☃️merry chrimist☃️ on Nostr: ren cont'd: Funniest line in the whole play so far: > SNUG Have you the lion’s part ...
ren (npub1vdd…tkfq) cont'd:
Funniest line in the whole play so far:
> SNUG Have you the lion’s part written? Pray you, if it
> be, give it me, for I am slow of study.
> QUINCE You may do it extempore, for it is nothing but
> roaring.
I read that this is a joke about syphilis, which was associated with the French in those days, and which (if untreated) will make your hair fall out:
> Some of your French crowns have no hair at
> all, and then you will play barefaced.
!!! Transphobic comment detected !!!
> FLUTE Nay, faith, let not me play a woman. I have a
> beard coming.
> QUINCE That’s all one. You shall play it in a mask, and
> you may speak as small as you will.
It's crazy to me that they'd have young boys playing all the women's parts in that time, because women weren't allowed to. I associate this with the ancient Greek practice of pederasty, which is fitting because of the setting of this play. I bet it'd be disturbing to see the 'female' lead of a play speaking the whole time from behind a mask ...
There is of course an obvious parallel between Lysander and Hermia and the play-within-a-play of Pyramus and Thisbe, and I find it clever that this conceptual parallel is being set up as a meeting in real physical space too. I find this play-within-a-play meta-commentary to be surprisingly modern. Bottom's Herculean 'poem' also reminds me of something I've often heard: it takes a very good actor to be able to play the character of a bad actor.
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Funniest line in the whole play so far:
> SNUG Have you the lion’s part written? Pray you, if it
> be, give it me, for I am slow of study.
> QUINCE You may do it extempore, for it is nothing but
> roaring.
I read that this is a joke about syphilis, which was associated with the French in those days, and which (if untreated) will make your hair fall out:
> Some of your French crowns have no hair at
> all, and then you will play barefaced.
!!! Transphobic comment detected !!!
> FLUTE Nay, faith, let not me play a woman. I have a
> beard coming.
> QUINCE That’s all one. You shall play it in a mask, and
> you may speak as small as you will.
It's crazy to me that they'd have young boys playing all the women's parts in that time, because women weren't allowed to. I associate this with the ancient Greek practice of pederasty, which is fitting because of the setting of this play. I bet it'd be disturbing to see the 'female' lead of a play speaking the whole time from behind a mask ...
There is of course an obvious parallel between Lysander and Hermia and the play-within-a-play of Pyramus and Thisbe, and I find it clever that this conceptual parallel is being set up as a meeting in real physical space too. I find this play-within-a-play meta-commentary to be surprisingly modern. Bottom's Herculean 'poem' also reminds me of something I've often heard: it takes a very good actor to be able to play the character of a bad actor.
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