TITUS ANDRONICUS vs COMEDY OF ERRORS

My grandfather and I were talking, and I was saying some things about Titus Andronicus and Comedy of Errors. I'm sure you've had these thoughts too, but just in case you haven't, I'll tell you them, and if you have, I'll tell you them anyway.

I was saying that it really really (REALLY REALLY) bothers me that people who claim to love Shakespeare say that there is no way that he wrote Titus Andronicus, because it's so badly written. And yet the same people CONSTANTLY perform Comedy of Errors. HOW could this be?

Anyway, so my grandfather said that I should write an IN DEPTH and CONCENTRATED paper comparing the two plays, and proving to those fools that Titus Andronicus is a MUCH better play, in characters, speeches, and overall plot (I mean, HONESTLY. Who on EARTH is stupid enough to claim that Comedy of Errors has an understandable PLOT?)

So I plan to.

Just for starters, I'd like to post a couple of my favorite speeches from Titus Andronicus, and one of the better speeches from Comedy of Errors. See what YOU think. (And tell me, please! I'd like to know what y'all think.)

TAMORA (Titus Andronicus - this is my favorite purely for the words 'chequer'd shadow', which is SO much fun to say.)
My lovely Aaron, wherefore look'st thou sad,
When every thing doth make a gleeful boast?
The birds chant melody on every bush,
The snake lies rolled in the cheerful sun,
The green leaves quiver with the cooling wind
And make a chequer'd shadow on the ground:
Under their sweet shade, Aaron, let us sit,
And, whilst the babbling echo mocks the hounds,
Replying shrilly to the well-tuned horns,
As if a double hunt were heard at once,
Let us sit down and mark their yelping noise;
And, after conflict such as was supposed
The wandering prince and Dido once enjoy'd,
When with a happy storm they were surprised
And curtain'd with a counsel-keeping cave,
We may, each wreathed in the other's arms,
Our pastimes done, possess a golden slumber;
Whiles hounds and horns and sweet melodious birds
Be unto us as is a nurse's song
Of lullaby to bring her babe asleep.


TITUS (Titus Andronicus - This one makes me cry)
It was my deer; and he that wounded her
Hath hurt me more than had he killed me dead:
For now I stand as one upon a rock
Environed with a wilderness of sea,
Who marks the waxing tide grow wave by wave,
Expecting ever when some envious surge
Will in his brinish bowels swallow him.
This way to death my wretched sons are gone;
Here stands my other son, a banished man,
And here my brother, weeping at my woes.
But that which gives my soul the greatest spurn,
Is dear Lavinia, dearer than my soul.
Had I but seen thy picture in this plight,
It would have madded me: what shall I do
Now I behold thy lively body so?
Thou hast no hands, to wipe away thy tears:
Nor tongue, to tell me who hath martyr'd thee:
Thy husband he is dead: and for his death
Thy brothers are condemn'd, and dead by this.
Look, Marcus! ah, son Lucius, look on her!
When I did name her brothers, then fresh tears
Stood on her cheeks, as doth the honey-dew
Upon a gather'd lily almost wither'd.



ANTIPHOLOS of SYRACUSE (Comedy of Errors - I thought this was a pretty good speech - although it took a Long Time to find)
Sweet mistress--what your name is else, I know not,
Nor by what wonder you do hit of mine,--
Less in your knowledge and your grace you show not
Than our earth's wonder, more than earth divine.
Teach me, dear creature, how to think and speak;
Lay open to my earthy-gross conceit,
Smother'd in errors, feeble, shallow, weak,
The folded meaning of your words' deceit.
Against my soul's pure truth why labour you
To make it wander in an unknown field?
Are you a god? would you create me new?
Transform me then, and to your power I'll yield.
But if that I am I, then well I know
Your weeping sister is no wife of mine,
Nor to her bed no homage do I owe
Far more, far more to you do I decline.
O, train me not, sweet mermaid, with thy note,
To drown me in thy sister's flood of tears:
Sing, siren, for thyself and I will dote:
Spread o'er the silver waves thy golden hairs,
And as a bed I'll take them and there lie,
And in that glorious supposition think
He gains by death that hath such means to die:
Let Love, being light, be drowned if she sink!


There you have it, what more needs to be said.

Symphony

Now, this may sound horrid, but I have only been to the symphony ONCE in my life.
Isn't that SAD?
I know. It is.
Anyway, NOW it adds up to TWO, because I went last night, and I had me a FANTASTIC time. A friend of ours has season tickets and gave them to me and Griffin. (They were wonderful seats. Plus, if that huge thing that hangs from the ceiling at the Windspeir dropped, it would NOT kill us because we were out of the way. Yes, I frequently think about things like that.)

Luckily for me, they were doing MOVIE SOUNDTRACKS, which made me super super happy. Plus it was beautiful and amazing and fabulous, and it made me feel epic inside. I now love the symphony very very much.

One part of the symphony that is incredibly wonderful to watch, is the percussionist(s). They sit and sit and sit and sit and sit, and then, when they stand up you know something good is coming, and then they pick up their mallets/drumsticks/whatever they happen to be using, and the rest of the orchestra gets louder and more awesome, and then they hammer frantically on their drum/xylophone/wood block/whatever they happen to be playing, and then... it's all over, and they sit back down again, to wait for the next fabulous climax.

I also enjoyed watching the harpist. The poor woman must have spent YEARS studying harp, and you could hardly hear her over the violins.

Can you tell that I'm bringing in my let's-liberate-the-minor-characters baggage into the symphony? Can you tell that I purposefully went in there DETERMINED to dislike the violins, JUST BECAUSE they get all the attention?

I thought you could. You're SO smart that way.

Yesterday I also rehearsed with Daniel and Brendan, and I was VERY VERY JEALOUS of them because Daniel got to beat Brendan up, and Brendan got to get beaten up, and I didn't get to do either. Although I CAN appreciate how difficult it is to keep a straight face when a) your lines are semi-dirty, b) the other person is yelling at you, and c) your director is laughing. I think I did remarkably well, considering.

Farewell! I must go and learn my lines now. (Haha - of COURSE I'm not REALLY going to go learn my lines - I'm just saying that so you'll think I'm a dedicated person. Although if you know me, you know better.)

Druids

Hello!

Lately I have been reading the novel 'Druids' by Morgan Lewellan (I know that I'm probably HORRENDOUSLY misspelling her name) and enjoying it thoroughly. I attempted to read it when I was about eight, but it was taken away from me, due to my adorable habit of trying to read books that were thoroughly inappropriate for an eight year old.

Anyway, I enjoy what they're saying about nature and things. I'm not feeling eloquent today, and I couldn't possibly describe The Source half as well as Morgan does in the book, so just go read it, okay?

However, I have decided that, while I do love Morgan Lewellan very very much, (particularly one entitled 'The Lion of Ireland'. Or something like that) I like Margaret Atwood even more. And what I like about Margaret Atwood is the way, even when she's writing nice stuff, she's still got all these undertones of creepiness that makes my skin crawl, and I LURVES it. Particularly 'The Handmaid's Tale', which, beside being awesome and sinister, is really, really well written. Read that as well. Go. Do it. Now.

The Meaning of Life

Seeing as it's IN THE TITLE, I thought I should probably say something about the meaning of life.

I have no idea what the meaning of life is. At all. In any way.

However, I was recently on the NaNoWriMo Characterization Game, and my characters were asked this question. Here are their answers.

Demetrius: Whoa. Deep.

Richard: I think the meaning of life is trying to be as true to yourself as possible, and do what will help you to be the best you can.

Demetrius: We apologize for Richard. He's been watching Disney.

Richard: It's ALWAYS like this. Just because my siblings have NO ambition, they never TRY at all.

Demetrius: Richard, that's the POINT of having no ambition.

Richard: Then what's the meaning of life?

Demetrius: The meaning of life is wheat noodles fried in lots of butter, licorice tea on rainy days, and lots and lots of physical contact.

Lucius: Nuh-uh. The meaning of life is trying to get the other bastard before he gets you. And free rock concerts. Actually, free anything. Except stuffed animals. No, actually, even stuffed animals. They're useful if you're visiting some horrid friend's snotty kid and need a present.

Iago: *I* think - this is probably cliche, and has been said lots before - but I think that the meaning of life is having someone to care about, even if it's just a dog. Or a fish.

Lucius: Oh, who cares, Iago? We all know you've got *your* life all sorted out. What about you, Bertram?

Bertram: How in the hell am *I* supposed to know? I think they all sound nice.

Tempest

Happily, REHEARSALS FOR THE TEMPEST ARE NOW UNDERWAY. I am Most Pleased. The first readthrough went very well.

I have a theory on My Seeing People. I think that my Seeing People is sort of like a drug sort of thing...

Don't worry. I'm not going Twilight on you. You are not my own personal brand of heroin.

Don't leave. Please.

Anyway. If I don't see anyone for a few days, I get SUPER depressed and miserable, and just basically mope around the house generally being a pain.

BUT, if I don't see someone for a LONG time, like several weeks, I am usually miserable for the first couple of days, and then I'm pretty content with my situation, up until about the last couple of days. (then I get whiny again)

Anyhoo, as of This Sunday, now that I AM seeing people again, my Contented Summer will end, and I will once again be relatively happy.