"Let us our lives, our souls,
Our debts, our careful wives,
Our children, and our sins,
lay on the King!"
William Shakespeare, "Henry V" Act IV, Scene 1
The genius of Shakespeare has long been discussed but I have found an instance of it that I cannot allow to be lost in the conversation about Costumes.
While re-charting the costume changes for the Paper Wing Theatre's production of "The Tragedy of MacBETH", I noticed that King Duncan is in 3 scenes and then gets killed (we have added that as a scene). “King” MacBeth is in 3 scenes and then gets killed.
The Bard had a distinct sense of symmetry and one might even conclude that he is making a statement that all “Kings” are the same. There are many scholarly resources that I could look into for more evidence of the playwrights views of the monarchy, but time is too short - I rely solely on the text.
This is just one of many intricacies of the play, but one that is not so obvious until you see it on a COSTUMES CHART!
By the way, I am in my last week before Dress Rehearsals. It's exciting, scary, thrilling, and TIME-SENSITIVE!
