Favorite Shakespeare Play

Personally, I like King Lear the best, I don't know why, I just do.

Although I've only ever seen it once, I have to say Twelfth Night.

This is because when I saw, I saw it performed by the Elizabethan Players during one of the rare times they performed outside Britain. It was the most amazing performance I've ever seen, it made me like Shakespeare when I hadn't previously, and the way the line "Some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them" was delivered was just awesome. It involved hip thrusts.

I can't answer that! I seriously can't! I mean, Macbeth is practically part of me. Hamlet is just so freaking beautiful, and Midsummer Night's Dream, too! One of these, definitely. If we don't count The Taming of the Shrew, that is. And the Merchant of Venice.

Oh dear.

I'm so no good at this.

Much Ado About Nothing, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Twelfth Night, Taming of the Shrew.

LuthienT wrote:

Much Ado About Nothing, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Twelfth Night, Taming of the Shrew.

For tragedies, I can't decide which is more heart-rending, Hamlet or King Lear or Othello.

I'll have to go with Hamlet. It combines politics, murder, tragedy, and humor all in one go. Hamlet could, arguably, be one of the most complex characters in all of literary history.

Then and again. If I feel really sappy, I like Romeo and Juliet too. Especially Mercutio-Romeo's friend.

I've always loved Macbeth. In my opinion, it has some of Shakespeare's best writing, and writing is generally what I love most about Shakespeare. I especially love some of Lady Macbeth's monologues; they're so dark and create such a creepy feeling. I would love to play Lady Macbeth one day, though at the moment I'm not good with evil roles yet. Not to mention, it was the first Shakespeare play I was introduced to.

M

For me it's between A Midsummer Night's Dream and Macbeth.

Loved Taming of the Shrew.

I really enjoyed A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Just a general question here. Do you people tend to prefer the tragedies or the comedies?

I for one prefer the tragedies. The comedies are pretty awesome, but I feel that some of the tragedies really strike a chord with me. While Romeo and Juliet was superficial in comparison to the others, tragedies like Hamlet and Macbeth were really my favorites.

The tragedies are far superior to the comedies. Sure, Much Ado About Nothing is fun and all but when you compare it with Hamlet or Macbeth it is found lacking. I find that his tragedies are deeper and have more substance to sink your teeth into.

I've always enjoyed King Lear and MacBeth. I liked Richard III a lot. For comedies, I liked Merry Wives of Windsor, mostly because I get a kick out of Sir John Falstaff.

But the play I remember the most, probably because of its sheer brutality, is Titus Andronicus. The violence in that play is constant and horrific. The scene where Titus kills the two sons of the Goth queen, Tamora, because they had raped and mutilated his daughter, then has them cooked and served in meat pies for Tamora to eat was unforgettable.

Zara Sahana 007 wrote:

Just a general question here. Do you people tend to prefer the tragedies or the comedies?

I for one prefer the tragedies. The comedies are pretty awesome, but I feel that some of the tragedies really strike a chord with me. While Romeo and Juliet was superficial in comparison to the others, tragedies like Hamlet and Macbeth were really my favorites.

I agree. Shakespeare's tragedies have much more depth. I don't think that "Romeo and Juliet" is superficial, though, in my opinion, the material is simply overused. The story has been told too many times, and recycled by too many people. Therefore, Macbeth and Hamlet are somehow deeper.

You know, someone once told me they wanted to write a modern version of "Macbeth". The idea has been at the back of my mind ever since. I wonder how I would do it - what job he would do, and how the surroundings would be. Kind of fascinating.