"We get it, Will, you hate women."

This is the most liked review of The Taming of the Shrew on the site. It's a rather lazy response to the surface appearance of the play. In truth, one would have to have a rather unsophisticated sense of humor and an inability to understand the subtleties of irony to like this statement. Or perhaps they saw a production of the play where the director was guilty of these shortcomings.

Much Ado, like all the previous comedies, clearly shows that Shakespeare had a great deal more respect and admiration for women in many aspects than he did for men. For him, a woman's feelings had more integrity and virtue, and her sense of reality was more developed. His men, on the other hand, are often duplicitous, tyrannical, changeable, and shallow.

My feeling is that Much Ado is a play that is better seen staged than read. It has a lot of vitality to express, but the plot devices are somewhat weak. The evil character who causes all the chaos is little more than a talking head. Its only real point of interest is the philosophical sparring between Beatrice and Benedick, a contest in which once again the female comes out on top. I think it can be said that it's marriage that Shakespeare doesn't like - both Beatrice and Benedick are adamant that they will never marry - but he is enamored of the role that psychology plays in the rituals of male-female courtship.

**Original Article**: The importance of exercise cannot be overemphasized. It helps keep our bodies healthy and strong. Regular exercise can also improve our mood and reduce stress.

**Expanded Article**:
The significance of exercise simply cannot be exaggerated.

It plays a crucial role in maintaining the health and strength of our bodies.

When we engage in regular exercise, it has a profound impact on our overall well-being.

Not only does it enhance our physical condition, but it also has a positive effect on our mental state.

Exercise is a natural mood booster, helping us to feel happier and more relaxed.

Moreover, it is an effective way to reduce stress levels, allowing us to better cope with the challenges of daily life.

By making exercise a regular part of our routine, we are investing in our long-term health and happiness.

Nachtrag.

We read this (in parts) during Morning Time and all enjoyed it so much.

It was truly a wonderful experience to engage with this piece. The words seemed to come alive as we read aloud, transporting us to different worlds and emotions.

Each part held its own charm, captivating our attention and sparking our imaginations.

Now, we are excited to move on to The Tempest. We anticipate that it will be just as engaging and thought-provoking as the previous reading.

The anticipation is palpable as we look forward to exploring the themes, characters, and plot of this classic play.

We are ready to embark on this new literary adventure and see where it takes us.

I truly liked this play a great deal. The banter between Beatrice and Benedick was simply delightful. It was like a lively dance of words that kept me engaged throughout. This play not only has a solid plot that holds your attention from start to finish but also is filled with enough wit and humor to make me smile and even laugh out loud at times.

I have completely given up the attempt to discover the appropriate editions of Shakespeare's plays on Goodreads.

It seems that no matter how hard I search, I just can't seem to come across the ones that truly meet my expectations.

This play, on the other hand, is absolute perfection. There is simply nothing more to say.

It stands on its own as a masterpiece, captivating audiences with its brilliant language, complex characters, and timeless themes.

Shakespeare's genius is evident in every line, and this play is a shining example of his remarkable talent.

Whether you are a die-hard Shakespeare fan or just someone who appreciates great literature, this play is sure to leave a lasting impression.

It is a work that will be studied, performed, and loved for generations to come.

What a wonderful work! I thought it was just a good comedy, but I ended up finding much more! Besides a comedy that has not lost its comicality over time, I also found (surprisingly), some deeper and more perennial themes, which are usually present in Shakespeare's tragedies (the Shakespeare plays that I most appreciate).

I really liked it a lot. The central theme is love and the way two different couples (but with interconnected relationships) will experience it. It is about the love relationship between two pairs of young people, "Benedick and Beatrice" and "Claudio and Hero". A story of a "battle of the sexes" and the "role of women". Two female characters, one more submissive and the other more challenging, with several intrigues and confusions in the style of these Shakespeare plays. The plot, with two distinct subplots, treats us to lighter and more comical moments (already expected since it is a comedy), and other moments that are much more painful and distressing as often happens in tragedies.

I think that for those who do not know the author, this could be an excellent work to start with. For me, it has become my favorite comedy of Shakespeare (so far)!

Full post here

4.5/5 stars

In November 2019:
I had to read this play for graduate school. LOL! I'm upping it slightly to 4.5 stars because I'm growing very fond of it from reading it so often.

In January 2019:
I had to read this one for a class during the winter semester. I still really love this play. As I said before, it's not my absolute favorite, and I think I enjoyed it more when I was in high school. But it was a lot of fun, especially when watching it alongside and comparing it to the 2012 movie adaptation. I still adore Beatrice and Benedick.

In 2018:
This was a reread for me. Although I didn't enjoy it as much as I did when I studied it in high school, I still really loved it! Beatrice and Benedick are Shakespeare's best comic relief. The ridiculousness of the entire play is just so much fun and charming. To be honest, I forgot how dramatic this play was, and it made me remember why I didn't care that much about Claudio and Hero's storyline. Dogberry is also one of my favorite Shakespeare characters. Overall, I feel like this play definitely gets overshadowed by "Midsummer Night's Dream" (which I do agree is better), but it's still such a great and fun comedy!

This isn't a mere review.

Rather, it's a plea to all those individuals (who likely won't ever read these words as they aren't on goodreads) to introduce Shakespeare to the kids they cherish at a young age and frequently.

Don't rely on high school teachers to handle it. Don't let your kids become stressed. Never tell your kids how difficult Shakespeare "is supposed" to be. Don't impart your own fears of the Bard's writing.

Do purchase every filmed version or adaptation of Shakespeare's plays for your family. Then, buy a book copy of that play, leave it around, and encourage them to pick it up. Let your kids watch as much Shakespeare as they desire. Actually, encourage them to envision the guy from Titanic as Romeo, the girl from Sixteen Candles as a modern-day Miranda, Gilderoy Lockhart and Professor Trelawney as Benedick and Beatrice, Gandalf as Richard III, and so on. Let them use Shakespeare's wittiest insults without having to put money in the vulgarity jar. Take them to any live performances of Shakespeare - no matter how amateurish the community theatre might be - and fill in the blanks for them as best you can. Let them tell you what they think occurred, and allow yourself to learn a little about the greatest playwright in the English language from those who are enjoying it without fear and hesitation.

Much Ado About Nothing is an excellent starting point if you're attempting to introduce your kids to the world of the master storyteller. My six-year-olds spent the past three days immersed in Much Ado (we watched Kenneth Branagh's enjoyable film, read some passages from the play itself, pretended to be the characters, played matching games to connect the relationships in the play, talked extensively, and watched the movie a second time), and today they have an excellent comprehension of what was happening and a love for the play. Milos is certain the play is about the love story of Benedick and Beatrice, but Bronte believes they merely support the love story of Claudio and Hero, although she isn't convinced that the latter pair are truly in love. They are constantly quoting Dogberry and generally relishing what they perceive as a fun, hilarious, and positive experience. They can't wait to watch Romeo and Juliet starting next weekend.

It can be the same for your kids. For all kids. It truly can. Just take the time, enjoy it with them (even if it's not your strong suit... all you have to do is fake it), and see where the journey takes the entire family. It will instill in them an appreciation for art and theatre that will benefit them in their future education and - more importantly - enrich their imaginations.

"Psst! Shakespeare is good. Pass it on."

I was truly inspired to delve deeper into the works of Shakespeare after reading Speak Easy, Speak Love. As I read through this modern adaptation, I came to the realization that there was so much of the original play that I had missed or not fully understood.

The play itself was enjoyable, but I found myself wondering if it made me a horrible person to admit that I actually preferred the YA rendition. There was something about the way the story was updated and presented in a more relatable context for a younger audience that really appealed to me.

Perhaps it was the fresh perspective that the author brought to the table, or maybe it was the way the characters were developed and made more accessible. Whatever the reason, I couldn't help but be drawn in by the story and the emotions it evoked.

This experience has made me eager to go back and re-read some of Shakespeare's original works, armed with a newfound understanding and appreciation. I'm excited to see how much more I can discover and learn from these timeless classics.

Much Ado about Nothing, penned in 1598, masterfully weaves together the tales of two distinct couples. The more captivating and undeniably entertaining pair is Benedick and Beatrice. Their past romance seems to have been tumultuous.

Now, in their interactions, they pour all their energy into wittily insulting each other, vying to outdo the other. Beatrice often emerges victorious in these battles of words.

The other romance unfolds between Claudio, a count and a military friend of Benedick's, and Hero, Beatrice's cousin and a wealthy heiress. Claudio returns from war, lays eyes on Hero and her extensive tracts of land (which actually belong to her father but will be hers eventually), promptly decides he's in love, ensures she's her father's only child and heir, and then has his commander, the Prince of Aragon, Don Pedro, propose to Hero on his behalf. Their relationship progresses in a rather oddly public manner. When Don Pedro's jealous and mean-spirited brother, Don John, decides to sabotage their romance for no particular reason, it goes awry in an equally public way.

Meanwhile, all of Beatrice and Benedick's friends are convinced that the war of wits between them masks deeper feelings. In one of the play's funniest plot twists, they decide to trick both of them into believing that the other is in love but will never admit it due to being too hard-hearted. When things go terribly wrong between Hero and Claudio, Benedick is faced with a difficult choice: his old world of male camaraderie or his newly discovered love for Beatrice.

This play is filled with humor, much of it quite risqué if one is familiar with Elizabethan idioms. However, as is typical of Shakespeare, about half of it went over my head, except when I took the time to read the explanatory footnotes in my Riverside Shakespeare volume. Dogberry the constable, who无意间 discovers the plot against Hero but isn't quite sure what to do about it, is one of the highlights, with his constant misuse of words, delightfully and obliviously mangling the English language.

Deception is a recurring theme throughout the play: Don John's deception of Claudio and Don Pedro, everyone's deception of Benedick and Beatrice, Hero's father's deception of Claudio and Don Pedro at the end, and even Benedick and Beatrice hiding their true feelings.

I highly recommend the delightful 1993 film version of this play, starring the wonderful Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson at their best, along with Denzel Washington as Don Pedro, Michael Keaton as the hapless Dogberry, Keanu Reeves as the evil Don John, Robert Sean Leonard as Claudio, and a lovely young Kate Beckinsale as Hero in her film debut.

Let's face it,

when it comes to Shakespeare's female characters, there aren't an abundance of them who are truly badass. Yes,

we can all recall the four or five who aren't entirely unimpressive (Kat, Portia, Viola, Emilia, etc),

but it seems that creating good, strong feminine characters wasn't the bard's forte.

As you make your way through the whiny, conniving, and helpless hordes of man-worshipping women who appear in nearly all of Shakespeare's plays,

it can be very tempting to simply give up the search for any sort of redemption.

However,

it is precisely this lack of a strong feminine voice that makes the discovery of a truly amazing character like Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing all the more thrilling.

Beatrice is undoubtedly my favorite among all of Shakespeare's women.

She is intelligent, sarcastic, and fierce.

And while many criticize her for her decision to marry,

a decision that some claim nullifies any feminist credibility she may have gained throughout the play,

I have a problem with the idea that a woman must choose between love and her identity.

How tragic it is to think that in order to be a strong woman,

one must live her life completely alone to avoid having a man encroach on her sense of self.

Whether married or not,

Beatrice most definitely meets my criteria for a kick-ass female!

I really, truly enjoyed my reread of this book a great deal. It was such a wonderful experience to revisit the story and all its characters. However, boy! Do I have some strong feelings about Claudio. He is just the worst. What a poop head he is!

I mean, seriously, his actions and behavior throughout the story are just so frustrating and annoying. He makes so many bad decisions and treats people so poorly. I just can't stand him.

Despite my intense dislike for Claudio, though, I still found the book as a whole to be really engaging and enjoyable. The other characters and the overall plot more than made up for his shortcomings. It's just too bad that Claudio had to be such a pain in the neck.