JEWS BEYOND JUPITER (JEWS ON THE MOON Book 2) by Geller Stephen

Author:Geller, Stephen [Geller, Stephen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Stephen D. Geller
Published: 2012-09-03T00:00:00+00:00

First part of the seventh riff for Mnemosyne,

Before we arrive at the forty-eighth canto

Charles Lamb’s Tales from Shakespeare was given to me by Margaret, the older daughter of a neighbor. She had been visiting her parents, and would occasionally come to our house to talk about books or theater with my mother and me. She wanted to be an actress. She also drew pictures and wrote stories. She was sixteen.

Her book was from her own library, and she wanted me to have it – now that she was reading Shakespeare in the original.

Her favorite play was “Midsummer Night’s Dream,” which she read to me.

The illustrations, by Arthur Rackham, were magical and strange and rather frightening. But the world of the woods outside Athens: of fairies, changelings, lovers and, of course, of Bottom was extraordinary. Especially putting the different worlds together: of humans, mythical heroes, and spirits, all of it miraculous to me.

I wanted to hear Oberon and Puck’s speeches in the original, so Margaret went to her grandmother’s, brought back her book of the complete works, and began to read:

“I know a bank where the wild thyme blows, Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows, Quite overcanopied with luscious woodbine and eglantine…”

That was life-changing.

The magic of setting, the magic of words.

That evening I read through Lamb’s book, and was especially frightened by and yet attracted to “Macbeth.” When I mentioned the play at dinner, dad said he had a recording of Orson Welles’ production somewhere, and it also had the text and Welles’ own drawings of the play.

He located it, handed it to me, and I ran – “Walk or you’ll break it!” – to my bedroom. Carefully, I put the first 78-disc on my record-player.

“John Houseman presents…The Mercury Theater production of…William Shakespeare’s….MACBETH…” and swiftly there was wind, and a storm, and I was happily frightened, and then the witches began the scene at the end of their scene, and I kept playing that first scene over and over until I’d memorized all the parts, and could recite it with the actresses.

Imagine, beginning a play near the end of a scene!

I loved the confidence of the playwright – to be able to bring that off, while keeping the audience enthralled!

And then the second scene, “What bloody man is that? He can report, as seemeth by his plight, of the revolt the newest state. ” The inversion of ‘newest state’ was confounding, and I kept wondering what was meant, until I figured out that “By the way he looks, he can tell us the latest news of the revolt.” Why were words put in the order in which Shakespeare had placed them? I realized that there was a reason for it: He can report – pause – as seemeth by his plight – pause – of the revolt (breath) the newest state.”

State is a hard sound. Revolt is a softer sound. (Later I learned that State is a masculine word, and Revolt has a feminine ending).

Shakespeare had wanted you to hear these words and phrases: report – plight – revolt- newest state .

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