I was debating how to celebrate Valentine's Day on this blog, given that it is, as we know it today anyways, a crassly commercial holiday that potentially generates a huge amount of emotional baggage. However, love is, by most accounts, a wonderful thing, and below is a video clip compilation of one of my favorite bits of love-related Shakespeare from As You Like It.
Some background first... If you've never seen As You Like It, this is what you need to know to understand this scene:
Got all that? Good. Here's a compilation of various video productions of As You Like It, specifically the last bit of Act 5, Scene 2.
0:00 - As You Like it, 1936, Elisabeth Bergner, Laurence Olivier, Richard Ainley, Joan White
2:33 - BBC Shakespeare, 1978, Helen Mirren, Brian Stirner, Maynard Williams, Victoria Puncknett
4:56 - As You Like It, 2006, Bryce Dallas Howard, David Oyelowo, Alex Wyndham, Jade Jefferies
7:02 - Shakespeare's Globe, 2009, Naomi Frederick, Jack Laskey, Michael Benz, Jade Williams
That's love, I suppose: confused, mistaken, heartfelt, frustrated, chaotic, poetical, unrequited, and totally deluded.
Anyways... Happy Valentine's Day! I'll be back on Monday with some more Three-Panel Plays for you.
NOTE: One of the clips is owned by the BBC, and thus the video may be blocked in some countries. I will eventually figure out which one it is (presumably the BBC Shakespeare clip) and try to put up a video without it.