Category: The Merchant of Venice

Posted on in Catherine Middleton, Catherine, Princess of Wales, Crown, Kate Middleton, lifestyle, Paparazzi, Princess Kate, Royal Family, The Merchant of Venice, the Press, The Princess of Wales, Tiara, women's equity

The Kate Middleton Effect

She looked worn, thin, and sad yet resolute as she addressed a video camera. That video captured her address to the world. The world: some of whom had manufactured malicious rumors, some who had wished her well, and some who were benignly disinterested.

Since her publicly recognized association with the future king on the U.K. she has been pursued, hounded, written about, photographed, and generally had her entire life and family invaded. Love is blind. She happened to fall in love with the gentleman who also loved her. She has reaped benefits that nobility and wealth can only bestow. The price that she has paid is exceedingly high.

Beyond the beautiful gowns, jewels, horse drawn carriages, gala events, associations with the world’s leaders, and power, there is a young woman who loves her children and who needs some time to herself.

She has had to conform to the royal protocol and went all in to learn, assimilate, and be the best possible representative of the “family”Firm.” Not a hair is out of place, not a wrinkle shows on her dresses, and not a scuff appears on her shoes. She held countless bouquets with a smile, even when she did not feel like smiling. She wore four-inch heels when nine moths pregnant. She walked miles in stilettos to represent the best to the world. She was pictured smiling at galas, meetings, and patronages while she was experiencing the terrible effects of hyperemesis gravidarum .

She has been betrayed by “members” of the royal family with bad manners and misrepresentations. She endured a most uncomfortable funeral for the Queen, whom she loved. Her jaw was clenched for hours under the delicate black veil of her fashionable hat. She could not express emotion and refused to communicate with her husband’s brother and his wife, whose mission was to destroy her family.

Last year she was criticized for being too fashionable and taking attention from the King and his heir. She accommodated by changing her image. She “dressed down” by letting her hair grow longer and looked more working-motherisih. The style and fashion repression she endures is unthinkable.

Whatever was asked, she has made Herculean efforts to accommodate. At what price? Her health. Anxiety can often impact one’s gastrointestinal system – think nausea and vomiting when stressed – imagine living that was daily. Her hyperemesis gravidarum could very possibly been produced by her unceasing public review. Her sister, Pippa, did not experience this condition.

Behind the perfect smile and under the gorgeous garments is a heart beating with the stress of the required perfection. Despite incredible efforts for a perfect image, the body’s chemistry copes by secreting hormones. Could the recently detected malignancy be a result of nearly two decades of unrelenting microscopic inspection of every hair follicle and hand gesture with no privacy?

Why is the royal family of the UK fodder for invasive journalism? Who stripped them of their privacy? Other royal families have relative privacy. Yes, the royals must be seen. Must they be “seen” incessantly? How do these humans recharge their energy? They are pursued with long lenses like safari animals. Their intimate moments are invaded. Yet, her pursuers have private moments and times. The public need not know how often they sneeze, “relax,” play with their children; argue. They are human. Perfection is impossible.

The voracious journalists must become creative in their reporting and find other fodder. They hounded the Princes’ mother to her death. This time, given her husband’s extraordinary efforts to protect her, it might be slower. The Princess is not obligated to disclose every biological situation that affects her. For those who questioned it, she appears to be very much present. Leave her alone to deal with her situation privately so that she can regain her health. Her road is very difficult. She must be afforded the respect and curtesy of privacy. She must have time to set aside the tiaras and gowns and focus on her recovery – spiritually, emotionally, and physically, as she so poignantly asked.

The relentless pursuit of images and stories is destroying this lovely woman from the inside. “Back off” must be the message to the press.

Sadly, her lonely image on the wooden bench resembled a dog that had been hit by a car and left. She deserves better than this. This woman is not a Disney princess who is always accessible. She is a flesh and blood woman who bleeds if she is pricked, who gasps if being suffocated, who will die if poisoned, and who will hide in the light of relentless pursuit.

The resounding silence from her pursuers is deafening. May it remain this way.

We wish the Princess a full and permanent recovery

Posted on in All's Well That Ends Well, Antony and Cleopatra, art, As Your Like It, Books, Comedy of Errors, Coriolanus, Cymbaline, Dame Helen Miren, Damne Judi Dench, Edward III, Falstaff, Hamlet, Henry IV, Henry V, Henry VI, Henry VIII, Hundred Year War, Ian Doescher, Joan of Arc, Julius Caesar, King John, King Lear, Librivox, lifestyle, Love's Labours Lost, Macbeth, Majorie Garber, Mearsure for Measure, Merchant of venice, Much Ado about Nothing, Othello, Patrick Stewart, Paul Cantor, Pericles, Plantagenet, Reading, Richard II, Richard III, Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare, Shakespeare Canon, Shakespeare Plays, Shakespeare Poems, Sir Ian McKellen, Sonnets, Stephen Greenblatt, Taming of the Shrew, The Merchant of Venice, The Merry Wives of Windsor, The Tempest, The Two Noble Kinsmen, The Winter's Tale, Theater, Timon of Athens, Titus Andronicus, Troilus and Cressida, Twelfth Night, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Venus and Adonis, War of the Roses

A Year With William Shakespeare

Reading the Entire Canon in 2020

In January 2020, a friend posted a Facebook link to a Shakespeare project, “Shakespeare 2020,” reading all of the plays, Sonnets, and poems by William Shakespeare in 12 months. I did not think twice, I joined the group. What had I just signed up for??? I own a busy real estate brokerage firm, run a horse farm, I have a husband, 2 dogs, and 5 cats, and my 96-year-young mother had come to live with us just before Christmas 2019. And . . Shakespeare too?

Why NOT? I would give it a try. No cost, no commitment except to myself, and I wanted to see if I was smart enough to work through literature for which I had more than a mild curiosity. One compelling reason was to improve and strengthen my writing.

My good fortune is that I attended an unusual and experimental public high school. There, my luck expanded to be placed in an English class with an incredible teacher, William Teunis. He piqued my interest in literature (especially, Shakespeare) through his enthusiasm and exceptional teaching.  In his class, we read plays – acting out roles; we wrote short stories, essays, parodies, and plays. Shakespeare was attainable and most enjoyable. The more we did, the more I reached. My English experience abruptly ended with his drowning at the end of my sophomore year. Since then, I doubt that I have written a sentence without asking myself, “What will Mr. Teunis say about this?”

“One day when I have time, I will read the plays.” My thought when I purchased this book in 1994

Over the years, my Shakespeare interest was occasionally rekindled whenever I found a book related to the plays. Once, when I was shopping in Costco, I came across the Complete Works of Shakespeare. “This would be a good resource if I ever have the time to sit and read,” I thought, being the eternal optimist. I purchased the book. Other times, also in Costco, I bought, Shakespeare’s Kings, in hopes of one day learning something about the histories (because I glazed over in my British History course in college); another time, I discovered and bought the 3-CD set of the Sonnets which I played in my car for months. So…when the Project appeared, I was armed and dangerous.

So began the adventure of 162 days

My journey began on January 9, 2020 with Twelfth Night. Yikes! The print in my book was microscopic! I focused my eyes and found that the words readable. Somewhere in Act 2, I remembered my English teacher’s remarks that Shakespeare wrote plays which were performed to audiences. He wrote for theater and not for fireside reading. How was I going to do ALL that reading when the plays must be experienced? I discovered Librivox!

On Librivox, talented and generous people joined forces from around the world to read almost all of the plays. YES! I was thrilled by my discovery. Aside from my relentlessly working and riding horses, I am passionate about walking my dogs for miles (we walk a 15 minute mile most days for 2-5 miles). I took Librivox on our walks.

I listened to Hamlet at the magical arboretum where trees took on the personae of the ghost, Gertrude, Hamlet, Laertes, Polonius, Claudius, and a stick in the pond resembled Ophelia. When I was annoyed that Great Falls Park had been closed, we hailed elsewhere where Macbeth was the perfect answer for my dark mood. The early spring blossoms in our sweet town’s yards were a nice backdrop for Measure For Measure. We heard acts of plays in my car or truck en route to our destinations. I have a favorite gas station where I buy inexpensive diesel for my truck. I love that my broadcasts are not interrupted when I turned off the ignition to fuel. I recall something about a “pie” from Titus Andronicus while the diesel flowed into the tank of my bright blue Silverado.

The Shakespeare 2020 project was brilliantly developed to be completed in 12 months. Well, being very curious, and having determined that I would complete the entire canon before Mr. Teunis’ 50th anniversary of his drowning (so that I could write a tribute article about him) I accelerated my reading/listening and behold, I finished the canon. There were times in King Lear and the Rape of Lucrece that the thought of closing the book and deleting the Librivox link were very compelling. HOW can a decent person know about such stuff and write about it, and worse, WHO would want to be entertained by THAT???? I decided not to judge by my values and carried on.

Opportunities to discuss Shakespeare arise in unexpected places

The Project was not just a syllabus, it was a treasure trove of intelligent, knowledgeable, and creative people who already knew a great deal. They shared their insights and enthusiasm with the 4,900 members of the group the Facebook page . The depth of resources, intellect, and understanding was staggering.  My Shakespeare “library” grew along with my curiosity and understanding.

During my haydays in Mr. Teunis’ class, I heard him tell us that theater, during the Elizabethan era, competed for audiences from among other public interests including bear baiting and public hangings. “Uh-hu, OK, whatever,” I thought, at the time. Now it came to back to me why certain plays were so grotesque. The poor playwright had to capture audiences’ attention and be competitive. Therefore, Titus Andronicus, Lear, Rape of Lucrece, among others.

My friends with whom I shared my Shakespeare adventure looked at me sideways most of the time. One friend, much older than I, said to me, “He should have died earlier. There would be fewer plays with which to torture students.” It seems that he is not alone in that opinion and that most people’s literary experiences were not as positive as mine. My friends were surprised that I cared about Shakespeare, let alone that I would embark on this journey.

My book collection grew

Until this Project, I had danced around the periphery of the Bard. I had done my share of academic study with Mr. Teunis, then, watched fabulous ballets including A Midsummer Night’s Dream with New York City Ballet and the Paris Opera Ballet; The Winter’s Tale and Romeo and Juliet with the Royal Ballet and attended Folger Theater performances throughout the years. After completing the canon, I purposed to watch as many plays as possible. I have managed to see about 20 plays, listened to Patrick Stewart reading the Sonnets, and I discovered brilliant lecturers from Harvard, Yale, and the University of Virginia.

The Shakespeare 2020 Project opened a new world of discovery and connections as I never expected. I met (virtually) fascinating people (some of whom I could not find a single point of agreement) who stimulated me to think in different ways. I became acquainted with the creator of the Project, Ian Doescher, a young, creative author who has written many wonderful books in the “Shakespeare style” (do look at his link, you will be amazed by his creativity) on themes including Star Wars, Clueless, Luke Skywalker, and myriad more. My new connections and friendships are treasures. Another bonus is that I connected with high school friends who also valued Mr. Teunis (I should mention that our strange, experimental, free-for-all high school turned out amazing humans who touch the far reaches of the world because of Teunis [and others like him]).

A Plutarch Quote: “
The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled

As the Project draws to a conclusion, the experience, the discoveries, the friendships, the challenges, and the curiosity have helped me learn much about myself, given me discipline to persevere, and hopefully helped me write a little better (all the while hearing Mr. Teunis’ remarks, lectures, and gentle admonitions to do “better”).

By writing this article, I experienced the vastness that is Shakespeare. Questions continually arise. My opinions have no bounds. Stay tuned for future supplements to my “Shakespeare Adventure.” The learning is just beginning.