The Tempest Read-Along Post 2.

On August 16, I posted my thoughts on the first two acts of William Shakespeare's The Tempest. You can find them here.

I will sadly say that I set the play aside for a bit as I went on a reading craze and when it came time to go back to it, I had to reread what I had finished to refresh my memory. Thankfully the play was easy to fly through and I finished the entire play the other night.

As the first Shakespeare play that I was reading by myself (all the others I have read for this project were rereads of plays I had read in high school and college), I was surprised at how easy it was for me to decipher things. Perhaps it was because of my previous experiences with Shakespeare as a writer, or I am just getting better at understanding more complicated language, but I did not struggle too badly.

With all of that being said, I absolutely adored the play and it is probably one of my favorites (behind Much Ado about Nothing and Macbeth). The character of Ariel, in particular, I developed quite a fondness for, and I was loving the amount of action and intrigue in the play.

I also really loved the relationship that developed between Miranda and Ferdinand. Even though they only knew each other for a few hoursish, they seemed to have a more realistic relationship than say...Romeo and Juliet. Anyway, here is a passage I want to talk about:

"Miranda:
'If you'll sit down,
I'll bear your logs the while. Pray, give me that;
I'll carry it to the pile.

Ferdinand:
No, precious creature;
I had rather crack my sinews, break my back,
Than you should such dishonor undergo
While I sit lazy by,'" (III.i.22-28).

I love this exchange. It is full of the courtesy and chivalry that should be evident in the beginning stages of love, don't you think?

But Ariel...what an interesting character. Trapped until Prospero freed him, he is not a servant to Prospero and spends most of the play doing his bidding. I could feel the unfairness of Ariel's situation. Prospero and Miranda are abandoned on the island and while Prospero has power, there is nothing he can do to free them. Ariel is finally free and probably believed that a man had finally come to free him, but rather than be granted the freedom that Prospero also desires, he is no better than a slave. It is an interesting contradiction and I was happy when Ariel was freed at the end.

Overall, it was a play I rather enjoyed. It was a little darker than his comedies, and certainly wasn't a tragedy. It was a play that I could imagine was received in awe, given the effects needed to carry out Prospero's magic. It is definitely a play I would love to see live and learn more about.

If you participated, leave your thoughts, or a link to your site so I can come and visit!

The Tempest Read-Along Post 1.

I think William Shakespeare is one of those writers people are most intimidated by. First, he's a poet and a playwright-two things that a majority of modern readers have no exposure to. When we expose ourselves to a play we are usually in the audience, not reading the script. Second, a lot of language in Shakespeare's plays consists of words that were made up, and words we just don't use anymore. The meaning and interpretations of these words are complicated and complex. We certainly don't speak that way now, and to be frank, many people back in Shakespeare's time didn't speak that way either.

So, there seems to be this huge stigma against William Shakespeare and his plays. I think they are often seen as very elitist and intelligent. Personally, I find them slightly challenging...and fun. Here's something you might not know...Shakespeare is a very funny man, and his comedies/romances really display that sense of humor.

I'm not saying you won't have to struggle through Shakespeare. I still get intimidated going into his work. In fact, "The Tempest" is the first play by Shakespeare that I am tackling solo. The other Shakespearean plays I have read so far have all been re-reads of those I read in high school and college. But, surprisingly, I am faring rather well for being so scared.

I will say that it is nearly impossible to read straight Shakespeare. I have one of those big, bulky hardcover collections of his complete works, and I cannot read from it and understand it (maybe one day I will). I have been alternating my reading of his work from two different editions: the Folger's line of Shakespeare, as well as Barnes and Noble's versions. Both offer the direct Shakespearean text on one side, with translations and side notes on the other. It makes reading MUCH easier. I also really like No Fear Shakespeare. It is great for beginners as it gives a direct modern-day translation of the page for easier comprehension.

Anyway, moving on to "The Tempest" I have to say that this is a far more interesting play than I was anticipating. I haven't read it before, or seen it performed, so I am learning the story as I go. Prospero and his daughter Miranda were deserted on an island after Prospero was kicked out as the Duke of Milan. They were left with Prospero's books, which hold all of his knowledge (he can use magic).

One night/day a ship is wrecked near the island and we discover that Alonso, the King of Naples, is on board. Alonso was responsible for Prospero's exile, and seemingly, Prospero brought the tempest that shipwrecked the ship. It seems as if Prospero is going to get his revenge.

In the first two acts we meet some of the other men on board with Alonso, as well as the other inhabitants of the island. There is Caliban, who is a slave to Prospero and Miranda. We also meet Ariel and some of the other spirits. Prospero saved Ariel from his fate being stuck in a tree a few years earlier and has yet to set him free.

Ariel intrigues me. I perhaps owe this to a young adult novel I read last year, Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev, that displayed Ariel and his trickery. At the time, never having read "The Tempest" I didn't know Ariel's backstory. I like that I am learning more about a character I know from another novel.

I am also finding this play much easier to read than, perhaps, "Macbeth." It was one of Shakespeare's last plays, and perhaps he just got better with age. In any case, I love the writing and wit. And I am certainly looking forward to how Prospero gets his revenge...and what will become of Ariel.

I leave you now with some of my favorite lines from the first two Acts:

Miranda:
"'Tis far off
And rather like a dream than an assurance
That my remembrance warrants," (I.ii.44-46).

Prospero (the book nerd in me loved this):
"So, of his gentleness,
Knowing I loved my books, he furnished me
From mine own library with volumes that
I prize above my dukedom," (I.ii. 165-168).

And Ariel's introduction:
"All hail, great master! Grave sir, hail! I come
To answer they best pleasure, be't to fly,
To swim, to dive into the fire, to ride
On the curled clouds. To thy strong bidding, task
Ariel and all his quality," (I.ii. 189-193).

If you participated and completed a post, please comment and leave a link so I can add your name below!

Simpler Pastimes
Jay

Weekly Wrap-up for August 15, 2010: New Bookshelves and Organization!

It has been quite a wonderful week! Months ago I made plans with my friend Kyla to go to Michigan's sole IKEA store. When we had made plans originally, it was so she could buy some things for her new apartment-I was just going to tag along.

However, when my birthday came around last month, Matt didn't know what to get me. I was kind of at a loss, since I didn't know what I really wanted...until I realized that the perfect gift would be a new bookcase to match my existing one that we bought back in January (it is from the "Billy" line).

When I lived at home, I did not have bookshelves in my room. Instead, my mom let me use the linen closet outside my bedroom. That closet was STUFFED with books. Books we stacked in every which way and went back three layers, and sometimes four! It eventually got too full so I started putting my books in my brother's old closet (he had moved out by then) to help with the weight in the other closet. It was madness.

Moving into the apartment was difficult at first. All my books (in 26 different boxes) have been sitting in a closet in our second bedroom. When we went to IKEA back in January, it was to get shelves for our DVD collection (also pretty big-probably 500+ movies) and to get me one shelf to store my classics. Since then, I have wanted another shelf. All of my classics barely fit in the case I have (It is 32 inches wide and 80 inches tall, with 8 shelves-I bought two extra to fit more).

So, I wandered into IKEA on Thursday with Kyla with the mission of bringing home another bookshelf along with some other fun items. Well....I got to the bookshelf area and saw that in addition to what I wanted, they had another that was narrower-only 15 or so inches. And I thought to myself, "Gee, Allie, it would be swell to put that smaller one in the corner on an angle." I called Matt and he said yes, so not only did I come home with one more BIG bookcase, but I also grabbed the skinner one, and two more shelves for my new big case.

I was gloriously happy.

They fit in our bedroom, which is now way too cluttered with furniture (but who cares if my books are there!). I tackled opening the closet to bring books to my new shelves, but got overwhelmed pretty quickly. I made sure to pull out some of my favorites, but it was hard to decide which books to put back in their boxes. I ended up giving up after pulling 13 or 14 boxes from the closet and picking my favorites from there, but I know there are some old friends who are still packed away.

*side note-My husband just brought me a sandwich and some coleslaw with some tea and said, "I know you are busy blogging, so here is some food." Isn't that sweet? *end side note*

Anyway, I was wondering how everyone else organizes their bookcases? One of my larger cases has all of my classics, which is pretty much everything I am reading for my challenge and then some. I used the smaller bookcase to place some of my hardcovers on since the shelves are taller (I didn't buy extra shelves for it), and the new case has a lot of YA, Science Fiction, Fantasy, and a few contemporary lit things on it, all alphabetized. I'm not sure if I like it the way it is. I love having a case devoted to my classics, but I obviously don't have the room to have a shelf for science-fiction, one for fantasy, etc. But how do you all organize your books? I would love to know!



In reading news, I finished The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper. I absolutely hated the first Cooper novel I read back in college, but I really enjoyed this one. I'm looking forward to when my posts go up!

I also read the first two acts of The Tempest in anticipation for the read-along tomorrow. It is the first new Shakespeare play I am reading for my challenge, but it is not as rough-going as I thought it was going to be.

Tonight I am going to try to knock out the first 80 pages of Charles Dicken's Bleak House for Amanda's ReadAlong, but we'll see how that goes.

Does anyone have any suggestions for the next big novel I read? I'm not sure what I want to dive into!

Happy Reading!

The Tempest Read-Along Sign-ups:

Back in June, my readers voted for the next couple of read-alongs. I determined that holding 2 in July would be a form of suicide, so I pushed one back to August.

But now the time has come to see if there is still interest in reading The Tempest by William Shakespeare during the month of August. Personally, I am really excited to read this play, as I have never read it before! Plus, Shakespeare is always wonderful and leaves me feeling quite accomplished.

If you are unsure and know nothing about this play, here is a short synopsis from Goodreads.com;

"Prospero, exiled Duke of Milan, living on an enchanted island, has the opportunity to punish and forgive his enemies when he raises a tempest that drives them ashore as well as to forestall a rebellion, to arrange the meeting of his daughter, Miranda, with an eminently suitable young prince, and, more important, to relinquish his magic powers in recognition of his advancing age. Richly filled with music and magic, romance and comedy, the play's theme of love and reconciliation offers a splendid feast for the senses and the heart."

So, here is how this will work. I have found that the less posts you have to make during a read-along, the more likely it is that people will remember and participate. With that knowledge in mind, I am going to plan for TWO posts about The Tempest. They will be as follows:

• Post 1 over Acts 1 and 2 on Monday, August 16th.
• Post 2 over Acts 3, 4, and 5 on Tuesday August 31st.

This will allow about two weeks to read each of the sections, which will give you plenty of time to post. Also, if two posts is one too many, you can always post on the 31st and discuss the whole play.

Anyway, I hope you will think about joining in. I think this will be a great play to read as a group and if you aren't used to reading Shakespeare, it is good to jump in with other people!

Leave a comment here if you are planning on joining in on the fun; and as always, please post and spread the word about the read-along, even if you aren't interested!

Torrie (my sister)
Avid Reader
Jess
Iris
Simpler Pastimes
My mom :)
Juli

July and August Read-Along?

Well, my poll has officially closed and there were over 41 votes! So thank you!

One Hundred Years of Solitude came out on top with The Tempest in a relatively close second. Everything else seems to have been super uninteresting to you folk, so I think we can safely say there was little interest.

I am more than happy to host another read-along, but I am wary to host two at the same time (my current two read-alongs are a little draining and have taken up a lot of posting space on the blog. I try to limit posts to one/day if I can help it and I am backlogged with a lot of other posts). I am willing to host on the winners in July and the second in August. I hope that will work for all of you!

My thoughts are to begin with One Hundred Years of Solitude in July and have The Tempest in August. Let me know if you think this will work out for you and if you are considering joining. I will have official sign-ups on Sunday.