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As an aside, “Exeunt, followed by a bear” from The Winter’s Tale was probably one of the greatest stage directions in English literature. One point worth menti
by signal11 8y ago
As an aside, “Exeunt, followed by a bear” from The Winter’s Tale was probably one of the greatest stage directions in English literature.
One point worth mentioning is that Shakespeare was not particularly high literature for his time: these were plays written for the 17th century theatre-goers to enjoy. And they had plenty of risqué one-liners: http://mentalfloss.com/article/54442/10-shakespeares-best-dirty-jokes http://mentalfloss.com/article/54442/10-shakespeares-best-di... has a list. That said, Shakespeare at his best easily outdid his peers — his tragedies particularly, although they aren’t particularly historically accurate.
I suspect some of Asimov’s and particularly Stephen King’s works will be “classics” in 500 years time.
- pvg 8y agoIt's 'exit'. 'Exeunt' is a plural, not a fancy shakesperean way to say 'exit'. Similarly, you can't really mutter 'exeunt' to yourself unless you plan to leave with other people. One point worth mentioning is that Shakespeare was not particularly high literature for his time I don't think this bit is accurate. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King%27s_Men_(playing_company) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King%27s_Men_(playing_company)
- signal11 8y agoRe “exeunt”— yes, sorry, I was quoting from memory and misremembered. The point about not being “high literature” was that the plays had a very broad audience. Shakespeare’s company were asked to perform in front of royals as well, but the plays were were seen by up to 3000 people a day with the cheapest tickets being a penny (about the price of a loaf of bread - cheap even for its time). They were effectively mass entertainment for 16th century Londoners.