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Days 7 & 8
Aug. 1st, 2010 10:31 pm Life is a bit frenetic right now. But I am not abandoning the meme!
Day 7: Favorite Clown
My favorite clown at the moment is definitely King Lear's fool. I find his relationship with Lear both sweet and sad. Somehow, the fool brings out Lear's humanity and his ability to feel for his fellow human beings as he rages in the storm. I also love the ways in which the fool and Cordelia mirror each other.
Also, I must rail against a production I recently saw in which the fool HANGS HIMSELF. No. Just. No. I think one of the most stunningly ambiguous, most deeply moving moments in the play comes when Lear, cradling Cordelia's body, says, "and my poor fool is hanged." This RUINS IT. /End rant
Day 8: Favorite Comedy
I really have three favorites: Merchant of Venice, Twelfth Night, and Much Ado About Nothing. I love them each for different reasons. Since I have to pick one, though, I'll go with Twelfth Night. It's fun and quirky and bursting at the seams with romantic love of all kinds. At the same time, though, there's a dark edge that always makes me slightly uncomfortable. Now that I've given this some thought, I realize that my favorite modern comedies are quite similar, tonally: I love Rushmore, I Heart Huckabees, The Big Lebowski and O Brother Where Art Thou.
Day 7: Favorite Clown
My favorite clown at the moment is definitely King Lear's fool. I find his relationship with Lear both sweet and sad. Somehow, the fool brings out Lear's humanity and his ability to feel for his fellow human beings as he rages in the storm. I also love the ways in which the fool and Cordelia mirror each other.
Also, I must rail against a production I recently saw in which the fool HANGS HIMSELF. No. Just. No. I think one of the most stunningly ambiguous, most deeply moving moments in the play comes when Lear, cradling Cordelia's body, says, "and my poor fool is hanged." This RUINS IT. /End rant
Day 8: Favorite Comedy
I really have three favorites: Merchant of Venice, Twelfth Night, and Much Ado About Nothing. I love them each for different reasons. Since I have to pick one, though, I'll go with Twelfth Night. It's fun and quirky and bursting at the seams with romantic love of all kinds. At the same time, though, there's a dark edge that always makes me slightly uncomfortable. Now that I've given this some thought, I realize that my favorite modern comedies are quite similar, tonally: I love Rushmore, I Heart Huckabees, The Big Lebowski and O Brother Where Art Thou.
