Othello+and+other+Shakespeare+stuff

Raves: __Shakespeare on Toast__ by Ben Crystal is a fantastic read. The passion of the author for Shakespeare vibrates throughout. [|Here is a link to Crystal's website and some podcast and audio clips]  //What did I find the most interesting?// I found the insights about the way Shakespeare used the text itself to include stage directions and indications for the actors of the time utterly absorbing. Shakespeare used the layout of the text to indicate the timing of certain lines and played freely with the iambic pentameter form much the same way as a jazz musician 'riffs' on a piece of music.

Most revelationary for me was the fact that modern text editors and publishers have 'cleaned' much of this information up to create a 'literary' version of the text very far removed from the active and malleable text Shakespeare orginally intended for his actors!

//** __I'll be buying this book!__**//

[|What is iambic pentameter?]

Websites: [|Shakespeares words] - Glossary, language and more. Brilliant. [|Shakespeare Resource Centre] - contains lots of really good information and links to other resources. [|Shakespeare Info] - a very comprehensive site. [|First folio] - the original text as printed in 1623 by two actors who had been in the theatre with Shakespeare. Please note that 'u' and 'v' are used interchangably and the spelling is quite creative! What to look for is the variation in the iambic pentameter form to create pauses, indicate overlapping lines, or give spaces for actors to move and gesture.