PBS has been running a terrific BBC mini-series under its Great Performances banner, titled The Hollow Crown, which refers to the awesome responsibility of rule, so beautifully explained in the immortal quote: "Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown..." The arc consists of four of Shakespeare's historical plays: Richard II, Henry IV Part One & Two (from which the quote comes), and Henry V. I'm least familiar with the first, although I believe I wrote a paper on it in college, which manifests my mediocre performance in the academic world. Last night I watched Henry IV Part Two, which was covered in that same course. I'd never seen a production of it, so it was a treat. It may be the Bard's most accessible work, especially for those who are pained by the difficulty of the language. What makes it so is frequent comic relief and the relationship between the monarch and his rebellious son, to which many parents in the modern world can relate. Fortunately, almost all rebels reform and go on to lead productive lives, as does Prince Hal, or Hotspur, as he is dubbed. He spends his days drinking, carousing and committing petty crimes in the company of a band of miscreants and his most faithful partner in crime, Sir John Fallstaff, one of the most famous figures in literary history ("The better part of valor is discretion..." Part I). When the King falls ill, his son reforms. The three lead roles must be in capable hands in order for the play to shine, and Jeremy Irons as the King, Tom Hiddleston as Hal, and Simon Russell Beale as Fallstaff are brilliant. Film buffs are familiar with the talents of Irons,who won an Oscar in 1990 for Reversal of Fortune. Hiddleston looked familiar but I was unable to place his face. He played one of Kenneth Brannagh's assistants in the BBC production of the Wallander crime series. I recognized Beale immediately as the Home Secretary of MI5, one of my favorite shows of all-time. 442 contributors at IMDb have rated the mini-series, forging to a consensus of 8.3 of ten. The title is taken from a line in Richard II: "…for within the hollow crown that rounds the mortal temples of a king keeps death his court…" Shakespeare died in 1616. The king of literary men, his work continues to resonate across the globe, translated into practically every known language. Whether a person realizes it or not, everyone, even haters of his work, uses phrases he coined. In the interest of fairness, I'll cite a contrary opinion on rule rendered by Mel Brooks as Louis XVI in The History of the World Part I (1981): "It's good to be the king."
My thanks to all the donors and buyers who contributed to the floating book shop on this glorious summer day.
Vic's 4th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/bszwlxh
Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
Vic's Website: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/
Vic's Short Story Collection (Print or Kindle): http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/6b86st6
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tiny.cc/94t5h
Vic's Horror Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3
Vic's Rom-Com Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/kny5llp
Vic’s Short Story on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/k95k3nx
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