Shakespeare Parodies Part 2

Last time I made this type of post, most of the parodies involved the play Hamlet. This will probably prove true to this post, since Hamlet is highly spoofed.

I have said before that looking for decent parodies of Much Ado About Nothing was as hard as finding a contact lense in an ocean. Click this link to not only find an example of "bad" Shakespeare, but an example of "minimalist" Shakespeare.

A more promising spoof took place alongside the Star Wars universe. Will Shakespeare with lightsabers get boring? Probably not. Are they usually funny together? Most likely. Below is a cartoon made by 11th grade English students. The lack of animation makes this cleverly written video funnier.



The other video belows is an example of "convoluted" Shakespeare. You have the plot and dialogue of Much Ado About Nothing coupled with Monty Python and the Holy Grail.



I have looked at the results for "Favorite Shakespearian Character Part 2." I'm quite disappointed to see the lack of results. To confess, I was the one who put a vote in for Hamlet.

With the new poll however, it appears that Beatrice is in the lead! I am guilty as charged in the fact that I help her rise in the poll. However, I noticed a surge of blog activity so the pace should go up fairly soon.

- Kristopher

Much Ado About Falstaff

Sir John Falstaff is everyone's favorite slacker, glutton, sleaze, big mouth, pervert, do-nothing, idiot, coward and Shakespearian character. He would be the equivalent of the "dumb best buddy," the bloke convincing you to do just about anything stupid such as flinging toilet paper on the neighbor's house.

Despite being a knight, Falstaff displays the chivalry of a drunken tavern patron. Rather than indulging in good deeds, the fat knight "lives" to his fullest. He drinks, he lechers, he overeats and manipulates Hal into performing asinine activities. Falstaff appears to bring out Hal's worse side, the childish side that King Henry IV despises. This could be Shakespeare's way of showing Hal's irresponsible, reluctant side through Falstaff himself.

Hotspur, Hal's polar opposite, would be raging with a blade about Falstaff's statement of honor. According to Falstaff, honor is valuable as plain dirt:

“Can honour set to a leg? No. Or an arm? No. Or take away the grief of a wound? No. . . . What is honour?”

If Falstaff is such a loser, why does he endure throughout the years as one of the most memorable Shakespeare characters of all time?

Sure, being with the obese knight may not be fun. But watching Falstaff hearing his outrageous speeches is a treat to behold. Like Shylock, Falstaff escape's Shakespeare's pen, almost taking reign of King Henry IV and the attention of the struggling protagonist, Prince Hal.

Interestingly enough, Falstaff was inspired by an English soldier named John Fastolf, who is described of bragging and being a coward. It was enough to inspire Falstaff as a rotund loudmouth.

If Falstaff had a large appetite of being on stage, he would practically be a large bowling ball with the attention fed to him. Several actors have claimed to have fun portraying the fat knight.

One prime example would be Orson Welles, whose immortality was acquired through the classic movie Citizen Kane. Welles has worked with Shakespeare's other plays such as Macbeth and Twelth Night.

Falstaff is memorable in that his type of persona would exist today. He would represent all the vices we all get into. In a way, as we laugh at Falstaff, we laugh at ourselves.

- Kristopher