KEV67 Posted July 14, 2022 Posted July 14, 2022 How about starting a Shakespeare read-along in August? Who is in? I know lunababymoonchild is. Which play do you fancy or not fancy? Personally, I do not want to read Macbeth (did it for O level), Richard II, Othello, Midsummer Night's Dream (read them in the last three years) or Hamlet (want to save that for later). I am open to all the others. Quote
KEV67 Posted July 16, 2022 Author Posted July 16, 2022 I will give a choice: Cymbeline or Anthony and Cleopatra. Quote
Hayley Posted July 16, 2022 Posted July 16, 2022 I'd be up for either of these too. I actually don't mind which but I've never read Cymbeline, so I'll put a vote in for that! Quote
lunababymoonchild Posted July 16, 2022 Posted July 16, 2022 I'm still in and have no preference either way. Quote
lunababymoonchild Posted July 16, 2022 Posted July 16, 2022 (edited) 34 minutes ago, KEV67 said: Cymbeline then. Alrighty. When do you want to start? Edited July 16, 2022 by lunababymoonchild Quote
lunababymoonchild Posted July 17, 2022 Posted July 17, 2022 58 minutes ago, KEV67 said: I was thinking 1st August. OK by me Quote
Guest Scribbla Posted July 18, 2022 Posted July 18, 2022 (edited) Excuse my ignorance, but how does a "read-along" work? Or is that the dumbest question ever asked on this forum? Edited July 18, 2022 by Scribbla Quote
lunababymoonchild Posted July 18, 2022 Posted July 18, 2022 5 hours ago, Scribbla said: Excuse my ignorance, but how does a "read-along" work? Or is that the dumbest question ever asked on this forum? No such thing as a dumb question on this forum, so don't be afraid to ask. A read-along is where a few/group of people decide to read the same thing at the same time. We create a thread for this and post on it as we go. Everybody is welcome to join in at any time they like. Quote
Guest Scribbla Posted July 18, 2022 Posted July 18, 2022 Thanks, Luna. That sounds like fun. I've never read Cymbeline, so this is a good opportunity to catch up with my Shakespeare. Let me know when you're (we're) going to do Julius Caesar. I recently found the 1953 movie online and I'm very keen to watch it again. We had it to study back in high school, many moons ago, and they suggested we go to see the film which was then showing. Very fond memory, that. Quote
KEV67 Posted July 23, 2022 Author Posted July 23, 2022 I have bought my copy of Cymbeline. It looks like quite a long play. My copy is from the Arden series. I often like the introductions in that series more than the actual plays. I think if I can finish Sagittarius Rising soon, I will start reading the intro. Quote
Brian. Posted July 23, 2022 Posted July 23, 2022 As this is going ahead I will move the topic into the group reads section. Quote
lunababymoonchild Posted July 23, 2022 Posted July 23, 2022 2 hours ago, KEV67 said: I have bought my copy of Cymbeline. It looks like quite a long play. My copy is from the Arden series. I often like the introductions in that series more than the actual plays. I think if I can finish Sagittarius Rising soon, I will start reading the intro. Excellent. I have a couple of copies on e-book and a copy on paper in a complete works that looks like it's unwieldy, so I'll choose one and stick to it. I'm sure that I'll be ready. Quote
lunababymoonchild Posted July 23, 2022 Posted July 23, 2022 26 minutes ago, Brian. said: As this is going ahead I will move the topic into the group reads section. Thank you Brian Quote
KEV67 Posted July 28, 2022 Author Posted July 28, 2022 I have started reading the introduction, although I won't get very far into the introduction before it is time to start reading the play. It has a fairly modest score on Goodreads, only 3.57. One of the reviewers said it was one of the easiest Shakespeare plays to read. Quote
Hayley Posted July 29, 2022 Posted July 29, 2022 18 hours ago, KEV67 said: One of the reviewers said it was one of the easiest Shakespeare plays to read. Well that's comforting Will we have a weekly goal for this? I think Cymbeline has 5 acts in total, which is annoyingly uneven, but acts 2 and 4 only have four scenes each. What if we did: Week one: Act 1 Week 2: Act 2 Week 3: Act 3 Week 4: Act 4 and 5? Then we will be finished by the end of August Quote
lunababymoonchild Posted July 29, 2022 Posted July 29, 2022 50 minutes ago, Hayley said: Well that's comforting Will we have a weekly goal for this? I think Cymbeline has 5 acts in total, which is annoyingly uneven, but acts 2 and 4 only have four scenes each. What if we did: Week one: Act 1 Week 2: Act 2 Week 3: Act 3 Week 4: Act 4 and 5? Then we will be finished by the end of August Suits me. Quote
KEV67 Posted August 1, 2022 Author Posted August 1, 2022 I did not find the opening scene particularly easy to follow. I gather the king is annoyed because his only daughter married a commoner rather than his stepson. I would have thought that was a dangerous thing for a commoner to do. I am surprised he could find a priest prepared to conduct the ceremony. Quote
lunababymoonchild Posted August 2, 2022 Posted August 2, 2022 I've only been through the first scene once and I agree that that's what it is substantially about. I have also found Spark Notes (online) very useful in explaining things and they have an explanation, scene by scene, of Cymbeline Quote
lunababymoonchild Posted August 3, 2022 Posted August 3, 2022 I have found what appears to be the full play as audio on Youtube which might help as well. Apparently it's a very confusing and not often performed play. Cymbeline by William SHAKESPEARE | Full Audiobook - YouTube Quote
Hayley Posted August 3, 2022 Posted August 3, 2022 On 02/08/2022 at 12:14 AM, KEV67 said: I would have thought that was a dangerous thing for a commoner to do. I am surprised he could find a priest prepared to conduct the ceremony. Yes, definitely! Maybe a Romeo and Juliet style situation - they found someone who was sympathetic to their love for each other? Also suspicious that the King's two sons just went missing/ were stolen as babies! I feel like they are bound to make a surprise appearance at some point. And very risky for the Queen to arrange a final secret meeting between her daughter and the 'commoner' husband. (If everyone is finding this one too frustrating to read by the way, I'd be up for switching to Anthony and Cleopatra, as we're only 3 days in anyway) Quote
lunababymoonchild Posted August 3, 2022 Posted August 3, 2022 2 hours ago, Hayley said: (If everyone is finding this one too frustrating to read by the way, I'd be up for switching to Anthony and Cleopatra, as we're only 3 days in anyway) We can do that, absolutely Quote
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