Tolkien goes Shakespeare

[Brinniel]

Alright, we all know a bit about Shakespeare's works. So why not combine them with Tolkien's?

This thread is for anything that has to do with combining Shakespeare and Tolkien. You can compare/contrast their works. You may put characters from LOTR into one of Shakespeare's plays or vice versa and make up dialogue for it.

Here are some ideas you might want to use:

Romeo & Juliet: Aragorn & Arwen (this one's easy)

Twelth Night: Instead of Viola and Sebastian, how about Eowyn and Eomer are separated in a shipwreck? Eowyn disguises herself as a boy and so on.....

Hamlet: Who do you think would make that famous monalogue?

King Lear: Doesn't King Lear remind you of Denethor? (the little madness part rings a bell)

A Midsummer Night's Dream: I haven't read or seen this play myself, but being told the plot, I think it could work for something.

You may also use one of Shakespeare's sonnets and discuss its relation to ME or write a parody on it. Just make sure you copy that sonnet down. And if you write a parody, don't forget the rules of writing a sonnet!

[Diamond18]

Well, I'll take the easy one. I always do.

Arwen: "Aragorn, Aragorn! Wherefore art thou, Aragorn?"

Aragorn: "I'm right here!"

Arwen: "Thou art a dolt. 'Wherefore art thou' meaneth not, 'Where are you'? But rather, 'Why?' Why are you calléd Aragorn? Deny thy father and refuse thy name! What's in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet! So would Aragorn, were not he Aragorn calléd!"

Aragorn: "Milady, if Aragorn displeases you, I have others...Estel, Thorongil, Strider, Longshanks, Telcontar, Elessar, The King, Isildur's Heir, Elf-stone... Thou mayest take thy pick."

[Meela]

On Twelfth Night:

Viola: Aragorn (i know it doesnt make sense, but it goes with the overall scenario)

Olivia: Eowyn

Sebastian: Faramir

Orsino: Arwen (that doesnt work out either... but it has to for now...)

Sir Andrew Aguecheek: Wormtongue

Olivia was mourning her dead brother at the beginning: that was Eomer

The Viola/Orsino blah doesnt work out, mainly gender-wise... especially as Orsino loved Olivia. But Orsino and Viola got married, so Aragorn and Arwen fit the bill.

Olivia fell in love with Viola, thinking she was male, but ended up with Sebastian.

Eowyn fell in love with Aragorn but ended up with Faramir.

Also, Sir Andrew was in love with Olivia but didnt stand a chance (like womtongue and eowyn)

oh, and Sir Toby Belch, Olivia's uncle is obviously Theoden.

[LePetitChoux]

Macbeth. Sauron has heard that his Uruk-Hai are deserting him.

Saruman:Bring me no more reports; let them fly all:
Till Fangorn wood remove to Helm's Deep,
I cannot taint with fear.

[Estelyn Telcontar]

Ummm, there seems to be quite a bit of combining Shakespeare and Tolkien going on on 'The Revenge of the Entish Bow' RPG... [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]

How do I parody thee?
Let me count the ways...

[Rose Cotton]

Here's a bit of Midsummer Night's Dream.

Aragorn head is a donkey's head.

Boromir: O Aragorn, thou art changed! What do I see on thee?

Aragorn: What do you see? You see an @$$-head of your own; do you?

Gandalf: Bless thee, Aragorn! Bless thee! Thou art translated.

Aragorn: I see their knavery: this is to make an @$$ of me: to fright me, if they could. But I will not stir from this place, do what they can: I will walk up and down here and I will sing, that they will hear I am not afraid.(sings)

Arwen: What angel wakes me from my flowery bed? I pray thee gental mortal, sing again.

[Brinniel]

Yesterday the show The Comedy of Errors came to my school. I never possibly thought that this play could relate to Tolkien's works, but the cast managed to add a LOTR spoof.

Dromio E. and the conversations with himself. It went something like this:

Smeagol Dromio: We must help master.
Gollum Dromio: No! Master will suck our blood.

Those are the only lines I could remember, but there was more. Also as Dromio spoke, he sat in a crouched position, changing facial expressions; looking much like Gollum.
I don't know if these lines actually were from the play, though, they might've just added them in.

[ March 07, 2003: Message edited by: Brinniel ]

[Kalimac]

I can't make the link work, but on the Tolkien Sarcasm Page (easy to find in Google), there's a page that has an extract from Shakespeare's lost play "The Tragedie of Frodo Baggins" - which is quite excellent [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img].

For my part, here's a conflicted monologue from the chief villain of "MacBaggins"

Come, seeling wraiths
Conceal my bloodshot Eye from pitiful day
And with thy bloody and invisible hand
Seize and bring me the Ring
Whose lack now keeps me pale.
Night thickens, and the Beast
Makes wing over grim Mirkwood.
Weak halflings of day begin to droop and drowse
While my black agents to their prey do rouse.
Thou marvelest at my words, but hold thee still
Things bad begun make strong themselves by ill.
So prithee, turn thy Palantir on to me.

[Gorwingel]

Thy thread tis very entertaing, but thou not educated in thy Shakespeare, So thouest can't take part in thy discussion.

[Luthien_ Tinuviel]

Or Boromir as Hamlet (by the way I've always wondered why anyone would name their child after the term for a small village, but anyway...):

"To be, or not to be- that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous orcs
Or to take arms against a sea of Uruks
And by opposing end them. To die, to sleep-
No more-and by a sleep to say we end
The quest, and the journey to Mount Doom
That I am 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 I can't be Steward.
Once I have shuffled off this mortal coil,
I must go on. There's the respect
That makes calamity of so long life.
For those who bear the whips and scorns of Mordor,
The Dark Lord's worng, the proud man's contumely
The pangs of despised love, the law's dealy,
The insolence of office, and the spurns
That patient merit of th'unworthy takes,
When he himself must his quietus make
With a bare sword? Who would hobbits bear,
To grunt and freeze all the way down Caradhras,
But that dread of something after death,
The undiscovered country, from whose bourn
No traveller returns, save Beren Erchamion,
And makes us rather bear the Ring we have
Than to fly to others that we know not of?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all,
And thus the native hue of the One Ring
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought
And enterprises such as our Fellowship's own
With this regard their currents turn awry
And lose the name of action. -Soft you now,
The uruks come!-Enemies, in thy swift death
Be all thy hatred remembered."

Whew! That took forever to type! It's not that good, but oh well!
[img]smilies/tongue.gif[/img] [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

[Horse-Maiden of the Shire]

Tis true, for thou are more knowing than I in the works of Shakespeare. This thread is forever thine, forsooth! i know not.

p.s. what does forsooth mean? LOL, just joking i am!

[Nevvasaiel]

arrggh, i can't remember which play this one's from, i think it's hamlet or something involving a king john/king lear? confused...

anyway, for the fellowship

'we, oh we happy few, we band of brothers...'

[mark12_30]

That would be Henry V (a magnificent work.)

[Sillabub]

not implying ANYTHING IN THE SLIGHTEST TOWARDS THE CHRACTER'S INTERACTIONS TO ONE ANOTHER IN THE PLAY/S, I can imagine Elrond as Oberon and Goldberry somehow is Titania, Galadriel is strangely enough Hyppolita, Eowyn is Helena, Arwen is Hermia, Gollum is Puck (though I hate puck), Frodo as bottom and (no offense to him, pippin is cool!) Pippin as francis flute....like I said no offense to the characters cause the interactions do NOT apply

[Ithaeliel]

Thy thread tis very entertaing, but thou not educated in thy Shakespeare, So thouest can't take part in thy discussion.

Thou speakest truthful words, o thou fairest maiden whose posts do radiate a fine portion of intellect; but lo! thou requireth teaching in the ways of the Queen's English. Hold thy uneducated tongue until it should be that thou hast done thy task! [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]
And yet who am I to speak to thee such? I know not nor speak overmuch Shakespearian tongue, still I have read not much of his work. And so I say: alas! for the youth who doth not know a smidgen of culture.

A Comedy of Errors:

Faramir- Antipholus of Syracuse
Pippin- Dromio of Syracuse
Aragorn- Antipholus of Ephesus
Merry- Dromio of Ephesus
Arwen- Adriana
Eowyn- Luciana
Denethor- Egeon
Finduilas(?)- Emilia the Abbess
Elanor- Nell
Eomer- Balthasar
Anything from the Paths of the Dead- Angelo
Ioreth- Courtesan

Can you imagine the scenario? It could work... it would sure make a great fanfiction that follows RotK!

[ March 12, 2003: Message edited by: Ithaeliel ]

[Lyra Greenleaf]

what the heck, its been done before, but Aragorn and Arwen as Romeo and Juliet 2!

Aragorn: O Arwen, Arwen, wherefore art thou Arwen?
Deny thy father and refuse thy kindred
Or if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,
And I'll no longer live in exile.

Arwen: Shall I hear more or shall I speak at this?

Aragorn: 'Tis but thy immortality that is my enemy:
Thou art thyself, though of the fairer kindred,
What's immortality? It is nor hand nor foot,
Nor arm nor face, nor any other part
Belonging to your self. O be another kindred.
What's in a kindred? He who we know as Fingon
Where he a man he would be valiant still.
So Arwen, were she of mortal-kind
She would still perfection show.


Arwen: I take thee at thy word:
Call me but love and I'll forego my grace,
And henceforth be a mortal maid.

[Luthien_ Tinuviel]

Lyra, that was great! Did you just come up with off the top of your head?

[Ithaeliel]

Eowyn as Hermia
Arwen as Helena
Faramir as Lysander
Aragorn as Demetrius

From A Midsummer Night's Dream:

Eowyn: Aragorn, whereto tends all this?

Faramir: Away, you Rohirric! Hang off, thou cat, thou burr;
let loose or I will shake thee from me like a wyrm!

Eo: Why are you grown so rude? What change is this,
Sweet love?

Fa: Thy love? Out, tawny Tartar, out!

Eo: Do you not jest?

Arwen: Yes, sooth, and so do you!

Fa: Aragorn, I will keep my word with thee!

Aragorn: I would I had your bond, for I percieve
A weak bond holds you. I will not trust your word.

Fa: What, should I hurt her, strike her, kill her dead? Although I hate her, I'll not harm her so.

Eo: What, can you do me greater harm than hate?
Hate me! Wherefore? O me, what news, my love!
Am I not Arwen? Are not you Aragorn?
I am as fair now as I was erewhile.
Since night you loved me, yet since night you left me!
Why then, you left me- O, the Valar forbid!-
In earnest, shall I say?

Fa: Ay, by my sword:
And never did desire to see thee more!
Therefore, be out of hope, of question, of doubt;
be certain, nothing truer, tis no jest
that I do hate thee and love Arwen!

Eo: O me! You juggler! You canker-blossom!
You thief of love! What, have you come by night
and stolen my love's heart from him?

Arw: Fine, i'faith!
Have you no modesty,
no maiden shame,
no touch of bashfulness?
What, will you tear
Impatient answers from my gentle tongue?
Fie! Fie, you counterfeit, you hobbit, you!

Eo: Hobbit? Why so? Ay, that way goes the game;
Now I percieve that she hath made compare
between our statures; she hath urged her height,
and with her personage, her Elven personage,
her height, forsooth, she hath prevailed with him!
And are you grown so high in his esteem
Because I am so dwarfish and so low?
How low am I, thou pointy-earèd? Speak,
how low am I? I ma not yet so low
but that my nails cannot reach unto thine fair blue eyes!

Arw: I pray you, though you mock me, gentlemen,
let her not hurt me. I was never curst,
I have no gift at all in shrewishness,
I am a right maid for my cowardice,
let her not strike me; you perhaps may think
because she is something more mortal than myself,
that I can match her.

Eo: Mortal! Hark, again!

Arw: Good Eowyn, do not be so bitter with me!
I evermore did love you, Eowyn,
did ever keep your counsels, never wronged you,
save that, in love unto Aragorn,
I told him of your stealth unto this wood.
He followed you, for love I followed him,
but he hath chid me hence and threatened me,
to strike me, spurn me, nay, to kill me too;
and now, so you will let me quiet go,
to Valinor will I bear my folly hence,
and follow you no further. Let me go,
you see how wizened and how tired I am.

Eo: Why, get you gone. Who is't that hinders you?

Arw: An immortal fate, that I leave here behind.

Eo: What, with Faramir?

Arw: With Aragorn.

Fa: Be not afraid; she shall not harm thee, Arwen.

Ara: No, she shall not, though you take her part.

Arw: O, when she is angry she is keen and shrewd!
She was a vixen when she went to school;
and though she be but mortal, she is fierce.

Eo: Mortal again! Nothing but low and mortal!
Why will you suffer her to flout me thus?
Let me come to her.

Fa: Get you gone, you dwarf.
You holbytla, who hindering pipe-weed smok'd,
you bead, you acorn.

[Galadriel9]

cool...that was a really good link type thing you made there, Ithaeliel, how come I never notice stuff like that...?! [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

[kittiewhirl1677]

I never read any Shakesphere, I can't make much sense of it, though I'll probably have to read it someday... well, anyway, the first time I started reading FotR it reminded me of some of the parts of Shakesphere that I happened to know about because of the language. Before LOTR, I never really read any books who's language confused me a bit, and I was immediately reminded of Shaksphere.

[Durelin]

*Orc gouges out Legolas's eyes*

Orc: OUT VILE JELLY!!

Legolas: *swoons* Oh, I am a man more sinned against than sinning! I cannot see!

That just kinda come from nowhere for me. King Lear is the only thing from Shakespeare I've read...give me a break, I'm only in 8th grade! [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]

[Finwe]

What's he that wishes so?
My cousin Elrond? No, my fair cousin.
If we are marked to die, we are enough
To do our country loss; and if to live,
The fewer men, the greater share of honor.
Eru's will, I pray thee wish not one man more.
By Elbereth I am not covetous for gold,
Nor care I who doth feed upon my cost;
It years me not if men my garments wear;
Such outward things dwell not in my desires.
But if it be a sin to covet honor,
I am the most offending soul alive.
No, 'faith my coz, wish not a man from Aman.
Eru's peace, I would not lose so great an honor
As one man more, methinks, would share from me,
For the beest hope I have. O, do not wish one more!
Rather proclaim it, Elrond, through my host,
That he which hath no stomach to this fight,
Let him depart. His passport shall be made,
And crowns for convoy put into his purse. We would not die in that man's company
That fears his fellowship to die with us.
This day is called the feast of Fingolfin.
He that outlives this day and comes safe home,
Will stand o' tiptoe when this day is named
And rouse him at the name of Fingolfin (for lack of a better name)
He that shall see this day, and live old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbors
And say "Tomorrow is Fingolfin's day."
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars.
Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,
But he'll remember with advantages
What feats he did that day. Then shall our names,
Familiar in his mouth as household words,
Gil-galad the King, Cirdan and Elrond,
Gildor and Glorfindel, Celeborn and Amdir,
Be in their flowing cups freshly remembered.
This story shall the good man teach his son,
And Fingolfin Finwion shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world.
But we in it shall be remembered---
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers,
For he that today sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition;
And gentlemen in Aman now abed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their elfhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Fingolfin's day.

(Wow, that was long!)