Spotlight On ANONYMOUS: Shakespeare's Top 5 Lines

Today we continue our special SPOTLIGHT ON series consisting of five entries total, each of which highlight a different facet of the rich and wonderful world of William Shakespeare and all with a particular emphasis on the controversial new feature film that explores the time, place, politics and goings-on of the Elizabethan era and focuses on the possibility that the true author of the esteemed plays we now know may very well have been someone else entirely - Edward de Vere - and how the question of the canon's true creation then comes into play - ANONYMOUS.

"All the world's a stage," after all, so it should come as no surprise that acts of lust, bloodshed and betrayal would exist in the actual life - or even the supposed one - of the man who created the most bloody and thought-provoking tragedies in the history of literature - whoever he may have actually been. Perhaps some brief analysis of the finest leading players, most memorable lines and moments, as well as an exploration of other notable acts of grand betrayal in Shakespeare's plays will aid us on the journey to understanding the thesis of ANONYMOUS and bring us into a closer relationship with the individual who penned the greatest plays in the English language.

Since we have now analyzed the top ten male and female Shakespearean performers of the last few decades, today we are going to take a look at some of the most famous lines from Shakespeare's plays and some of the best audiovisual examples of them given full weight in their dramatic context - Romeo & Juliet, AS YOU LIKE IT, RICHARD III included - with leading players as iconic as Marlon Brando, Kevin Kline, Sir Ian McKellen, Kenneth Branagh and Leonardo DiCaprio!

Be sure to check out the introductory essay in this SPOTLIGHT ON ANONYMOUS series here, as well as the two previous columns in this 5 Top 5 special series singling out the top present day leading men and leading ladies of Shakespeare both onstage and onscreen.

A little bit AMADEUS, with a touch of TIMON OF ATHENS; a dash of DANGEROUS LIASONS and a heaping of HENRY IV: Parts 1 and 2; a generous helping of SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE with a wink to MERCHANT OF VENICE; a bit of BARRY LYNDON and a hint at HAMLET; romance and jealousy ala Romeo & Juliet; Iago-ian sexual intrigue evocative of OTHELLO; maybe even a malicious, macabre moment of murderous violence or two reminiscent of MACBETH; then, all of it collectively taken, shaken, stirred and whipped up into a visual feast only the man behind THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW could possibly conjure up - like THE TEMPEST's Trinculo himself. That is only some of what ANONYMOUS can and could very well turn out to be. Find out for yourself on October 28!

All The Men And Women Merely Players

As the forlorn and disillusioned artist and balladeer Jaques intones in AS YOU LIKE IT, "All the world's a stage and all the men and women merely players," and so goes today's spotlight on some of the greatest and most-quoted Shakespeare lines to date. While every highschooler knows the balcony scene from Romeo & Juliet and Marc Antony's funereal oration for the fallen JULIUS CAESER, perhaps the RICHARD III material - oh so applicable to modern times, particularly the fearless and prescient McKellen version sampled herein - may also ring a bell or three for you, too. Iago is one of Shakespeare's finest creations and his monologues in OTHELLO are littered with famous phrases and quotable quips, yet his chilling "I am not what I am" cuts closest to the quick insofar as compelling drama revelations are concerned. From Kenneth Branagh to Marlon Brando to Kevin Kline, as well as modern-day Shakespeare stars like Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes, these lines are just a handful of the many momentous occasions of poetic brilliance throughout the comedies, tragedies, histories and latter plays and give an idea of the extent of rich imagery and unforgettable rhetoric inherent in the works of the world's greatest dramatist, William Shakespeare.

#5 AS YOU LIKE IT - "All the world's a stage…"

Taken from Kenneth Branagh's recent film adaptation of the gender-bending comedy/drama AS YOU LIKE IT, first seen on HBO in the US but released in cineplexes internationally, here we have noted Shakespeare interpreter Kevin Kline as an award-winning Jaques, delivering a lovely and lilting song before reciting one of the most recognizable and adored speeches from any Shakespeare comedy - or any play at all, for that matter - the Seven Ages Of Man monologue, which is of course otherwise known as "All the world's a stage…."

 

#4 Romeo & Juliet - "But soft, what light through yonder window breaks?"

Baz Luhrmann's simply stunning and unprecedented modern-day adaptation of Shakespeare's most classic romantic tragedy shocked and awed audiences when it was released fifteen years ago, yet the power of the Bard's most potent and youthful speeches come through in full force now as much as then, if not more - particularly in the balcony scene as effectively and innovatively directed by Luhurmann and acted by an assured Claire Danes and a deeply romantic Leonardo DiCaprio, ideally cast in the tragic title roles.

 

#3 RICHARD III - "Now is the winter of my discontent…"

In perhaps the most ironic staging of any famous and notable Shakespearean line in today's countdown, see master thespian Sir Ian McKellen deliver Richard III's immortal "Now is the winter of my discontent" speech as you have most certainly never seen it before: while in the men's room and making a pretty clear - as it were - comment with an in-your-face visual metaphor to beat the band. What a bustling musical accompaniment we get to go along with the irony, to boot!

 

#2 OTHELLO - "I am not what I am"

Kenneth Branagh's worldwide presence as one of the foremost Shakespeare interpreters of the twenty-first century has been firmly established prior here with his appearance as one of our Top Ten Leading Men - if for his Hamlet alone - yet his palpably, desperately sinister portrayal of the diabolical anti-hero Iago in the 1995 film version of OTHELLO is proof that he can conjure considerable dramatic magic even when performing under another director besides himself, as he does so brilliantly and subtly and memorably here in Iago's most pivotal of his many genius scenes in the complex, sex-drenched tragedy.

 

#1 JULIUS CAESAR - "Friends, Romans, countrymen…"

Saving the most remembered and riveting for last, here is perhaps the best known Shakespeare line of all - or at least one of the many, many quotable lines that have become a part of our language and culture in the last near-five hundred years - delivered with earth shattering gravitas by one of the greatest and most beloved American actors of all time, Marlon Brando. Here is Mark Antony's funereal remembrance of his fallen leader, Julius Caesar, and his impassioned words of potential perseverance and, at last, naked honesty, given to the people of Rome.

So, which Shakespeare line do you think will go down in the history books as the most memorable and oft-quoted of all? Surely, more people are familiar with the balcony scene from Romeo & Juliet than perhaps any other play or musical in history, so, at the end of the day, that may take the prize. Yet, who can help but me moved by Mark Anthony's heroic words - particularly as performed by the legendary Marlon Brando? As with all of our entries in this special column, limiting the possible entrants to five precludes some of the riches in this collection of the greatest dramatic writing the world has ever known.

Be sure to stay tuned to BroadwayWorld for all things ANONYMOUS as we anticipate its release in movie theaters on October 28. Also, check back for our next Top 5 features, highlighting the Bard's most memorable scenes and moments of deception.