In the exhibition "Shakespeare in the Top Ten Behaviors" recently opened by the British Library, the first batch of works included a book, a rare seasonal and historical theater costume. As for the size of the modern paperback, it is not particularly old-from1907-nor particularly rare. But interestingly, unlike many other works, this book is about how terrible william shakespeare is.

Russian novelist Tolstoy doesn't like Shakespeare. In this book, Shakespeare's Tolstoy claims that he "totally disagrees with this universal worship". When reading Shakespeare, he said, "I feel an irresistible rejection and boredom", and wondered if he mistakenly thought that "all works regarded as the pinnacle of perfection in the whole civilized world are insignificant, positive and bad". Or whether the civilized world is crazy. He has read all these. Now, as a 75-year-old man, he can look back and honestly say that everything he feels is "rejection, boredom and confusion".

1897 left Tolstoy, not a Shakespeare fan; His Shakespeare's Tolstoy is on display in the British Library. (Photo, from left: Library of Congress/LC-DIG-PPMSCA-37767; Provided by the British Library)

"The content page of this book is very wonderful, because it lists everything he thinks Shakespeare is wrong," said Xavier Cox, curator of Shakespeare's top ten behaviors. This is a detailed list, including that Shakespeare's characters speak "the same Shakespearean, pretentious and unnatural language, not only they can't speak it, but also the living people have never spoken or can't speak it". The refreshing evidence shows that not everyone likes Shakespeare.

However, April 23rd this year marks the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death. Nevertheless, Tolstoy celebrated that Budd was the best man in the world and could be a playwright. Even the general remarks initiated by angry Russian writers have not damaged the reputation of the stone carving industry, nor have they been supported by the vast number of industry experts.

The first work of 1623 comes from the British Library. (Photo: Claire Kendall)

However, why on earth do we still care about Shakespeare, a playwright who died before the Enlightenment, the Industrial Revolution, several major wars and the technology that dominated our lives today? We hardly even speak the same language-what has to do with him? Why should we perform his play?

Peter brooke's interpretation of A Midsummer Night's Dream in 1970 took place on a stage composed of white boxes. (Photo: Reggie Wilson Royal Shakespeare Company)

Ironically, this is Tolstoy, who fell ill after reading Shakespeare's works. There may be an answer, or at least a part of it. What frustrated Tolstoy most was how Shakespeare neglected to provide his characters with clear reasons for their actions, and how he made the meaning and intention of the drama ambiguous. "From a novelist's point of view, he thinks Shakespeare is not good because he doesn't properly explain the motives of his role," willcocks said.

However, these gaps are filled with explanations again and again. Willcocks said: "(Tolstoy) criticized Shakespeare for depriving them of these things, but these ambiguities enable people to adapt to drama in many ways, which is really a force."

Global actor Richard Burch. (Photo: Trustee of Dewei Gallery, London/Provided by British Library)

There is even reason to believe that Shakespeare deliberately created this vague pattern so that players (usually actors he knows) can make their own explanations. "We must remember that Shakespeare is an actor. We must remember that he knows that every role will be played by the person or boy who plays that role, "said Dr. Ralph Allen Cohen, co-founder and mission director of the American Shakespeare Center in Stanton, Virginia, which is one of the most important centers for Shakespeare research and performance in the United States. "He also knows that it will be filled by the audience."

How Shakespeare's plays have been applied in the past four centuries is very important, which will inevitably change according to the cultural background, Shakespeare's reputation and technical ability; Some situations have made drama almost unrecognizable. In the century after his death, Shakespeare's reputation was positive, but his plays were also considered outdated and problematic in some cases.

On the left, the front of King Lear was "168 1 year was changed by Nahum Tate"; That's right. The fifth act sculpture 18 17, sc 1, uses Tate lines. (photo, from left: public domain; Folger Shakespeare Library /Cutting/CC BY-SA 4.0)

After the cruel years in England, in the years after charles ii rebuilt the throne in 1660, the restored audience did not like what they saw, and many of Shakespeare's plays were completely rewritten to better adapt to the times. For example, in King Lear, a king is driven by his bad decision, and the crazy story of treating his only daughter who really loves him is too sad. The motives of the characters are too difficult to understand and people can't be alone. Nahum Tate, who later became the English Poet Laureate, completely rewrote the play at 168 1, giving up April Fool's Day and providing a love story for Adelia. The whole play was happy. A few staunch critics ignored it, which meant that it was Tate's King Lear version. Until 1838, the Victorian era thought they liked their Shakespeare's "originality" (although Shakespeare's source actually had a satisfactory ending, perhaps Tate's version was more accurate). Now, which excellent actor is playing King Lear-Ian Macland, Lawrence Olivier, Michael gamble, john gielgud. When they retired, as Shakespeare wrote, the play was often listed as one of his best plays.

John dryden, rewrote the storm. (Photo: folger Shakespeare Library. ccby-sa4.0)

Shakespeare's version of "The Tempest", the story that the wizard Prospero died with his daughter, is also "fixed", or more accurately, an overburdened spectacle. 1667, the play was rewritten and renamed The Tempest, or was renamed Magic Island by john dryden and William Davenan; Partly simplified, and shining in it-Prospero's daughter Miranda got a sister like enslaved caliban, and the new version made progress in stage technology. Magic Island, like Tate's King Lear, has been the dominant version for nearly 200 years, and it was finally held in Charles Keane's bloated 1857 in London, which lasted for five hours and required 140 stages to realize. Hans Christian christian anderson, a Danish fable writer, was in the audience at that time, and later announced that the experience had been exhausted. He pointed out: "The direction of the machine and the stage can provide everything, but people will feel overwhelmed, tired and empty after seeing it."

The sketch "The Storm" produced by Charles Keane in 1857 needs 140 stages. (Photo: folger Shakespeare Library /CC BY-SA 4.0)

Another work by Keane Tan pest. (Photo: folger Shakespeare Library /CC BY-SA 4.0)

"Throughout history, you will only see what the audience will welcome, so the director will only propose box office blockbusters." "Magic Island has made a fortune, and it always attracts people," willcocks said. Not only at that time, directors were taking Shakespeare as a hot topic, which is obviously what we are doing now. "In addition, this exhibition also includes a movie poster of west side story, which is one of the more famous adapted versions of Romeo and Juliet, but there may not be enough room for my own Idaho (Henry IV, Part I and Part II, Henry V), Ten Things I Hate about You (Taming Reindeer) and Forbidden Planet (Storm). The words have changed, but the core of the story remains the same.

Film adaptations include: west side story, My Own Idaho and 10 Things I Tell You. (Photo: folger Shakespeare Library/ccby-sa4.0; Courtesy thin line function courtesy touchstone picture)

"This shows that this is a cliche, but Shakespeare is really a poet of human nature," said Dr Cynthia Lewis, a professor of Shakespeare in davidson college, North Carolina. "Some things are about human nature. Although the cultural impulse has shifted, they just present different incarnations. You know, a sad son is a sad son to some extent. " Of course, Shakespeare's shooting in Hamlet runs through the banquet and the lion king. Of course, as Lewis wrote in a recent article about the literary magazine Shenandoah, he felt inexplicable sadness after the death of NASCAR racer Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr at 200 1.

But we should not only adapt to his plays, but also to our current cultural and social forms-we should continue to write their plays word for word. So Shakespeare is not only good at discovering and abandoning power stories, but also good at expressing their views. "He just listens to the way we talk," Cohen said. "It's not just how we talk, how we listen and how we respond. When we don't talk, he just works hard for it …" He is a great poet, but he is also a great imitator. "In other words, he didn't just describe human beings as a poet-he made them feel real.

1888 A Midsummer Night's Dream. (Photo: New York Public Library)

Vivien Leigh plays Tania in 1937 Old Vic's A Midsummer Night's Dream. (Image source: JW Debenham/Thanks to the collection of Bristol University and Parr/Mandel and Misson British Library in Arena)

However, this language may get lost on the page and we can only hear it in our own minds. Perhaps Tolstoy's biggest problem is that he is reading Shakespeare-Shakespeare, which scholars and actors say is for performance. Willcocks said: "It is still very difficult. We don't understand every word, but actors can bring meaning and feeling to a very high level. Once they show it, things will naturally follow. " Willcocks said. Cohen spent most of his life instructing Shakespeare. He explained that one of the joys of his works was that the audience discovered Shakespeare through performance. Usually, they congratulate him after the performance: "My favorite is' Great! Who translated it into modern English? We left,' we didn't meet a word'. "

So plays are still relevant because we execute them, not the other way around. Not so much, every production will create new life for the characters or plays, but keep these plays breathing when importing and exporting.

The Cushman sisters are Romeo and Juliet. 1846. (Photo: folger Shakespeare Library /CC BY-SA 4.0/ British Library)

This is also about who is playing Shakespeare now. The fourth act of Shakespeare's Top Ten Performance Art Exhibition in the British Library is 1660, when the latest theatre in London was built on a converted tennis court. She saw the role of Desdemona played by women in black and white for the first time. Her name was not recorded, but a preface was played before the performance of the script to assure the audience that Desdemona was indeed a real woman, because the actor meant, "I saw this lady." Women on the stage have opened up new channels and sources of income: for example, when women play male roles, the audience has expanded, because male drama lovers like to tighten their legs too much.

Al Aldridge, painted on 1826. (Photo: Christie's)

The London exhibition also focused on Ella Aldridge, who was the first black actress to play Othello in the British stage play 1825. Aldridge is an American. He stayed in the United States to break racial prejudice and explore the performing arts career in Britain. Although he faced racial discrimination throughout his career in Europe, he also played roles in many Shakespeare plays, including Sherlock, Richard III and King Lear of Richard III in The Merchant of Venice. Although aldridge's career did not trigger a sudden revolution, it paved the way for non-white actors in later generations. In the 1980s and 1990s, Shakespeare's "color blindness" and multicultural casting and stage became more and more popular. "It brings us relevance now: if we can't see people like us performing these plays, then we may no longer be interested in them," willcocks said.

Ella aldridge plays Aaron with Law Knicks in titus. (photo: library of congress /LC-DIG-ppmsca-08977)

April 1833 Ella Aldridge performed in otero at the Royal Theatre in Covent Garden. (Image courtesy of British Library)

Now, Shakespeare's adaptation of stage and drama is more and more challenging because of the lack of better vocabulary; Although they are not static or even consistent, they are unconventional and different. The last scene of this exhibition is Hamlet produced by Worcester Group in new york, in which the actors perform richard burton's famous turning point movie with the torture of the prince as the background. When actor Worcester actually talked with Burton, his performance produced unpleasant chorus effect, which enhanced the recognition of Hamlet's weight in 400 years' performance.

But we can be surprised that the beauty of Shakespeare's plays stems from our deep understanding of his stories; As Cohen said, Hamlet said, "We all like Hamlet very much. We have all seen Hamlet. " Wilcock agreed with this and pointed out that "familiarity leads to infinite possibilities of reinterpretation in various ways; We can compare it with the previous explanation, as well as the words and those words. "

Hamlet of Worcester Group, film screening performance of richard burton. (Photo: Mihaela Marin)

Ethan hawke in the movie Hamlet was in 2000. (photo: YouTube)

Hamlet, produced by the National Centre for the Performing Arts 20 15 and starring benedict cumberbatch, was shown in cinemas all over the world as part of the "National Theatre Live" program. (photo: YouTube)

But familiarity can also cause contempt. Today's Shakespeare may be mistaken for the product of his own genius, because the products of this industry have been paying endless attention to his genius. Lewis said: "I am deeply moved by this, because this industry allows Shakespeare to keep pace with the times and perform brilliantly. "But it has a disadvantage. There is one aspect that will make you cynical. The agenda is about income and the commercialization of Shakespeare. It divides him into many key chains and T-shirts, cups and rubbish. Shakespeare is very kitsch. "

Cohen admits that the industry around Shakespeare may be powerful, but it has a reason to go beyond simple income. "I really think Shakespeare is one of the great miracles," he said with a smile, pointing out that he also admired many other playwrights. "But no one will say that they believe in these things too much." But he continued, "I don't think this is an industry that can survive in self-deception, but it is impossible."

What do these plays mean to us except Badoratli? We like them. Some of us even like them. "The simple answer to why we write Shakespeare's plays is," Lewis said, "they seem to feed us."