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Book reviews for "Brown,_John_Russell" sorted by average review score:

Antony and Cleopatra (The Applause Shakespeare Library)
Published in Paperback by Applause Books (1999)
Authors: William Shakespeare and John Russell Brown
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The nobleness of life / Is to do thus
'Antony and Cleopatra' is a great tragedy about two personalities who were larger than life, and therefore shared a love fitting to their stature. Anthony is torn between the high seriousness & order of the Roman Empire (embodied in Caesar) and the sensuality & licentiousness of Ancient Egypt (embodied in Cleopatra)- worlds which are perfectly evoked by Shakespeare as he chronicles the political wheeling & dealing of the time, which ultimately led to the suicides of the two lovers. I don't think Shakespeare favours one world view over the other, and to read the play moralistically and say Rome = virtue = good and Egypt = vices = bad is to to do it a disservice.

The language in this play is often romantic and lush, a grand language suited to rulers of the world. Cleopatra's "O, my oblivion is a very Anthony,/ And I am all forgotten" has to be some of the most erotic stuff that the Bard ever wrote.

Cleopatra is a very passionate woman and a great role-player, but she is always herself, never inauthentic. What she feels may change from moment to moment, but while she's feeling it, it's REAL. I find her to be the more mature one in her and Anthony's relationship. Notice how she never yells at him for marrying Octavia, which is certainly a terrible betrayal. She accepts that he did what he had to do and is only glad that Anthony is again united with her. Her love for him is beyond judgement.

The relationship between Anthony and Caesar is a very complicated one, and one that fascinated me almost as much as that of Cleopatra and Anthony. Caesar admires Anthony, but he betrays himself as having contempt for him in the way he expresses that admiration. Dodgy man, that little Caesar.

Sex, Politics, Suicide. What More Could You Want?
Anthony and Cleopatra is one of Shakespeare's difficult plays, and so I suspect the ratings on the play are low because it's a more mature play than Romeo and Juliet. Here we have two middle age lovers who part of the time are foolish with lust/love and the rest of the time are tough minded heads of state. The "tragedy" is that they can't be both and survive. This is not a play for the young folks, I'm afraid. But if you want some heavy drama where the characters are spared nothing and given no slack, read Anthony and Cleopatra (hint: Cleopatra's suicide is more political statement than a crazy wish to die with Antony). Better yet see it performed by some real actors some time.

Replaces Hamlet as my favorite Shakespeare play.
Cleopatra may be a somewhat ambiguous female character, but I totally loved her, and Bill's portrayal of her. I don't know if he expected the reader to judge her, but I suspect not. The harshest criticism of her comes from Octavius Caesar, who himself doesn't do a single noble thing throughout the whole play. She is fully aware of the fact that she is a sensual, passionate woman- which has no negative effect on her ability to rule Egypt. Her biggest faults are her violent temper (which I suspect is just part of her passionate nature) and her tendency to lie when it suits her (either for sport or for serious politics). Antony (I feel) is actually kind of a loser compared to her. His insincerity runs deep- he marries Caesar's sister in a political move, although he had repeatedly pledged his undying love for Cleopatra. She forgives him, because she truly loves him, even though he doesn't do anything to deserve forgiveness. Antony never fully allows himself to love Cleopatra. He constantly is overreacting to the slightest indication that she might be betraying him or whatever. It is one of these overreactions (combined with an ill-timed lie on Cleo's part) that ends up destroying them both. Even in the end, Cleopatra's death is more dignified and better conceived than Antony's messy and fumbling suicide.


New Sites for Shakespeare: Theatre, the Audience and Asia
Published in Paperback by Routledge (1999)
Author: John Russell Brown
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Complete Plays of the Wakefield Master
Published in Paperback by Theatre Arts Books (1983)
Author: John Russell Brown
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Drama
Published in Unknown Binding by Heinemann Educational ()
Author: John Russell Brown
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Drama and the theatre with radio, film and television: an outline for the student
Published in Unknown Binding by Routledge and K. Paul ()
Author: John Russell Brown
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Free Shakespeare
Published in Unknown Binding by Heinemann Educational ()
Author: John Russell Brown
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Language and Action
Published in Audio Cassette by Sussex Publications Ltd (1982)
Author: John Russell Brown
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Marlowe: Tamburlaine the Great, Edward the Second, and the Jew of Malta: A Casebook
Published in Hardcover by MacMillan Publishing Company. (1982)
Author: John Russell Brown
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Modern British Dramatists: A Collection of Critical Essays.
Published in Hardcover by Prentice Hall (1968)
Author: John Russell, Comp. Brown
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Modern British Dramatists: New Perspectives
Published in Paperback by Prentice Hall Trade (1984)
Author: John Russell Brown
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