LE MORTE DARTHUR

Author: Sir Thomas Malory (c 1405 − 1471)
Translator: Helen Cooper
Publisher: Oxford University Press (2008 reissue)
Bought from: Book Depository

Introduction

Chivalric romance, which was extremely popular amongst the European aristocracy in medieval Europe from the 12th to the 16th century, celebrated the adventures of knights and their code of loyalty, honour and courtly behavior. The genre flourished in France (in the Arthurian poems of Chrétien de Troyes in late 12th century), England (Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by an unknown author from late 14th century and Thomas Malory′s Le Morte Darthur published in 1485) and Italy (Ludovico Ariosto′s Orlando Furioso published 1516 – 1532).

Le Morte Darthur (or The Death of King Arthur) is a compilation of French and English romances about the mythical English king Arthur. It is not clear when Malory compiled these stories into this volume (probably c 1469–1470) but we do know that it was first published by William Caxton in 1485. In 1934, a manuscript copy of the work was discovered in Winchester College. The text of the Winchester Manuscript (now housed in the British Library) is different in some respects from the Caxton text and is considered to be closer to Malory′s original work. Today, Le Morte Darthur is considered the definitive collection of Arthurian legends in the English language.

What is the story about?

The story is set primarily in 5th century England. It chronicles the adventures and misadventures of King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table. All the familiar figures are here — Merlin, Guinevere, Lancelot, Gawain (although Malory′s Gawain is very different from the one in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight), Tristan and Isolde, Galahad, Modred. All the familiar episodes are here — the sword in the stone, the founding of Camelot and the establishment of the Round Table, Excalibur, the quest for the Holy Grail, the illicit affair between Lancelot and Guinevere, Arthur′s death at Modred′s hands.

Le Morte Darthur is divided into 8 books. Lancelot gets 2 stories, including one called inevitably The Tale of Sir Lancelot and Queen Guinevere. Gareth of Orkney and Tristram each stars in one story of their own (Gareth is a relatively unknown character and it is believed that his storyThe Tale of Gareth may be an original work by Malory). There is a set of stories about the search for the Holy Grail. Finally, there is a somewhat surreal chapter about Arthur’s conquest of Rome. These stories are book-ended by a chapter on the birth and early life of Arthur and one on his death.

Two things struck me as I read this book:

In modern retellings of Arthurian myth, Merlin is almost always an major character. Indeed, a number of movies and tv series are even titled Merlin. I have fond memories of the Hallmark mini series Merlin in which King Arthur′s story is told from the point of view of Merlin (played by Sam Neill). In Malory′s version, Merlin played a key (but somewhat dastardly) role in the conception of Arthur and then pretty much disappeared after page 59 when he was tricked by Ninive to go under a stone. Ninive casted spells so that Merlin “came never out for all the craft he could do”.

In many modern Arthurian stories, Arthur pulls Excalibur from an anvil or stone and is then acknowledged as King. In Malory′s version, however, Excalibur was not that sword. Arthur did pull a sword from a stone/anvil and became King as a result. But he broke that sword in two during a fight shortly after. It was Merlin who then arranged for the Lady of the Lake to give Arthur a new sword — that was Excalibur.

What about the book?

This is Helen Cooper′s translation (with modernised spelling and punctuation) of the Winchester Manuscript. Her translation, in the Oxford World Classics series, is slightly abridged and all omissions are identified. There is a glossary of recurrent words, definitions of selected words at the bottom of the pages, explanatory end notes and a comprehensive index of characters. The end notes are signaled in the text so that is very handy.

Finally …

Some parts of the work drag on. But because I know already how things are going to turn out, there is a sense of foreboding as I read my way to the end of the story. I will try to read Chrétien de Troyes′s French romances that are, to a large extent, the model for Malory′s work.

THE ILIAD

Attributed to: Homer
Translator: Robert Fagles
Publisher: Penguin Books (1998 Edition)
Bought from: Book Depository

Introduction

The Iliad (or Song of Troy) is an epic poem set during the Trojan War. The poem is likely to have had an oral origin. Scholars believe the poem was first written down in the 8th century BC. The Iliad, along with The Odyssey, are two of western literature’s oldest extant work. Both poems are traditionally attributed to Homer. While Homer is regarded as ancient Greece’s greatest poet, no one knows for sure when he lived.

The oldest surviving manuscript of the Iliad is called the Venutus A. It is the primary source of all modern editions of the poem. It dates back to the 10th century AD. It is kept in the ancient public library of St Mark in Venice.

There is much debate about whether the Trojan War actually happened. Those who believe the war to be a historical event believe it took place in the 13th or 12th century BC. Regardless of whether or not it did happen, the Trojan War is generally considered the dividing line between the mythical and historical ages of Greece.

What is the story about?

The poem covers a very short period near the end of the 10-year Trojan War. The poem makes references the Judgement of Paris and the abduction of Helen by Paris and other events that lead up to the war.

The Iliad proper begins with a dispute between the two leaders of the Greek forces surrounding Troy, Agamemnon and Achilles, over a slave girl. Achilles turns his back on the Greeks in anger. However, after Hector kills his close friend Patroclus, Achilles returns to action. He kills Hector and then desecrates his body. The poem ends with the burial of Hector. The sack of Troy (no Wooden Horse though!) and Achille’s own death are foreshadowed.

The main characters are Achilles, swift runner and commander of the Myrmidons, and Hector, prince of Troy and breaker of horses. Agamemnon, Menalaus, Odysseus, Ajax and Diomedes are the other major characters on the Greeks’ side. As for the Trojans, old King Priam sees his sons and countrymen die before his eyes. He has to supplicate himself before Achilles and beg for Hector’s body. To do so, he has to endure something no one on earth has ever done before – he put to his lips the hands of the man who killed his son. Interestingly, Paris and Helen – the cause of the war – do not contribute much. Look out also for Aeneas who will, much later, be the protagonist of Virgil’s Aeneid.

The Olympian gods participate directly and take sides in the war. Hera and Athena, losers in the Judgment of Paris, side with the Greeks as do Hades, Hermes, Poseidon and Hephaestus. Aphrodite, winner in the Judgment of Paris, is the Trojans’ main divine ally. Artemis, Apollo, Ares and the river god Xanthus also side with the Trojans. The gods fight mortals (eg. Aphrodite and Ares v Diomedes in Book 5) and gods fight gods (eg. Hephaestus v Xanthus in Book 21). The gods take mortal forms and fight beside their heroes. They spirit their heroes away from the jaws of death. Zeus stays neutral most of the time but in the climatic battle, he chooses not to help Hector and even allows Athena to entrap Hector for Achilles.

Themes

The main theme of the poem is rage, specifically the rage of Achilles. Books 1-16 deal with the rage of Achilles against Agamemnon and its implications. When Agamemnon sends an embassy to Achilles, he brushes them off and tells them he was sailing home the next day with his troops:

“If I hold out here and I lay siege to Troy,
my journey home is gone, but my glory never dies.
If I voyage back to the fatherland I love,
my pride, my glory dies …
true, but the life that’s left me will be long,
the stroke of death will not come on quickly.”
(9.500 – 505)

Then, after Hector kills Patroclus in Book 16, Achilles redirects his rage against his cousin’s killer:

“Enough.
Let bygones be bygones. Done is done.
Despite my anguish I will beat it down,
the fury mounting inside me, down by force.
But now I’ll go and meet the murderer head-on,
that Hector who destroyed the dearest life I know.
For my own death, I’ll meet it freely – whenever Zeus
and the other deathless gods would like to bring it on!
Not even Heracles fled his death, for all his power,
favorite son as he was to father Zeus the King.
Fate crushed him, and Hera’s savage anger.
And I too, if the same fate awaits me …
I’ll lie in peace, once I’ve gone down to death.
But now, for the moment, let me seize great glory! –
and drive some woman of Troy or deep-breasted Dardan
to claw with both hands at her tender cheeks and wipe away
her burning tears as the sobs come chocking from her throat –
they’ll learn that I refrained from war a good long time!”
(18.131 – 148)

Achilles’ rage seems to abate only in the last book of the epic, Book 24, after he hears Priam beg for the return of Hector’s body.

What about the book?

This is a Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition. It is a deckle edge book and comes in a beautiful wrap-around cover. Even better, the book comes with Homer’s The Odyssey and Virgil’s The Aeneid (both also translated by Robert Fagles) in a gorgeous boxed set.

Robert Fagles’ verse translation is widely acclaimed. It has been said that his translation is not literal and he has taken certain liberties. Be that as it may, his language is easy to follow and the verse flows smoothly and dramatically. Bernard Knox provides the introduction and notes. The introduction is useful and not unduly academic. The footnotes are adequate. It is a little annoying that they are not referenced to the text in the poem itself.

Finally …

It is said that Alexander the Great slept with a copy of The Iliad under his pillow during his campaigns. The Iliad is a foundational text of European literature. Stories about, and around, the Trojan War mythology have influenced culture down the centuries, from Classical Greek tragedians to Renaissance painters to Middle Ages poets to Elizabethan playwrights to modern day movie makers and authors.

KING LEAR

Author: William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
Written: c 1605-1606
Editors: Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine
Publisher: Simon & Schuster (2009 Edition)
Bought from: Borders Singapore

Introduction

This is one of Shakespeare’s major tragedies. The eponymous character is based on a mythical Celtic king. The text of King Lear as we know it today was first published in a 1608 quarto (titled True Chronicle History of the Life and Death of King Lear and His Three Daughters).

What is the story about?

The story is set in an unspecified period in England. The main character is the aging (and very likely senile) eponymous king. At the beginning of the story, he invites his three daughters to tell him how much they love him so that he can divide his kingdom accordingly. Goneril and Regan lay it on with a trowel while the youngest daughter Cordelia tells him plainly that she loves him as a daughter loves a father, no more and no less. King Lear banishes Cordelia as well as Kent who speaks up for her. King Lear then divides his kingdom between Goneril/Albany and Regan/Cornwall. The two daughters, having received what they want from their father, begin to mistreat him. Lear is driven mad and runs away.

Meanwhile, Gloucester is tricked by his illegitimate son Edmund to disinherit his son and heir Edgar. The fates of the 2 dysfunctional family cross and culminates in a tragic dénouement. While the villains get their comeuppance, there is no happy ending for Lear or Cordelia.

Themes

The central theme of this tale is familial betrayal. Goneril and Regan betray their father. Later, they betray each other and their respective husbands to woo Edmund. Edmund himself betrays his father and brother.
In light of all the back-stabbing, it is not surprising that it seems like everyone is angry at someone in this story. Some of the play’s most memorable moments spring from anger. King Lear rants at everyone and even the storm. In particular, he curses Goneril virulently:

“Hear, Nature, hear, dear goddess, hear!
Suspend thy purpose if thou didst intend
To make this creature fruitful.
Into her womb convey sterility.
Dry up in her the organs of increase,
And from her derogate body never spring
A babe to honor her. If she must teem,
Create her child of spleen, that it may live
And be a thwart disnatured torment to her.
Let it stamp wrinkles in her brow of youth.
With cadent tears fret channels in her cheeks,
Turn all her mother’s pains and benefits
To laughter and contempt, that she may feel
How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is
To have a thankless child.
Suspend thy purpose if thou didst intend
To make this creature fruitful.
Into her womb convey sterility.
Dry up in her the organs of increase,
And from her derogate body never spring
A babe to honor her. If she must teem,
Create her child of spleen, that it may live
And be a thwart disnatured torment to her.
Let it stamp wrinkles in her brow of youth.
With cadent tears fret channels in her cheeks,
Turn all her mother’s pains and benefits
To laughter and contempt, that she may feel
How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is
To have a thankless child.”
(1.4.289-303)

Cornwall is angry at Kent (he puts him in the stocks: 2.2) as well as Gloucester (he kicks or gouges out Gloucester’s eyes, uttering “Out, vile jelly!”: 3.7).

Kent and Owald get into an altercation and Kent angrily denounces Oswald: “Thou whoreson zed, thou unnecessary letter!” (2.2.65). In a Sunday Telegraph Shakespeare Survey in 2008, author Anthony Horowitz picked this as his favourite Shakespeare insult.

What about the book?

This was the first Shakespeare book I bought. It is from the Folger Shakespeare Library series. Compared to say the RSC Shakespeare volumes, this one is better in terms of –
– paper quality (white, reasonably thick)
– font size
– presentation: the text is on the right hand page and notes on the left hand page
– illustrations (although it just a little annoying though that these illustrations tend to show up many pages away from the corresponding text)

However, I feel the notes in the RSC Shakespeare series are more detailed and helpful.

Finally …

My top 5 Shakespeare tragedies:
1. Hamlet
2. Romeo and Juliet
3. Macbeth
4. Othello
5. King Lear

I will want to read King Lear again, perhaps from the RSC Shakespeare Series.

THE ARABIAN NIGHTS

Author: Unknown
Translator: Hussain Haddawy
Publisher: W. W. Norton Company (2008 Edition)
Bought from: Borders Singapore

Introduction

The Arabian Nights (also known as One Thousand and One Nights) is a collection of stories from the Middle East and India. It is not known who first compiled these stories in written form or when. There are several surviving extant manuscripts. Scholars divide these manuscripts into the Syrian branch (older, shorter) and the Egyptian branch.

Most of the extant manuscripts have the same core stories, namely:
1. The Merchant and the Demon/Jinn
2. The Fisherman and the Demon/Jinn
3. The Porter and the Three Ladies
4. The Three Apples
5. The Hunchback cycle
6. Nur al-Din Ali ibn-Bakkar and the Slave Girl Shams al-Nahar
7. The Slave Girl Anis al-Jalis and Nur al-Din Ali ibn-Khaqan
8. Jullanar of the Sea
9. Qamar al-Zaman

What is the story about?

The Arabian Nights is set during the reign of the fictitious King Shahrayar in the historical Sasanid dynasty. The Sasanid dynasty ruled Persia from 226-641 AD.

King Shahrayar is cuckolded by his queen. In retaliation, he marries a virgin every day and kills her the next day after consummating the marriage. This goes on until the beautiful and resourceful Shahrazad volunteers to marry the King. She tells him stories every night, pausing when dawn breaks. The King is captivated by the stories and keeps her alive until he eventually grows to love her.

Sharazad’s stories are told in a story-within-a-story form, in several layers in some cases.

There are fantastical elements (The Merchant and the Demon/Jinn, The Fisherman and the Demon/Jinn), bawdiness (The Porter and the Three Ladies), a murder mystery (The Three Apples) and slapstick comedy (the Hunchback cycle). The last three stories in this translation are somewhat different in nature from the other – they are love stories more than anything else. Not surprisingly, perhaps, I found these stories less engaging than the others.

What about the book?

Hussain Haddawy has translated (almost unabridged) a 14th century manuscript edited by Muhsin Madhi in 1984. As this is a version of the Syrian recension, it is quite short. It contains only the core stories listed above except Qamar al-Zaman. There is no Aladdin, Sinbad or Ali Baba, all of which scholars believe were added later to the original core stories. In fact, Haddawy thinks that Aladdin may have even been added by a Frenchman in the 18th century. Haddawy’s translation ends after the 271st night. Compare the translation of an Egyptian manuscript by Malcolm C. Lyons and Ursula Lyons (Penguin Classics) which does reach 1,001 nights over three volumes.

Finally …

The first few stories were OK but the last few dragged quite a bit.

PARADISE LOST

Author: John Milton (1608–1674)
Editor: William Kerrigan, John Rumrich and Stephen M. Fallon
Publisher: Modern Library (2008 Edition)
Bought: Book Depository

Introduction

John Milton and William Shakespeare are generally considered England’s greatest poets. Milton‘s magnum opus is Paradise Lost, an epic poem in blank verse.

John Milton lived during a turbulent period of English history. In 1625, Charles I of the House of Stuart ascended to the throne of England, Scotland and Ireland. His reign was marked by a struggle for political power with Parliament over revenue to finance his ill-fated wars abroad as well as a growing fear amongst adherents of Reformed faiths such as the Puritans that he was moving the Church of England closer to Catholicism. In 1649, Charles I was overthrown, tried and executed. This led to a period known as the Interregum (1649–1674) during which time England was effectively a republic ruled by the military under Oliver Cromwell. During this period, the Reformed faiths experienced a resurgence. But the republic was ultimately undone by internal conflict and it began to disintegrate after Cromwell died in 1658. Two years later, a dissenting general installed Charles’ son also named Charles on the throne, ushering in the period known as the Restoration (1660–1688). King Charles II restored the Church of England as the national church and Puritanism lost momentum.

John Milton began writing pamphlets attacking the royalty and the Church of England around 1640. In 1649, he was appointed Latin Secretary of Foreign Affairs under Cromwell’s administration and he produced propoganda materials on its behalf. The work of translating and writing created much strain on his eyes and he became entirely blind by 1652. After the Restoration, John Milton had to retire from public life and he returned to writing poetry. He completed and published Paradise Lost (1664) and its sequel Paradise Regained (1671). He died soon after supervising significant revisions to a second edition of Paradise Lost (1674).

What is it about?

This is the story about the fall of Satan and the fall of man. It starts, like the Homeric poems, in medias res and with an invocation to the “Heav’nly Muse”. Satan and his followers have already been cast out of heaven. Initially, he appears to accept his lot. He says it is “Better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heav’n” (I.263). But before long, he embarks on a quest to destroy God’s latest creation, mankind. The poem then switches to Adam and Eve in Eden. They hear of how Satan rebelled and how he was ultimately defeated by the Son of God. They hear of their own creation. Finally, they hear of God’s explicit command not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge. Well, as we all know, Satan succeeds in tempting Eve to disobey that command resulting in the expulsion of both Adam and Eve from paradise (hence, the title of the poem).

It is heartbreaking when it begins to dawn on Adam and Eve (Book X) just how high it is the price they have to pay for their transgression – not only expulsion from paradise but death for them and all their descendants.

Themes

One of the big questions raised by this poem is divine determinism v free will. If God has foreknowledge that Adam and Eve will sin, why does he allow it? Milton answers this when God says: “I have made (mankind) just and right / Sufficient to have stood, though free to fall” (III.99-100).

I find Milton’s depiction of Eve misogynistic. Eve says to Adam:

“My author and disposer, what thou bidd’st
Unargued I obey; so God ordains,
God is thy Law, thou mine; to know no more
Is women’s happiest knowledge and her praise.”
(IV.635-638)

Try getting a modern woman to include that in her wedding vows!

Later, after the fall, the Son of God descends to sentence Adam and Eve and he admonishes Eve “… to thy husband’s will / Thine shall submit, he over thee shall rule” (X.195-196).

Who is the protagonist of the poem? Is it God, Adam the Son of God, or Satan? Some say Satan is the true hero of the tale. Certainly, Milton’s Satan is very different from (say) the one in Dante’s Inferno – Milton’s Satan exhibits very human traits ranging from anger to defiance to envy to cunningness. He embarks on an epic journey through the cosmos to get to Eden. He has no horns or tail. In many of the illustrations associated with Paradise Lost (eg. Gustave Dore’s woodcutting for the cover of this volume), Satan is depicted in human form and even has wings just like an angel). You have to make up your own mind.

This story dispels a popular misconception: the snake that seduces Eve is not actually Satan himself. It is in fact a serpent which “the Devil entered” in from the mouth (IX.188), in other words a serpent whose body Satan possesses. The serpent is nonetheless cursed subsequently by the Son of God for its role in tempting Eve (X.175 ff) and this curse is later transferred to Satan and his demons (IX.504 ff).

The poem explores many religious, moral and even scientific themes – some very obscure. Milton’s writing style is very different from modern English. He makes use of allegories, extended similes, imagery and other literaty devices. There is also a lot of unusual sentence construction. Take the famous first sentence that starts “Of man’s first disobedience …” It is 16 lines long and the subject and verb are in line 6. For all these reasons, a well annotated edition is a must.

What about the book?

This translation is very readable. It has a useful introduction that includes a discussion of three “controversies” around this work, eg the debate over whether Milton’s depiction of Eve is misogynistic (I think it is!). There are also ample footnotes.

Finally …

This is highly receommended. But you need to be patient to work through the language. Make use of the footnotes.

Et cetera

The title of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy is derived from the following passage:

“… Into this wild abyss,
The womb of Nature and perhaps her grave,
Of neither sea, nor shore, nor air, nor fire,
But all these in their pregnant causes mixed,
Confus’dly, and which thus must ever fight,
Unless th’ Almighty Maker them ordain
His dark materials to create more worlds ….”
(II.910-916)

THE TALE OF THE HEIKE

Author: Unknown
Translated by: Helen Craig McCullough
Stanford University Press (1988 Edition)
Bought from: Book Depository

Introduction

The Tale of the Heike or Heike Monogatari is set in the Genpei War which took place in Japan in the 12th century AD. It chronicles the power struggle between 2 samurai families, the Taira (or Heike) and Minamoto (or Genji) clans. The Tale of the Heike is considered one of the great classics of medieval Japanese literature.

Scholars believe The Tale of the Heike is a collection of oral stories originally recited by travelling monks (or laymen in monk’s robes) accompanied by an instrument called a biwa. It is not known who first compiled the stories into written form or when. There are various extant versions of The Tale of the Heike but the most widely read version was compiled by a blind monk named Kakuichi in 1371.

So what is the story about?

The main character in the first third of the story is Taira no Kiyomori. His clan helps Emperor Go-Shirakawa suppress two separate rebellions. The Taira clan eventually come to dominate the imperial court in Kyoto to such an extent that Kiyomori installs his grandson as the Emperor and exiles Cloistered Emperor Go-Shirakawa.

In Chapter 5, the next major character emerges. He is Minamoto no Yoritomo, based in Kamakura. He is persuaded to lead the uprising against the Taira clan on behalf of Cloistered Emperor Go-Shirakawa. He is assisted by his cousin Minamoto no Yoshinaka. Yoshinaka drives the Taira out of Kyoto and returns Cloistered Emperor Go-Shirakawa to Kyoto. However, Yoshinaka turns on the imperial court.

Yoritomo’s half-brother Minamoto Yoshitsune takes center stage from Chapter 8. He is arguably the major character in the last third of the story. He leads Yoritomo’s soldiers against Yoshinaka and what is left of the Taira forces. Yoshinaka is killed in 1184 (Chapter 9) and the Taira clan is finally vanquished in the decisive naval battle of Dan-no-ura in 1185 (Chapter 11). A jealous Minamoto commander convinces Yoritomo to turn against Yoshitsune who eventually flees north to save his own life. The story ends with the Minamoto clan led by Yoritomo firmly in power with the execution of the last male heir of the Taira clan. Yoritomo is officially awarded the title of Shogun in 1192 and this marks the start of the Kamukara shogunate.

It is interesting to note that the shogunate system, under which political power rests in the samurai caste, was to last for some 700 years.

Themes

The main theme is signalled in the opening paragraph: “The sound of the Gion Shoja bells echoes the impermanence of all things; the color of the sala flowers reveals the truth that the prosperous must decline. The proud do not endure, they are like dreams on a spring night; the mighty fall at last, they are as dust before the wind.”

In Buddhism, the idea of impermanence is considered one of the three marks of existence (along with suffering and non-self). The Tale of the Heike is a narrative of the rise and the inevitable fall of Taira no Kiyomori and his clan.

What about the book?

There are several unabridged English translations. This McCullough translation is easy to read. There is a list of the principal characters in the front and family trees at the end of the book. There are also several illustrations of key episodes of the story.

Finally …

Recommended. It would be great to have more translations of classic Japanese literature.

THE MERCHANT OF VENICE

Author: William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
Editors: Jonathan Bale and Eric Rasmussen
Publisher: Modern Library (2010 Edition)
Bought from: Book Depository

Introduction

This is one of Shakespeare’s most famous comedies. However, for me, the humour is undermined by the anti-Semitism that runs through the play.

What is the story about?

The play is set in Venice, possibly in the 16th century itself. Bassanio asks his friend Antonio for a loan so that he can woo the heiress Portia. Antonio needs what today would be called a bridging loan and he goes to Shylock although there is clearly no love lost between them. Shylock sees an opportunity to get back at Antonio. He lends the money to Antonio interest-free but on the condition that if Antonio defaults, Shylock will take a pound of his flesh. Antonio does indeed default and it is up to Portia in the guise of a lawyer to save the day – she finds a legal technicality and turns the table on Shylock.

The eponymous Venetian merchant Antonio is little more than a plot device. His character is not fleshed out at all. It is not clear what drives him to accept Shylock’s onerous term for the loan (leading to modern speculation that it is his love for Bassanio). The one thing that is explicit about him is his hatred of Shylock – he has a habit of abusing, spitting at and kicking Shylock (1.3.105-118). After all he goes through, he is left all alone while 3 pairs of lovers celebrate at the end of the play. No happy ending for him!

Bassanio is nominally the lead male character. But I think he is truly the lamest hero Shakespeare ever created. It is possible that his pursuit of Portia is really driven by her wealth. He may even have taken advantage of Antonio’s friendship (love?) to get the funds to woo Portia. And last but not least, it is entirely possible that he would not have chosen the right casket without some nudging from Portia’s singer (3.2.65-74).

The main female lead is Portia. In the Rumpole books and tv series written by John Mortimer, the eponymous barrister refers fondly to his one-time favourite pupil and later High Court Judge as the “Portia of our Chambers”. However, the Shakespearean Portia evokes a more ambiguous feeling. Her bravura court room performance with the famous speech (“The quality of mercy is not strained / It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven / Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest: / It blesseth him that gives and him that takes” (4.1.188-191) is admirable. Yet, one cannot help but detect a nasty streak in her. After she outwits Shylock, she has the chance to show the same mercy she preached only moments earlier. Instead, she brings the full weight of the Venetian legal system to bear on Shylock. Shylock is forced to convert to Christianity and is financially ruined. Mercy indeed!

Portia also shows her racist attitude in her interaction with a Moorish (ie. black) suitor. She says: “If he have the condition of a saint and the complexion of a devil, I had rather he should shrive me than wive me” (1.2.111-113).

Is the play anti-Semitic? Whatever Shakespeare had in mind when he wrote the play, The Merchant of Venice certainly can be interpreted as anti-Semitic. There is no disguising the fact that Shakespeare has made Shylock very much the villain of the play. He is depicted as a vindictive, cruel and avaricious money-lender who values his wealth more than his daughter. The other characters describe him and other Jews using extremely abusive language. And Shylock does himself no favours in his speech and action. In one of the most famous passages from the play, he starts off with a heart-felt plea for acceptance and tolerance before descending into self-justification for his determination to extract his pound of flesh:

“I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions? Fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer as a Christian is? If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge? If we are like you in the rest, we will resemble you in that. If a Jew wrong a Christian, what is his humility? Revenge. If a Christian wrong a Jew, what should his sufferance be by Christian example? Why, revenge. The villainy you teach me, I will execute, and it shall go hard but I will better the instruction.”
(3.1.49-62)

One of the main themes of the play is disguises and false fronts. Antonio is depressed but refuses to say why. Bassanio needs Antonio’s (financial) help to impress Portia. Portia’s suitors have to choose from 3 caskets whose outer appearances belie their hidden contents. Shylock detests Bassanio but feigns civility to lure Bassanio into accepting his terms for the loan. Portia disguises herself as a man (one of Shakespeare’s many cross-dressing female characters) to defend Antonio. She even – while in disguise – plays a prank on her husband Bassanio. This theme is repeated with the caskets which Portia’s suitors are faced with. Inside the golden casket is a message that says, “All that glisters is not gold” (2.7.67).

What about the book?

Each of the books in the RSC Shakespeare series published by The Modern Library comes with very informative footnotes, helpful scene-by-scene analysis and, best of all, commentary on past and current productions that comes with interviews with leading directors and actor. The books are also very reasonably priced. Best of all, the introductions are not overly long and focus on a few talking points for each play. The paper quality is not particularly good though. Also, the covers are not very attractive.

Finally …

This can only be called a comedy if you find the institutionalised humiliation and deprivation of Shylock funny. The Merchant of Venice is definitely NOT one of my favourites.

Et cetera
The golden casket passage paraphrases a saying that is still popular today. There is a poem that carries a somewhat similar message in J. R. R. Tolkien’s novel The Lord of the Rings. It reads:

“All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.”

HAMLET

Author: William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
Editors: Jonathan Bate and Eric Rasmussen
Publisher: Modern Library (2008 Edition)
Bought from: Book Depository

Introduction

To many, this is the Bard’s greatest tragedy, maybe even his greatest play. A tale of treachery, revenge, love and, above all, madness (real or feigned). It is Shakespeare’s longest play (more than 4,000 lines). There is no sub-plot to distract the reader. Hamlet has more than a third of the lines and he reveals his thoughts to the reader in five famous soliloquies.

What is the story about?

Hamlet, the prince of Denmark, encounters his dead father’s ghost who accuses Claudius, Hamlet’s uncle of murder. Claudius has since married Hamlet’s mother Getrude and ascended to the throne. Hamlet is driven mad (or feigns madness) and sets up a play-within-the-play to determine Claudius’ guilt.

Hamlet is a wonderful story filled with well-fleshed out characters from Hamlet himself to Getrude, Claudius and Polonius. These and the other characters in the play speak some of the most unforgettable words ever written in English.

Shakespeare wrote magnificent soliloquies for the Prince of Denmark. Early in the play, Hamlet laments the fact that Gertrude has married Claudius less than 2 months after the King’s death: “frailty, thy name is woman!” (1.2.146). Then, there is the ‘to be or not to be’ passage, possibly the most famous soliloquy ever written. Finally, in a soliloquy that appears in Quatro but not in Folio, Hamlet finally stops his dithering and resolves to avenge his father’s foul and most unnatural death: “O, from this time forth / My thoughts be bloody, or be nothing worth!” (4.3.105-139).

Besides the soliloquies, the play also has some snappy wordplay. When Claudius calls him “my cousin Hamlet, and my son”, Hamlet says as an aside (his very first line): “A little more than kin and less than kind” (1.2.64). Hamlet agrees that Claudius has become more closely related to him after marrying his mother (ie. kin) but he does not think of Claudius as kindred or affectionate (ie. kind). Later, after he kills Polonius and (apparently) hides the body, Hamlet is asked where he has hidden the body. Hamlet replies, “The body is with the king, but the king is not with the body” (4.2.25). This line is capable of various interpretations, eg. Claudius has a physical body but not true kingship, or Polonius is with the late true king instead of the usurper king Claudius, or Polonius is with God (ie. “King”) instead of Claudius.

The play contains a smattering of the bawdy language that Shakespeare is famous for. Hamlet the character gets to say most of them (eg. 3.2.106-119).

Shakespeare also put some memorable lines in Polonius’ mouth. I especially love the bombastic advice he gives his son Laertes, which includes the admonition “Neither a borrower nor a lender be” (1.3.78) and “This above all: to thine own self be true” (1.3.81).

And in Ophelia, Shakespeare has crafted one of his most wretched and pitiful characters. She is young and impressionable and is doomed after Hamlet (whether he does so consciously or in madness) plays with her feelings.

Themes

One of the major talking points of the play is Hamlet’s dithering. For a big part of the play, he thinks about killing Claudius but does not act. After he watches a troupe of actors rehearsing, he comments that the actor, who is merely acting, expresses more emotion than himself, who is supposed to be actually suffering:

“O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I!
Is it not monstrous that this player here,
But in a fiction, in a dream of passion,
Could force his soul so to his own conceit
That from her working all his visage wanned
Tears in his eyes, distraction in’s aspect,
A broken voice, and his whole function suiting
With forms to his conceit? And all for nothing!
For Hecuba!
What’s Hecuba to him, or he to Hecuba,
That he should weep for her? What would he do,
Had he the motive and the cue for passion
That I have? He would drown the stage with tears
And cleave the general ear with horrid speech,
Make mad the guilty and appal the free,
Confound the ignorant, and amaze indeed
The very faculties of eyes and ears. Yet I
A dull and muddy-mettled rascal, peak
Like John-a-dreams, unpregnant of my cause,
And can say nothing! No, not for a king
Upon whose property and most dear life
A damned defeat was made. Am I a coward?
Who calls me villain? Breaks my pate across?
Plucks off my beard and blows it in my face?
Tweaks me by th’ nose? Gives me the lie i’ th’ throat
As deep as to the lungs? Who does me this?
Ha!
Why, I should take it, for it cannot be
But I am pigeon-livered and lack gall
To make oppression bitter, or ere this
I should have fatted all the region kites
With this slave’s offal: bloody, bawdy villain!
Remorseless, treacherous, lecherous, kindless villain!
O, vengeance!
Why, what an ass am I! This is most brave,
That I, the son of a dear murdered,
Prompted to my revenge by heaven and hell,
Must like a whore unpack my heart with words
And fall a-cursing like a very drab, a scullion!
Fie upon’t, foh!”
(2.2.535-574)

In the next scene, the famous ‘to be or not to be’ passage shows Hamlet was still thinking of doing instead of doing:

“To be, or not to be, that is the question:
Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them: to die, to sleep –
No more – and by a sleep, to say we end
The heartache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to: ’tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wished. To die, to sleep,
To sleep, perchance to dream: ay, there’s the rub,
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come,
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause: there’s the respect
That makes calamity of so long life,
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
The oppressor’s wrong, the proud man’s contumely,
The pangs of disprized love, the law’s delay,
The insolence of office and the spurns
That patient merit of the unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin? Who would these fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscovered country from whose bourn
No traveller returns, puzzles the will,
And makes us rather bear those ills we have,
Than fly to others that we know not of.
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all,
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprises of great pith and moment
With this regard their currents turn away,
And lose the name of action.”
(3.1.62-94)

Even more dramatically, at the midpoint of the play, Hamlet has the chance to kill Claudius while the latter was kneeling (apparently) in prayer. Hamlet declares in another soliloquy: “And now I’ll do’t …. And so am I revenged” (3.3.77-78). Then almost immediately, he lapses into indecisiveness yet again. He reasons that if he kills Claudius during his prayer, he will only be sending Claudius to heaven (a courtesy Claudius did not afford Hamlet’s father). Hamlet convinces himself he should kill Claudius at another time when Claudius is committing some act “That has no relish of salvation in’t” (3.395).

What about the book?

Each of the books in the RSC Shakespeare series published by The Modern Library comes with very informative footnotes, helpful scene-by-scene analysis and, best of all, commentary on past and current productions that comes with interviews with leading directors and actor. The books are also very reasonably priced. Best of all, the introductions are not overly long and focus on a few talking points for each play. The paper quality is not particularly good though. Also, the covers are not very attractive.

Finally …

My top 5 Shakespeare tragedies:
1. Hamlet
2. Romeo and Juliet
3. Macbeth
4. Othello
5. King Lear

THE RAMAYANA

Attributed to: Valmiki
Retold by: Ramesh Menon
Publisher: North Point Press (2004 Edition)
Bought from: Book Depository

Introduction

The Ramayana, together with The Mahabharata, are the two major Sanskrit epics from ancient India. It is attributed to Valmiki (who pops up a few times himself in the story). It is thought that the original story was composed in the 5th or 4th century BC. Some scholars believe the first and last books were added much later.

The events in The Ramayana cannot be timed in our usual sense. According to the story itself, the events take place during the Tetra Yuga, the second of the 4 yuga (eons) of Hindu Chronology.

What is the book about?

The story of The Ramayana (or Rama’s Journey) is a simple one. It tells of the age-old struggle between good v evil, of dharma v adharma. On one side: a noble prince (Rama), a faithful wife (Sita), a devoted brother (Lakshmana), a monkey deity (Hanuman) and an army of magical monkeys and brave bears. On the other side: evil incarnate itself (Ravana) and his demons.

Rama and Sita are expelled by a misguided stepmother. Lakshmana joins them. During their exile, Ravana sees Sita and is entranced. He kidnaps her and takes her to his kingdom of Lanka. Rama and Lakshmana enlists the help of various mythical creatures including Hanuman and wage war on Ravana and his horde.

The climatic battle between Rama’s followers and Ravana’s horde is as exciting as any battle in modern classics such as The Lord of The Rings. While the gods do not participate directly in the battle (as the Greek gods did for example in The Iliad), the combatants do battle with unearthly weapons of mass destruction provided by the gods themselves.

The story explores many themes besides good v evil. It is a study in loyalty – to parents, brothers, brother-in-arms and last but not least to one’s husband and wife. The story also obviously has philosophical and religious significance especially for Hindus. The hero Rama is an incarnation (avatar) of the God Vishnu.

What about the book?

This is not a complete translation. Instead, the publisher calls it a “modern retelling”. An unabridged translation may be too long in any event (the original poem is about 5,000 lines long). Ramesh Menon has written in prose that is descriptive yet accessible to the casual reader. There is a useful glossary at the end of the book.

Finally …

Highly recommended. The Ramayana is one of the most-loved and influential story in all South and South-east Asia. Variations of the story are found in folk tales from Thailand, Indonesia etc often with Hanuman as the central character.

THREE KINGDOMS

Author: Luo Guanzhong (c 14th -15th century)
Translator: Moss Roberts
Publisher: Foreign Language Press (2009 edition)
Bought from: Book Depository

Introduction

Three Kingdoms, together with Water Margin, Journey to the West and Dreams of the Red Chamber, are considered the four great classical novels of Chinese literature.

Three Kingdoms (also called Romance of the Three Kingdoms) is set in a tumultuous period at the end of the Han Dynasty. The Han Dynasty (206 BCE – 220 AD) had been the golden age of Chinese history. Today, the major ethic group in China sometimes refer to themselves as Han people and Chinese characters are known as Han characters.

As the Han Dynasty drew to an end, however, it was wracked by unrest, including the Yellow Turban Rebellion that broke out in 184 AD. For some commentators, this marked the start of what has come to be known as the Three Kingdoms period. From 184 – 220, multiple warlords (in ever shifting alliances) vied to fill the vacuum caused by the collapsing Han Dynasty. From 220 – 263, power began to coalesce in the three states of Wei, Shu and Wu. The kings of each state declared himself Emperor, starting with Cao Pi, king of the state of Wei in 220. This marked the formal end of the Han Dynasty. From 263 – 280, the three states fell one after another. Shu fell to Wei in 263 and in 265 Wei fell to the Sima clan who had served the Wei state until that point. The Sima clan named their dynasty Jin (265 – 420). Jin defeated Wu and reunited China in 280, starting the Jin Dynasty.

Who first reduced the mythology of the Three Kingdom period into written form, and when, are the subject of much debate. The novel is traditionally attributed to Luo Guanzhong, whom scholars believed lived during the early years of the Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644). However, the oldest complete printed version, titled Sanguozhi Tongsu Yanyi, was published only in 1522.

In the 1660s, during the Qing Dynasty, Mao Lun and his son Mao Zonggang revised the text of the 1522 version and added their own commentary. They reduced the text from 900,000 to 750,000 characters, fitting the story into 120 chapters and abbreviating the title to Sanguozhi Yanyi. This is the standard version most commonly read and translated today.

While the story is a mix of fact and fiction, it reads like a historical account. There is little supernatural, romantic or other diversions from the narrative.

What is the story about?

“The empire, long divided, must unite; long united, must divide.” With this, begins the epic of the power struggle between the three kingdom-states, Shu, Wei and Wu, that competed for power in the vacuum caused by the collapse of the Han Dynasty.

The protagonists are Liu Bei (founder of Shu), his sworn brothers Guan Yu and Zhang Fei and his strategist Zhuge Liang. Another legendary warrior on Liu Bei’s side is Zhao Zilong. Liu Bei is portrayed as a kind and righteous leader. Without a stronghold, he stumbles from province to province, winning and losing territories all his life. He has one undoubted ability – the ability to rally valiant and noble men to his cause.

Then there is Cao Cao, founder of Wei and one of the most interesting characters in the story. Although clearly the villain of the piece, Cao Cao is also an accomplished poet, a courageous warrior and wily strategist. He envies Liu Bei’s ability to persuade heroes to fight for him. He tries unsuccessfully to secure Guan Yu’s loyalty.

Other major figures are Sun Quan and Zhou Yu from the Wu kingdom.

Finally, look out for the various members of the Sima family. This family is to play a major role in ending the period of the Three Kingdoms.

Diaochan (one of the “Four Beauties” of ancient China) has a small but important role early on in the story. She uses her feminine wiles to cause dissension between the usurper Dong Zhuo and his formidable general Lu Bu.

Coming in at 2,339 pages over 4 volumes, this is not something to be rushed through. The main difficulty is keeping track of the literally hundreds of characters. There is no other way but to focus on the main characters and just follow the main thread of the story. Thankfully, the story develops briskly and there are no long dull moments.

Themes

The main theme explored in this epic is loyalty – whether it be to the Emperor or to comrades. The classic example of loyalty is the famous oath sworn by Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei at the Peach Garden. They remain true to each other throughout their lives. Arguably, the story could have ended differently if Zhang Fei and Liu Bei were not so obsessed with avenging Guan Yu’s death.

What about the book?

This is a translation of the Maos’ revised version. The four volumes come in a simple and not especially sturdy box. The publishers could have done with better proof-readers or even a spell check utility. The presence of spelling errors is annoying but does not detract too much from the overall reading pleasure. The paper quality is extremely poor, so thin you could see the words from the other side of a page. There are a number of illustrations (not very good quality, no description) and maps (barely adequate).

The Afterword is worth reading.

Finally …

The story is highly recommended. This is my favourite of the three classical Chinese novels that I’ve read. Until there is a better version, the Moss Roberts translation will have to do.

Et cetera

Also recommended is a cartoon adaptation jointly produced by Beijing Glorious Animation, CCTV Animation and Future Plant. Only complaint – no English subtitles.