Tag: Scotland

From Page to Screen: The Tragedy of Macbeth

The Tragedy of Macbeth (poster)

Terry Pratchett has neatly ruined Macbeth‘s opening for me — the eldritch screech of “When shall we three meet again?” answered by a nonplussed “Well, I can do next Tuesday” — but Kathryn Hunter’s contortions in her role as the witches and Joel Coen’s creepy direction do much to restore the story’s uncanny atmosphere. The Tragedy …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2022/01/30/from-page-to-screen-the-tragedy-of-macbeth/

Maria Stuart by Friedrich Schiller

“Will no one rid me of this turbulent queen?” is something that Elizabeth I of England does not ever quite say in Schiller’s five-act verse drama, Maria Stuart, but the sentiment lurks behind practically everything that she does say. The play begins with Mary, Queen of Scots, under house arrest in Fotheringhay, the place that …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2018/11/29/maria-stuart-by-friedrich-schiller/

A Monarchy Transformed: Britain 1603-1714 by Mark Kishlansky

The introduction conveys the author’s enthusiasm for the study of this period, but the expectation of excitement rapidly peters out in what amounts to a rather dull narrative. Nevertheless, this was a time of tremendous change and development in British history. Aside from the Civil War, the Commonwealth, the Restoration, and the Glorious Revolution, this …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2014/12/08/a-monarchy-transformed-britain-1603-1714-by-mark-kishlansky/