Happy Birthday, Will!
April 23, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
Today marks the birthday of one of the world’s greatest writers.
William Shakespeare.
The Bard.
His staying power is impressive to say the least.
38 plays.
154 sonnets.
And more than 400 years of performances, interpretations, and story fodder.
Romeo & Juliet inspired West Side Story.
Hamlet was a focal point of the 1993 movie Renaissance Man. Danny DeVito plays an out-of-work advertising executive who takes a job teaching Army recruits with subpar intelligence. Hamlet ignites their interest, education, and previously unexplored intelligence. Street smarts prove just as valuable in studying Shakespeare as book smarts.
In the Happy Days episode A Star Is Bored, Richie and his friends recruit Fonzie to star in the church’s performance of Hamlet. They need a star attraction to raise money for new uniforms for the church’s baseball team. In a dramatic moment elemental to the early Happy Days episodes, Richie explains to Fonzie the meaning of the line To be or not to be after the latter character inquires. Richie says that Hamlet is contemplating suicide. Fonzie reveals that he’s thought about whether to be or not to be.
The West Wing enjoyed an undercurrent of Shakespeare inspiration. Like the title character in King Lear, President Bartlet has three daughters, encounters deception within his ranks, and balances emotions with his duties as a leader.
Shakespeare gave us dialogue that we still quote today. For example, Julius Caesar dialogue includes:
Et tu, Brutus?
Experience is the teacher of all things.
Caesar’s wife must be above suspicion [beyond reproach].
Shakespeare gave us tragedy, farce, and romance. His themes are universal. His stories are timeless. His characters are unforgettable.
Happy Birthday, Will!
david@davidkrell.com
Today marks the birthday of one of the world’s greatest writers.
William Shakespeare.
The Bard.
His staying power is impressive to say the least.
38 plays.
154 sonnets.
And more than 400 years of performances, interpretations, and story fodder.
Romeo & Juliet inspired West Side Story.
Hamlet was a focal point of the 1993 movie Renaissance Man. Danny DeVito plays an out-of-work advertising executive who takes a job teaching Army recruits with subpar intelligence. Hamlet ignites their interest, education, and previously unexplored intelligence. Street smarts prove just as valuable in studying Shakespeare as book smarts.
In the Happy Days episode A Star Is Bored, Richie and his friends recruit Fonzie to star in the church’s performance of Hamlet. They need a star attraction to raise money for new uniforms for the church’s baseball team. In a dramatic moment elemental to the early Happy Days episodes, Richie explains to Fonzie the meaning of the line To be or not to be after the latter character inquires. Richie says that Hamlet is contemplating suicide. Fonzie reveals that he’s thought about whether to be or not to be.
The West Wing enjoyed an undercurrent of Shakespeare inspiration. Like the title character in King Lear, President Bartlet has three daughters, encounters deception within his ranks, and balances emotions with his duties as a leader.
Shakespeare gave us dialogue that we still quote today. For example, Julius Caesar dialogue includes:
Et tu, Brutus?
Experience is the teacher of all things.
Caesar’s wife must be above suspicion [beyond reproach].
Shakespeare gave us tragedy, farce, and romance. His themes are universal. His stories are timeless. His characters are unforgettable.
Happy Birthday, Will!
Romeo & Juliet & Law
March 09, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
Most of us read Romeo & Juliet in high school. Shakespeare’s tale of two star-crossed lovers from warring factions is certainly a classic one.
And the premise is a constant in entertainment.
Last month, West Side Story returned to Broadway. The theater touchstone takes Romeo & Juliet into a gang theme.
The powerhouse television series Dallas first revolves around the feud between the oil-based Barnes and Ewing families and the further complications triggered by a Barnes daughter marrying a Ewing son.
The lighter tv-movie Pizza My Heart takes a small business approach with rival pizza parlors providing the conflict.
And the recent phenomenon of High School Musical uses high school cliques to generate the drama.
In the original story, Juliet nicely summarizes her strategy for Romeo to ignore the influence of his family and pursue true and lasting love with her. She does it clearly and concisely.
Deny thy father, refuse thy name.
But what if Juliet was a lawyer? A lawyer can take a simple line and pump it full of jargon.
Whereas we are in love and notwithstanding the potential impact on your inheritance and possibility of retaliation by your family on your person, reputation, or assets, I urge you in the strongest possible terms to abdicate your name, family, and all of the benefits pertaining thereto. If abdication is fully and completely accomplished, we can enjoy our lives freely and without interference from members of either the Capulet or Montague families or duly authorized representatives thereto.
Jargon is clarity’s enemy. Unfortunately, lawyers and other professionals are sometimes beholden to it, to the detriment of their colleagues and certainly their lay readers and listeners.
If we are in a situation absolutely requiring jargon, we cannot let it block the reason for the message. Document summaries, headings, and definitions can be terrific assets in cutting through the jargon’s thickness and clarifying the underlying message.
david@davidkrell.com
Most of us read Romeo & Juliet in high school. Shakespeare’s tale of two star-crossed lovers from warring factions is certainly a classic one.
And the premise is a constant in entertainment.
Last month, West Side Story returned to Broadway. The theater touchstone takes Romeo & Juliet into a gang theme.
The powerhouse television series Dallas first revolves around the feud between the oil-based Barnes and Ewing families and the further complications triggered by a Barnes daughter marrying a Ewing son.
The lighter tv-movie Pizza My Heart takes a small business approach with rival pizza parlors providing the conflict.
And the recent phenomenon of High School Musical uses high school cliques to generate the drama.
In the original story, Juliet nicely summarizes her strategy for Romeo to ignore the influence of his family and pursue true and lasting love with her. She does it clearly and concisely.
Deny thy father, refuse thy name.
But what if Juliet was a lawyer? A lawyer can take a simple line and pump it full of jargon.
Whereas we are in love and notwithstanding the potential impact on your inheritance and possibility of retaliation by your family on your person, reputation, or assets, I urge you in the strongest possible terms to abdicate your name, family, and all of the benefits pertaining thereto. If abdication is fully and completely accomplished, we can enjoy our lives freely and without interference from members of either the Capulet or Montague families or duly authorized representatives thereto.
Jargon is clarity’s enemy. Unfortunately, lawyers and other professionals are sometimes beholden to it, to the detriment of their colleagues and certainly their lay readers and listeners.
If we are in a situation absolutely requiring jargon, we cannot let it block the reason for the message. Document summaries, headings, and definitions can be terrific assets in cutting through the jargon’s thickness and clarifying the underlying message.