#Cymbeline

[britneyshakespeare]

I'm curious about people's levels of familiarity; I intend no judgment or elitism and it's absolutely fine not to be a completionist, btw. I didn't think I would've intended to have read them all at age 25; it just sort of happened that after I passed the halfway point in the middle of 2023, I came out of a reading slump and was motivated to finish. Fwiw I consider myself a hobbyist (I am not involved in academia or professional theater) but I realize that that label is usually attributed to people with less experience.

I also have always loved seeing other bloggers' Shakespeare polls where they put certain plays or characters up against each other, but I'm often left wondering if it's really a 'fair' fight all the time if you're putting up something like Hamlet or Twelfth Night against one of the more obscure works, like the Winter's Tale. It's not a grave affront to vote in those polls if you don't know every play, but I am curious about it.

Please reblog for exposure if you vote; I would appreciate it a lot. Also feel free to elaborate on your own Shakespeare journey in tags, comments, reblogs, because I love to hear about other people's personal relationships to literature.

[mrs-starkgaryen]

Favourite Shakespeare's Tragedies

After my other poll, I am going to be specific.

There shall be a battle of the favourites!!

For the love of Shakespeare, please reblog for a better analysis

[lipstickhamlet]

sparknotes blog you are so dear to me

[illustratus]

Imogen in Cymbeline - (The Tragedy of Cymbeline, King of Britain) by Henry Courtney Selous

[gwydpolls]

Shakespeare Genre Battle: Tragedies

I'm doing all of them. Don't worry if yours isn't in this poll.

I am including some things with disputed authorship, collaboration, or apocrypha just because.

[whencartoonsruletheworld]

there's a lot of shakespeare comedy characters who do morally reprehensible things that get written off when they really shouldn't. like the token example is claudio from much ado about nothing but honestly of these characters my absolute favorite is posthumus (yes that's his actual name) from cymbeline. he's given legitimately compelling evidence that his wife is cheating on him (the guy literally describes how she looks naked) so it's reasonable for him to believe it. it is NOT reasonable for him to immediately order her murdered, that was way too far but again, shakespeare comedy, bitches can get away with anything. the reason he's my favorite of this trope is he felt bad about doing so BEFORE finding out she was innocent, meaning he had like. a conscience? but not just that after feeling bad about it he immediately switches to "well you know it's fine if women cheat a little. we shouldn't really care that much" like dude i don't think that's the lesson you should have taken from this but also that's an insanely funny stance to take. "well maybe she cheated but only a little." i'm glad you and your crossdressing wife are happy and that nobody actually cheated on each other and you learned to think before sending assassins

[bigfriedbassoon]

The great thing about Shakespeare is that you can just read these plays for the story, but the story will be something like Cymbeline where every plot point is disposable but the characters still jump off the page

[bethanydelleman]

Shakespearean Men believing their wife/betrothed is cheating on them by evidence offered, ranked from most sympathetic to least:

1. Othello, Othello: subject to a premeditated slander campaign, handkerchief used as evidence, takes a while for him to believe it. Understandable, if horrible, and very tragic.

2. Posthumus, Cymbeline: proof in the form of a love token and the description of his wife's body. Also kind of understandable because they were subject to a seperation of unknown length. Murder was a little extreme though...

3. Claudio, Much Ado About Nothing: tricked by a man who literally just tricked him, sees two figures in the dark and a woman calling herself "Hero", immediately willing to believe it. Somewhat understandable, I guess, maybe.

4. Leontes, The Winter's Tale: VIBES. Pure vibes, man.

At some point between 3 and 4, did Shakespeare just lose his faith in humanity?

[artemlegere]

Imogen Found in the Cave of Belarius

Artist: George Dawe (English, 1781–1829)

Date: Exhibited 1809

Medium: Oil paint on canvas

Collection: Tate Britain, United Kingdom

Description

George Dawe depicts a scene from Shakespeare’s play Cymbeline. Imogen – the heroine and daughter of Cymbeline, the ancient king of Britain – escapes court and disguises herself as a young man. Here, Dawe shows the moment when the character Belarius (left) and Imogen’s two long-lost brothers (right) discover her in a cave. They believe she is dead, but she has actually just drunk a sleeping potion.

Dawe mainly painted portraits, but here ventures into ‘history painting’ (images of biblical, mythological, literary or historical subjects). This was regarded as the highest genre of painting at the time and indicates Dawe’s ambitions as an artist. With its high-minded literary theme and dramatic lighting, this painting was meant to stand out when it was first exhibited at the British Institution in 1809.

[withasideofshakespeare]

Woah no way?? People (completely unprompted /s) want to hear my trans Shakespeare headcanons?? You bet I can do that.

I’ve done this once before:

But I have even more thoughts now!!

In no particular order:

Puck (A Midsummer Night’s Dream): Every single pronoun possible. He/she/they/it + all of the neopronouns and xenopronouns that exist currently or will ever exist. Fairy gender is always weird but Puck’s is extra weird.

Oberon (A Midsummer Night’s Dream): Fairy gender. Probably he/they/it?

Titania (A Midsummer Night’s Dream): More fairy gender. She/they/it?

Titania’s fairy attendants (Midsummer): Get a hat and fill it with various pronouns and draw them out at random for the fairies.

Benedick (Much Ado About Nothing): Could go either way, but I really like the idea of transfemme Benedick. Or he/him lesbian Benedick.

Beatrice (Much Ado About Nothing): The she/they to end all she/theys

Viola/Cesario (Twelfth Night): Could be trans in literally any direction. I made a post about this too at some point. My suggestion is all of the directions: they/she/he

Sebastian (Twelfth Night): He/him, transmasc. I also made a post about this at some point.

Feste (Twelfth Night): I saw a great she/her Feste last summer.

Orsino (Twelfth Night): Specifically the himbo variety of he/they

Margaret of Anjou (Henry VI trilogy and Richard III): If I ever play Margaret, I will use she/they pronouns.

Catesby (Richard III): Just played Catesby with she/her pronouns and it worked!

Richard II (Richard II): Tell me Richard isn’t the most they/he or he/they guy alive (or… dead).

Hal (1 Henry IV-Henry V): Saw Hal played with she/they pronouns last summer and it was great. Could also see he/they Hal. Very nonbinary vibe overall. I personally believe that going by Hal rather than Henry for two whole plays is their way of pulling the “going by the first letter of what my name used to be instead of picking a name from scratch” nonbinary trick. He probably pretends to be cis after his dad dies and he becomes king—one more element of Hal’s lifelong identity crisis.

Hotspur/Harry Percy Jr. (Richard II & 1 Henry IV): He/they in denial.

Kate Percy (1 & 2 Henry IV): She/they, not in denial. (Also Katespur should be bi4bi)

Ned Poins (1 & 2 Henry IV): Transmasc Ned Poins?? Maybe he doesn’t actually have a sister and Nell is just his deadname. Ned Poins’ failed scheme to flirt with Hal.

Romeo (Romeo & Juliet): he/they (t4t R&J!!!)

Juliet (Romeo & Juliet): she/they (t4t R&J!!!)

Mercutio (Romeo & Juliet): they/he(/it?). Vibes alone. Look at them. Just look.

Nurse (Romeo & Juliet): she/her, transfemme!

Cassius (Julius Caesar): Would love to see a they/them Cassius

Hamlet (Hamlet): he/they. I’ve made multiple posts about this theory and I still love it.

Ophelia (Hamlet): she/they. As she should.

Laertes (Hamlet): she/him and NOT just because Laertes used she/her pronouns the first time I saw this play.

Rosencrantz (Hamlet): he/they/she. Vibes. Sometimes goes by Ros/Rose. Probably genderfluid.

Malcolm (Macbeth): they/he or they/them. Also vibes.

Lady Macbeth (Macbeth): stolen straight from my last post because this is still my HC: she/they; would insult you for “having pronouns in your bio” and then turn around and punch you in the face for using their pronouns incorrectly.

Angus (Macbeth): she/her, transfemme. (t4t Ross/Angus. I will die on this hill… Dunsinane Hill.)

Ross (Macbeth): he/him, transmasc

Caithness (Macbeth): she/they lesbian

Mark Antony (Julius Caesar and Antony & Cleopatra): I would not bat an eye at he/they Mark Antony

Edmund (King Lear): they/he, nonbinary, sexiest man (/gn) alive.

Edgar (King Lear): he/him. Transmasc Edgar is slowly becoming canon To Me.

Cordelia (King Lear): she/her, transfemme.

Goneril (King Lear): she/they. I would let them kill me.

Coriolanus (Coriolanus): transmasc OR transfemme Coriolanus is!!!! The butterfly/metamorphosis motif! Name changes during canon! Discomfort with scars/body! Lack of autonomy granted by society! This is THE transgender play. (Other than Twelfth Night)

Imogen (Cymbeline): Tell me she doesn’t want to be a she/they so bad.

Florizel (The Winter’s Tale): he/they(/she?). Literally just a vibe. I have a pet rock named Florizel.

Perdita (The Winter’s Tale): she/they. I also have a pet rock named Perdita.

Ariel (The Tempest): Similar to Puck, probably they/she/he? Even my conservative English prof consistently rotates between she/her and he/him for Ariel (possibly not intentionally? I’m not convinced he knows what her canon pronouns are.)

Ferdinand (The Tempest): she/they. PLEASE give me transfemme Ferdinand. PLEASE let Miranda realize she’s a lesbian during canon.

Miranda (The Tempest): she/they. Ariel taught them about the existence of she/they pronouns and she immediately started using them.

So in other words… every Shakespeare character should be trans, actually.

[britneyshakespeare]

Selected bad reviews of Shakespeare productions that made me laugh taken from No Turn Unstoned (1982) by Diana Rigg

[macbooth]

I - X of shakespeare tarot lineart

find xi - xxi here

some of these are in their ugly phase i know but im trying to have faith that they will end up looking good okay...

[calmingthoughtsinyourhead]

*Shakespeare and the gang talking about trying to gain a wider audience

Shakespeare: okay, hear me out-

Crew: I swear to god, Shakespeare, if you suggest faking our own death one more time

[vidvana]

Fear no more the heat o' the sun Nor the furious winters' rages...

Illustrations to Loreena McKennit's song "Cymbeline" [based on a Shakespeare's poem] About the consolation in the inevitability of your death, ofc.

I don't think I'm ever gonna illustrate the whole song [which is beautiful btw] so have the scraps :>

[shakespearenews]

A month of Shakespeare News!

4/4: Someone won the "Sleep No More" auction and has a taxidermied javelina in their house. Also, Arthur Miller's first radio play was about Shakespeare forger William Henry Ireland because [reasons], someone doodled in a First Folio, and Ophelia gets some chemical help.