Week 2 – Read and Study a Work by Shakespeare
Twelfth Night, or What You Will
By coincidence this encourages my New Year’s Resolution to make time to read at least one book every week. Any book. So why Twelfth Night? I haven’t read it before. I seem to recall seeing a travelling production, staged outside one summer’s evening, many years ago. It challenges me to read something I would probably avoid if at all possible. Sensibly I purchased a modern edition which provided a good introduction. Always helpful in setting the scene. On each page the awkward words or unusual phrases were numbered. Beneath this is a straight-forward translation and it helped me to better understand the characters and the plot as it unfolded.
Memorable Line
There is always one line or phrase which we know, often without knowing where it comes from. In Twelfth Night it’s the opening line. If music be the food of love, play on. The story is about love. Mistaken identity. The fascinating relationship of twins and, as with any comedy some larger than life characters.
Happy Ending
Yes of course. It all worked out just fine in the end. The text was not overly long – 75 pages in total. I was delighted to find a scene by scene analysis and further information to enhance my enjoyment of reading a work by Shakespeare. The play was possibly written and first performed around 1601. Has it time travelled to me here in 2023 or have I stepped into the time machine and gone back to the start of the 17th century? It is timeless and will continue to be so for centuries to come I hope.
It’s amazing that through the centuries Shakespeare can still speak to us in 2023