The other day I tweeted, but did not blog, an amusing little Shakespeare “translator” that takes select quotes from the various plays, and then offers up a modern interpretation in one of several United Kingdom dialects. It’s called What Do You Shakesp’hear? and it’s amusing enough, I suppose, but being on the wrong side of the pond I guess I have no point of reference for most of it 🙂

But!  The creators of this tool, Leicester Square Box Office, emailed me to talk about it.  My first thought was, “If these guys are interested in dialects they should talk to Ben Crystal.”  Well, they already had:

“… every modern spoken English accent is a descendant of Shakespeare’s London accent, so when people go and hear it they tend to say ‘oh, that sounds a bit like where we come from’. They’re hearing the echo or the glimmer of their own accent’s decedent or ancestor. That means that it’s relatable…”

They’ve also got a classic “words and phrases that came from Shakespeare” quiz that, I’m ashamed to say, I found pretty difficult. The “which phrase came from Shakespeare” bit is easy, but half the questions are archaic Shakespeare-only words that you have to define. Which is really somewhat contrary to their mission, if you think about it? What’s the point of saying “look at all the words we use today that came from Shakespeare” alongside “look at all the words Shakespeare used that we don’t use anymore”?

Anyway, here’s a link to the quiz. See you how do.  I only got 10/15.

How’d I miss this?

Sir Patrick Stewart wants to do Othello again (he’s performed the role before, in 1997).  This time, though, he wants to do it white:

‘In the big picture, everyone should be able to play anything and I am against embargoes on actors playing roles that differ from their own ethnicity or gender…I am in favour of as much diversity as possible because it’s art — it’s not politics, it’s not government, it’s creativity.’

What I don’t understand, however, is that Stewart played Othello white in 1997 as well, didn’t he? I remember that story, because they did a “mirror image” version with a white Othello and, I’m assuming, a black supporting cast.

Then again, I think the article is just weak on this point. I see here where Stewart clearly says, “I want to play a white Othello again.”  Note the again.


Maybe this time it won’t be a “mirror image” gimmick, and it’ll just be … what’s the term for it?  Race blind?  Race agnostic?  I wonder, then, how they’d deal with all of Iago’s racist language at the beginning.  Interesting.

Everybody know what TV Tropes is?  Technically it’s like a Wikipedia for movie and television cliches (imagine an encyclopedia of variations on “jumped the shark” cliches).  Depending on who you ask it’s also Internet quicksand, guaranteed to cost you hours of time should you happen to stumble upon a link.

Good news! I’ve escaped with some Shakespeare.  Specifically this idea of the “Those Two Guys” trope.  Definition, you say?

Two characters, usually in a school setting, to be the mundane Greek Chorus. They may or may not be snarky and unlike the Greek Chorus, they don’t break the fourth wall very often (if at all). They’re completely ordinary… and no, we don’t mean as in the Ordinary High-School Student, or the Badass Normal. They’re ordinary. Often the best friends of the main character (who is an Ordinary High-School Student) before all the weirdness with aliens, robots, magic, demons, harems, etc.

Some pairs become involved in the plot less and less as the series progresses, especially if the plot becomes more serious. Given what usually happens to people involved in the plot, it’s probably for the best. However, it’s not uncommon for Those Two Guys to also become popular and even iconic characters in the series. 

Their personalities usually sharply contrast, e.g. calm/hyper, jock/geek, etc., or their appearances contrast, e.g. short/tall, thin/fat… When they don’t, they will be exactly the same. They might even wear Coordinated Clothes. Their names are often esoteric (either too complex or too simple to stand out), plus their non-involvement with the plot usually results in them being called “Those Two Guys”.

Here’s where it gets interesting, over on the Theatre page, where we learn that the original pair of Those Two Guys was none other than the “unintentional evil minions” Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. I guess, looking at the “it’s always X except for when it’s the complete opposite” definition above (“they’re sharply contrasted unless they’re exactly the same / they’re involved less and less in the plot unless they become popular and iconic characters, etc…) it’s hard to argue that R&G do not fit.   (Of course they can’t fail to note that Timon and Pumbaa from the Lion King are also based on Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. This “those two guys” thing might be the only thing that they have in common!.)

But it wouldn’t be TV Tropes without lots of examples.  How about …

Sir Toby Belch and Sir Andrew Augueface from Twelfth Night?

Trinculo and Stephano from The Tempest?

Ross and Lennox (or Lennox and Angus) from Macbeth?

Benvolio and Mercutio from …

..wait, what?  Mercutio? MERCUTIO?  The page does mark this as a special case, however — it’s “somewhat off” because both of them are “somewhat relevant” to the story. Oh, well, at least they cleared that up.  Somewhat.

I’m thinking they could shorten that original definition to “any two guys that typically have a scene together.”

EDIT : Apparently William Shakespeare is some sort of patron saint on the site, and it is acknowledged that he in fact created most of the so-called tropes.

Today I learned something. Always a good day when that happens.

Today I learned that the Shakespeare Birthplace — as in, the home where our beloved playwright was born — was almost shipped to the United States, brick by brick, in the 1800s. The mastermind behind this plan was none other that P.T. Barnum, who is perhaps best known as one half of the famed Barnum and Bailey Circus. It’s also a famous quote of his that I borrowed for the subject line : there’s a sucker born every minute.

I wonder if Barnum was a little like the Donald Trump of his day? Sees something he likes, and more importantly something he can own for himself and make money from, and says, “How much? Name your price.” We can assume that he would have stamped his name on it as soon as the last brick was placed in New York.  P.T. Barnum presents William Shakespeare’s Birthplace.

Alas, Barnum was foiled in his attempt by, in his own words from his 1855 memoir, “some English gentleman who got wind of the deal” and got some friends together to buy the house for 3000 pounds, keeping it in England.

That English gentleman’s name?

Charles Dickens.

And now you know…..the rest of the story.