Which are Shakespeare's most dangerous plays? And why?

Let's raise the literary level of The JC Blogs!

Anthony and Cleopatra - too independent a female ... an uppity dame who's a bad influence ... a female ruler, it ain't natural ... all those carryings-on and her fingering that asp ...

"Hamlet".

Hamlet is hardly a role model for prospective suicide bombers. He is much too ambivalent about it.

All the histories. Too many swords and bodkins. You could have your eye out.

Should be re-written as...

Not to be or not to be? That is the question.

Let's hope that the "high-minded" members of The JC Blogs contribute to this intellectual discussion.

Wotyasay Britty Boy?

"The Merchant of Venice"

Portrays a Jew who has some redeeeming qualities.
Certain lines need to be excised... eg "If you prick me , do I not bleed?"

"The Merchant of Venice"

Portrays a Jew who has some redeeeming qualities.
Certain lines need to be excised... eg "If you prick me , do I not bleed?"

"The Merchant of Venice"

Portrays a Jew who has some redeeeming qualities.
Certain lines need to be excised... eg "If you prick me , do I not bleed?"

"The Merchant of Venice"

Portrays a Jew who has some redeeeming qualities.
Certain lines need to be excised... eg "If you prick me , do I not bleed?"

I detest it when people call for things to be banned because they are 'unislamic' or un this- or un-that...

A play, especially by somebody such as Shakespeare contains many different illustrations of ideals, but it isn't telling anubody that they are right or wrong... Moreover, the examples of inhumanity are included precisely to illustrate that they are morally wrong. The rape of Lavinia in Titus Andronicus for instance, isn't condoning rape.... Neither is Titus' response a suggestion that bloody revenge is an acceptable recourse, just an illustration that such actions often happen in a violent and dangerous world.

The logic of these fundamentalists is completely absurd.

Wasn't there calls some years ago for Piglet from Winnie the Pooh to be banned because he too is 'unislamic' or have I imagined that... That too, a perfect example of the absurdities of fundamentalism.

Might add, it's the same logic that makes people call for films and video games to be banned... All it does is remove the notion of individual responsibility and suggest that everybody is as impressionable as these fundamentalists clearly are.

And anyway, Shakespeare was Iraqi -- Sheikh us-Speare

I don' t think that either DLE or tsam have actually answered the question. They have failed the course.

Leave the aggression at the door Ant...

And actually I have answered the question, to reiterate, the answer is that the plays themselves are not dangerous at all.... But if people were to use them as examples of morality then they would be.... But to do so would be as absurd as taking The Matrix as gospel and therefore choosing to attack your toaster or fridge-freezer for fear that they might gain sentience and overthrow the regime of your kitchen.

A play is an illustration of possible moralities, not a call to act on the situations present within... Therefore it is the interpretor, not the play that is potentially dangerous.

Answer enough for you? Or do you just want to stir things up?

I reckon that the toaster and fridge in Anthony's kitchen are sentient beings. They must be whispering in his ear. Why answer any of his questions? Who is he anyway?

"Twelfth Night"

It has some lines that are not quite halaal...

eg "If music be the food of love play on" must be erased (music, of course, will be banned when The Taliban take over).

DLE,

Sorry to pull rank, but I am asking the questions and marking the papers. You can, of course, ask Stephen Pollard for a re-mark but it will probably cost you 50 quid.

Its ok Ant, I already have an English Literature degree from one of the UK's top English departments...

I'm sure I can do without that valuable qualification from the University of Posner.

After your outburst last night I thought you were a 'serious' blogger, so I assumed you were asking a serious question and gave you a serious answer....

If you just wanted a load of Shakespeare related puns and jokes you should have just asked for that instead.....

As we are talking kulchah, here's a Hendrixesque version of Hatikvah

DLE,

Even the headmistress from the Islamic school was able to answer my questions directly. She profferred "Romeo and Juliet" and gave good reasons. She passed the course.

But you, with your certificate from "a top English dept" (Sussex University??), was unable to do so. Instead you started questioning the very question itself. Now your Profs might have acccepted such befuddled "reasoning", but I will be damned if I do.

not Sussex no....

I've given you an opinion, if you don't like it that's your own issue...

But to be honest, I think at this point nothing I say will please you...

DLE, are you saying he should just please himself?????

DLe,

Let me expand..

It is not that I don't like it. Not at all. That would be implying that it is a matter of my personal taste. I am using objective criteria.

So it wasn't Sussex. Essex then?

I'd take a wild stab and say either Oxbridge, Durham or Warwick

I went to Warwick. He wasn't there.

By the way, Yvetta and Ray Cook anwered the questions and passed the course. Well done guys.

It was York if its actually that important. Fascinating that we've moved away from the subject of the blog to where I went to Uni....

I got offered a place at 'Warwick,' (closer to Coventry in reality) turned it down (not that its a bad Uni at all)... The place looked like a cross between a theme park and some kind of Blocky Orwellian nightmare, miles from anywhere.

Ah, York. Yes, not a bad English dept but I heard that the Profs were a bit wobbly when it came to The Bard.

Yes, Warwick served me well for the Orwellian nightmare than I experience when reading many of the comments on this blog.

DLE,

You wrote: "Its ok Ant, I already have an English Literature degree from one of the UK's top English departments..."

You write: "It was York if its actually that important. Fascinating that we've moved away from the subject of the blog to where I went to Uni...."

Now, who brought up your uni in the first place?

You?

Or Me?

Well, technically I mentioned Uni first but you are the one claiming to be 'marking the papers' and then trying to work out where I studied....

DLE,

Not "technically". We are not talking technicals. We are talking actuals. You actually bought it up first.

But lets leave that aside for one moment.

I am not "claiming" that I am "marking the papers". It is much more than a mere "claim". I am marking the papers.

Now you want me to take account of the possibility that you went to York. But can you prove to me that you studied The Bard? And, if you did, which plays did you miss out. The Henrys?

Warwick's not bad. They hold Limmud there. York has a very good English dept.

Tsam,

Please don't obfuscate. Let's leave Limmud out of it for 5 mins.

I am attempting to ascertain which plays DLE "studied".

Why are you asking me? You havn't asked any of the other individuals who have 'passed' your imaginary course if they can 'prove' they have studied the subject.

Perhaps you would be interested in one of my papers on Beowulf, or 'The Illnesses on King Alfred,' or Shakespeare's tragedies, or Anglo-Saxon poetry, or the Pearl-poet, or Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde?

Prophecy in Havelok the Dane? that do anything for you? Maybe power struggles in The Tempest?

How about representation of ghostly forms in Victorian literature.

You're not going to actually get any of them btw.....

For somebody who called me arrogant yesterday, you are doing a tremendous job of replicating that characteristic....

Also, might add... before I joined this discussion, nobody else was interested, you would do well to show some courtesy to people who take the time to engage with you.

I think I'm done with it too Ant, until next time (remember how you said there wouldn't be a next time yesterday - you didn't manage to hold out long did you?)

Goodnight Ant, smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for breakfast

DLE, DLE, DLE,

Now you are implying that I am being unfair. I reject "unfair", totally.

But if you had answered the question directly, and hadn't taken refuge at York, I wouldn't have had to ascertain whether you have read all The Henrys.

I can't help it if you attempt to write the examinations that I set on my blog. And, of course, I do my best to mark all the papers fairly.

You might have scraped a pass on ghosts in Victorian stories. But my blog is far more rigorous and demanding.

A superb display of totally convuluted logic there Anthony, the only rigorous and demanding aspects of what you write is on the reader's patience.

I also love how you chose to criticise what was probably the only literary reference I mentioned that you could just about manage to comprehend.

mwah... kisses xxx