200th Post

Yes, it's been that many, and not a dud among them.

Back to salaried serfdom today (in truth not as trying as self-employment had become when I ducked out back in 2008) and the day was enlivened by opening up my desk diary bearing daily one of Shakespeare's insults. I am not going to do this every day because, well, it would soon get boring for me and even sooner for you, but I do reserve the right to quote the chosen extract when it catches my fancy. As today.

Who deserves greatness
Deserves your hate; and your affections are
A sick man's appetite, who desires most that
Which would increase his evil. He that depends
Upon your favours swims with fins of lead
And hews down oaks with rushes. 

Coriolanus 1.1.178 (OpenSource Shakespeare internet edition)

I like the Roman plays, bloody good job because they will play a significant part in my thesis. In particular I like Titus Andronicus and Coriolanus. Admittedly both predilections are not unrelated to contrariness on my part but I think I can muster a defence of both these relatively neglected texts. I've blogged about Titus before so let's deal with Coriolanus. The magnificently scathing words above are close to the very first that Coriolanus utters in the play. His mood doesn't ever get any better. This is the point. His tragedy is that he cannot temporise. Like a good Yorkshireman, he knows what he likes and he likes what he bloody well knows. One's view of him depends very much on whether one shares his disdain of the great unwashed. So the play can be structured as fascist encomium or socialist dismissal or, best of all, as neither. Questions are so much more interesting than answers.

Well known Overgraduate impersonator

Here is a picture of that Charles Dance who once played Coriolanus at Stratford. He is my idea of what the tragic Roman should look like. In common with your correspondent he has also played Maxim de Winter, he on commercial television, the Overgraduate on the stage at Holly Lane United Reform Church, Erdington. Even my Mum thinks Dance was better.

If you fancy some fun with Shakespeare but can't be arsed to buy a book try the quite excellent website OpenSource Shakespeare. If nothing else use the concordance to see how many times, if at all, the bard uses your favourite swear word. 'Bum' appears on three occasions, twice in one play. But I'll leave you to find out which for yourself. Welcome to my world.