works) of said William. Have a looksee.

I just Didn't like Romeo and Juliet. Stupid Play lol.

I prefer Henry V or Hamlet.

[King Jan III Sobieski]

I don't mind at all. But then, I'm an unabashed fan of all of Branagh's Shakespeare film adaptations -- he has a knack for bringing the Bard's works to life like no one else. Much Ado About Nothing is my personal favorite, but I also have Hamlet (which is a close second for me), Othello, and Henry V.

I agree; I also like Henry V and I had seen Much Ado About Nothing in bits and pieces on TV in the past, but I finally bought it and began watching it yesterday; it's good, too. Branagh's a great actor - and his skill seems magnified when he enacts Shakespeare.

[Beirut]

Henry V

Far and away my favorite. All sorts of wonderful insights into the human condition in that play. I can't imagine how many times I've read it. Finally got my hands on the DVD movie from Amazon just last winter. Great play. Never get tired of it.

[Geoffrey S]

It says enough about Shakespeare that so many people have different favourite plays. There really is something for everyone, which makes him truly timeless.

[King Jan III Sobieski]

It says enough about Shakespeare that so many people have different favourite plays. There really is something for everyone, which makes him truly timeless.

Egg-zactly. I just watched Much Ado and I thought it was great; I guess I have to get out the old Shakespeare compilation and read it...

[ajaxfetish]

Othello's definitely my favorite (and at the risk of sounding repetitive, I really like the Branagh version). I mostly love the play for the character of Iago, who I consider the ultimate Shakespeare villain. His ability to manipulate others is peerless, and he has virtually everyone in the story trusting him and only him by the end. I respect his wicked competence tremendously. The casting of a dark-skinned man in the role of the tragic hero and a white guy as the villain as far back as the 17th century is also very interesting to me.

Ajax

[King Jan III Sobieski]

Othello's definitely my favorite (and at the risk of sounding repetitive, I really like the Branagh version). I mostly love the play for the character of Iago, who I consider the ultimate Shakespeare villain. His ability to manipulate others is peerless, and he has virtually everyone in the story trusting him and only him by the end. I respect his wicked competence tremendously. The casting of a dark-skinned man in the role of the tragic hero and a white guy as the villain as far back as the 17th century is also very interesting to me.

Ajax

Seeing Branagh play the villain, as opposed to the hero (or tragic hero, as 'twas in Hamlet) was great. I haven't seen Othello in a few years.

off topic: Just today I was doing some research on royal genealogy and came across Duncan I. and Macbeth...makes me want to read/watch Macbeth now.