Macbeth (William Shakespeare, 1606)

A classic I'd not read in many years - there it was on Kindle, so I read it.  Much enjoyed.

Story line is familiar - witches prophecy, Macbeth gets ambitious (with assist from his wife), Macbeth kills the kind of Scotland and takes over; further murders to try to cement his position.  Both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth overcome with guilt (I had forgotten the scenes where she sleepwalks trying to wash the blood off her hands).

Banquo's ghost! Birnam Wood moves! Beware Macduff - born via C-section! 

Tons of familiar quotes. Shakespeare talent unreal.

"Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, / Creeps in this petty pace from day to day... / Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player / That struts and frets his hour upon the stage, / And then is heard no more. It is a tale / Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, / Signifying nothing."

The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark (William Shakespeare, 1599-1601)

Another Shakespeare classic that somehow I've never read.  I wasn't particularly looking forward to it, but found the story entirely engaging.  

Yes, it is a tragedy! The ghost of Hamlet's murdered father sets much of the plot in motion. Hamlet unhappy with his uncle (the murderer) who took over the throne as well as Hamlet's mother. Questions about Hamlet's sanity. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern aren't good friends to Hamlet and pay a price.  Ophelia (now I get the pre-Raphaelite painting). Polonius, Laertes. 

More famous quotes than I knew, examples - 

• to thine own self be true
• neither a borrower nor a lender be
• more honored in the breach than the observance
• something is rotten in the state of Denmark
• There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in our philosophy
• Brevity is the soul of wit.
• Though this be madness, yet there is method in't.
• To be, or not to be, that is the question.
• The lady protests too much, methinks

Really happy to have read this, long overdue.

The Importance of Being Earnest (Oscar Wilde, 1895)

Kindle offered this as a free item; we had joked about it with my dad; so why not? Entertaining, light.  Two Londoners claim to be named "Ernest" as they woo two separate young women who have a thing about marrying someone named "Ernest". 

There is a butler of course, but not nearly as entertaining as Wodehouse's Jeeves.

I liked it but was hoping for more. Very quick read.  

Oedipus Trilogy (Oedipus Rex (429 BC), Oedipus at Colonus (406 BC), Antigone (442 BC)) (Sophocles)

Re-read - first time would have been freshman year at Notre Dame, so 1974 or 1975.  I got the idea to read this from a book gifted on Father's Day from Paul Jr. and Nedda ("Papyrus" - lots of interesting thoughts on the ancient Greeks).

Pretty quick reading, the story lines are familiar.  Oedipus runs into some bad luck and is made eternally famous; in his old age he is supported by Antigone in particular and then protected by Theseus; one of his sons, slain in battle, is left to the jackals by Creon (an incredible insult in those days, perhaps any time) - at least until Antigone defies Creon.

Kind of amazing that folks were doing this quality of literature this long ago, I hope I don't take it for granted.  I hadn't realized the sequencing of the three works, how far apart in time.

The "Papyrus" book indicates that Sophocles was one of the big three of that time period (with Aeschyles and Euripides). 

Lysistrata (Aristophanes, 411 B.C.)

This is the famous play where - tired of the seemingly endless Peloponnesian War - the protagonist calls together women from all across Greece, and convinces them to stay away from their men until peace is agreed upon.

Mostly humorous, I enjoyed reading.  

Some of the speechifying from the men - justifying war - sounded like warmongering rationalizations from current times. 

A Midsummer Night's Dream (William Shakespeare, 1596)

I've enjoyed reading Shakespeare, but not as much I expected.  But now I think I figured out a way!

Previously I was purchasing and reading the beautiful, comprehensive Arden Shakespeare editions - full of notes and explanatory material, which I of course checked out as I went along.  Julius Caesar and Richard III quite good but overall meh.  Kind of tedious, choppy.

Recently I broke down and bought a Kindle, and downloaded some Shakespeare items that are "free" to Prime members.  These are simple editions without any notes at all, and presumably are reasonably faithful to whatever Shakespeare originally wrote.  

I read "A Midsummer Night's Dream" this way and much enjoyed - no notes or other explanation - no doubt there's plenty I missed, but it was so much more pleasant to just forge through the story line.

I also have a lovely book by Harold Bloom - "Shakespeare - The Invention of the Human" - he provides commentaries on all the main plays.  So I read his summary but only after reading the play.  This is the approach that I'll take with Shakespeare going forward.  Yay.

Bottom is a great character (he has fun with the elves).  Puck - mischievous, to say the least.  There are two couples who go through some adventures in the woods; Oberon and his wife Titania.