Blog Feed: No Sweat Shakespeare

Shakespeare vs. Dr Seuss

Published on 2012-03-18 10:59:17

We recently stumbled across the rather amusing “Epic Rap Battles of History”. In at number 12 was the Shakespeare vs Dr Seuss battle. For those who aren’t acquanted with battle rapping, it’s a freestyle rapping competition between two or more rappers in front of an audience, with the aim of insulting the other rappers in [...]

What We Can Learn From Things Shakespeare Took For Granted

Published on 2012-03-14 06:00:27

It’s endlessly fascinating to read Elizabethan practices and customs in the plays of the time. If one shuts one’s eyes to the plots, action and characters of Shakespeare’s plays and looks for other things one can build an understanding of many aspects of Elizabethan life. The conventions of warfare, court life, relationships between the sexes, [...]

Shall I Compare Thee…To A Toddler?

Published on 2012-03-12 06:03:51

There’s nothing wrong with starting on Shakespeare young… but reciting a Shakespeare sonnet word-for-word at the age of two? Check out this little guy reciting Shakespeare’s most famous sonnet – number 18, “Shall I Compare Thee To Summer’s Day?”. Pretty incredible stuff! � What’s the best thing you could recite when you were two years [...]

Shakespeare’s Coat of Arms

Published on 2012-03-08 16:56:03

Did you know that Shakespeare had his own coat of arms? Sometime after William Shakespeare’s father John Shakespeare applied unsuccessfully to become a gentleman William took his father to the College of Arms to secure their own family coat of arms. The application cost 30 guineas and was granted from the Garter King of Arms [...]

What’s In A Name? “Shakespere” & Top Shop

Published on 2012-03-06 02:52:51

What’s in a name? Shakespeare by any other name would surely smell as sweet! The big Shakespeare news in the UK yesterday was red faces all round at leading high street retailer Top Shop, when they realised they’d spelled Shakespeare’s name incorrectly on a t-shirt. The women’s fashion item went on sale online and at [...]

New Documentary on Shakespeare’s Stratford Upon Avon

Published on 2012-03-02 08:18:17

We just came across this high-quality documentary on Shakespeare’s Stratford Upon Avon, made by UK  film production company Alpha Star Productions. The documentary is a walk  through Shakespeare’s life in Stratford - from the house in which he he was born to the church in which he was buried – and explores the life he lived in the [...]

Is It Hip Hop Or Shakespeare?

Published on 2012-02-22 16:41:05

A quick pop quiz for you, do you think the quotes below words are from a hip hop track or Shakespeare play? “To destroy the beauty from which one came” “Maybe it’s hatred I spew, maybe it’s food for the spirit” “Men would rather use their broken records than their bear hands” “I was not [...]

Learning Shakespeare

Published on 2012-02-19 08:00:26

I recently came across a story I wrote some time ago: it was in an anthology of  short stories intended for study by GCSE English students in the UK. It was a strange feeling to see it there, accompanied by questions about it and points for discussion. That a story, written for the pleasure and [...]

Shakespeare & Racism

Published on 2012-01-31 03:48:49

A common mistake we’re to make when trying to transpose any Shakespearean expression  from Renaissance English to contemporary modern English is to ignore its context and see it in the context of our own time. This often gives rise to charge against Shakespeare of such modern concepts as ‘racism,’ ‘anti-semitism’ or ‘sexism.’ Another complication is [...]

Shakespeare Slow & Steady

Published on 2012-01-29 09:06:32

It’s so very much easier for us, in the twenty-first century, to extend our physical horizons, than it was in previous centuries. Going on short rail breaks from London, for example, allows us to enjoy all manner of pleasures in any part of the country we choose. We can visit the Lake District for a [...]

Shakespeare’s Inspiration for Romeo & Juliet?

Published on 2012-01-26 12:09:54

There are various rumors as to whether Shakespeare suffered from writers block or not. Some sources claim Shakespeare wrote quickly with ease – his contemporary Ben Jonson said “Whatsoever he penned, he never blotted out a line.” However, there is evidence of Shakespeare revising and crossing out his work in one scene he wrote for  Sir Thomas More, a [...]