The part of "Shakespeare In Love" I liked the most was the when Queen Elizabeth surprised everyone at the end of the performance of Romeo and Juliet . Interrupting the babbling magistrate the queen asserts her authority by taking complete control of the situation. Though she is a woman in female repressive Victorian society then queen quite effectively demonstrates her wit and intelligence by sorting out the matter between Shakespeare's love Viola and her new husband, the Earl of Wessex. But perhaps the most insightful piece of evidence of the queens brilliance comes when she pardons Viola for acting in the play by telling the audience that she has a clear idea of what it is like to be a woman in a man's role.

The part of the Henry V video shown in class I liked the best is the scene when King Henry exposes his advisors as traitors. King Henry, played brilliantly by a young Kenneth Brannaugh is very convincing in his artful farce he plays with the three advisors before exposing their treachery. And after he has exposed them as traitors he is able to convincingly shift into a role in which he condemns them for their treachery against both king and country.

After viewing the BBC production of "Twelfth Night" the part that stood out was the role of the fool throughout the production. Compared to the other characters, the fool is the only true person, in spite of his name. He is able to ingratiate himself into the sentiments of both Olivia and the Duke, (which with exception of Cesario is the only other thing they have in common), make merry melody with Sir Tolby and company, and even spurn the hostility of Malvolio. The fool, unlike the relatively unconvincing Viola in this production, is able to easily switch back and forth between roles with the ease and grace of a true actor.

After viewing the Trevor Nunn production of "Twelfth Night," I found myself very impressed with the creative adaptations that were made to amplify the story line. Most impressive were the beginning scenes in which what was otherwise a dry monologue description in both the text and the BBC production, comes alive with sharp and clear imagery as the captain describes Illyria. Perhaps what was even more remarkable was that a great many of these adaptations for the production did in no way involve alteration of language. This aspect in particular lent itself well to helping me fully understand the true emotion and meaning of what was being said in the various dialogues.

After watching the BBC production of Shakespeare's "Measure for Measure" I found that I was most impressed with its relatively strict adherence to the text. Although I didn't feel like this added much appeal to the story line, at the end of the movie, I did however, feel that I had gotten a fairly complete video version of the text. This was particularly useful in parts like the prison scenes in which the completeness of the production allowed me to see and understand the motivations of the Duke as he attempted to manipulate the circumstances concerning Claudio's imminent death.

After watching the 510 Players production of Shakespeare's "Measure for Measure" I found it to be a fairly comical interpretation of the original text. In contrast to the rather bland BBC production, the characters in the 510 Players did a good job of finding the humor in their lines and acting that out on stage. Of particularly interest was the fact that the characters of the Duke, Lucio, Barnardine, and even Angelo at times, provide the audience with a since of comic relief throughout the play. Whereas, in the BBC production, Lucio and Pompey were the only characters who provided ample comic relief.

In reviewing the Oliviet version of King Lear I found it to be rather unimpressive. I felt that the character of King Lear should have been played more dramatically so as to emphasize his lost of reasoning and wit during the storm scene. One positive thing, however, about the production was that the characters of Goneril and Regan were much more deceptive and cold hearted than in other productions. This is especially emphasized when Regan coldly walks away from her dying husband, The Duke of Cornwall, when he is mortally injured after the sword fight with the servant.

In reviewing the BBC production of King Lear, I found it to be very complete and thorough. Of particular interest was the portrayal of King Lear as a raving lunatic during the storm scene. Also of notable interest was the character of Edgar who makes a very believable transformation from a noble hearted son to a crazy bedlam beggar and then back again.