#as shakespeare intended

[hamletkin]

hamlet does not think he has much skill for poetry which absolutely means he has texted random lines of his letters to ophelia to his friends at 2am while googling synonyms and pulling his hair out

[kaiasky]

listen up chucklefucks, i just gotta say. I'm not defending zir, but I'm sad zie deactivated. Like, i get that trauma lasts a long time and the good stuff is maybe easy to forget?? so maybe it's just like that. And my beloved mutual @/pompeyspuppygirl made a post about zir clout chasing behavior, which is pretty shitty behavior if it's true (and if we're canceling someone it had better be pretty severe). anyways now that zie's gone pompeyspuppygirl said it was okay to make this post (again, thanks ppg everyone go follow her--really everyone in this whole drama is worth a follow)

ANYways yeah zie was my mutual and like, reblogged a lot my smaller posts. (that isn't to discredit what my mutual pompeyspuppygirl is saying about zie clout chasing ofc). AND idk zie was always reblogging art from new and undiscovered artists and reblogging donation posts (which if you don't know is really bad if you're trying to clout chase...) (again, though, ppg is my mutual i believe her.) and like, remember on valentines day i tried to blaze zir posts and zie told me to stop because zie didn't want the posts to go viral? (but again ppg is my mutual and has a lot of proof in the Google doc I'm not trying to disprove that I'm just saying what else I know)

Idk, like i feel like a lot of people loved zir's blog a while back, bc like zie DID make some good posts?? So idk why everybody's acting like they aren't even a little bit sad.,. like ngl this feels like maybe all the reasonable people left to Twitter and all the Twitter refugees who love drama came here??? shdfhhdhdhdhdh haha but idk...look idk, i just, julie i do miss you. idk. more thoughts later sorry I'm getting worked up shshs

[henley-reeves]

"I do love nothing in the world so well as you."

[heir-of-the-chair]

I just need everyone to know that I fucking hate Hamlet prince of Denmark. This stupid fictional man makes me so goddamned angry I need to squeeze him like one of those rubber toys where the eyes pop out and shake him so violently like a child discovering snow globes for the first time. I fucking hate Hamlet prince of Denmark oh my god.

[cto10121]

Romeo and Juliet’s Instalove Makes Sense, Actually: A Very Hot Take

So a big chunk of R&J clownery I constantly eat on this blog is the neverending bitching about R&J falling in love at first sight is unrealistic and based on lust because they don’t even know each other and how William Shakespeare totes meant it as satire and blah, blah, blah. Needless to say, love at first sight/instalove was a very popular trope in Shakespeare’s time, and Shakespeare himself used it constantly in his other plays. Occam’s Razor: He liked it. Also, er, it is very much a real-life phenomenon. If perhaps overrepresented in fiction.

But anti whinging aside, it does beg the question: What did attract R&J to each other in the first place? I’ve talked at length about their similarities and their compatibility personally, verbally, and socially, but the bulk of the evidence is largely after they have met. So it makes sense why R&J would stick together and even prefer shuffling off their mortal coil than not be together. But at first sight? Without knowing a thing about each other besides their appearances?

R&J obviously do value physical beauty, but that in and of itself doesn’t explain why they would be attracted to each other. Shakespeare makes it a point to tell us that Capulet invited all the hot women in Verona, including Romeo’s crush, Rosaline. Why didn’t Romeo fall for any of them, or simply pine for Rosaline from afar? Juliet was dancing with a knight when Romeo saw her, and there were at least boys her age and not related to her, including Mercutio and Benvolio. Why didn’t she prefer any of them? And then there is the underrated fact that they met during a masquerade ball at night.

My very hot take? Shakespeare kept the instalove of his source material because his R&J would, in fact, fall 100% in love with each other for reasons other than hotness, and it is plausible that they would do so. And I’ll prove it: through Y/N dynamics.

Romeo’s POV

You’re the son and heir of a lord, living in 15th century Italy. Good news—you got male privilege! You have been given a fine education (for the time) in Latin, Greek, rhetoric, and so forth. You know how to read and write and duel people with pointy sticks. You have been raised to lead, and thus people are predisposed to take you seriously. You can do whatever the fuck you want with whoever the fuck you want, within reason. So long as you conform to this role and not show any unruly womanish traits, you’re good to go.

That said, you live in a macho society that is 100% okay with killing other people with sharp pointy sticks because they said something rude to you. Not only that, but your family has revived a blood feud with another family who hate your guts. Hence, your chance of dying a bloody death is astronomically high. Despite this, you turn out to be a pretty cool and even-tempered guy—you don’t cause trouble in the slightest. Your dad’s enemy even acknowledges your sterling reputation as a “portly gentlemen” and a “well-governed youth.”

In fact, you’re so chill that your biggest problem is that this hot girl you like doesn’t like you back. Even worse, she refuses to have sex, period. Which means she won’t have sex with you. You are a teenage boy, and this is indeed the worst thing that has ever happened to you. Fuck your life.

That said…you are not really doing much to get Hot Chick Who Won’t Have Sex With You to change her mind about you sex, are you? All you’ve been doing so far is 1) sneaking off to weep beneath sycamore trees in the early morning and 2) bitching to the Friar about HCWWHS, and 3) bitching to your cousin about how HCWWHS won’t spread her thighs to receive your that sweet golden cum (yes, that is verbatim). And when you find out that HCWWHS is going to this party at your enemy’s house, you don’t exactly jump at the chance to see her, do you? Your cousin literally has to convince you to go. Your response? “Fine, but I won’t Like(tm) it.”

Sure enough, you don’t. In fact, halfway through, you tell your friends you want to turn around and go back home. Nah, you say. It’s not worth it. You had a dream/premonition and now the party has bad vibes. (HCWWHS who? Ngl, you kind of just forget about her). Your cool friend mocks you for taking a ~dream seriously, ffs, but honestly you don’t pay much attention to him. You decide to go anyway, not because of HCWWHS or your cool friend, but because you march to the beat of your own drum. Que será será.

So what do you really want out of romance? Clearly, you are interested in HCWWHS’s thighs, but not much else about her. Why are you so emo about her, then? Certainly, she’s smart and hot, per you. Possibly older. Perhaps you feel that being with a hot older chick who can smell horny teenage guy BS a mile away is exactly what you want, actually. Or what you think you want.

Because here’s the deal: You’re obviously an odd duck in this hateful medieval town. You’re too chill for this feud life, too smart to get into needless fights, too young to work (don’t have to), and too old for school (you had private tutors, but that was ages ago). You’re too young to shoulder the responsibilities of an heir, but too old to be kept at home. So what tf do you do? See a play???? Do archery???? Falconry???? Hang out with friends????

As you can see, it’s a little lonely. Your parents are the type to let you do whatever the fuck you want because you’re a ~man now, and you need your ~space. No rules or structure. And despite what pop culture adaptations of your story have told millions, you are actually a smart and fairly mature guy for your age. You love your independence, of course, you won’t ever complain about that. But independence alone does not equate to true freedom.

What you need (but you don’t know you do) is a girl who would, actually, ask things from you. Demand them, even. Someone who is not shy about telling you what she thinks and what she wants. Someone who is open to the idea of love and not be obsessed with either chaste perfection or violence. Someone whom you can relate the struggles of living this isolated, feud-stricken life to. Someone who is mature but closer to your own age. Someone who is about as ambivalent as you are about the status quo.

And then you see this beautiful, mature, sad-looking girl dancing with this random knight. Oh, you think. Oh, indeed.

Juliet’s POV

You are a young teenage girl living in 15th century Italy. Bad news—you’re fucked. So much so it’s honestly too depressing to relate here in its entirety. You yourself know it, very deep down. Some light in this darkness? You are the only daughter to a very rich and noble family. Does that make you better? It should, a little.

For one thing, you are protected from your very violent macho culture’s obsession with killing people with pointy sticks. You are a girl, and you don’t do that. Your only jobs are to learn to read, sew, and marry rich. Your parents are not what you’d call the progressive types. Your relationship with your mother is very formal and awkward; needless to say, she is not the warm, motherly type. That would be your Nurse, who was actually the one to raise you. Your father is fine until you contradict him even slightly. Then he turns red and shouty and blustery, and suddenly you are a saucy girl and his fingers start to itch.

Fortunately for you, you’re a good girl. Not only that, but you are a smart one. From a very early age, you have learned how to survive in this very dysfunctional family. You learn how to say the right things in the right way. You equivocate better than any lawyer. Through trial and error, you become an excellent liar. (Either that or your family is just too dumb to believe you could ever lie to them). But even this sucks, because plot twist: You dislike lying. So much so that most of your “lies” are really just truths cleverly edited into the PR speak your family will accept.

At the same time, though, your Nurse indulges you and has no filter. So you learn a lot from her, especially about sex and men. Perhaps you even listen in on your cousins’ gossip. Also, you’re a 13-year-old with a growing libido. Not that you think you will ever get laid, lol. Your cousins will literally kill any man who tried. Your cousin Tybalt in particular loves a chance to fight. It’s not just your virtue that you need to protect, it’s the poor guy too.

But you are still 13, so when your mother and Nurse start talking about this Count Paris who wants to marry you, your instinct is to shut down entirely. You keep your mouth shut and tell them what they want to hear to appease them. It works—now you can go back to your teen girl life in relative peace.

Except no. You actually do have to meet and most likely dance with Count Paris at your family’s party. Do you want to go? Not particularly, but you are the Heir of Capulet(tm), so refusing is not an option. Do you like dancing? Maybe, but it’s hard to let loose and shake that thang with your family and cousins around. Are you interested in marriage? Nah. Your parents are proof número uno that it is not something to look forward to. Nothing against marriage, but you feel it’s something for the very distant future.

So there you are, inwardly seething inside, perhaps having to dance with Count Paris and other men way older than you, surrounded by your family. At this point, you’re exhausted and want the night to be over already. All you what to do is sulk against the wall next to some torches, looking bored/pissed/depressed. And not dance.

And then you see a beautiful boy leaning against the wall next to some torches, looking bored/pissed/depressed. And not dancing. Oh, you think. Oh, indeed.

In Sum

So yeah. Dramatic necessity aside, R&J being instantly attracted to each other makes sense, actually. They’re both introverted/in a blah mood/reluctant to attend this party, both have ambivalent feelings towards their supposed love interests (Rosaline, Paris), and both just don’t seem to fit into Verona’s feud life as neatly as outward appearances would suggest.

They see what they actually need in each other, which is balance: Juliet has too little freedom and Romeo too much. And considering how much we find out they are alike personally, there is even a sense of recognition in their first meeting. Beyond the “bewitchèd by the charm of looks,” R&J had reasons for them falling in love.

[neighbourhoodtwo]

[queeringclassiclit]

please send me submissions!

[butchhamlet]

that quote about shakespeare being “not of an age, but for all time” does, of course, oversimplify the way shakespeare’s plays were shaped by his time period, but sometimes i do think about how you can read the merchant of venice as making a statement that white people who are marginalized (see portia, white woman, and antonio and bassiano, white gay people) are still, first and foremost, white people who will enact social violence on jewish people & people of color in order to keep their own societal standings secure. which is fascinating from a standpoint of intersectionality & dissecting the violence in white womanhood, and is also fascinating because shakespeare wrote this play in 1596

[factual-flittermouse]

Broke: Old-timey grave curses using “he” because that was the norm and expectation

Woke: Trans grave robbers intentionally triggering curses for validation because “it said “cursed be he” not “cursed be ye””

[saturdayseas]

Rules: Without naming them, post a gif from ten of your favorite films, then tag ten people to do the same!

Tagged by @glitterypin ❤️

On a different day I could pick up 10 entirely different films and I honestly feel this list is very recentivist....but it is what it is.

too shy to tag ❤️😔 but anyone who wants to do this is welcome to!

[squishmallow36]

Not my spanish teacher giving me a homework that is just go on an aro rant for 150 words

[laiqualaurelote]

chapter ten - my reformation, glitt’ring o’er my fault

In moments like that, there would come the memory from that Henry IV rehearsal when Roy had broken form and slammed Jamie to the ground, arm on his throat, and snarled “I can no longer brook thy vanities”, and oh, Jamie knew he weren’t playing. Roy was a scab over an old wound and Jamie never could help himself from picking away till it bled fresh. No idea why it kept coming up in the orgies, though. He put it down to apocalypse doings. It was a confusing time to be alive.

In which Jamie Tartt, prodigal son, returns.

The Station Eleven post-apocalyptic theatre AU in which American comedy actor Ted Lasso, in the wake of a worldwide pandemic, winds up leading a Shakespearean theatre troupe through the ruins of England (no knowledge of Station Eleven necessary to read).

For this chapter, I am indebted to moviemuncherao3, whose advice on Mancunian phrases and geography has been invaluable, and who gamely answered bizarre queries such as "in event of an apocalypse (not zombies) and the collapse of civilisation, what would be a good place in Manchester for survivors to base themselves?" Thank you!

The border image for this is from one of James Chadderton's incredible artworks of post-apocalyptic Manchester.

[snowshinobi]

controversial hamlet opinion several hundred years late but guys let's face it: hamlet adores the sound of his own voice. so much he breaks the fourth wall to ramble. he fully commits to the visual presentation of grief. head to toe black. his own mother, wife of the dead man, asks hamlet to tone it down. he refuses. hamlet pretends to go insane so he can investigate his dad's suspected murder out in the open. he sets up a play WITHIN HIS OWN PLAY to give his shitty uncle the heebie-jeebies.

guys. hamlet is having fun. oh he's in agony, unequivocally: he grows numb to his friends as he realizes he cannot trust anyone. he loses his grip on his identity, his truth -- maybe he is truly mad after all, no act. he falls prey to the same murderous betrayal he set out to solve in the first place. his own story eats him.

but GUYS. hamlet had fun. despite everything.

[kanerallels]

Listen. It's about the fact that Ms. Baker (an English teacher) is married to a man named after a character from Shakespeare's plays (and maybe that's why she loves them! Or maybe they're the reason she first had interest in him)

But it's not just any Shakespeare character. Oh, no. It's Tybalt, from Romeo and Juliet

And it's probably unintentional-- probably just a random Shakespearean name

But Tybalt in the play dies fighting

And Tybalt in the book goes missing in action, presumed dead, fighting in the Vietnam War

BUT he comes back! He doesn't die, unlike the play's Tybalt. And that makes me think of this part

Unlike Shylock, Tybalt isn't trapped. He can be something else, he doesn't have to die. He's not trapped in the script of a tragedy. He can come home, and he does

[nastasya--filippovna]

Happy Birthday Billy Boy

[creatediana]

"The Duke of Somerset" - an extremely simple no. 2 pencil drawing done 1/08/2024, of actor Brian Deacon in Henry VI, Part 2 (1983) directed by Jane Howell for the BBC Television Shakespeare, done in about 10 minutes. Would've been more detailed but my sister said "I'm bored and hungry, come eat with me" and that sounded pretty compelling.