Shakespeare Sunday today, how cool! Here's a picture of Millais's Ophelia, probably the most famous Ophelia picture ever. The model was Lizzie Sidall, wife of Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Her story is as tragic as Ophelia's, and her beauty as transcendent. Shakespeare had such deep understanding of the human condition that, as famous Greek writer Nikos Kazantzakis put it, if humanity would ever send a representative to speak humanity's case to God, Shakespeare would be the one. Tragedy flourished twice in history: once with the Greeks who actually invented it, and then with Shakespeare.
I love Shakespeare, and I took as many courses about him as I could at University. I think Macbeth is my favorite Shakespearean play, though most are so good it's pointless to try to choose. Shakespeare invented the romantic comedy, i.e. The boy meets girl plot, where we know who the couple is from the start, but we are not sure how they will get together. Romantic comedies usually end with a marriage or a scene of conviviality where the whole community comes together. It's the same with Hollywood romantic comedies, where the protagonist proposes in front of everyone (Crocodile Dundee, When Harry met Sally) or the get together comes after a very public scene (Hitch).
Importantly, Shakespeare created such lively, intriguing and real seeming characters at a stage where drama was not so developed. He elevated English into the language of literature and truth, at a time when the educated would still use Latin or French. Shakespeare was a genius.
Enjoy your Shakespeare Sunday!!!
P.S. The pic comes from the book PreRaphaelite Women by Jan Marsh.
P.S. The pic comes from the book PreRaphaelite Women by Jan Marsh.
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