11/13/09

Writing Prompt Friday: Speaking of Shakespeare

Many of Shakespeare's plays are absolutely timeless because they deal with basic human emotions that have been around since the dawn of time—love, jealousy, prejudice, suspicion, remorse. You can take one of Shakespeare's basic plot lines, tweak it a bit, and plop it down into any setting you like and it will work just fine.

Annette Lyon did this, setting Much Ado About Nothing in mid-1800s Salt Lake City, and calling it Spires of Stone. You can do it to. Your writing prompt for today is:

Take one of your favorite plays from Shakespeare and update it to some time in the past 100 years. You can write a scene, a synopsis or a short story.

If you're not familiar with Shakespeare, pick another book or a movie that's at least 30 years old and update it to today.


If you post your story on your blog, feel free to leave a link in the comments section.

4 comments:

Josi said...

I've never read an entire Shakespeare work in my life--but I've watched a couple movies :-) In fact, Annette's book is WHY I know that one particular story. It was awesome!

Angie said...

Man, I don't know if I could pick one. The possibilities are endless. The Tempest might be fun. Or Hamlet. I know for sure I wouldn't choose Romeo and Juliet. Don't like that one so much.

Dawood Mamedoff said...

Oscar Wilde: "We become lovers when we see Romeo and Juliet, and Hamlet makes us students."

..check other notable tributes and quotes on William Shakespeare from famous peers: http://www.tributespaid.com/quotes-on/william-shakespeare

Melanie Goldmund said...

Well, even if I don't actually do the writing (at least not this week), this theme has certainly got me thinking. I've been glancing through my copy of Shakespeare The Complete Works, looking for themes. In fact, I've also widened my search to include The Canterbury Tales and found this quote at the end of The Mancible's Tale:

Are you aware what hasty tongues can do?
Just as a sword can cut an arm in two
Or slice it into bits, dear son, just so
A tongue can sever friendship at a blow.

I know there's a story that can grow from that, and I just have to keep working on it!