Four Mini Reviews

As you have probably noticed I have close to zero time lately. I still manage to read, but posting and sleeping are not so lucky :) So I've decided to do as everybody seem do in such case: write mini-reviews! They are small books anyway :)

Title: Harry Potter y el Prisionero de Azkaban
Author: J.K. Rowling
First published: 1999
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Rating: ★★★★★

Yes, this one was in Spanish! We read it together with Hillary from ahorseandacarrot and it was fun! Books in foreign languages are perfect for read-a-longs. Without being accountable I just kept putting it off to read something more relaxing, but with our read-a-long I swished through it in less than two months at a pace of one chapter in three days. Wonderful! I'm a bit afraid to tackle the fourth book yet though. It's bigger and more "adult" and the chapters are longer... Well, maybe in summer, when I have more time :) Also, I'll announce the second Language Freak Summer Challenge next month, so I hope it'll give me a push :)

Title: The Sandman, Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes
Author: Neil Gaiman
First published: 1988
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Rating: ★★★★★

It was the first comic book I've ever read! Can you believe it? After the disappointment of Gaiman's American Gods and because of my inner snobbishness (comic books? They are for children!) I wasn't expecting much of it, but guess what? It was amazing! Dark and creepy sometimes, but totally amazing! I loved the art and how the story is told in short snippets, and how the parts of the puzzle fit together as you read and you get to know more about the awesome, awesome, awesome Morpheus. I love Morpheus. That's all there is to know about my feelings towards Sandman :)

Title: Yvain, or The Knight With the Lion
Author: Chrétien de Troyes
First published: 1176
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Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Unlike Erec and Enide and Cligès, I didn't enjoy Yvain at all, and so I don't have much to say about it. The plot devices never looked so artificial in Chrétien's works as here (pour water on stone to summon a horrible knight? Really?) and the main character never was such an asshole. Yvain leaves the love of his life a couple of days after the marriage and promises to come in a year... and OF COURSE he just forgets about it at all and therefore has to go seek some adventures instead of asking for forgiveness... I will not even go into his treatment of the lion. The lion is the only decent character in the story, really.

Title: The Train (orig. Sputniki)
Author: Vera Panova
First published: 1946
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Rating: ★★★★★

My mom has recommended me this classical Russian war novel, and as usual, her recommendation was brilliant! This short book tells a story of a hospital train during the horrible years of WWII, from its first bombing until the last war spring. Very different people work on this train - doctors, nurses, war officers, engineers... Each one has his/her own story, his/her own dreams and fears, but they all must live together and work endless shifts to make the passage of the patients from the front to the hospitals more comfortable. There's everything in this book: tragedy, loss, love, friendship, true selflessness and cunning self-advancement... Because people are different, and war makes these differences even more obvious.

Cligès by Chrétien de Troyes (Review)

Title: Cligès
Author: Chrétien de Troyes
First published: 1176
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Rating: ★★★★★

Cligès is the second poem by Chrétien de Troyes and it is a wild and amusing mix of Tristan and Iseult, Romeo and Juliet and your classic Arthurian romance. The story can be roughly divided into two parts: the first one tells about the Greek emperor Alexander, who came to King Arthur's court in search of glory and also found his love, and the second focuses on his son Cligès and his love to Fenice, which is very unlike the simple and idyllic story of his parents.

The most striking thing about this poem is that it's very, very funny. Chrétien's ironic and cute portrayal of the lovers' feelings made me smile all the time. They seem stupid but also really adorable in their agony. And aren't we all stupid when we are in love? :) Another thing that I like about Chrétien de Troyes is that he is always very self-conscious about his writing, and he talks to the reader, explaining his writer's choices and underlining the structure of the poem. It's as if he is telling you the story reposing in front of the fire after a plentiful dinner washed down with mulled wine.

The plot is more real and much less conventional than the plot of Erec and Enide, the only other Chrétien's poem I've read so far. Instead of battling imaginary giants at imaginary locations, Cligès is about real European politics and real battles and sieges. There is also abduction, treason, forbidden love, poisons, you name it! I really loved the "marriage solution" from the story. Fenice, in love with Cligès, doesn't want to sleep with her lawful husband, so every evening she gives him a potion which makes him sleep and dream certain dreams that make him sure she does her marital duty by him. Awesome, right??

In my book:
Cligès is much more readable than Erec and Enide and is very entertaining without any reservations!

Erec and Enide by Chrétien de Troyes (Review)

Title: Erec and Enide
Author: Chrétien de Troyes
First published: 1170
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Rating: ★★★☆☆

The reason I actually enjoyed this poem is probably the translation. Mine is a verse translation into Russian, and it is really good: readable, rhyming, stylistically suitable. Without a good translation these epic poems can be a bit repetitive and tiring, you know, and Erec and Enide sometimes was. It's full of the descriptions of the feasts, presents, entourage and blows in the duels. But clever word choice and a fast rhyme flow somewhat covered those nuisances.

Erec and Enide is the first of Chrétien de Troyes's Arthurian romances. He took some old legends and remodeled them according to current chivalrous tradition. So no surprise the reader sees some French locations there and some imported goods which were not present at the hypothetical Arthurian times. Each and every knight is under constant pressure to prove his value to everybody and himself, and this usually leads to some stupid decisions, like travelling alone or not stopping for rest to tend one's wounds... I guess the death rate was rather high among the knights of the round table.

Erec wants revenge from some unknown knight for an offence he has given to the queen. While accomplishing this, Erec meets his future wife, Enide, fights for her and brings her back to the court. After marriage rumors start that Erec is caring more for his wife than for his valor (hm... not surprising at all!), so he decides to go search some fights again, this time taking his wife with him and testing her on the way.

I don't like Erec at all. He is straight as a stick, and is not very amiable and clever. Enide is more to my liking, as she is always alert for anything that can harm her husband, and can perfectly well deal with some unwelcome suitors (that want to kill her husband and get her as a prize, obviously) by outwitting them. Nevertheless, I'm really surprised that a woman is allowed to play such an important role in the story and accompany her husband in his adventures. A great decision, Chrétien de Troyes!

In my book:
Although Erec is not the most popular knight of the round table, Erec and Enide is a good introduction to the topic. It's rather entertaining and only at times repetitive.

P.S. Jean has also written a review on Erec and Enide, so go check it out HERE. Arthurian event is the best, I tell you!

Geoffrey of Monmouth's works

Title: The History of the Kings of Britain
Author: Geoffrey of Monmouth
First published Written: 1136
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Rating: ★★★☆☆

Geoffrey of Monmouth is the one who laid the foundation for Arthur's insane popularity, as he was the first to collect all the legends and stories about him, put them into historical context and present as truth. Geoffrey claims that his work is just a translation of some "certain very ancient book written in the British language", but the truth is that he just mixed whatever written sources he has read with some Welsh myths he has heard and spiced the story up with some fictitious adornments to make it exciting. Although The History of the Kings of Britain had been considered a serious historical work for some time, now it should be read more as a historical fiction or fantasy. Nor is it less gripping than the modern books of these genres.

Geoffrey starts the history of Britons with the story of Trojan Aeneas, which he totally ripped off from Virgil. Aeneas's grandson Brutus is banished from Italy where his people now reside and has to colonize Britain. After battling some giants to free the island for settling, he becomes the first of the kings of Britons. Geoffrey tells about all the subsequent kings chronologically, but he has his favorites, and while some of them get two lines, the deeds of others occupy tens of pages. Among the characters most beloved by Geoffrey are: King Lear, Cassibelanus, Vortigern and of course Arthur.

Unlike Nennius, who only lists Arthur's battles, Geoffrey describes his life in detail. There is a totally amazing story of his conception (not without the help of Merlin!), the story of his battles and the conquest of half of Europe and the account of his death and departure to Avalon after a wound inflicted in the battle against his treacherous nephew Mordred. All the basic elements of the subsequent retellings are there, but it is still a legend, not a fully developed story. We don't know much about the character of Arthur of his followers, there is no explanation of Mordred's treason and Guinevere's behavior. There is no sword in the stone as yet, no famous knights surrounding him, no Grail and no real charm in the story. But it's a beginning, and a fascinating beginning for all that.

In my book:
This is a good place to start exploring Arthur story, but it's important to remember that most of the book is Geoffrey's fantasy :)

Title: Life of Merlin
Author: Geoffrey of Monmouth
First published Written: 1150
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Rating: ★★★☆☆

Unlike The History of the Kings of Britain, Life of Merlin is a story in verse, and it doesn't concern Arthur at all. It tells about Merlin as a mad prophet, who went off his head and withdrew to the forests after the death of his two brothers. After that, his wife and sister are constantly trying to drag him back to civilization, but in his short relapses he makes his horrifyingly true but cynical and indiscreet predictions and runs away again. Finally, he trains some apprentice prophets and dies in the forests after foreseeing the future of Britain.

The story would have been amazing, if the second half of it was not filled with the useless information about birds, fishes, geography, physics and what not taken from Etymologiae by Isidore of Seville. These educational passages were really tiresome to read.

In my book:
A lovely poem composed of several fable-like stories. With the omission of the "etymological" parts would be really precious.

Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare (Review)

Title: Julius Caesar
Author: William Shakespeare
First published: 1599
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Rating: ★★★★★

For me Shakespeare's tragedies work much better than comedies. He has this sixth sense as to how to make them pathetic and believable, dramatic and realistic at the same time. And no 16-century weird humour, thank you!

Julius Caesar tells about - guess, what? Correct, about the assassination of Julius Caesar. But it's a mistake to think the guy is the main character in the play - the centre of everything is rather Brutus, who is struggling between his love to Caesar and his duty as a citizen. The most interesting part of the plot is all the polemics about the necessity and reasons to kill Caesar. On the one hand, he is a great and very estimated man, but on the other hand he is on the verge of being asked to become an emperor, and this no free citizen can abide. I also really loved how Brutus and Antony in turns bring the mob to their side, people changing their opinions cardinally in a matter of 5 minutes just because of some words they hear. The power of rhetoric!

Brutus is a very well-developed character: principled, valiant and thoughtful. His is a really tragic figure, as he knows all the consequences of his deed, but he still does it because of his beliefs and in spite of personal feelings. Another favourite of mine is Portia, Brutus's wife, who will not be treated as merely a wife and a woman, but rather as an advisor and friend. Her idea of a marriage is sharing not only a bed and a table, but also thoughts, anxieties and plans. Rather modern!

Let's finish, as usual, with some wonderful quotes:

"Cowards die many times before their deaths;"

Portia's greatest phrase:

"I have a man's mind, but a woman's might."

"The ides of March are come.
<...>
Ay, Caesar; but not gone."

A great judicial principle for all times:

"What touches us ourself shall be last served."

Very meta:

"<...> How many ages hence
Shall this our lofty scene be acted over
In states unborn and accents yet unknown!"

Brutus's reasoning:

"Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more. <...> As Caesar loved me, I weep for him; as he was fortunate, I rejoice at it; as he was valiant, I honour him: but, as he was ambitious, I slew him."

About historical judgement:

"The evil that men do lives after them;
The good is oft interred with their bones;"

"When love begins to sicken and decay,
It useth an enforced ceremony."

"Words before blows"

And my personal favourite:

"There is a tide in the affairs of men,
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries."

In my book:
A beautiful tragedy with a lot of controversial moral loading. Great characters, great dialogues! One of the Shakespeare's best plays!

Paris Spleen by Charles Baudelaire (Review)

Title: Paris Spleen
Author: Charles Baudelaire
First published: 1851
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Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Reviews here are getting shorter and shorter as I'm more and more engulfed in Titus Groan. But sometimes I need to make breaks and fit in other stuff, as for example this book of Baudelaire's "poetry" for The Modern and the Postmodern course. The reason for putting "poetry" in quotation marks is that these short writings are called "poems in prose", which means they are just short sketches with some philosophical motive.

The author is killing his time strolling through Paris, making encounters, drinking, smoking, philosophizing and writing it all down. The result is somewhat weird, somewhat enraging and very wacky. I couldn't help wishing the author being put to some medical treatment, because he is not only self-destructive, but also dangerous for others. Baudelaire's embrace of life in all its manifestations resulted in his death of syphilis, by the way. Very predictable.

In my book:
I'm not a fan of "weird french stuff", and this collection was beside the mark. The author could have benefited from more flogging in his childhood.

As You Like It by William Shakespeare (Review)

Title: As You Like It
Author: William Shakespeare
First published: 1623
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Rating: ★★★★☆

I'm not a very big fan of Shakespeare's comedies, because, let's be honest, the jokes may have been funny at his times, but they are not funny anymore. So the "funny" scenes usually leave me abashed and perplexed. But luckily there's much more to As You Like It than just humour, so the book was not disappointing overall.

The style of the play may be characterized as pastoral: all the good guys leave the court in favour of a simpler life in the forest with the shepherds. As usual, there is also love, cross-dressing, a fool and some court intrigues, spiced up with a few nice philosophical sayings. By the way, As You Like It is the play where the famous "All the world's a stage" speech comes from. I didn't know it!

Some of the other favourite quotes include:

"Do you not know I am a woman? when I think, I must speak."

"...honesty coupled to beauty is to have honey a sauce to sugar."

"O, that woman that cannot make her fault her husband's occasion, let her never nurse her child herself, for she will breed it like a fool!"

"...take a good heart and counterfeit to be a man."

- I'll remember it to use as an encouragement to somebody :)

"The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool."

In my book:
It's everything you expect from a Shakespeare's comedy.

A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare

Title: A Midsummer Night's Dream
Author: William Shakespeare
First published: 1596
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It's been a while since I participated in Let's Read Plays event because of exams, conference and other stuff. So A Midsummer Night's Dream was actually supposed to be an April read, but it seems even more timely now, in June, when summer solstice is approaching. I've also decided that I don't want the pressure of catching-up, so I'll skip Romeo and Juliet and An Ideal Husband which were re-reads anyway and start next month with a clean slate to fully enjoy The Seagull.

Now to the play itself. Remember me writing that I'm not actually enjoying Shakespeare's comedies because of rude and primitive jokes which are moreover nearly impossible to understand because of the language? Well, this is completely not true about this play, and I enjoyed every line of it. I guess that's thanks to the main topic of the jokes, which is theatrical business, the thing that Shakespeare knew very well and so could ridicule best.

As for the plot, there are three distinct story lines in the play. One is a love triangle, or rather quadrangle with twisted sides: two men in love with one woman; she loves one of them, but her father is supporting another, and the second girl is in love with the unwonted suitor. She wants to fight for her love, but, as she says:

We cannot fight for love, as men may do;
We should be woo'd and were not made to woo.

and it takes a love potion to set all this straight. The love potion comes from another cast of characters, fairy folk, who has their own story: Oberon and Titania, the king and the queen of the faerie, are having an argument about a servant and are eager to spite each other, for which Oberon sets up a plan of enamoring his wife with something repulsive. And someone suitable turns up, as one of the troop of common men rehearsing a play for the royal wedding in the same forest is half-turned into an ass by another fairy character Puck. So there is a lot of fun in the play, but everything ends well, and the poorly rehearsed play is performed at the celebration, accompanied by the most hilarious jests and commentaries as to the setting, the plot and the performing ever!

Some more lines that I liked in the play:

...reason and love keep little company together now-a-days;

Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind; 

And I'll finish with my favorite:

Lord, what fools this mortals be!

Oedipus the King by Sophocles: What's so Greek about It?

Oedipus the King is my first Greek play, and I must say I didn't like it. And it's not the story, which is very powerful itself, it's the form that spoils everything.

Well, I assume everybody knows the plot, so no need to remind you of it. However I'd like to say that  I don't understand why everybody thinks this a story about perversity, about sexual desire to one's mother, which is even named "Oedipus's complex". Come on, people, he never knew it was his mother! And when it was revealed he took his eyes out. He is a normal man, it is just his bad fate. So I think the story is about Fate, with the capital letter. You are not getting away no matter what you try.

But I wanted to discuss form rather than the story here. And here is what is the most striking:

1) Nothing happens on the scene. There are murders, suicides and other atrocities, but we know about them only from the dialogues. Well, I guess it's difficult to stage taking out one's eyes believably, but the murder - why not? As a result, the whole play looks like a session of some club of old gossipers, and it is hard to believe in the misery of the characters, as they appear only to read their monologues.

2) There is chorus, which acts for the mob and sometimes also for the reader, as it "unobtrusively" hints what everybody should feel about the events. I don't like anybody telling me what to feel, and it's quite irritating when something is going to happen (well, not really happen, but be discussed rather :) ), but you need to read the laments of the chorus before. Were those pauses made to give the public time to go to the toilet in the middle of the play, I wonder? ;)

3) You are supposed to know the story BEFORE you read or watch the play. Otherwise you'll have no chance to understand what has Oedipus done to become a king. There is a hint about the Sphinx, but it is not told directly. Well, I guess that everybody knew it then, but still it's rather inconsiderate :)

It may partially be my fault that I expected too much of such a renown play, but I was rather disappointed. It will not divert me from further reading of Greek plays, of course, not yet at least, but for now I really prefer Shakespeare. I enjoy some real drama on the scene!

Henry V by William Shakespeare

And gentlemen in England now-a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs’d they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day.

This famous speech was one of my first encounters with Shakespeare in English. We had classes in the history of England at the University, and our professor tried to make it interesting and entertaining for everybody, so we read literature, watched films and illustrations, etc. It was fun, really! So when the topic was Henry V, we of course read St. Crispin’s Day speech. There were some difficult words, but the overall heroic mood of the battle was really well-depicted and helped to imagine how it was.

I'm not sure if I can judge the play from the point of view of historical accuracy, as I have forgotten a lot from those history classes, but as a reader I find the course of events rather believable. The French campaign description begins with the justification of the invasion that the English found for themselves. It was inheritance, of course - the question which was rather confusing at that time when it was not sure if women could inherit. But it seems that everybody, even the king, understood that it is only a pretext for the war. Henry was worried before the battle that so many people will die for an unfair cause. He was very fast in convincing himself and everybody else that it's no king's fault, though :) Such a nice demagogue!

The battles themselves are described rather ruthlessly both from the point of view of the common people and the nobility. The reader is shown no only what is going on in the middle of the field, with people fighting for their lives, but also what happens in the night before the final stand, when everybody prepares himself for the battle and waits for the break of day. And both English and French camps are shown, which helps compare and contrast them. Now, I think French are described rather unfairly, their nobility is shallow and vain in the play, they discuss only their horses and equipment, and they are ever so sure of their victory. This is biased of course, but I think Shakespeare had to be patriotic, as this was part of the Tudor propaganda. Besides, I think common people liked their villains to be really villain :)

Shakespeare understood the difficulty of portraying a historical event without decorations and special effects, so a special man, called "Choir" comes out on the stage in the beginning of each act and gives some perspective of the events. Moreover, he humbly asks the viewer's help in imagining real horses, thousands of people instead the couple impersonating them, etc. It makes such a bond between the writer and the reader, that makes it hard not to like the play. Especially when the writer cares for his public so much:

There is the playhouse now, there must you sit,
And thence to France shall we convey you safe
And bring you back, charming the narrow seas
To give you gentle pass; for, if we may,
We’ll not offend one stomach with our play.

This is my first Shakespeare history ever, and though I felt a bit overwhelmed with names and long speeches at times, I really liked it. It is believable, if not unbiased, and stirs the reader's imagination. Henry is also very likable and inspiring, so I was rather happy he found his love in the end. And I'll finish with the advice he gives to her when convincing her to marry him:

And while thou liv’st, dear Kate, take a fellow of plain and uncoined constancy, for he perforce must do thee right because he hath not the gift to woo in other places. For these fellows of infinite tongue, that can rhyme themselves into ladies' favors, they do always reason themselves out again. What? A speaker is but a prater, a rhyme is but a ballad, a good leg will fall, a straight back will stoop, a black beard will turn white, a curled pate will grow bald, a fair face will wither, a full eye will wax hollow, but a good heart, Kate, is the sun and the moon, or rather the sun and not the moon, for it shines bright and never changes but keeps his course truly.

True, right?

Twelfth Night, or What You Will by William Shakespeare

Twelfth Night was the first of Shakespeare's comedies I've actually read, though of course I've seen a lot of adaptations of them. The experience was very different than that of reading a tragedy. There are a lot if puns and practical jokes in it and the focus is really not on the love story. Actually, I felt a bit deprived of the romantic details. I also found it a bit difficult to follow the half-drunken jokes in some of the dialogues. Maybe it's my English, maybe they are really old, or maybe I should have tried better? But it's a light book, and you don't want to linger on passages at all, so I must confess I might have missed something.

A plot is very classical and potent - a girl, Viola, is dressed as a boy for safety in an unknown country and has to help her master, Orsino, with his unfortunate love to another woman, Olivia. Needless to say, Olivia falls in love with Viola, thinking she's a man, and thus there are some funny situations. Should I mention that Viola has a twin brother, who she thinks has drowned in a ship wreck that she herself survived, but who hasn't? =) Or that everything ends well?

Besides the main plot line there is a lot of action for the servants. They are responsible for the most comical situations in the play, which involve fake love letter, dressing the clown as a monk and a lot of drinking on the part of Toby Belch. Among the servants Maria is my favourite. She is a very prototypical "cunning maid", but she is not spiteful, she rather tries to amuse her fellow servants with her pranks.

Overall, it's a very fast-moving and pleasant read, but I must say I'd rather watch it on stage - I think it would be more lively with the addition of proper acting. I have a suspicion that a play was written for specific actors, which is quite probable, if we remember a bit of Shakespeare's history. I'll leave you with the picture from my favourite adaptation of the play - Russian 1955 film "Twelfth Night":

And that's happy end, of course! =)

Banquo from The Tragedy of Macbeth

Why is this picture here again?
Because it's awesome, of course!

When we say "Macbeth" we probably think of Macbeth himself or his wife or the witches. We don't usually remember Banquo. Who is he anyway? He even dies in the third act.

However, his role is crucial in the play. His name is first mentioned in the play in scene two of act one, and together with the Macbeth's name:

DUNCAN
Dismay’d not this
Our captains, Macbeth and Banquo?

And this makes us understand, that they are compared throughout the play. This is confirmed in the scene of predictions. See how the witches hail Macbeth:

FIRST WITCH
All hail, Macbeth! hail to thee, thane of Glamis!
SECOND WITCH
All hail, Macbeth, hail to thee, thane of Cawdor!
THIRD WITCH
All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!

And Banquo:

FIRST WITCH
Lesser than Macbeth, and greater.
SECOND WITCH
Not so happy, yet much happier.
THIRD WITCH
Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none:
So all hail, Macbeth and Banquo!

And it is Banquo who first warns Macbeth to beware the predictions of witches:

And oftentimes, to win us to our harm,
The instruments of darkness tell us truths,
Win us with honest trifles, to betray’s
In deepest consequence.

When Macbeth becomes king, he starts to fear Banquo. I think, that apart from Banquo suspecting Macbeth of "playing foul", there is an issue of fertility/infertility between them. Banquo is promised to have his sons on the throne, and his name will continue in the generations, while Macbeth will perish, and all his treacherous deeds have been for nothing.

Banquo is not only the opposite of Macbeth, staying faithful and not seduced by the promises of future. His death takes place in the very middle of the play (scene three of act three) and marks the "point of no return" for Macbeth. There still was hope for the new king if he hasn't continued to kill, but he does. And after Banquo killing is easier and easier for Macbeth.

So Banquo, a nobleman of Scotland, is Macbeth's doppelgänger, a symbolical character that helps the reader get some important ideas of the play

Macbeth - Act V and final thoughts

Act V is a retribution for all the terrible things done by Macbeth couple.

Lady Macbeth becomes mad, can't sleep and commits suicide. Macbeth is abandoned by all his lords and attacked in his castle by thousands of English soldiers. The witches' predictions came true, but not to the favour of Macbeth: the forest came to his castle, as soldiers held the branches in front of them to conceal their numbers, and he was killed by a man who was not born by a woman, but who was "from his mother’s womb untimely ripp’d". This is a nice touch that all the prophecies were actually correct, but not in the way Macbeth interpreted them.

Dunsinane Hill from Black Hill

So what the play is about? I think it is about fate and the will of a man. To which extent are our deeds predetermined? Can we avoid our fate if we stay faithful, honest and clean? Somehow all that was prophesied by the witches comes true, but it is also clearly shown that it was Macbeth's choice to begin murdering.

The play is about the natural order of things, which must not be broken, and that a murder is the most horrible of the deeds that can break this natural order. But it also shows us that this order will inevitably be restored, and life will go on. But not for those who have opposed the nature and have made their life as horrible as Macbeth's:

Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.

Macbeth - Act IV

Scene 1

In the cave of the witches the cauldron is boiling, and Macbeth comes to get answers to his questions. Only we never hear his questions, as it is said that the apparitions know his thoughts. He again gets three predictions. An armed Head tells him to beware Macduff, a bloody Child - to be bloody and resolute, as "none of woman born shall harm Macbeth", and a Child crowned with a tree in his head prophesies, that "Macbeth shall never vanquish'd be until Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill shall come against him". This reassures Macbeth, but something else tortures him - he wants to know if "Banquo's issue ever reign this kingdom". Now, why does this trouble him so much? I guess it is the issue of fertility here - Macbeth has no children, and that's what really troubles him. Anyway, witches show him the line of kings of Banquo's blood. Macbeth is in rage, and when a messenger comes to tell him that Macduff has gone to England, he decides to "surprise" his castle and kill his wife and children. (Seriously, I think he really has some complex about not having children, if he wants to kill everybody else's)

Scene 2

In Macduff's castle his wife is worried that her husband has left them, but still hopes that nobody will touch he and her children, as they haven't done anything. Of course, this didn't convince the killers sent by Macbeth. She and all her children are killed.

Scene 3

The war is coming. Macduff has found Malcolm in England, and they arrived to the decision to go to war for Scotland. When Ross comes with news of the slaughter of Macduff's family, they are even more determined. Moreover, England is ready to give some thousands for their cause. 

What I like most in this scene is the description of the state of affairs in Scotland, as seen by a patriot:

Alas, poor country!
Almost afraid to know itself. It cannot
Be call’d our mother, but our grave; where nothing,
But who knows nothing, is once seen to smile;
Where sighs and groans and shrieks that rend the air
Are made, not mark’d; where violent sorrow seems
A modern ecstasy; the dead man’s knell
Is there scarce ask’d for who; and good men’s lives
Expire before the flowers in their caps,
Dying or ere they sicken.

How much sorrow is there in those lines! Can't it be applied to some countries today? Yes, it can. And I'm not even pointing at the one in particular. At least not explicitly.

Macbeth - Act III

Scenes 1 - 2

The scene begins with Banquo talking about the prophecy. He feels, that Macbeth "play’dst most foully for’t", but the predictions have come true, and now Banquo considers his own part of the prophecy - that his sons will be kings. Such a pity to see the true, valiant Banquo also coming to the "dark side".

Meanwhile, Macbeth (already a king) doesn't feel safe while Banquo, who knows the prophesy and suspects him, is around. So he hires two killers to get rid of Banquo and his son when they come back from their trip on the horseback. I guess, this doesn't mean he repents much of the murder, eh? Note, that Macbeth has taken initiative in evil, and later he doesn't even tell his wife what he has planned.

Lady Macbeth comes to her husband to give him some consolation and encourage him to "be bright and jovial among his guests to-night". But they both suffer from the consequences of their deed and they are both unsafe, as they think that Banquo and his son endanger their rule. "Full of scorpions is my mind" says Banquo, and he tells his wife that he has ordered to kill both the father and the son in some hope of tranquillity. But I doubt they will have any tranquillity now after such a deed. As one lie entails another, one murder entails more murders. That's how the world works.

Scene 3

A short scene, in which Banquo is killed in the ambush of the killers, but his son manages to escape, following his father's last words:

O, treachery! Fly, good Fleance, fly, fly, fly!
Thou mayst revenge. O slave!

Scene 4

I'm always confused when a ghost makes an appearance. And it seems that Shakespeare likes to use them. But my feeling towards them is very much like Macbeth's:

Blood hath been shed ere now, i’ the olden time,
Ere human statute purged the gentle weal;
Ay, and since too, murders have been perform’d
Too terrible for the ear: the times have been,
That, when the brains were out, the man would die,
And there an end; but now they rise again,
With twenty mortal murders on their crowns,
And push us from our stools: this is more strange
Than such a murder is.

In the banquet scene the ghost of Banquo seems to represent conscience, as only Macbeth can see him, and as it appears when Macbeth speaks about Banquo's absence.

Macbeth's madness has completely betrayed him, but Lady Macbeth tries to conceal the truth, she tries to protect her husband by saying it's only a short fit and by asking everybody away. She doesn't even blame him for the scene after everybody have left. What a good and true wife, isn't she?

Macbeth understands now, that "blood will have blood", but he is not sure of his way, and he decides to seek the advice of the witches again:

                         I will to-morrow,
And betimes I will, to the weird sisters:
More shall they speak; for now I am bent to know,
By the worst means, the worst. For mine own good,
All causes shall give way: I am in blood
Stepp’d in so far that, should I wade no more,
Returning were as tedious as go o’er:
Strange things I have in head, that will to hand;
Which must be acted ere they may be scann’d.

Scene 5

Enters Hecate, all rage because she wasn't invited to take part in playing with Macbeth's fate. For those who den't remember, "Hecate or Hekate is an ancient goddess, frequently depicted in triple form and variously associated with crossroads, entrance-ways, fire, light, the Moon, magic, witchcraft, knowledge of herbs and poisonous plants, necromancy, and sorcery" (Wikipedia). Well, first the ghost, now this... It gets stranger and stranger.

Scene 6

Two noble lords ironically discuss the recent events:

My former speeches have but hit your thoughts,
Which can interpret further: only, I say,
Things have been strangely borne. The gracious Duncan
Was pitied of Macbeth: marry, he was dead:
And the right-valiant Banquo walk’d too late;
Whom, you may say, if’t please you, Fleance kill’d,
For Fleance fled: men must not walk too late.
Who cannot want the thought how monstrous
It was for Malcolm and for Donalbain
To kill their gracious father? damned fact!
How it did grieve Macbeth! did he not straight
In pious rage the two delinquents tear,
That were the slaves of drink and thralls of sleep?
Was not that nobly done? Ay, and wisely too;
For ’twould have anger’d any heart alive
To hear the men deny’t. So that, I say,
He has borne all things well: and I do think
That had he Duncan’s sons under his key —
As, an’t please heaven, he shall not — they should find
What ’twere to kill a father; so should Fleance.

So nice, isn't it? "Men must not walk too late". Note that Macbeth is called a tyrant for the first time in this scene.

Meanwhile we get to know that Macduff has gone to the English court where Duncan's son resides and enjoys the favour of the English king to ask for the restoration of order in Scotland. And the lords wait for the news with hope.

Macbeth - Act II

GLAMIS CASTLE, SCOTLAND

Scene 1

The last pangs of Macbeth's conscience before the actual murder take place in this scene. True Banquo can't sleep because of some foreboding feeling, and he tries to talk to Macbeth about the witches and their predictions. Macbeth asks Banquo to "cleave to his consent" (probably meaning the time he'll become king?), but his friend is too noble, he will "keep his bosom franchised and allegiance clear". Now this is a clear opposition of the two characters. They are very similar in their social position, but choose different ways. We'll see where it'll bring them.

The following monologue of Macbeth shows some signs of madness. He dreams of blood and a dagger, and it is clear that he is frightened of what he is going to do, but the decision is made, and he finishes like this:

I go, and it is done; the bell invites me.
Hear it not, Duncan; for it is a knell
That summons thee to heaven or to hell.

 Scene 2

The murder of the king happens off-stage, and we can observe only the spouse conspirators after the deed is done. Macbeth is very affected. He hears condemnatory voices and cannot pronounce "Amen!" and he is afraid to go back to the place of the murder to conceal the evidence. But he is not the most interesting character in this scene. Lady Macbeth - that's the one who completely fascinates me with her businesslike and down-to-earth approach. Just listen to this:

Who was it that thus cried? Why, worthy thane,
You do unbend your noble strength, to think
So brainsickly of things. Go get some water,
And wash this filthy witness from your hand.
Why did you bring these daggers from the place?
They must lie there: go carry them; and smear
The sleepy grooms with blood.

But she is not completely heartless. Despite all her determination and lust for power she cannot kill the king herself, because he reminds her of her father. Am I trying to find excuses for her? Not at all, I just admire her as the most powerful character in the play so far.

Scene 3

Donalbain and Malcolm disappear

The murder is discovered. Look how our conspirators behave themselves: Macbeth admits that in his grief he killed the guards, who now cannot defend themselves (very conveniently!), and lady Macbeth - faints! Who can believe that a woman who faints when hears of murder, have methodically planned it and performed part of this plan?

Noble lords are going to have a council and decide who is to blame, and valiant sons of Duncan - fly! They are so afraid of being killed too or probably of being accused of the murder, that they leave the country, leaving all their legacy and reign behind. How very convenient for the treacherous couple, now nobody can doubt it was his sons that killed Duncan

Scene 4

This scene brings us back to nature and we got to know what bad omens happened that night. Nature again reflects the deeds of men, and now it is

A falcon, towering in her pride of place,
Was by a mousing owl hawk’d at and kill’d.

 Meanwhile we have our suspicions confirmed - Duncan's sons were accused of the murder as soon as it became known that they fled, and Macbeth is already on his was to Scone to be invested. The lords are also leaving the unhappy Macbeth's castle, not very optimistic about the future and the new king. So, with Shakespeare's constancy in making his own predictions true, we can say, that bad things have only begun to happen.

Macbeth - Act I

Act I, scenes 1 - 3

The first 3 scenes set the stage for the whole tragedy. The weather is stormy, which hints that there'll also be a tumult of feelings in the play. The witches are also part of the nature - they appear in the storm, they rule the winds and they crash people's lives. Meanwhile the situation in Scotland is also far from calm - the king of Norway together with one treacherous thane rise against the rightful king. They are defeated, not without the help of Macbeth, and the title of the traitor - the thane of Cawdor - goes by king's wish to Macbeth. Inheriting the traitor's title doesn't mean anything good, eh?

The most powerful scene is the meeting of Macbeth and the witches. They greet him with the title he knows he has, with the title he doesn't yet know he has (the thane of Cawdor) and with the king's title. To make things worse the moment later appear two noblemen, who bring him news of his new Cawdor title. Enough to believe in the whole prophesy, and Macbeth, secretly wishing to be the king, never doubts it.

Now, is it a predestination and do witches really see the future? I think not. I think the decision is still to be made by Macbeth. In scene 3 he still hopes that the prophesy will come true without his help, but surely he must know the old king must be dead to have a new one? So here is the moment where the thought is planted in Macbeth's mind, and we'll see if it's enough to make him a traitor too, as his predecessor was.

Act I, scenes 4 - 7

In these acts we finally see who wears the pants in Macbeth's household. Lady Macbeth is the one who really makes the treason happen. She knows her husband is too soft and true, and, it seems to me, detests him because of this. She understands that never again will she have such a perfect chance to become a queen  - her husband is convinced that this must happen, and the king is going to spend the night at their castle. She also realises that she is to guide her husband and organise everything, because he is ready to stop at any moment, as, despite his ambition, he likes the king, he is his liege and he is recently rewarded by him. But what can he do if she has a perfect plan, and she uses her woman's jedi-tricks, including "you are not a man" and "you don't love me anymore? See how she prays for the strength to accomplish the deed:

                                                                    ....Come, you spirits
     That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here,
     And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full
     Of direst cruelty! make thick my blood;
     Stop up the access and passage to remorse,
     That no compunctious visitings of nature
     Shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between
     The effect and it! Come to my woman’s breasts,
     And take my milk for gall, you murdering ministers,
     Wherever in your sightless substances
     You wait on nature’s mischief!

Gives me shivers! But although she terrifies me and I can't approve of her readiness to kill, somehow I also admire her, because she is so strong and determined.

So act I is finished, and I am already thrilled! The murder hasn't happened yet, but it is there from the first lines, and the growing anticipation makes the first act such a brilliant piece of writing.

Macbeth by William Shakespeare

It's November, and "Let's Read Plays" challenge has started!

For my November reading I've chosen Macbeth by William Shakespeare. I've already read it in Russian when a kid and I don't remember much, only the witches ;) So now I'll read it in English and really slowly, to get all the nuances.

I've found a good electronic edition on my favourite site - eBooks@Adelaide and I also use some short commentary to help me make my way through the play (Act I, Act II, Act III, Act IV, Act V). I also peep in the dictionary quite often and sometimes in the translation for the longest and the most elaborate phrases.

I will update this post as I read to include my thoughts and comments, and in the end I'll write something like final review. I would be glad to find somebody who also does Macbeth this month to share the experience!

Reflections act by act:

Act I
Act II
Act III
Act IV
Act V and final thoughts

Macbeth is a book from my Classics Club list