Tuesday, March 30, 2021

Comedies: Done

I'm currently working my way through Shakespeare, that being the last remaining book in the UK side of The List. I've therefore been reading an Act a day, and as of today I have finished "A Winter's Tale", and with that have come to the end of Shakespeare's comedies.

I now have the ten histories to read, and then ten of the tragedies (having read "Julius Caesar" and "MacBeth" in high school, and "Hamlet" some years ago). I also read the poetry over the previous three months, meaning that I should complete everything that remains in early July. At least, that's the hope.

My opinion thus far? Like a great many artists, Shakespeare has some extremely well-known and well-regarded "greatest hits", and a whole lot of lesser works that are largely forgotten - and that's not necessarily an injustice. There is also, of course, a certain amount of 'problematic' material, notably in "A Merchant of Venice" and "The Taming of the Shrew", but I'm inclined to put that largely down to him being a product of his time. (That's not to condone the material, of course, but context is always important.)

Oh, and also: my initial impression was broadly right - these are plays, and are therefore best enjoyed by watching.

I'm now going to take a day off, before starting "King John" on April 1st.

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