Plays Monthly Meme December Prompt: Costume [The Merchant of Venice]

I think one of the most interesting aspects of Shakespeare’s plays was costumes. And thanks to Listra’s Plays Monthly Meme dedicated for Let’s Read Plays, we have the chance to post about it. I always admire original costumes for movies or stages, and therefore have browsed some costumes for The Merchant of Venice (the comedy I read for this month) both from original stage performances and illustration, just for comparison (it’s fun, anyway!)

PORTIA

Portia, played by Kate Dolan. 

Painting by Sir John Everett Millais, 1886

From the stage of:

The Merchant of Venice, 2010. 

(Copyright 2010 Utah Shakespeare Festival. Photo by Karl Hugh)

Shakespearean Festival, Cedar City, Utah, on July 2nd, 2010

Directed by Sharon Ott, Costumes by David Kay Mickelsen

From what I gathered about Italian women's attire at 17th century, the stage costume photo is more fit for Portia than the painting (although Portia in the painting looks more classy and elegant).

SHYLOCK

played by Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree
Painting by Charles Buchel, 1914

From the stage of:

The Merchant of Venice, 2010. 

(Copyright 2010 Utah Shakespeare Festival. Photo by Karl Hugh)

Shakespearean Festival, Cedar City, Utah, on July 2nd, 2010

Directed by Sharon Ott, Costumes by David Kay Mickelsen

Although both costumes are similar, I think Shylock looked like some kind of witch in the painting, I think the stage photo is more probable.

JESSICA

Painting by Samuel Luke Fildes, 

from Shakespeare Illustrated, 1888

From the stage of:

The Merchant of Venice, 2010. (Copyright 2010 Utah Shakespeare Festival. Photo by Karl Hugh)

Shakespearean Festival, Cedar City, Utah, on July 2nd, 2010

Directed by Sharon Ott, Costumes by David Kay Mickelsen

I don't know which one suits most for a Jewish girl, but I definitely like the painting better... :)

....And while we are talking about costumes, these are more exotic costumes of Portia's exotic suitors...

PRINCE OF MOROCCO

Percy Macquoid (1852-1925)

Costume design for The Merchant of Venice, 1908

PRINCE OF ARAGON

From the stage of:

The Merchant of Venice, 2010. (Copyright 2010 Utah Shakespeare Festival. Photo by Karl Hugh)

Shakespearean Festival, Cedar City, Utah, on July 2nd, 2010

Directed by Sharon Ott, Costumes by David Kay Mickelsen

What have you found for the costumes of play you've read this month? Share with us!

The Merchant Of Venice

The Merchant of Venice was the second comedy I have read from Shakespeare’s plays. After successively read two tragedies, it’s quite relieving to flow with a lighter story, with beautiful words. The main plot of this play was concerning Antonio—an honorable Venetian merchant—who wanted to help his dear friend Bassanio to pursue his love for a wealthy girl named Portia. Antonio agreed to be Bassanio’s guarantor as the later took a credit from a cunning Jewish moneylender named Shylock.

Being a Christian hater—especially to Antonio who always lent money gratis—Shylock was full of joy when he found out that Antonio’s ships had wrecked at the sea, that he won’t be able to pay back the money. Wanted to take revenge to Antonio, Shylock sued Antonio in court to be cut his flesh for exchange of the money.

Meanwhile, with the money from Shylock, Bassanio had departed to Belmont to enter a contest set by the late of Portia’s father to get a husband for his daughter. A suitor who could choose the right casket from three choices would become Portia’s husband. It was a great test indeed, for Portia was very rich, that his father was afraid she would get a greedy man as a husband.

And between those two situations, Shakespeare crafted witty and interesting scenes and acts to become this beautiful play.

This is the third play I read for Let’s Read Plays and I found at least one similarity from those three, that the servants—despite of being secondary characters—were wiser than their masters or mistresses, and the main characters often learned from them. Here is when Nerissa taught her lady, Portia, about how the balance of trouble and happiness would make live longer.

“It is no mean happiness, therefore, to be seated in the mean.

Superfluity comes sooner by white hairs, but competency lives longer.”

It’s interesting too how Shakespeare picked a Jewish as the stereotype antagonist; I wonder whether it did not stir many controversies from Jewish readers? Another thing, being a comedy, this play still made me a bit uncomfortable when Antonio asked Shylock to be a Christian (Act IV Scene I). When Antonio was asked by Portia: “What mercy can you render him, Antonio?” he replied: “..Two things provided more: that for this favor he presently become a Christian…” I could not understand how forcing somebody to have one’s religion can be regarded as a mercy. And that request changed my respect to Antonio.

Besides that annoyance, I found this play quite entertaining, especially whenever Launcelot was in the scenes, such as this one (talking to Gobbo—his father):

Gobbo: “..what a beard hast thou got! Thou hast got more hair on thy chin than Dobbin my fill-horse has on his tail.”
Launcelot: “It should seem then that Dobbin’s tail grows backward. I am sure he had more hair of his tail than I have of my face when I last saw him.”

Over all, Merchant of Venice was an exotic and intriguing play; it criticized men’s greediness. I found it funny in Portia’s father casket contest, and a bit tragic in Shylock’s judgment. Four stars for Mrchant of Venice!

*I read ebook from FeedBooks dot com*

[Classics Movie] Great Expectations

First of all I must thank Melisa for copying this miniseries of Great Expectations for me (come with it also Dorian Gray and Importance of Being Earnest which I haven’t yet watched). This three-part miniseries was produced by BBC in 2011, an adaptation work of Sarah Phelps.

As I like to compare the movie with the original book, I watched this miniseries only several days after I have finished reading the book (when the story and the emotion were still quite fresh in my memory). So, here’s my review:

Castings

Overall it’s okay, I had only two objections. First, the cast for Joe which I think was too old and less innocent. Joe in this miniseries didn’t look like a hopeless husband under his wife’s domination. In fact once or twice Joe bravely grasped Pip from his wife’s beating; while in book Joe did not even dare to confront his wife, afraid that he too would be beaten by his wife. Joe was also supposed to be a shy guy, that when he must meet Miss Havisham, he kept directing his words to Pip instead of talking directly to Miss Havisham. The Joe in the miniseries seemed to have more confidence. And I’m just wondering, why Joe did not look older at all at the later part, while all others did. :) My same complaint goes for Wemmick’s cast. He’s much too old, almost as if he’s in the same age as Mr. Jaggers! About Mr. Jaggers, I think he had played in Agatha Christie’s movies as Hercule Poirot!

Is Gillian Anderson too pretty to be Miss Havisham?

But the worst, I think, is Estella’s cast. I’m so disappointed that she was far from “very pretty” that made many men attracted to her. When Miss Havisham presented the grown up Estella to Pip; when Estella stood next to her mother, well….Miss Havisham was even prettier than her, despite of Miss Havisham’s pale face (Gillian Anderson played as Miss Havisham). Estella in this miniseries looked too boyish with her skinny and bony body (especially when she wore strapless gown that seemed to hang loosely and rather un-proportionately on her body, ugh!). Young Estella reflected much better Estella's original character from book.

Grown-up Estella

Young Estella

Story and Plot

Overall the plot followed the original one, only simplified here and there as we could expect in movie adaptations. However, there are few things I did not agree with. First of all, Biddy never showed up. This perhaps will make the plot more complex, but I think Biddy has also some influences in Pip’s development. The second one was how Pip resisted to Magwitch for—for me—too long; it only made Pip looked like an ungrateful person—which I don’t think so. In the book Pip involved in the runaway preparation, and Pip was tortured badly in the waiting of the event.

The last one was the relationship of Pip and Estella; I know that movies tend to make everything smooth. As if without at least one kissing scene—and it happened always on romantic places which involving water (sea shores, by the lakeside…)—you won’t be able to attract audiences. Perhaps it’s right, but watching how Estella seemed to suddenly and quite easily loosen her resistance against Pip right after leaving Satis House was ridiculous to me.

Setting and Costumes

Now, while the castings and plot might be slightly disappointing, the settings and the costumes were really an entertainment! The misty marshes was fabulous, the forge and Pip’s home were everything I always imagine them to be. Satis House with the dusty and gloomy atmosphere, and the room with cobwebbed party left-over was also cool. So pity we can’t see Wemmick’s country house, that would be very interesting! :)

Wedding hall at Satis House

I like the gentleman’s costumes here, especially Pip’s. Gillian Anderson looked elegant in Miss Havisham’s old wedding gown, but I hate the choice for Estella’s costumes, they were too plain—considering that Miss Havisham did everything she could to make Estella shinning with beautiful jewelries. The jewelries had never appeared in the miniseries, and compared to other ladies in the ball—for example—Estella seemed too pale and ordinary, that if I had been one of the gentlemen there, I would have not regarded her at all.

One thing that was also interesting is the opening credits. I like the idea of the transformation of a cocoon to a beautiful butterfly; it represents Pip’s transformation so beautifully. He must get through hard times before finally become a true gentleman (not only in outer appearance, but also in heart).

All in all, it is quite enjoyable, especially if you have never read the book, or you have read it long time ago that you have forgotten most of the details. 7 to 10 is the best I can give for this miniseries.

...and this is the trailer:

Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra

To be a queen at her time, Cleopatra must be a very strong and smart woman; were those enough? No, because she was a woman, and women at that time were in the lower class than men. Cleopatra must have one other qualification to reach the top; it’s her sensuality. Historian concluded that Cleopatra was not beautiful, she was believed to have long nose and rather masculine face structure, but I guess she knew how to attract men; and that had become one of her weapons.

Cleopatra was ambitious, and unlike common women at her time, she was smart and a good politician. I think as a princess, she used to get what she wanted; she must have been a spoilt and stubborn princess. It became more obvious when she was a queen. I never believe that Cleopatra had really fallen passionately in love with Mark Antony; I think Cleopatra was much stronger than that. Love and lust must not have been her weakness, no, she needed to make an alliance with Antony after losing Julius Caesar. If she was portrayed as an obsessive lover to Antony, it was because she wanted to make sure Antony was still in her side, as was reflected from this scene:

Cleopatra: “If it be love indeed, tell me how much.”

Antony: “There’s beggary in the love that can be reckon’d.”

Cleopatra: I’ll set a bourn how far to be belov’d.”

Cleopatra had won Antony, and she demanded that his intention and interests would always be for her. When she tried to hold him in Egypt, it looked like a silly jealousy of a young girl, but I believe it’s more than that.

Although it was not clear whether Cleopatra had betrayed Antony to gain Caesar’s favor for her and her children’s safety—I have searched about this in the internet without any success—I still believe it was indeed the case. Of a woman of self possessed and brave such as Cleopatra, I could not imagine that she had never defended herself from Antony’s accusation. It’s rather strange too how the Egyptian suddenly left their master to join Octavius (in the second war near Alexandria) when it seemed that they would have won the war. Moreover, didn’t Octavius say that he could not fight before Antony attacked first? (Scene XI Act IV). I believe Cleopatra had done something in this, Mark Antony was not a stupid general, he must have known better than anybody else.

After Antony had died, I think Cleopatra did felt a bit depressed. As a woman I think, she must have felt alone without Antony. I wonder whether she’d ever thought that she would have been happier if she’d never pursued her ambition? Ah…but for an unordinary woman like Cleopatra, living an ordinary life would be much torturing than having to commit suicide to die in honor as she have chosen. Maybe….

Back to the Classics Challenge 2013

Being one of my most fun and successful reading challenges in 2012, I’m very glad to know that Sarah will be hosting Back to the Classics Challenge 2013. It comes with some new categories, which make it more exciting! I am combining the books I will read for this challenge my 2013 TBR Pile Challenge, my WEM Self Project, and of course my long term the Classics Club project. Here they are…

The Required Categories:

A 19th Century Classic: Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens

A 20th Century Classic: The Old Man and The Sea by Ernest Hemingway

A Pre-18th or 18th Century Classic: Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

A Classic that relates to the African-American Experience: Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison

A Classic Adventure: The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas

A Classic that prominently features an Animal: Moby Dick by Herman Melville

Optional Categories:

Re-read a Classic: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

A Russian Classic: War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

A Classic Non-Fiction title: The Life of Saint Teresa of Ávila by Teresa of Avila

A Classic Children's/Young Adult title: Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson

Classic Short Stories: Cinta Sejati (an Indonesian translation of short stories collection) by Guy de Maupassant

Me and Dickens: Celebrating Dickens Meme and Giveaway

To celebrate Dickens’ 201^st birthday on February 7^th 2013, I think it would be great if we all create something as a beautiful gift for Dickens. So, here’s the idea…

Post something about ‘you and Dickens’!

Tell us (or Dickens!) how you love his books, how Dickens has been affecting your life, how your relationship has been with him, how you feel about his works, how you want to give Dickens a try (if you haven’t read his book), or how you want to give him another try (if you have once bad experience with Dickens). In short…..just write about how you are getting along with Dickens. I really think that if Dickens was alive, it would mean something for him to know our feelings, and that we’d like to read his books. That would be a beautiful gift we could give to an author, don’t you think? Just create something that would have made Dickens proud and happy…

Here are how you should do it…

Post in any way you like: text, images, video or a mix of them, be creative!

Examples: you can write a story about your first encounter with Dickens, you can show off your Dickens collections (books, movies or anything about him). Or if your strength is in poetry, you can write a poem about you and Dickens. Or you would like to write a Victorian style letter to Dickens? It’s okay too—I believe you are much more creative than me.. :)

The post title is free, however it must contain ‘Me’ (‘I’ and ‘My’ are also allowed) and ‘Dickens’ in it—anyway it’s about you and Dickens, right?

Examples: ‘Me & Dickens’ – ‘How Dickens Has Affected My Life’ – ‘Oh, I Just Love Dickens!’—I know, I’m suck at creating titles, LOL! In short, just be creative!

As we create it as a gift for Dickens, it should be presented right on his birthday; so we will publish our post simultaneously on February 7^th 2013.

I will open a linky below this post on that date which will be closed on February 8^th at 23:59 (GMT +7 or Indonesian time). So, make sure you add your post in the linky before it’s closed, otherwise you can still add your post via comment box.

Oh, have I said that you can post as many as you want? Well, as long as you make sure that they are all published on the same day.

And here is to reward all your efforts to make Celebrating Dickens as merry as possible (and because I will celebrate my own birthday on February).....

Giveaway!

1. I will be giving away 1 (one) classics book from Penguin English Library from The Book Depository.
2. I will pick 1 (one) winner with the most creative post that I think Dickens will like :)
3. The winner can choose any book from Penguin English Library collection (as long as TBD can ship to your address).
4. The winner should reply with their data within 48 hours after my email, otherwise I would choose another winner. Make sure you fill in your email address in the linky for this (it won’t be published).
5. Only participants who are listed in the Participant List are eligible to enter this giveaway. Sign up is opened until February 5th 2013.

You have more than a month to prepare the post, so…have fun!

A Classics Challenge December Prompt: Wrap Up

This is the last prompt of 2012 A Classics Challenge hosted by Katherine (November’s Autumn), that act as well as a wrap up post for the whole year, and I am proudly say that I have participated in every prompt since January.

Link to your favorite Classic Literature post you've written this year, it doesn't have to be related to this challenge. Just something you'd enjoy sharing.

Or make a list of what you read for the challenge, you could compare it to your original list drawn up late 2011 when you were planning what to read, link to the posts you've written for the challenge, how many authors you've read or any little stat or detail you'd like to share.

I have posted so many classics literature, that it’s difficult to pick any favorite posts, so I’ll just pick my five favorite classics literature reviews that I mostly wrote in freshly emotional state right after reading the book:

Beloved

Germinal

Lord of The Flies

The Scarlet Letter

Great Expectations

And these are all the prompt from January to November:

January (Author)

February (Character)

March (Setting)

April (Cover)

May (Literary Movement)

June (Visual Tour)

July (Lasting Impression)

August (Quote) 

September (Music) 

October (Chapter Musing)

November prompt

Last but not least, I’d like to thank Katherine for hosted such an interesting literary challenge that have brought certain sensation into my classics readings during 2012. I don’t know whether this challenge would be up again next year, but I had much fun this year!