Challenge # 6 Othello vs Hamlet

(Updated Bracket! Click for Bigger View)

Battle # 5 Othello vs Hamlet

Welcome one welcome all to the 6th battle!!!
Thank you all for being patient during our brief hiatus. We hope you have not all lost hope for your favorite contestant, but instead have been busy inspiring more supporters to help vote!!
Today we have a wonderful match up for your viewing pleasure that is sure to bring not only the laughs, but the votes!!

Before we begin today's match we will be reviewing the rules/concept for those of you playing at home. Twice a week we will be pitting two of Shakespeare's most classic plays against each other in a no holds 'bard' contest to answer the age old question
WHAT IS THE GREATEST SHAKESPEARE PLAY EVER?!?!??!
While some plays might be 'deeper' or more technically written this contest is worried not about those things. Our contest comes right down to what you, the readers, feel in your heart of hearts is the most deserving for the crown. So make sure to carefully weigh your decisions and aim true before selecting your choice. (The poll can be found directly to the top left of the page).

The comedy battles will take place every Monday while Friday will hold the tragedies. You will have 3 days time to vote on each match up so don't dillydally. However we encourage you in that 3 days to do a little outside research of your own. Maybe watch a movie version, find a fun tv. parody, or even actually read a bit of the play (gasp!). However if you don't feel like going the extra mile, we will be providing you with a cornucopia of information for each play to guide you in your quest.

The path is sure to be long and hard but fear not, your efforts shall be rewarded in the end!! This week marks the begging of the 'first tier' of battles. For those who filled out their brackets, each correct guess in this tier will earn you one point towards the grand prize.
LAST WEEKS WINNERS:
The Tempest

So for those of you who have true vision in your hearts, you have earned yourself one point towards the GRAND PRIZE!! for each correct guess. As the battle gets a little further into the game, we will be providing some stats about point leaders.

Now that you have heard the rules it is time to bring today's competitors! So break out your foam fingers, practice your iambic pentameter, and let's get ready to rummmbbllleeeeee in.....

The Battle of the Bards!

vs

Othello:

Weighing in at: 3323 lines

First Appearance: 1603

Short Summary: Iago plotting, green eyed monsters, strawberry handkerchiefs

Longer Summary:

The play opens with Iago, a cruel, whining, complainer, complaining to his friend Roderigo that Othello, his Commander, has passed him over to promote the handsome young Cassio to be his Lieutenant. And Iago is PISSED. Iago first tries to get Othello in trouble for marrying his love Desdemona by telling her father. However her dad gets over it and Iago must find another way to get revenge.

So the next plan that Iago devises, is to make Othello believe that his wife Desdemona is cheating on him. Step one of the plan: get Cassio Fired. Step 2: Encourage Cassio to ask Desdemona to plead with Othello to be reinstated. Step 3: Throw the idea out there that Cassio and Desi are lovers. Step 5: Get Othello angry enough to kill Cassio in revenge.

So to help him along with the last steps of the plan, Iago plants plants a hankerchief in Cassio's room. Only problem is that the hankerchief was a gift from Othello....and he isn't too pleased when Desi can't find it. Cassio gives it to his mistress, Bianca. Othello believes Bianca's possession of the handkerchief is proof that Desdemona and Cassio are lovers.

By this point in the plan Iago has manipulated Roderigo into trying to kill Cassio. The attempt goes wrong, and Cassio wounds Roderigo so Iago stabs Cassio in the leg. Othello hears Cassio cry out and thinks Iago has killed him, which makes him happy. He returns home, ready to kill Desdemona for cheating. Iago quietly kills Roderigo and sends Emilia (Iago's wife) to Desdemona with news of what has happened.

Othello reaches the sleeping Desdemona first. He kisses her, wakes her, and accuses her of cheating again. Over her protests that she loves him and is innocent, he smothers her (SOB). Emilia enters and Desdemona revives for a moment, declaring herself guiltless but saying, as she dies, that Othello is innocent of her death. Iago and others enter, and Emilia defends Desdemona's innocence, and kind of like Tim Curry in clue... reveals how Iago planned the whole thing. Othello sees the truth and tries to kill Iago. Iago kills Emilia and flees; Othello kills himself in sadness.

Wow even taht summary is pretty sad. Now imagine actually reading the whole play.

Beautiful Quotes:

• I will wear my heart upon my sleeve
  For daws to peck at.

• Reputation, reputation, reputation! Oh, I have lost my reputation! I have lost the immortal part of myself, and what remains is bestial.

• O, beware, my lord, of jealousy!
  It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock
  The meat it feeds on.

Here is a clip from one of my all time favorite movie adaptions of Othello. Here, we see one of the many scenes where Iago (played by Kenneth Branagh) breaks the 4th wall and speaks directly to the audience, which he does many times in the play. It makes you feel his evilness ever more. Did you get goosebumps? I sure did.

Alright folks we hope that you can see through your tears enough to read about our next contestant. It is sure to put up a good fight.


Hamlet
Weighing in at: 3834 lines
First Appearance: 1599-1601
Shortish Summary: madness, poison, death death death (Sounds like a good band name)
Very long summary:

So as you may have guessed, the main character of this play is in fact Hamlet. Hamlet is the Prince of Denmark but despite that his life kind of sucks. His dad was recently murdered by his uncle Cladius, who then went and married his mom. Ouch. Needless to say Hamlet is having a rough time, which isn't made easier when in the opening of the play Hamlet's dad comes back to the grave to tell his son to avenge his death.

'That Polonius guy' is Claudius' trusted chief counselor; his son, Laertes, is returning to France, and his daughter, Ophelia, is courted by Hamlet. Things seem to be going well between the two until everyone tries to convince her that Hamlet isn't feeling it. Ophelia gets even more confused when Hamlet busts into her room right after seeing the ghost, says nothing, then leaves. It is about this point that both Hamlet and Ophelia start to loose their marbles a bit.

Hamlet's mom is worried about hamlet's crazy behavior,so she has Claudius send for two of Hamlet's acquaintances —Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (featured in The Good Books Club pick this month!!!) —to discover the cause of Hamlet's changed behavior. Hamlet is pumped to see his friends, but figures out pretty quickly that they were sent there to spy on him.

In a famous scene Claudius and Polonius convince Ophelia to get Hamlet in a room and speak to her, while they listen in on the conversation. When Hamlet enters Ophelia gets him all worked up upon which Hamlet questions her honesty and furiously rants at her, and drops the famous line: "get thee to a nunnery".

So around this point Hamlet is starting to wonder if the ghost that he saw in the opening was actually his dad. To figure it out he stages a play, re-enacting his father's murder, to determine Claudius's guilt or innocence by studying his reaction. At the part where his dad 'dies' Cladius storms out of the room. Guilltttty.

Gertrude summons Hamlet to her closet to demand an explanation. Upon reaching the queen, an argument erupts between Hamlet and Gertrude. Polonius, who is spying on them is now pretty convinced along with everyone else that Hamlet is a lunatic. Hamlet hears him hiding and stabs him thinking it is Cladius!! The ghost reaapears to Hamlet and tells him to be nice to his mom, but not to finish what he started with Cladius. Of course, his mom can't hear the ghost, so now she reallly thinks Hamlet is nuts.

Claudius, fearing for his life, and finally holding a legitimate excuse to get rid of the prince, makes plans to send Hamlet to England on a diplomatic pretext, closely watched by Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Alone, Claudius discloses that he is sending Hamlet to his death. A few things happen though and Hamlet realizes he is being lazy and decides to finally get around to killing Cladius.

Laertes, son of Polonius rolls back into france pissed because his dad is dead and his sister has pretty much gone nuts. Claudius convinces Laertes that everything is Hamlets fault so they make a plan to kill him.

A few things happen between the plot and the end that make everyone not just Hamlet's mom believe that Hamlet has lost it (including him flinging himself into Ophelia's grave after she drowns herself). The play ends with pretty much every one dying including Hamlet who has now realized there really is no control over anything in the world.

Fun Facts

• Hamlet is Shakespeare's longest play.

• Many books and have been based off of Hamlet (some only supposedly), including

-The Fathers Club (novel)

-The Manchurian Candidate (movie)

-Ghost (movie)

-Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead(play)

-The Lion King (movie)

Amazing Quotes:

• "This above all: to thine own self be true,
  And it must follow, as the night the day,
  Thou canst not then be false to any man."

-Said by "that Polonius guy" not Hamlet

• "Our wills and fates do so contrary run that our devices still are over thrown; Our thoughts are ours, their ends none of our own."

• "For some must watch, while some must sleep: So runs the world away."

Now here is the plot of Hamlet in one minute in a rap that will probably make you pee your pants. Don't let this video fool you into thinking this play is a comedy though....it is pure tragedy at its finest.


There you go folks!!! For those of you participating in the Good Books Club, make sure to take extra care when reading the Hamlet summary, as it will be helpful when reading the play. Monday starts our final week of tier 1 battles so make sure to get those votes in while you can!!!

-mischief managed-

Challenge # 6 Othello vs Hamlet

(Updated Bracket! Click for Bigger View)

Battle # 5 Othello vs Hamlet

Welcome one welcome all to the 6th battle!!!
Thank you all for being patient during our brief hiatus. We hope you have not all lost hope for your favorite contestant, but instead have been busy inspiring more supporters to help vote!!
Today we have a wonderful match up for your viewing pleasure that is sure to bring not only the laughs, but the votes!!

Before we begin today's match we will be reviewing the rules/concept for those of you playing at home. Twice a week we will be pitting two of Shakespeare's most classic plays against each other in a no holds 'bard' contest to answer the age old question
WHAT IS THE GREATEST SHAKESPEARE PLAY EVER?!?!??!
While some plays might be 'deeper' or more technically written this contest is worried not about those things. Our contest comes right down to what you, the readers, feel in your heart of hearts is the most deserving for the crown. So make sure to carefully weigh your decisions and aim true before selecting your choice. (The poll can be found directly to the top left of the page).

The comedy battles will take place every Monday while Friday will hold the tragedies. You will have 3 days time to vote on each match up so don't dillydally. However we encourage you in that 3 days to do a little outside research of your own. Maybe watch a movie version, find a fun tv. parody, or even actually read a bit of the play (gasp!). However if you don't feel like going the extra mile, we will be providing you with a cornucopia of information for each play to guide you in your quest.

The path is sure to be long and hard but fear not, your efforts shall be rewarded in the end!! This week marks the begging of the 'first tier' of battles. For those who filled out their brackets, each correct guess in this tier will earn you one point towards the grand prize.
LAST WEEKS WINNERS:
The Tempest

So for those of you who have true vision in your hearts, you have earned yourself one point towards the GRAND PRIZE!! for each correct guess. As the battle gets a little further into the game, we will be providing some stats about point leaders.

Now that you have heard the rules it is time to bring today's competitors! So break out your foam fingers, practice your iambic pentameter, and let's get ready to rummmbbllleeeeee in.....

The Battle of the Bards!

vs

Othello:

Weighing in at: 3323 lines

First Appearance: 1603

Short Summary: Iago plotting, green eyed monsters, strawberry handkerchiefs

Longer Summary:

The play opens with Iago, a cruel, whining, complainer, complaining to his friend Roderigo that Othello, his Commander, has passed him over to promote the handsome young Cassio to be his Lieutenant. And Iago is PISSED. Iago first tries to get Othello in trouble for marrying his love Desdemona by telling her father. However her dad gets over it and Iago must find another way to get revenge.

So the next plan that Iago devises, is to make Othello believe that his wife Desdemona is cheating on him. Step one of the plan: get Cassio Fired. Step 2: Encourage Cassio to ask Desdemona to plead with Othello to be reinstated. Step 3: Throw the idea out there that Cassio and Desi are lovers. Step 5: Get Othello angry enough to kill Cassio in revenge.

So to help him along with the last steps of the plan, Iago plants plants a hankerchief in Cassio's room. Only problem is that the hankerchief was a gift from Othello....and he isn't too pleased when Desi can't find it. Cassio gives it to his mistress, Bianca. Othello believes Bianca's possession of the handkerchief is proof that Desdemona and Cassio are lovers.

By this point in the plan Iago has manipulated Roderigo into trying to kill Cassio. The attempt goes wrong, and Cassio wounds Roderigo so Iago stabs Cassio in the leg. Othello hears Cassio cry out and thinks Iago has killed him, which makes him happy. He returns home, ready to kill Desdemona for cheating. Iago quietly kills Roderigo and sends Emilia (Iago's wife) to Desdemona with news of what has happened.

Othello reaches the sleeping Desdemona first. He kisses her, wakes her, and accuses her of cheating again. Over her protests that she loves him and is innocent, he smothers her (SOB). Emilia enters and Desdemona revives for a moment, declaring herself guiltless but saying, as she dies, that Othello is innocent of her death. Iago and others enter, and Emilia defends Desdemona's innocence, and kind of like Tim Curry in clue... reveals how Iago planned the whole thing. Othello sees the truth and tries to kill Iago. Iago kills Emilia and flees; Othello kills himself in sadness.

Wow even taht summary is pretty sad. Now imagine actually reading the whole play.

Beautiful Quotes:

• I will wear my heart upon my sleeve
  For daws to peck at.

• Reputation, reputation, reputation! Oh, I have lost my reputation! I have lost the immortal part of myself, and what remains is bestial.

• O, beware, my lord, of jealousy!
  It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock
  The meat it feeds on.

Here is a clip from one of my all time favorite movie adaptions of Othello. Here, we see one of the many scenes where Iago (played by Kenneth Branagh) breaks the 4th wall and speaks directly to the audience, which he does many times in the play. It makes you feel his evilness ever more. Did you get goosebumps? I sure did.

Alright folks we hope that you can see through your tears enough to read about our next contestant. It is sure to put up a good fight.


Hamlet
Weighing in at: 3834 lines
First Appearance: 1599-1601
Shortish Summary: madness, poison, death death death (Sounds like a good band name)
Very long summary:

So as you may have guessed, the main character of this play is in fact Hamlet. Hamlet is the Prince of Denmark but despite that his life kind of sucks. His dad was recently murdered by his uncle Cladius, who then went and married his mom. Ouch. Needless to say Hamlet is having a rough time, which isn't made easier when in the opening of the play Hamlet's dad comes back to the grave to tell his son to avenge his death.

'That Polonius guy' is Claudius' trusted chief counselor; his son, Laertes, is returning to France, and his daughter, Ophelia, is courted by Hamlet. Things seem to be going well between the two until everyone tries to convince her that Hamlet isn't feeling it. Ophelia gets even more confused when Hamlet busts into her room right after seeing the ghost, says nothing, then leaves. It is about this point that both Hamlet and Ophelia start to loose their marbles a bit.

Hamlet's mom is worried about hamlet's crazy behavior,so she has Claudius send for two of Hamlet's acquaintances —Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (featured in The Good Books Club pick this month!!!) —to discover the cause of Hamlet's changed behavior. Hamlet is pumped to see his friends, but figures out pretty quickly that they were sent there to spy on him.

In a famous scene Claudius and Polonius convince Ophelia to get Hamlet in a room and speak to her, while they listen in on the conversation. When Hamlet enters Ophelia gets him all worked up upon which Hamlet questions her honesty and furiously rants at her, and drops the famous line: "get thee to a nunnery".

So around this point Hamlet is starting to wonder if the ghost that he saw in the opening was actually his dad. To figure it out he stages a play, re-enacting his father's murder, to determine Claudius's guilt or innocence by studying his reaction. At the part where his dad 'dies' Cladius storms out of the room. Guilltttty.

Gertrude summons Hamlet to her closet to demand an explanation. Upon reaching the queen, an argument erupts between Hamlet and Gertrude. Polonius, who is spying on them is now pretty convinced along with everyone else that Hamlet is a lunatic. Hamlet hears him hiding and stabs him thinking it is Cladius!! The ghost reaapears to Hamlet and tells him to be nice to his mom, but not to finish what he started with Cladius. Of course, his mom can't hear the ghost, so now she reallly thinks Hamlet is nuts.

Claudius, fearing for his life, and finally holding a legitimate excuse to get rid of the prince, makes plans to send Hamlet to England on a diplomatic pretext, closely watched by Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Alone, Claudius discloses that he is sending Hamlet to his death. A few things happen though and Hamlet realizes he is being lazy and decides to finally get around to killing Cladius.

Laertes, son of Polonius rolls back into france pissed because his dad is dead and his sister has pretty much gone nuts. Claudius convinces Laertes that everything is Hamlets fault so they make a plan to kill him.

A few things happen between the plot and the end that make everyone not just Hamlet's mom believe that Hamlet has lost it (including him flinging himself into Ophelia's grave after she drowns herself). The play ends with pretty much every one dying including Hamlet who has now realized there really is no control over anything in the world.

Fun Facts

• Hamlet is Shakespeare's longest play.

• Many books and have been based off of Hamlet (some only supposedly), including

-The Fathers Club (novel)

-The Manchurian Candidate (movie)

-Ghost (movie)

-Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead(play)

-The Lion King (movie)

Amazing Quotes:

• "This above all: to thine own self be true,
  And it must follow, as the night the day,
  Thou canst not then be false to any man."

-Said by "that Polonius guy" not Hamlet

• "Our wills and fates do so contrary run that our devices still are over thrown; Our thoughts are ours, their ends none of our own."

• "For some must watch, while some must sleep: So runs the world away."

Now here is the plot of Hamlet in one minute in a rap that will probably make you pee your pants. Don't let this video fool you into thinking this play is a comedy though....it is pure tragedy at its finest.


There you go folks!!! For those of you participating in the Good Books Club, make sure to take extra care when reading the Hamlet summary, as it will be helpful when reading the play. Monday starts our final week of tier 1 battles so make sure to get those votes in while you can!!!

-mischief managed-

Battle of the Bards UPDATE

Hear Ye Hear Ye: Battle of the Bards Announcement!!!

Hey there marauders and Battle of the Bards players. Padfoot and Prongs here giving you a quick update on the status of Battle of the Bards.

First off we want to think each and every one of you who have participated by playing at home, commenting, and voting thus far. The event is going 10xs better than we imagined it would on the random day we up and decided to do this. So once again a big Shakespearean hug to all of you!!!

Secondly, it is currently mid-terms week for all of us who have yet to join the real world.... This being said B.O.B posts will be taking a brief hiatus while P&P attempt to not bring disgrace upon our households.

This will give you some time to catch your breath, gather your friends, and come out swinging for the next battle:
Hamlet vs. Othello
when B.O.B resumes bright and early on Friday the 18th. Until then, take some time to read though some of the older battles, brush up on future ones, and be sure to sign up for the Good Books Club which will be a big help to the Hamlet post. Remember you can earn an EXTRA POINT just for signing up!

Hey there Padfoot... did someone say points? Yes Prongs, I believe they did!!! Speaking of points.... now that we are already 5 battles into the game, we thought we would announce some of the top contenders of our at home game thus far. Don't worry if you don't see your name folks. There is aplenty of time to turn the whole game around, just make sure to get out there and VOTE!!

1.) Greg - 5pts
2.) Brandy Lee - 5pts
3.) Trisha - 5pts
4.) Elizabeth -5 pts
5.) Jenn C. - 5 pts
6.) Tara - 5 pts.
7.) Gabrielle - 5 pts

Those are the at home players who so far have played a perfect game. Can they keep up with the pressure, or will a long shot come out of no where and take the lead?

Alright folks there you have it. Every one else is playing a wonderful game, much to early to give up hope. Don't forget that after the 1st tier of battles are over, the second tier answers will be worth 2 points. Make sure to check back with us on Monday for the next installment of the Battle of the Bards, as well as for any other posts that may turn up before then.

If you are craving a little bit of P&P on a more day to day basis... feel free to check out our kind of daily updated tumblr. More literary stuff as per usual, just something to help you get your P&P fix.

Battle of the Bards UPDATE

Hear Ye Hear Ye: Battle of the Bards Announcement!!!

Hey there marauders and Battle of the Bards players. Padfoot and Prongs here giving you a quick update on the status of Battle of the Bards.

First off we want to think each and every one of you who have participated by playing at home, commenting, and voting thus far. The event is going 10xs better than we imagined it would on the random day we up and decided to do this. So once again a big Shakespearean hug to all of you!!!

Secondly, it is currently mid-terms week for all of us who have yet to join the real world.... This being said B.O.B posts will be taking a brief hiatus while P&P attempt to not bring disgrace upon our households.

This will give you some time to catch your breath, gather your friends, and come out swinging for the next battle:
Hamlet vs. Othello
when B.O.B resumes bright and early on Friday the 18th. Until then, take some time to read though some of the older battles, brush up on future ones, and be sure to sign up for the Good Books Club which will be a big help to the Hamlet post. Remember you can earn an EXTRA POINT just for signing up!

Hey there Padfoot... did someone say points? Yes Prongs, I believe they did!!! Speaking of points.... now that we are already 5 battles into the game, we thought we would announce some of the top contenders of our at home game thus far. Don't worry if you don't see your name folks. There is aplenty of time to turn the whole game around, just make sure to get out there and VOTE!!

1.) Greg - 5pts
2.) Brandy Lee - 5pts
3.) Trisha - 5pts
4.) Elizabeth -5 pts
5.) Jenn C. - 5 pts
6.) Tara - 5 pts.
7.) Gabrielle - 5 pts

Those are the at home players who so far have played a perfect game. Can they keep up with the pressure, or will a long shot come out of no where and take the lead?

Alright folks there you have it. Every one else is playing a wonderful game, much to early to give up hope. Don't forget that after the 1st tier of battles are over, the second tier answers will be worth 2 points. Make sure to check back with us on Monday for the next installment of the Battle of the Bards, as well as for any other posts that may turn up before then.

If you are craving a little bit of P&P on a more day to day basis... feel free to check out our kind of daily updated tumblr. More literary stuff as per usual, just something to help you get your P&P fix.

HUGE SALE AT THE GOOD BOOK INCS STORE!!!

Hey there Marauders!! Just wanted to drop a quick note to let you know that the B.o.B post has been postponed until Monday!!! However we will have another great double post for you plus a few extra days to vote, so be on the look out for that. Untill then we wanted to let all you mad hatters out there know about the hugeeee Alice in Wonderland sale we are having over at our Good Books Inc. store!! (you can also find our store at the convenient button up top ^^^^^)

In honor of Tim Burton's new movie 'Alice in Wonderland' we are having a HUGEEEEEE sale on all Alice merchandise. Make all of your friends jealous at the premier when you show up sporting a 'We are all mad here tote'.
----------HUGE ALICE IN WONDERLAND SALE------------

Not only have we dropped the price on some of your favorite items, we are also offering a few deals! BUY ANY 2 ALICE IN WONDERLAND ITEMS AND GET A BOOK MARK OF YOUR CHOICE FOR FREE!!
Hurry and get these items folks because once they are gone they are gone for good!!

Also be sure to sign up for the Good Books Club for this month!!! Not only will it be a wonderful literary time, but you can also get an extra point added on to your bracket score!!

-mischief managed-

HUGE SALE AT THE GOOD BOOK INCS STORE!!!

Hey there Marauders!! Just wanted to drop a quick note to let you know that the B.o.B post has been postponed until Monday!!! However we will have another great double post for you plus a few extra days to vote, so be on the look out for that. Untill then we wanted to let all you mad hatters out there know about the hugeeee Alice in Wonderland sale we are having over at our Good Books Inc. store!! (you can also find our store at the convenient button up top ^^^^^)

In honor of Tim Burton's new movie 'Alice in Wonderland' we are having a HUGEEEEEE sale on all Alice merchandise. Make all of your friends jealous at the premier when you show up sporting a 'We are all mad here tote'.
----------HUGE ALICE IN WONDERLAND SALE------------

Not only have we dropped the price on some of your favorite items, we are also offering a few deals! BUY ANY 2 ALICE IN WONDERLAND ITEMS AND GET A BOOK MARK OF YOUR CHOICE FOR FREE!!
Hurry and get these items folks because once they are gone they are gone for good!!

Also be sure to sign up for the Good Books Club for this month!!! Not only will it be a wonderful literary time, but you can also get an extra point added on to your bracket score!!

-mischief managed-

Return of the GBC!

Hey there all of you literary lovers!
We here at Good Books Inc. are flat our tired of reading amazing books and then not having wonderful, thought provoking discussions after we finish. Hopefully, there are those out there who share our sadness, so as a solution to the problem we now happily present you with Good Books Club!

This will be an online book club, which shall meet once every 3 weeks, and will be dedicated to reading contemporary lit, and having intelligent and meaningful discussions about the chosen works. The link for the live-chat is located on the left tool bar, and on the night of your discussion you will simply log in and join the fun.

As this is still a new project, we will be working out the kinks for the first few months, but we are really looking forward to providing any one who is interested, with a wonderful fun experience that centers around all our similar love: books!! Good Book Club

Month 3:"I shall have poetry in my life. And adventure. And love, love, love, above all."

Rozencrantz and Guilderstein Are Dead

Summary: If you are at all familiar with Hamlet then you know a little about the two jokesters Rozencrantz and Guilderstein. However if you are not familiar with the fabulous Shakespeare play do not fear. This is not a play that requires you to know the entire back round story... however it is somewhat helpful. Basically this play is part of 'Hamlet' told from the perspective of R&G. The only catch is that they are dead while telling it!!

Why we chose this work: Stoppard's critically acclaimed play is a really great way to learn a bit about Shakespeare with out actually having to work through it. This modern play is full of literary beauty as well as enough comedy to make any literary lover stand up and applaud. In keeping with the 'Battle of the Bards' theme we wanted to pick something that would help get everyone a bit more involved.
SO THAT IS WHY WE ARE GIVING ONE EXTRA BONUS POINT TOWARDS YOUR BRACKET SCORE
to any one that SIGNS UP for the club. if for any reason you can't make it to the discussion then you will still get your point, just type up a review or what ever so we know you gave it a shot!! Just in case you made a wrong guess or two you will be able to redeem yourself by showing some initiative with the club!!!

And don't worry for all of you who are not participating in B.O.B the club is still open to any and all who are interested in reading a wonderful, funny, interesting play and discussing it with intelligent fabulous people!

Number of Pages: 3 acts. Not bad at all

So now what: So now that you all have the information about the book, it is time to go out and find yourself a copy!
We HIGHLY recommended checking around used book stores (we found used copies at half-price books in Ohio for just a dollar) as well as ABE.com also for a dollar.
Once you have your copy it is time to start reading! We encourage you to mark, write, take notes, or any thing that will help you keep track of ideas or opinions you have while reading.
We ask that every one participating find at least 3 of their favorite quotes and have them for the discussion date, so that we can all share our favorite parts! It would also be helpful if any one participating left comments here and there letting us know your progress, so we can adjust in the future. If a work is too hard or long it is crucial adjust lists of future books. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please leave a comment on this post or e-mail us.

Things to Remember: This book discussion is open to any one and every one of all ages, places, races, and species. (If you can get your dog to join in then you get a prize!) That being said, please remember during discussions to be cautious about remarks that might be offensive to any one. Just be respectful and think before you type. No flaming or spammers, because then we will have to shut the whole thing down and no one wants that!

GBI Group Recipe: Since we all know part of the fun of having a book club is the wonderful food that every one gets to share, we though our online club should be no more the worse for not meting in person. Therefore, we will be posting a recipe each month that you can choose to make or not, but make sure to eat it on the night of discussion! That way it will kind of be like we are all sharing in the fun. If any one has any recipe ideas or submissions please e-mail us and we will have the information up for you 1 week before discussion groups.

When to meet: All discussions will be held the 3rd Sunday every month @ 7pm EST. HOWEEVVVVERRRRR
This month it will be the 4th Sunday - Febuary 28th

We will give you more specific details about how to log into the chat room when we get closer to the discussion date.We are so excited for this event and hope that every one of you will contribute as much as your literary love as you can, so that we can all get a wonderful unique experience with each book! Happy reading!!

Sign up for Sunday the 28th @7 (Thanks Jspeed)
You MUST do this so that we know you are going to be participating.


That is it folks!! Looking forward to seeing all of you!! Feel free to comment with any questions comments or concerns!! Make sure to keep us updated on your statuses!

-mischief managed-

Return of the GBC!

Hey there all of you literary lovers!
We here at Good Books Inc. are flat our tired of reading amazing books and then not having wonderful, thought provoking discussions after we finish. Hopefully, there are those out there who share our sadness, so as a solution to the problem we now happily present you with Good Books Club!

This will be an online book club, which shall meet once every 3 weeks, and will be dedicated to reading contemporary lit, and having intelligent and meaningful discussions about the chosen works. The link for the live-chat is located on the left tool bar, and on the night of your discussion you will simply log in and join the fun.

As this is still a new project, we will be working out the kinks for the first few months, but we are really looking forward to providing any one who is interested, with a wonderful fun experience that centers around all our similar love: books!! Good Book Club

Month 3:"I shall have poetry in my life. And adventure. And love, love, love, above all."

Rozencrantz and Guilderstein Are Dead

Summary: If you are at all familiar with Hamlet then you know a little about the two jokesters Rozencrantz and Guilderstein. However if you are not familiar with the fabulous Shakespeare play do not fear. This is not a play that requires you to know the entire back round story... however it is somewhat helpful. Basically this play is part of 'Hamlet' told from the perspective of R&G. The only catch is that they are dead while telling it!!

Why we chose this work: Stoppard's critically acclaimed play is a really great way to learn a bit about Shakespeare with out actually having to work through it. This modern play is full of literary beauty as well as enough comedy to make any literary lover stand up and applaud. In keeping with the 'Battle of the Bards' theme we wanted to pick something that would help get everyone a bit more involved.
SO THAT IS WHY WE ARE GIVING ONE EXTRA BONUS POINT TOWARDS YOUR BRACKET SCORE
to any one that SIGNS UP for the club. if for any reason you can't make it to the discussion then you will still get your point, just type up a review or what ever so we know you gave it a shot!! Just in case you made a wrong guess or two you will be able to redeem yourself by showing some initiative with the club!!!

And don't worry for all of you who are not participating in B.O.B the club is still open to any and all who are interested in reading a wonderful, funny, interesting play and discussing it with intelligent fabulous people!

Number of Pages: 3 acts. Not bad at all

So now what: So now that you all have the information about the book, it is time to go out and find yourself a copy!
We HIGHLY recommended checking around used book stores (we found used copies at half-price books in Ohio for just a dollar) as well as ABE.com also for a dollar.
Once you have your copy it is time to start reading! We encourage you to mark, write, take notes, or any thing that will help you keep track of ideas or opinions you have while reading.
We ask that every one participating find at least 3 of their favorite quotes and have them for the discussion date, so that we can all share our favorite parts! It would also be helpful if any one participating left comments here and there letting us know your progress, so we can adjust in the future. If a work is too hard or long it is crucial adjust lists of future books. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please leave a comment on this post or e-mail us.

Things to Remember: This book discussion is open to any one and every one of all ages, places, races, and species. (If you can get your dog to join in then you get a prize!) That being said, please remember during discussions to be cautious about remarks that might be offensive to any one. Just be respectful and think before you type. No flaming or spammers, because then we will have to shut the whole thing down and no one wants that!

GBI Group Recipe: Since we all know part of the fun of having a book club is the wonderful food that every one gets to share, we though our online club should be no more the worse for not meting in person. Therefore, we will be posting a recipe each month that you can choose to make or not, but make sure to eat it on the night of discussion! That way it will kind of be like we are all sharing in the fun. If any one has any recipe ideas or submissions please e-mail us and we will have the information up for you 1 week before discussion groups.

When to meet: All discussions will be held the 3rd Sunday every month @ 7pm EST. HOWEEVVVVERRRRR
This month it will be the 4th Sunday - Febuary 28th

We will give you more specific details about how to log into the chat room when we get closer to the discussion date.We are so excited for this event and hope that every one of you will contribute as much as your literary love as you can, so that we can all get a wonderful unique experience with each book! Happy reading!!

Sign up for Sunday the 28th @7 (Thanks Jspeed)
You MUST do this so that we know you are going to be participating.


That is it folks!! Looking forward to seeing all of you!! Feel free to comment with any questions comments or concerns!! Make sure to keep us updated on your statuses!

-mischief managed-

Battle # 5 The Tempest Vs. The Comedy of Errors

(Updated Bracket! Click for Bigger View)

Battle # 5 The Tempest vs The Comedy of Errors

Welcome one welcome all to the 5th battle!!!
Today we have a wonderful matchup for your viewing pleasure that is sure to bring not only the laughs, but the votes!!

Before we begin today's match we will be reviewing the rules/concept for those of you playing at home. Twice a week we will be pitting two of Shakespeare's most classic plays against each other in a no holds 'bard' contest to answer the age old question
WHAT IS THE GREATEST SHAKESPEARE PLAY EVER?!?!??!
While some plays might be 'deeper' or more technically written this contest is worried not about those things. Our contest comes right down to what you, the readers, feel in your heart of hearts is the most deserving for the crown. So make sure to carefully weigh your decisions and aim true before selecting your choice. (The poll can be found directly to the top left of the page).

The comedy battles will take place every Monday while Friday will hold the tragedies. You will have 3 days time to vote on each match up so don't dillydally. However we encourage you in that 3 days to do a little outside research of your own. Maybe watch a movie version, find a fun tv. parody, or even actually read a bit of the play (gasp!). However if you don't feel like going the extra mile, we will be providing you with a cornucopia of information for each play to guide you in your quest.

The path is sure to be long and hard but fear not, your efforts shall be rewarded in the end!! This week marks the begging of the 'first tier' of battles. For those who filled out their brackets, each correct guess in this tier will earn you one point towards the grand prize.
LAST WEEKS WINNERS:
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Macbeth

So for those of you who have true vision in your hearts, you have earned yourself one point towards the GRAND PRIZE!! for each correct guess. As the battle gets a little further into the game, we will be providing some stats about point leaders.

Now that you have heard the rules it is time to bring today's competitors! So break out your foam fingers, practice your iambic pentameter, and let's get ready to rummmbbllleeeeee in.....

The Battle of the Bards!

vs

The Tempest

Weighing in at: 2085 lines
First appearance:1610-1611
Short Summary: magical men, shipwrecks, angry spirit women
Longer Summary:
Sooo once their was a magician named Prospero, who happened to be the rightful Duke of Milan. Him and his daughter Miranda were stuck on an island after Prospero's jerk brother Antonio stuck him and his kid there along with the help of Alonso, the king of Naples. What they didn't know is that the King's counselor, had secretly supplied their boat with plenty of food, water, clothes and the most-prized books from Prospero's library (thank god!)

Possessing magic powers due to his learning, and is reluctantly served by a spirit, Ariel. Her son, Caliban, a deformed monster and the only non-spiritual inhabitant before the arrival of Prospero, was initially adopted and raised by him. However Caliban made a pretty big mistake and ends up being the servant of Prospero and his daughter. They all mutually hate each other.

(Miranda of the Rocks)

The play opens as Prospero can tell that his brother Antonio is on a ship passing close by the island. He raises a tempest (storm) which causes the ship to crash. Also on the ship are Antonio's friend and fellow conspirator, King Alonso of Naples, Alonso's brother and son (Sebastian and Ferdinand), and Alonso's advisor, Gonzalo. Prospero, with his magic, separates the survivors of the wreck into several groups. Alonso and Ferdinand are separated and believe one another to be dead (Merlin's Beard!).

Three plots then alternate through the play. In one, Caliban falls in with Stephano and Trinculo, two drunkards, whom he believes to have come from the moon. They attempt to raise a rebellion against Prospero, which ultimately fails. In another, Prospero works to establish a romantic relationship between Ferdinand and Miranda; the two fall immediately in love, but Prospero just ends up making him a servant. In the third subplot, Antonio and Sebastian conspire to kill Alonso and Gonzalo so that Sebastian can become King. But Prospero has magic on his side and ends up getting his spirit servant to lead the men closer to his side of the island.

At the end everyone shows up in the same spot together. Prospero forgives everyone and tells Ariel to prepare the weather for their return. After discharging this task, Ariel will finally be free. They all have party the night before they leave!

Prospero has resolved to break and bury his staff, and "drown" his book of magic, and in his epilogue, shorn of his magic powers, he invites the audience to set him free from the island with their applause.

Fun Facts:
Prospero frequently hints at his plans to bring his enemies before him and to confront them for their treachery. Prospero also hints at his plans to relinquish his magic once he has confronted and forgiven his enemies. It is fun to try and pick up on it.

Interesting Quotes:

• "Hell is empty
  And all the devils are here."
• We are such stuff
  As dreams are made on; and our little life
  Is rounded with a sleep. <3
• O, wonder!
  How many goodly creatures are there here!
  How beauteous mankind is!

Here we have a fun video game version of the Tempest. While it might pick up on the humor of the play, this is actually a great representation of the play. Check it out!

Alright folks the first contestant is ready and willing to take on our next competitor, which promises to bring it's own tempest of laughter right along!


The Comedy of Errors
Weighing in at: 1787
First Appearance: 1592-94
Shortish Summary: twin twins, mistaken identities, concubines
Longggger Summary:

Egeon faces execution in Ephesus, unless he can pay a fine of a thousand bucks. He tries to get out of it by telling a sad story. When he was young he married and had twin sons. On the same day, a poor woman also gave birth to twin boys, and he purchased these as slaves to his sons. Soon afterwards, the family made a sea voyage, and was hit by a Tempest (COINCIDENCE!?). Egeon lashed himself to the main-mast with one son and one slave, while his wife was rescued by one boat, Egeon by another. Egeon never again saw his wife, or the children with her. Recently, his son Antipholus, now grown, and his son’s slave Dromio left Syracuse on a quest to find their brothers. They took forever to come back so Egeon went to look for them.

Solinus, the duke listening to the story is moved and gives Egeon one day to pay his fine.

That same day, Antipholus in Ephesus, searching for his brother. He sends Dromio to deposit some money at an inn. He is confounded when the identical Dromio shows up almost immediately, denying any knowledge of the money and asking him home to dinner, where his wife is waiting. Antipholus, thinking his servant is making insubordinate jokes, beats Dromio (I'm already cracking up).

Dromio of Ephesus returns to his mistress, Adriana, saying that her "husband" refused to come home, and even pretended not to know her. Adriana, concerned that her husband's is cheating on her is now pretty positive.

Antipholus of Syracuse, who complains "I could not speak with Dromio since at first I sent him from the mart," meets up with Dromio who now denies making a "joke" about Antipholus having a wife. Antipholus begins beating him. Suddenly, Adriana rushes up to Antipholus and begs him not to leave her. The Syracusans cannot but attribute these strange events to witchcraft, remarking that Ephesus is known as a warren for witches. Antipholus and Dromio go off with this strange woman, to eat dinner and keep the gate, respectively.

Antipholus of Ephesus returns home for dinner and is enraged to find that he is rudely refused entry to his own house by Dromio of Syracuse, guarding the door. He is ready to break down the door, but his friends persuade him not to make a scene. He decides, instead, to dine with a Courtesan (woman of questionable morals).

Inside the house, Antipholus of Syracuse discovers that he is very attracted to his wife's sister, Luciana. She is flattered but doesn't think its a good idea. After she exits, Dromio of Syracuse announces that he has discovered that he has a wife: Nell, a hideous kitchen-maid. He describes her as "spherical, like a globe; I could find out countries in her...buttocks: I found it out by the bogs." He claims he has discovered America and the Indies "upon her nose all o'er embellished with rubies, carbuncles, sapphires, declining their rich aspect to the hot breath of Spain; who sent whole armadoes of caracks to be ballast at her nose." This is one of Shakespeare's few references to America. The Syracusans decide to leave as soon as possible, and Dromio runs off to make travel plans. Antipholus is apprehended by Angelo, a goldsmith, who claims that he ordered a chain from him. Antipholus is forced to accept the chain, and Angelo says that he will return for payment.

Antipholus of Ephesus dispatches Dromio to purchase a rope so that he can beat his wife Adriana for locking him but Angelo rolls up wanting his money. He denies ever seeing it, and is promptly arrested. Antipholus dispatches Dromio back to Adriana's house to get money for his bail.

After completing this errand, Dromio of Syracuse mistakenly delivers the money to Antipholus of Syracuse. The Courtesan spies Antipholus wearing the gold chain, and says he promised it to her. He is undoubtedly confused. The Courtesan resolves to tell Adriana that her husband is insane. Dromio of Ephesus returns to the arrested Antipholus of Ephesus, with the rope. Antipholus is pissed. Adriana, Luciana and the Courtesan enter with a conjurer named Pinch, who tries to exorcise the Ephesians, who are bound and taken to Adriana's house. The Syracusans enter, carrying swords, and everybody runs off for fear: believing that they are the Ephesians, out for vengeance after somehow escaping their bonds. Adriana reappears with henchmen, who attempt to bind the Syracusans. They take sanctuary in a nearby priory, where the Abbess resolutely protects them.

The Duke and Egeon enter, on their way to Egeon's execution. Adriana begs the Duke to force the Abbess to release her husband. Then, a messenger from Adriana's house runs in and announces that the Ephesians have broken loose from their bonds and tortured Doctor Pinch. The Ephesians enter and ask the Duke for justice against Adriana. Egeon believes he has found his own son, Antipholus, who will be able to bail him, but both Ephesians deny having ever seen him before.

Suddenly, the Abbess enters with the Syracusan twins, and everyone begins to understand the confused events of the day. Not only are the two sets of twins reunited, but the Abbess reveals that she is Egeon's wife, Emilia. The Duke pardons Egeon. All exit into the abbey to celebrate the reunification of the family.

Whewwww. Complicated much? We promise that in the book it is much easier to keep everyone straight. Also live versions have great ways of helping you along so if you are interested you should take a look at a stage production.

Fun Facts:

• The popular TV show "The X-Files" features an episode called "Fight Club", the story of which heavily parallels many elements from A Comedy of errors. The episode revolves around two sets of identical twins: The first - Lulu Pfeiffer/Betty Templeton are both portrayed by Kathy Griffin. The second set of twins are portrayed by Randall "Tex" Cobb. Much of the story also mirrors A comedy of errors in that there are many cases of mistaken identity, misplaced money, and disaster abounds whenever the sets of identical twins get near each other.

Interesting Quotes:

• A wretched soul, bruis'd with adversity,
  We bid be quiet, when we hear it cry;
  But, were we burden'd with like weight of pain,
  As much or more we should ourselves complain.

This is a pretty hilarious modern interpretation done by the RSC. Julie Dench is in it!

There you have it folks!! Which play will come out laughing in the end? Only you can decide!! As always we encourage comments, questions, and personal anecdotes to help others with the decision process.

AND PLEASE DON'T FORGET!!
To tell all of your friends to help with the voting process. The more votes, the more intense the battles will get!!!

-mischief managed-