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Playlist The Ultimate Shakespeare 19 videos

0
Shakespeare's Stage
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Imagine yourself going to see a show. The cushy red seats. The talented orchestra. The body odor and animal abuse. Not what you pictured? Be thankf...

1
A Midsummer Night's Dream
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Aren't midsummer night dreams the worst? You wake up all sweaty and gross, and for a minute there, you can't even remember where you are. And also,...

2
As You Like It
10350 Views

We're not sure if good ol' Shakespeare would endorse The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, but that's not going to stop us from hosting themed viewing...

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Twelfth Night 42474 Views


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Description:

We bet you didn't realize Shakespeare was such a rebel. Seriously. If he were around today, he'd be riding a motorcycle, TIVOing Sons of Anarchy , and getting a tattoo that reads "Down with the Man." That's actually a shame, because we really thought Shakespeare was the man.

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:05

Twelfth Night, a la Shmoop. Shakespeare’s England.

00:12

A land where you could lose your head for breaking rules or for making a bad cup of

00:17

tea.

00:21

So just how did Shakespeare write a daring play like Twelfth Night and… keep his head?

00:27

Did theatre give him a license to break the rules for a laugh?

00:30

Or do his portraits just have some killer Photoshopping?

00:34

Let’s review Shakespeare’s rule-breaking antics.

00:38

Rule number one:

00:39

You must dress according to your gender and class.

00:43

Right off the bat, Shakespeare blatantly disregards this with some cross-dressing, disguising

00:47

Viola as Cesario.

00:50

And to make it even more gender-bending, In Shakespeare’s day Cesario would have

00:53

been a male actor playing a woman playing a man.

00:59

Not to mention the stodgy Puritan Malvolio dressing in yellow stockings. Which is never

01:04

okay. Unless you’re Big Bird. Rule number two:

01:11

Women must obey.

01:13

Well, we already know Viola is a rule-breaker. She dresses as a man right to the end of the

01:18

play.

01:19

Although Shakespeare does explain: there are no spare dresses in Illyria. Anywhere.

01:25

And how about Olivia? If she were a good woman, she would not deny Duke Orsino marrying her.

01:33

Rule number three:

01:34

You must not move classes.

01:35

No, this doesn’t mean skipping gym for art class.

01:39

It means that it is way out of line for Olivia’s servant Malvolio and the penniless

01:44

Sir Andrew Aguecheek to both try to marry the wealthy Olivia.

01:54

Rule number four:

01:55

You must be a heterosexual.

01:57

Well, Olivia loves Viola.

02:00

Orsino loves Cesario, who is really Viola dressed as a man. Still.

02:07

And Antonio’s love for Sebastian seems a little more than friendly. But hey, what happens

02:11

at sea stays at sea.

02:13

Yes, Shakespeare tosses around some pretty racy notions for 1602.

02:17

Well, there you have it. Four rules, all broken.

02:20

But of course, he does restore order to the court in the end, leaving us with class and

02:25

gender appropriate couples, at least according to the rules of the time.

02:30

Because who could survive in a world with strong women, upward mobility, or, heaven

02:35

forbid, no dress code?

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