Shakespr: (Re)creationally Writing the Bard Online

A digital essay on how Tumblr constructs its own "Shakespr." The "Digital Essay" link below contains the bulk of the work, but there are plenty of other posts to check out! This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

[rockpaperbooks-blog]

Check out the full cover layout for our newest classic book set, The Shakespeare Collection. Books and prints available on kickstarter now!

http://kck.st/1ORo9S5

#shakespeare #bookstagram #books #bookaddict #bookworm #booklover #classicbooks #digitalart #illustration

[shakesprean]

Rock Paper Books is doing this phenomenal Shakespeare collection on kickstarter. Hamlet and Macbeth are sure gos, and Othello is right behind. They’ve already near tripled their goal in a day and these titles look absolutely beautiful for those looking to add even more Shakespeare to your collection. 

[scaryfangsremade-blog]

well i used to be attracted to people but now im exclusively attracted to abstract art and the concept of death

[artdalek]

#hamlet (x)

[ardenrosegarden]

Henry VI Part 1:

Henry VI Part 2:

Henry VI Part 3:

Richard III:

[downtowonderland]

A Shakespearean Character Guide to Dealing with an Annoying Roommate

Macbeth: Invite him to a sleepover. Then stab him.

Hamlet: Put on a play that outlines all of your roommate’s annoying flaws. Then stab him.

Romeo: Marry his cousin and try to start a new, peaceful relationship. When that doesn’t work, stab him.

Brutus: Petition your roommate to change for the better. Then stab him with 60 of your closest friends.

Othello: Talk to your friend about the problems you’re having with your roommate. Then strangle him.

Shylock: Make him sign a pound of flesh as collateral on your roommate agreement. Collect on it.

Cleopatra: Set a poisonous snake loose in his room.

Henry VIII: Marry him. Then cut off his head.

[citizen-zero]

Hell is empty and all the Minions are here.

Shakespeare probably (via citizen-zero)

[shakesankle]

You know, that meme going around where one person shouts something insulting in order to find someone else? The Shakespeare fandom has mostly been going with “Shakespeare didn’t actually write the plays” but if we’re honest, that would never work. Like, you’re looking for one specific person. But if you shout that, you will suddenly have the entire fucking fandom angrily descending upon you. You’ll be trampled down by a Julius Caesar-esque mob and will never be able to make out that one person you were looking for.

[catwinchester-deactivated201901]

Coriolanus

You know what always get’s me abut this play?

WHY THE FUCK DIDN’T HIS FAMILY GO WITH HIM!

This is not like he was going away for work and would be back on weekends, HE’S BEEN BANISHED! If you love him, get your arse into gear, pack your stuff and go with him! Sneak out at night if you have to.

Not to mention, women didn’t do well without a man in those days, but not only is Caius all right leaving his mother, wife and son unprotected, they’re all right being left! He loved them enough to sacrifice his life for them.

Now granted clearly they don’t feel the same as not only were they happy to see him leave, they’re happy to see him die so they can live, which makes me wonder why such a proud and arrogant man would sacrifice his life for a family who doesn’t love him?

Of course if they had accompanied him, he could have done whatever the fuck he wanted without worrying he was going to kill his family.

It’s just all just so annoying, there’s like this gaping plot hole that we’re just supposed to pretend isn’t there.

[athingofblood]

Eh? Coriolanus specifically said he didn’t want anyone to go with him. Not even his comrades from war. There is no way Coriolanus would have let his family go. This would have been even more shameful to him and to the rest of them. If they sneaked out at night to find him, I’m pretty sure Coriolanus would hide really well considering he refused to even write family when he left.

They weren’t happy to see him leave at all. They were crying. Coriolanus tried to comfort his mother, whom he was surprised to see so upset. He didn’t “sacrifice his life for a family who didn’t love him.” If by sacrifice you mean spent his life in war, he did it to gain honor and make his mum proud.

[shakespeareanstudent-blog]

Also, Volumnia is more capable than any of the men in the play. She can more than take care of herself, as well as her daughter-in-law and grandson, without Coriolanus’ help. They didn’t need a man.

[catwinchester-deactivated201901]

You’re missing the point. There are 101 good reasons for his family to leave with him, and not a single good one for them to stay. Even if they didn’t leave with him on the day he was banished, why when he returned to sack the city and they went to plead for mercy, did they not stay with him then, or did he not keep them with him?

The whole thing is illogical.

[shakespeareanstudent-blog]

What if they’d gone with him to Aufidius, and the Volscians didn’t give him the welcome we see in the text? What if Aufidius had flipped his shit and killed Coriolanus? They would be dead too. It is safer for them to remain in Rome. He was ensuring their safety for the time being by leaving them behind.

[catwinchester-deactivated201901]

And what about the other part of my statement, when they went to plead with him not to attack Rome?

There are so many opportunities when Coriolanus could have averted his own death and didn’t.

That is either a huge plot hole, or Coriolanus had a death wish as he ignores every opportunity to save his own life.

[shakespeareanstudent-blog]

Well, they had to return to Rome; they were ambassadors who achieved an agreement, so they had to return to Rome to spread the news. And again, I think Coriolanus knew it would be safer for them in the newly saved Rome. The camp of a foreign military, all of whom hate Rome and Romans, would not be the best place for his wife and child.

I think Coriolanus may have a bit of a death wish, tbh. And as a typical tragic hero, he’s blinded to all of his opportunities by his flaws. In that respect, he is just the same as Othello, Macbeth, Lear, and all the other great heroes of Shakespearean tragedy; indeed, he’s just like any of us. It’s easy to say that a character was foolish not to think of this or that, but how many real people have 100% unbiased clarity about what’s happening around them? Shakespeare’s Coriolanus, in his blindness, foolishness, and callousness, a shining example of the humanity in Shakespeare’s tragedies.

[catwinchester-deactivated201901]

No no no. I’m talking about, once his family left the city, ambassadors or not, they stay, or he ties them up and forces them to stay, then he is free to take the city.

And in that scenario, I think the soldiers will be rather busy killing and raping Rome, plus thy get to take and keep slaves so when they have their pick of all the women in Rome, why are they going to cover Caius’s mother and wife?

I don’t care when you set a play/film, I don’t care who wrote it, if you present me a character that doesn’t see the dozens of opportunities available to save his own life, that will annoy the hell out of me, as Coriolanus does. I don’t feel in the slightest bit sorry for him or empathise with him in any way, because he was a fool who constantly and continuously refuses to be logical about the whole thing. The play is infuriating because the protagonist is an idiot.

What’s more, I am entitled to feel that way, regardless of whether Shakespeare wrote it or not.

[shakespeareanstudent-blog]

I think I’m still missing the point… Are you saying he should have maintained the callous stubbornness he’d been showing, and taken Rome anyway? Because if so, Aufidius still would have killed him, and his family, AND taken down Rome.

The point of the negotiation scene is that Coriolanus changes. His awful stubbornness, which has been the source of all of his problems, gives way to mercy and love. He changes his mind, but that is what kills him; it’s the irony of the piece. He can’t win, regardless of whether he is merciful or harsh.

You are entitled to think that, of course. But I’m just pointing out (as I am entitled to; you have the right to say what you want but I also have the right to make an opposing argument) that you’re infuriated that he’s making human mistakes. If characters saw everything and always made the right decisions, there would be no stories. My point isn’t that Shakespeare wrote it and therefore it’s infallible; that would be a ridiculous line of argument. My point is that Coriolanus is tragically human.

I get being annoyed. Coriolanus is a troublesome character and play. But it’s important to remember that his flaws are what make a great story. To have ever wise and vigilant character would be to never have another story. All tales are made by human folly. They’re what make literature (and, indeed, life) interesting.

And please keep in mind that I’m not trying to attack you personally for saying what you think. I’m just trying to have a discussion. I always love hearing what people think of this play and talking with them about it; it’s one of my all time favorite pieces

[shakesprean]

I would add too, at least in my perspective, that isolation is a trope in Shakespeare. He uses all types of banishment, especially in the tragedies, so we can see these characters alone, cut of, under a microscope really. Or, it’s a device to get them out of the way and focus our attention elsewhere. Romeo is banished: why doesn’t Juliet simply run away with him (damn the consequences) instead of elaborately working with the friar to fake her own death? Prospero is banished - with all the powers he commands on the island he stays there for 12 years? Dude. Build a boat. Hamlet is banished and in a sense almost banishes/cuts himself off from everyone to try and look in on the drama of his own experience. I think there are multiple reasons to explain all of them and that some are more interesting, unique, or exciting than others. Some are mostly plain frustrating. And there are more cases beside. Banishment in these plays is interesting to look at. 

That doesn’t mean you have to like the trope or think that it works well in a particular play, or that the circumstances of the play merit its use in such a way. I just think, in addition to the really interesting stuff coming from all sides above, it’s intriguing to think of these moves not only as the moves characters make but also as moves authors make. 

[catboymuqing-moving]

i cried while making this

[harold-theyre-thespians]

Hello Shakespeeps! First of all, thank you for taking the time to answer my questions. The dynamics in literary fandoms are often different from those in visual media fandoms, especially when it comes to creation and fruition of fanworks and even more so when it comes to theatre fandoms. I would like to explore what these differences mean to you.

Hi Shakespeeps! I have a biiig favour to ask you!

 I am going to participate in a panel about fanworks derived from literary fandoms and I would like to explore the differences between book/filmed media fandom and theatre fandom. That’s why I need your help! 

I would like to hear your opinion about fanworks in the Shakespeare fandom and about the difference between canon and fanon when considering that the original work was born to be performed.

Thank you so much to all of you who will answer my questions and to those signal boosting!

[scissorspider]

i have finally compiled my top 5 shakespearean stage directions

leaps into the grave (hamlet)

enter titus as a chef (titus andronicus)

storm still (king lear)

falstaff riseth up (henry iv part 1)

exit pursued by a bear (the winter’s tale)

[dukeofbookingham-deactivated202]

Can I nominate [ Enter Pericles, wet ]

[susiephone]

and also “O! I am slain!” [dies] (Hamlet)

[strange-goodfellows]

okay, but “Zeus descends in thunder and lightning, sitting upon an eagle; he throws a thunderbolt. The Apparitions fall to their knees.” (Cymbeline)

[nobodytoldthehorse]

Honorable mention goes to “exeunt with the booty” (Henry IV part 1)

[edgarallanheaux]

i’m partial to “enter a messenger, with two heads and a hand” from Titus Andronicus

[shakesprean]

Yes. But my favorite - [Enter several strange Shapes] (The Tempest)

[wordsandshadows]

Which Elizabethan/Early Modern Writer Should You Fight

Ben Jonson: don’t do it. he’ll win. then he’ll laugh at you and possibly make disparaging comments about your knowledge of ancient greek. DON’T DO IT.

William Shakespeare: he might not look like much but he could probably take you. best not to, really.

Christopher Marlowe: idk, just distract him with an attractive young dude and he’ll be a pushover. you should probably fight marlowe. he probably wants you to.

Robert Greene: well, you could. and you’d probably win. but it would be a hollow victory, because he’d just look at you with a really miserable expression and then probably cry. do not fight greene.

John Fletcher: he’ll just get his mate Beaumont around and then you’ll be fighting both of them at the same time so… no.

Aphra Behn: why would you want to fight aphra behn? (also… probably not advisable if you like breathing)

Thomas Middleton: hey, you want to fight the dude who probably helped write Macbeth then that’s your problem. 

[shakesprean]

Iago: Shh. Do you hear that? That’s the sound of forgiveness.

Othello: That’s the sound of people dying, Iago.

Iago: That is what forgiveness sounds like; screaming and then silence.

[shakesprean]

Aufidius: Coriolanus is trash

Someone else: Coriolanus is trash

Aufidius: exCOOOOOOSSEE ME HE IS THE GREATEST MAN AND WARRIOR IN ROME

[loyaulte-me-lie]

Those ideas you get at 1AM

A trailer for Shakespeare’s First Tetralogy with Taylor Swift’s ‘Bad Blood’ as the background music.

[shakespeareismyjam]

aw man, i misread. i thought you said an introductory trailer to the tetrology in the style of ‘bad blood’. 

[shakesankle]

[shakesprean]

Just found out from Jesse Stommel’s (@jessifer) twitter that UW Madison is launching a MOOC titled Shakespeare in Community from Apr 26-May 22. This video is from the course site. It’s FREE. And they show you where to get the Folger e-texts of each play (also for FREE). It will have a ton of speakers across fields, and focuses on Romeo and Juliet, Much Ado About Nothing, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and The Tempest. From the website: “Our goal is not to teach you what we know about Shakespeare, but to help each of you find your Shakespeare.” 

More info is here: https://www.coursera.org/course/virtualshakespeare

Seems like a great time for my fellow shakespreans. 

[shakesprean]

Just a reminder - this starts in less than a week!

[ganseysqueen]

1920′s Macbeth: Shakespeare Decades 1/?

In 1920′s New York City, Macbeth is the second in command to Duncan, the head of NYC’s most powerful gang. Macbeth never meant to betray the boss, but that all changes when Macbeth’s wife gets involved…

[bisexualculture]

your fave is problematic: men

were deceivers ever

one foot in sea and one on shore

to one thing constant never

[rubynye]

So sigh not so, but let them go

[burntcopper]

and be you blithe and bonny

[dduane]

Converting all your sounds of woe

Into hey nonny, nonny.