PLAY ON! April - Freebie Month (Yay!)

How do you like your plays this far? We have some exciting posts during the last months. I hope by now everybody has had his/her own favourite type of play.

So this month is the perfect time to show them off! There's no limit, nor boundary whatsoever for the play you want to read - as long as it is a play.

So, without further ado, let's begin!

Life is A Dream: When to Do What's Right?

Post-Renaissance. I didn't cheat. Haha.

But instead of taking Wilde or Shaw, I chose a new author: Pedro Calderón de la Barca. He is one of the most influential Spanish playwrights (which I didn't know before), and among his many plays, ths time I chose to read Life is A Dream - one of his finest works.

It's such a shame that I don't speak Spanish, so I was forced to choose a translation. At last, after considering whether I want to read in prose or poetry, I chose Denis Florence Mac-Carthy's translation, because that particular translation tries to use the original metre of the play. The result is a kind of play I've never read before.

Let's look at the plot first.

***

This play is about a man named Sigismund. He had been imprisoned and chained his whole life for the crime of "being born". No one knew that he was there, nobody visited him but a caretaker, Clotaldo, servant to the King of Poland.

However, one day, Rosaura, a lady dressed as man, and Clarin incidentally found the tower where he was kept. Rosaura was in search of a man who took her honour to avenge herself. Her mother gave her a sword, saying that someone among the nobles of Poland would prove to be her friend. Upon seeing the sword, Clotaldo recognised her as his son (he didn't know she was a woman), and took both Rosaura and Clarin to Court.

Meanwhile in court, Astolfo, Duke of Muscovy, was discussing with his cousin Estrella the prospect of ruling Poland together. Estrella didn't reject the idea of marriage with him altogether, but she was doubtful as to his fidelity, since she once saw him wearing a locket with a woman's picture inside. The King called them, and revealed that he in fact, had a son, locked and chained in a tower, because of a prophecy that he would kill his father and become a tyrant. The King felt guilty for trusting the prophecy too much, and decided to try his son's disposition, whether he would indeed be a good king or not.

Their plan was to sedate Sigismund and brought him into the palace. When he woke up, he was confused. Clotaldo revealed that he was actually a Prince and that the King wished to reinstate him.  Sigismund was furious. He couldn't forgive his father and everyone involved (including Clotaldo) for his suffering. When Astolfo, Estrella, and other Rosaura entered, he ended up offending almost everyone (except Rosaura I suppose). The king sedated him and he fell asleep.

Sigismund woke up in his prison again. Clotaldo convinced him that he was but dreaming, but added that even though it had been a dream, he should have done the right thing.

"For 'twere well, whoe'er we be,
Even in dreams to do what's right."

But then it turned out that the people didn't like the idea of being ruled by a foreigner (Astolfo). So they liberated Sigismund from prison, and made him their king. Rosaura, disappointed that her father didn't want to defend her honour, supported Sigismund. The army of the king, Estrella, and Astolfo was lost to the army of Sigismund. Instead of killing his father as prophesied, Sigismund forgave him and spared his life, along with Clotaldo's. The attractive Rosaura was reunited with her lover, Astolfo, who, although reluctant at first to marry a lowly girl, relented when Clotaldo revealed that she was her daughter. Sigismund himself married Estrella, and ruled as king, with the blessing of his father.

*****

For me, the play is really interesting. Plot-wise, like most plays, it's a bit complicated, but dialogue-wise, it's a gem. Sigismund is described as a philosophical character, who likes to know the meaning of his existence.

"Since man's greatest crime on earth
Is the fatal fact of birth - "

Another thing discussed in this play is the never-ending-problem of fate vs. free will. Can one break his destiny? Or rather, does fate exist?

But the thing that I love the most about this play is how it likens our lives to dreams.

"What is life? A thing that seems,
A mirage that falsely gleams,
Phantom joy, delusive rest,
Since is life a dream at best,
And even dreams themselves are dreams"

And most importantly, that it doesn't matter whether we dream or not, because either way, we need to do what's right. It's interestingly timely, because just a few months ago I was having a discussion with my father as to whether a man, doing a wrong thing in his dream, is still guilty of his wrongdoing, although it's not "real". I am glad I'm not the only one who thinks that he's guilty.

*****

This is becoming too personal. So, how's your reading? Don't forget to share the link. Happy reading.

PLAY ON! March - Post-Renaissance Plays

Great to see a lot of entries last month. It's actually lovely to see Marlowe and Lyly on the list as well. It seems like Macbeth won the vote for most-read Renaissance in this challenge.

March is more modern. You are free to choose anything after the English Renaissance. So Sheridan, Wilde, Shaw, and many others are very welcome. Don't be afraid to read outside of England. Beaumarchais, Hugo, Rostand, and the rest would be welcome as well.

Don't forget to share in the linky below.

PLAY ON! February - Renaissance Plays

Our entries for January theme is somewhat scarce. However, I hope this month is a bit merrier, because instead of reading translations of old Greek and Latin, we (at least most of us) will be reading English plays in English without the distorting veil of translation.

Renaissance was a big movement that influenced all Europe, almost in every aspect of its culture. In England, however, when we talk of Renaissance, we talk about literature. Renaissance England was the time when people were in love with poetry, and poetry and plays flourished like flowers in spring. Spencer, Bacon, Thomas Wyatt, just to name the few. Just lovely.

But we're going to focus on plays.

William Shakespeare. No other playwright of the period - or of all periods - can match him in fame and glory. I expect many of us to find joy and pleasure in reading his plays. But he's not the only one. Just a few steps behind him is Marlowe. He doesn't get as much attention, not because the quality of his plays is somewhat lower than Shakespeare, but just because he died too fast. We only have the privilege to read some of his plays, such as Dido and Aeneas and The Jew of Malta. Other playwrights to consider are Ben Johnson, George Chapman, etc.

Although I mention mainly the English playwrights, it would be amazing to have other plays from all around the world. Don't be afraid to improvise.

Please share your reading moment with us in the inlinkz below. Enjoy the play(s).

Thesmophoriazusae: Introduction to Greek Sense of Humour

Euripides made me read this.

Having read some really gruesome Greek tragedies, I decided that I had to acquaintance myself with Greek comedy, so I browsed Wikipedia for advice. Lysisastra was my first option (a friend recommended it for me), however, upon reading the synopsis, I decided that I wouldn't like it. Then I read the plot of Thesmophoriazusae, in which it makes a parody of Euripides. That definitely made me read.

****

Thesmophoriazusae starts with Euripides and his friend (in-law, actually), Mnesilochus, discussed the chance of Euripides being killed by women. The women were offended by Euripides' portrayal of their sex in his plays. So in Thesmophoria, a fertility festival for Demeter, they plan to discuss how to revenge him.

At first, Euripides sought the help of Agathon, a fellow playwright who cross-dresses as a woman. However, he refused. So Euripides dressed Mnesilochus instead as a woman and sent him to Thesmophorion to save his life.

In Thesmophorion, the women had a sort-of democratic debate about Euripides. Mnesilochus tried to defend Euripides by asserting that Euripides had justly portrayed women as such, as he himself (dressed as a woman) had done acts even more terrible than what Euripides told in his plays.

But his disguise was discovered. He was captured and he awaited his punishment. Euripides panicked. In some foolish attempts to save Mnesilochus he played Perseus/Andromeda and Menelaus/Helen (Mnesilochus always played the girl, by the way).

At last, Euripides plead to the women, promising them he wouldn't portray them the way he had before in his plays. They didn't agree to save Mnesilochus, but he let him tried to do so.

With a trick, he freed Mnesilochus from a Scythian Archer who was ordered to kill him.

***

All in all, it's so Greek to me. As I said before, it's my first Greek Comedy.

The comic elements of the play - crossdressing, homosexuality and jokes about homosexuality, parody of well-known plays - remind me that humanity hasn't really change since Aristophanes' time.

Although I was not really amused by this particular play, I put some Greek plays on my to-read list. One of them is Ipheginea at Tauris, which I will read when I have time. Or in April. Depends.

How was your first month in PLAY ON!? Have you been enjoying your play? Please share here.

PLAY ON! January - Ancient Plays

January is approaching. It's time to start our play reading challenge. The challenge for January is Ancient Plays.

When we say Ancient, it means anything before the printing press begun. So, Old Greeks and Romans are very welcome. Apart from those two obvious categories, if you happen to know Ancient plays from other parts of the world (Chinese or Japanese, for instance) they are welcome as well, provided they are written for plays, not epic or narrative poems.

The Greek loved to write trilogies. It was long before The Lord of the Rings or Hunger Games, but they just knew how to make a good show. So if you happen to challenge yourself with the whole 3 plays in Oresteia or Oedipus cycle, that would be awesome. Unfortunately, we don't have many nowadays, most have been lost through age and time.

I have posted a linky below for us to share with others our reviews of the plays that we read. Please insert the play author, play title, your name, and the title of your blog, with a link to your review. (e.g.: Sophocles - Oedipus Rex (Listra@Half-Filled Attic))

And, don't be shy to share your reading experience in social media, using the #PlayOn hashtag.

Let's Play!