Latest / Friday Night Readers: Gilmore Girls Inspired Book Club / 🎭5 Shakespearean Tragedies More Unhinged Than Reality TV

Transcript

🎭5 Shakespearean Tragedies More Unhinged Than Reality TV · Friday Night Readers: Gilmore Girls Inspired Book Club

• 0:05
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to Friday Night Readers.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_00: I'm your host, Jules, a real-life Rory Gilmore.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: Built by coffee,
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: I help you read, live, and write like a Gilmore in our little corner of the world.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: Step into a virtual stars hollow in a world of books just like Rory.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: Before we dive in,
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: don't forget to subscribe to our Friday Night Readers newsletter community
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: on Substack.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: You'll get instant access to a pre-printable list of the 475 plus books
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: on Gilmore Girls,
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: plus even more Gilmore Girls-inspired content,
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: like our Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge, which we've been doing together since 2021.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: Paid members get exclusive extras,
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: like the list of books from the show Whip episodes,
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: which I've personally verified over several years of rewatches and wrote about
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: in my book, The Unofficial Guide to the Books on Gilmore Girls.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: Come hang out where the real Gilmore magic happens, fridaynightreaders.substack.com.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_01: Hello, Friday Night Readers.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_01: I have got a really great topic for you today.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_01: This is one that has been in my mind for I'd say at least two years now.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_01: It's about Shakespearean tragedies and how I think they are more unhinged than reality TV.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that this lines perfectly with why we take the Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_01: It's to make reading the classics easier and more fun.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_01: And I recall reading Hamlet in particular outside on my back porch.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_01: A few years ago for the challenge and my mind was just blown.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_01: I just kept thinking it almost feels stranger than fiction.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_01: What is happening and how many twists and turns this is taking
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_01: and how they're motivated by these really deep And dark emotions.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_01: And what it reminded me of was I'm someone who watches 2020
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_01: and Dateline almost every Friday night.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_01: I am not just a Friday Night Reader.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_01: I'm also a Friday Night Watcher.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_01: And in particular,
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_01: I just kept thinking of that Murdaugh murder mystery where the story starts
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_01: in one place and then it just gets deeper and darker and more chaotic
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_01: and more layered and more tragic.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_01: And that's exactly how Shakespeare is.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_01: So this has been on my list for a long time.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_01: And this month Because we are reading short books in
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_01: the Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge and because I like
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_01: to read one William Shakespeare book every summer,
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_01: Particularly during July,
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_01: I consider it to be like my very own Shakespeare in the Park.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_01: I take it outside of my back porch or in my little outdoor reading nook under the deck.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_01: I thought it was finally the perfect time to talk about this.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_01: And yes, we are going to compare it to watching reality TV.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_01: And that is because when you watch the most binge-worthy reality TV shows,
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_01: it's like you cannot make this stuff up.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_01: My husband and I recently rewatched Vanderpump Rules,
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_01: which I had only watched since the scandal of all time.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_01: But he had watched from the beginning.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_01: So we watched it from the beginning together.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_01: Now, this is a very toxic friend group.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_01: We'll get into that a little bit more later.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_01: And they are in Hollywood.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_01: So I feel like that heightens tensions as well.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_01: But there were so many times where I turned to him completely dumbfounded
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_01: or laughing out loud and saying the greatest scriptwriter in Hollywood.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_01: Could not come up with this plot.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_01: But ironically, somehow Shakespeare does.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_01: He really captures that you can't make this stuff up kind of plot.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that is why his work remains so timeless and actually is escapist during the summer.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_01: Even though I know it feels challenging and we will get to some tips as well.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_01: But what's genius about him is that he actually did make this stuff up.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_01: And hundreds of years have passed.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_01: The world has changed in so many regards,
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_01: but the strongest emotions That are within humans remain the same.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_01: Things like jealousy and betrayal and ambition.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_01: So of course I've got to connect this one to Gilmore Girls for you.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_01: Shakespeare's name is mentioned seven times.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_01: Only Charles Dickens name is mentioned more often as far as authors go.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_01: I know because I spent years tracking it and Shakespeare's titles, they have 21 mentions.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_01: So before we get into my five favorite Shakespearean tragedies,
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_01: let's talk about the characteristics that make them up and why they are worthwhile,
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_01: especially if you watch as much Bravo as I do.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so Shakespeare wrote 12 tragedies and he did so in the late 16th and early 17th centuries.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_01: These were the Elizabethan and Jacobian eras.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_01: And his plays reflected the types of concerns that were happening at the time.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_01: And a lot of this was about power and human nature.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_01: So naturally, in writing about these topics, he drew a lot from history.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_01: They usually follow a very strong protagonist,
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_01: we'll see a lot of political leaders here, but this person also has a flaw.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_01: And it's not just a flaw, it's a fatal flaw.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_01: Because it's so strong,
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_01: it leads to conflict,
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_01: a very twisty climax,
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_01: sometimes with many plot twists, and an ending that is absolutely catastrophic.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_01: So what kind of fatal flaws are we dealing with here?
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_01: Again, things like ambition and jealousy.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_01: You'll also see pride and even indecision.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_01: That one's interesting to me as an overthinker.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_01: And now that we know the flaws,
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_01: let's talk about what kind of actions these personality traits lead to.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_01: We're going to see a lot of murders,
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_01: a lot of betrayals, revenge, even going mad, supernatural elements like ghosts.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_01: And as a Gilmar Girls fan,
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_01: you may even already know about the witches in Macbeth,
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_01: Double Double, Toil and Trouble.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_01: And something wicked this way comes.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_01: Rory and Lane say that to each other in the show.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_01: And these tragedies are also known for very memorable soliloquies.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_01: If you read the book Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin,
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_01: which was one of my books of the year,
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_01: and a Jimmy Fallon book club pick,
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_01: that title comes from the soliloquy in, I believe it was Macbeth.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_01: One more thing we also have to talk about is the role of fate.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_01: More often than not,
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_01: Fate is something that's hinted at in order to build tension as
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_01: the characters make choices within that framework.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_01: What do I mean by that?
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_01: It's more like a vibe that feels very ominous and like this isn't going to end well.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_01: So think of Julius Caesar where they say, beware the Ides of March.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_01: It's like you get the feeling that fate is destined,
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_01: but the choice of the characters still drive the fate that actually occurs.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_01: Now, if you head to the show notes and read the Substack post
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_01: that accompanies this podcast episode,
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_01: You can find the full list of all 12 Shakespearean tragedies.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_01: But right now we are going to talk about the five most tragic plays Shakespeare ever wrote.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_01: First is my favorite, Hamlet.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_01: And this is a family drama that is more passionate than true crime.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_01: As I mentioned, the reality show that I would pair with it is Dateline.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_01: So what is it about?
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_01: Hamlet is a prince who returns home and he discovers his father is dead.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_01: But that's only the beginning.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_01: His uncle has married his mother.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_01: And then a ghost claims it was all murder.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_01: So it's a real triple whammy for Hamlet.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_01: Now Hamlet is an overthinker like me.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_01: So instead of acting, he launches into this elaborate investigation, does a ton of overthinking.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_01: The investigation even involves a play within this play,
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_01: but eventually his overthinking leads to madness that dooms everyone around him.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_00: Now I already mentioned this, but I'll just expand upon it
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_01: a little
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_00: bit.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_01: Reading Hamlet hooked me, pulled me right in and It did not let me go until the last page.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_01: Truly like watching a true crime documentary.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_01: What's interesting to me about true crime as someone who's followed it for so long
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_01: and as someone who is a book lover and a lover of stories is taking that look at
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_01: the passions that motivate us And in true crime, that leads to the darkest actions.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_01: That's exactly what you see in Hamlet.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_01: It's like your brain cannot comprehend the chain of events that is unfolding in front of you.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_01: One tip I want to tell you about Hamlet is that you can pair it with
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_01: the very heart-wrenching book Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_01: There was a recent movie adaptation of that as well, which is very good.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_01: I did prefer the book,
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_01: but anyway,
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_01: it is the emotional story of how Shakespeare's son died,
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_01: which actually inspired his writing of this tragedy.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_01: The reason I like the book better is because it's so slow moving and I say that in
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_01: the best way possible.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_01: You feel like you are going breath by breath with this family and what they are experiencing.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_01: For me, that's what makes it extra emotional.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_01: I do know though that many love the adaptation for Hamnett's mother's performance in it.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_01: And I do believe she won the Oscar for that.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_01: For some, it was more about how she portrayed the emotions of a mother in the circumstance.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_01: Whereas for me, it was about how the words conveyed them.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so now let's talk about where you can find it in Gilmore Girls.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_01: It's actually mentioned, let's see, seven times.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_01: And I do have all seven of those references in the show notes for you
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_01: in case you want to pair your reading with your rewatches.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_01: I'll give you a few quick examples.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_01: In Cinnamon's Wake, Lorelai says to perm or not to perm.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_01: That's season one, episode five.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_01: And that is from the line to be or not to be.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_01: Here's a fun one in the third Lorelei season one episode 18.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_01: Trick says neither a borrower nor a lender be.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_01: That is also from Hamlet.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_01: Season two,
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_01: episode 16 is titled There's the Rub,
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_01: and that is actually one of my favorite Shakespearean lines.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_01: And what it means is that's the tricky part.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_01: So you might say something like, I want to read all night, but I've also got to sleep.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_01: There's the rub.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_01: One more funny reference for you is in season seven,
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_01: episode 15, Emily compares golf to the tragedy of Hamlet.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_01: She's such a character, isn't she?
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, let's move on to King Lear.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_01: This is a dysfunctional family at its most dysfunctional.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_01: The reality TV show I paired with it is Keeping Up with the Kardashians.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_01: And when I tell you the plot, you're going to see why.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_01: So King Lear is an aging king.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_01: You can think of him like Kris Jenner.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_01: Now he decides to divide his kingdom among his three daughters based on
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_01: who flatters him the most.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, seriously, this is a perfect match.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_01: He disowns the one daughter who truly loves him.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_01: I'm going to peg this one as a Chloe, then empowers the two who don't.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_01: That would be Kim and Kourtney.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_01: And as a result, he watches both his family and his kingdom descend into civil war.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_01: Now, we didn't see an actual civil war on Keeping Up with the Kardashians,
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_01: but we sure did see a lot of arguments.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_01: My mind keeps going back to that scene very early in the series
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_01: where they are just starting to become rich and famous where Kim buys a Bentley
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_01: and her other sisters are so mad at her that it turns into this verbal
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_01: and physical altercation where they resort to slapping each other with their purses.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_01: Now, I read King Lear in high school and I only vaguely recall the experience.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_01: It's kind of funny when I think back to high school,
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_01: there's a lot of books that I can physically remember myself Where I was in the room
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_01: and what the room looked like and even some of the things my teacher was saying
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_01: or my classmates were saying but I don't totally remember much beyond that.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_01: So what I do remember here is that my class liked it and that it wasn't too hard
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_01: for us to understand.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_01: I was in 10th grade at the time.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_01: Now this one is not on Gilmore Girls but I still wanted to include it
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_01: because it's one of my favorite tragedies and it's one of
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_01: the most popular tragedies.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_01: So consider it Gilmore adjacent or Gilmore inspired.
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_01: On to Macbeth.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_01: For me, this one is about ambition flying too close to the sun.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_01: So when we think about ambition and rising to power,
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_01: the reality TV show that comes to my mind is Survivor.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_01: I actually was not a huge fan of this show,
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_01: but I do find it especially relevant to what we do here as readers like Rory Gilmour
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_01: because of how popular it was in the early aughts especially.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_01: So in this tragedy three witches predict that Macbeth will become king and
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_01: then along with the persistence of his wife they decide to just speed destiny up
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_01: a little bit.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_01: So one royal murder quickly snowballs into more and while we're talking
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_01: about snowballs that leads to hallucinations,
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_01: paranoia, and a kingdom completely ruled by fear.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_01: This leaves Macbeth desperately trying to outrun the consequences of his own ambition.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_01: So you can see the parallels here to Survivor,
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_01: which is known for things like forming alliances and either trusting
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_01: or not trusting people as you're trying to climb to the top.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_01: Macbeth,
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_01: I believe I read the summer before I read Hamlet
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_01: for our Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_01: And this was an excellent reading experience for me.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_01: It's pretty close to Hamlet.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_01: Definitely my number two.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_01: What I love about it is that in many ways, Lady Macbeth is actually the star of the show.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_01: And you see this, especially in the Denzel Washington, Frances McDormand adaptation.
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_01: Which is also just a few years old and I watched that afterward
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_01: and it really helped me understand the story and appreciate it much more.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_01: Lady Macbeth is so dark and I also love how the witches here are used to give
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_01: that ominous sense of fate.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_01: It feels very autumnal which of course we Gilmores love.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_01: Where can you find it on Gilmore Girls?
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_01: Now, I did mention this one earlier when Rory and Lane talk about Double Double,
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_01: Toil and Trouble,
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_01: and Something Wicked This Way Comes in reference to Paris,
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_01: Madeline,
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_01: and Louise during one of the most popular episodes of Gilmore Girls,
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_01: Concert Interruptus.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_01: That was season one, episode 13.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_01: It's also discussed at Chilton in season two,
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_01: episode nine,
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_01: Runaway Little Boy, which is the one where they perform Romeo and Juliet.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_01: You may also love that Darren Springsteen says the line,
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_01: one fell swoop in season three, episode three.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_01: Something wicked this way comes is also said in a year in the life's fall episode.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_01: How seasonal.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_01: This is when the life and death breed has their fun little music scene.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_01: And if you head to the show notes and click to the full Substack post,
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_01: you'll find every reverence to Macbeth.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_01: Onto Othello.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_01: This is going to be a fun one.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_01: I'm describing it as toxic levels of manipulation.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_01: And the reality TV show I am pairing with it is the one I mentioned very early
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_01: in this episode, which is Vanderpump Rules.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_01: Now, Vanderpump Rules is about a group of friends who are workers at a Hollywood restaurant.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_01: And in the beginning, they are aspiring actors as well.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_01: And this group, wow.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_01: There are all kinds of betrayals and secret hookups,
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_01: arguments,
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_01: gossip behind each other's backs,
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_01: lying to each other's faces, and of course disastrous results.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_01: The show was never the same and did end after one of the main characters
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_01: who had been in a relationship on the show for over a decade had a secret affair
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_01: with another character's fiance over the course of an entire year.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_01: So how is Othello like this show?
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_01: Well, Othello is a very respected military general and he secretly marries
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_01: a woman he loves called Desdemona.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_01: But at the same time,
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_01: his lieutenant is really upset about a promotion Othello made and wants
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_01: to destroy him.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_01: He makes this plot that involves all kinds of lies and manipulation.
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_01: He even plants evidence to turn this happy couple into a heartbreaking tragedy.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_01: I've got to admit to you,
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_01: while I absolutely love Vanderpump Rules, I liked but didn't love Othello.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_01: What I did like about it is that it reads like the telephone game.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_01: It's like one thing leads to another,
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_01: and as they do,
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_01: the lines between reality and perception are blurred,
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_01: which is really so common in real life relationships.
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_01: That's exactly what we see on Vanderpump Rules.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_01: Here, though, it's mixed with very violent reactions.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_01: There's nothing in particular that made me not like Othello.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_01: It just wasn't as good as the others for me.
• 14:49
  SPEAKER_01: I do still think it is definitely worth reading,
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_01: especially if you can consider it in that context of a very toxic group.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_01: And if you want to pair it with a Gilmore Girls rewatch,
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_01: it's mentioned in season two, episode 19, Teach Me Tonight.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_01: Rory says she will read it to Jess.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_01: This is when she's tutoring him.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_01: And then later in season three,
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_01: episode 15,
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_01: when Rory goes to the hockey game in Face Off,
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_01: she talks about jealousy in the context of Othello.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_01: And of course, this is when she meets Lindsay.
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_01: Fifth and final is Romeo and Juliet.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_01: This one is young love with deeply permanent consequences.
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_01: As adults we know that young love is often very fleeting but here
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_01: the characters cannot escape the depths of it.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_01: The reality TV show I paired with it is Netflix romance documentaries in general and
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_01: the one I was specifically thinking of was The Crash.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_01: This one came out earlier this summer and what happens in The Crash is that
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_01: a teenage girl who I believe was still in high school Crashed a car literally into
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_01: a brick wall at 100 miles per hour,
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_01: and this killed her boyfriend and her passenger, but not her.
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_01: As the accident was investigated,
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_01: it was revealed that the crash actually looked more intentional than accidental,
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_01: and the motivation appears to be a breakup.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_01: That said, I've seen several really crazy romance documentaries on Netflix in particular.
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_01: So you may already know that Romeo and Juliet is about two teenagers who are
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_01: from rival families and they fall madly in love at first sight.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_01: There is just something about forbidden romance, isn't there?
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_01: So they secretly marry within days.
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_01: And besides this, they make other increasingly impulsive decisions.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_01: Of course,
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_01: they are very young and driven by this especially deep first love paired
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_01: with things like hormones and testosterone.
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_01: Along the way of their bad decisions come miscommunications and some pretty bad timing.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_01: And this family feud becomes one of the most famous tragedies in classic literature.
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_01: I had an amazing reading experience of Romeo and Juliet.
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_01: This was my first Shakespearean play that I read in high school.
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_01: And again,
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_01: I can actually picture myself in the classroom and in my seat
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_01: while we were reading it and discussing it.
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_01: I did think it was fairly easy.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_01: And it's also a great place to start with Shakespeare.
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_01: And this is because most people already know both the storyline and some of its famous quotes.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_01: Star-crossed lovers.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_01: It's so well known that even kids know it.
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_01: I'll tell you a quick story.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_01: So my cat's name is Romeo.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_01: That is the Italian version of Romeo.
• 17:11
  SPEAKER_01: And he's named after a cat we actually did meet in Italy.
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_01: And of course, my name is Julianne.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_01: So we sent our Christmas cards out one year and someone told me
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_01: that their seven year old daughter who is a book lover said to her,
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, her cat's name is Romeo and her name is Julianne.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_01: Like Juliet.
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_01: And I thought, wow, that is sharp.
• 17:28
  SPEAKER_01: She's only seven years old.
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_01: Of course,
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_01: the actual story would be too advanced for her,
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_01: but it just goes to show how well known the story is.
• 17:36
  SPEAKER_01: So for me,
• 17:36
  SPEAKER_01: it also totally helped that the epic Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes adaptation,
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_01: in my humble opinion, one of the best book adaptations of all time.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_01: An absolute relic released at the exact same time that my class read this book.
• 17:50
  SPEAKER_01: And again,
• 17:51
  SPEAKER_01: going to the theater and experiencing this with your group of friends was
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_01: a whole experience and really a core memory of my high school years.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_01: Now as Gilmore Girls fans, I definitely think you're going to like it.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_01: There's so much that's iconic about it,
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_01: like the wings that Claire Danes wears and the incredible music,
• 18:06
  SPEAKER_01: the bright and bold cinematography.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_01: It's definitely a modern classic.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_01: Now this is one that I also think would be awesome to pair with a Gilmore Girls rewatch.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_01: Of course, they did perform Romeo and Juliet in season two, episode nine.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_01: And my absolute favorite part of that episode is when Paris,
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_01: the new Romeo after Tristan leaves, leans over Rory and says, with a kiss, I die.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_01: It's just such a classic moment for me.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_01: It's so emblematic of the strange but growing friendship between Paris and Rory.
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_01: A few more places you'll find it on Gilmore Girls is in season three, episode eight.
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_01: Jess mentions it to Luke and this is when he and Rory are starting to get hot and heavy.
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_01: That line by any other name.
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_01: Lorelai also says in Season 4, Episode 16, The Reigning Lorelai, another epic one.
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_01: And early on,
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_01: Season 1,
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_01: Episode 12, Lorelai calls Sookie and her new suitor, Jackson, as this famous couple.
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_01: Again, you can find all the Gilmore Girls references for these five tragedies in
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_01: the Substack post that is in the show notes.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_00: You will also find a poll that asks which Shakespearean tragedy is the most tragic.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_01: I can't wait to hear what readers think of this.
• 19:12
  SPEAKER_01: I tend to think Romeo and Juliet is going to win the battle.
• 19:15
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so I hope that comparing Shakespeare's most tragic works to the unhinged nature
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_01: of reality TV makes them feel both easier and more fun for you,
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_01: just like pairing them with Gilmore Girls episodes.
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_01: But before we go, I want to share a few more tips for reading Shakespeare.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_01: Again,
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_01: I started this in ninth grade and I still do it every summer for Shakespeare in
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_01: the Park vibes.
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_01: This July, I actually picked a Midsummer Night's Dream for a challenge this month.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_01: So first, I think that you have to accept that it's not going to be easy and it's not just you.
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not some magical reader.
• 19:46
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not smarter than everyone else.
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_01: I'm just willing to struggle my way through the text.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_01: Dialogue changes throughout history.
• 19:53
  SPEAKER_01: And even today,
• 19:53
  SPEAKER_01: sometimes I don't understand even what my nieces are saying who are 11 years old.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_01: So why would I understand the I hope that the way I talked
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_01: about these tragedies helps you to understand why it's so worth it to me.
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_01: These are stories that really grab you and hook you in, which is always what we want as readers.
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_01: In many ways,
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_01: they're also like history lessons,
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_01: and that's because so often they're about people in power.
• 20:21
  SPEAKER_01: What can happen when a certain flaw drives their power beyond control?
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_01: So once you keep those things in mind, how should you actually tackle the text?
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_01: The way I do it is something called No Fear Editions.
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_01: I've talked about these many times.
• 20:33
  SPEAKER_01: I usually get them at my library sale for something like one or two dollars,
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_01: and I just grab them when I see them.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_01: What they are is on the left side they have the original Shakespearean text and on
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_01: the right side they have a modern translation.
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_01: It is an absolute game changer.
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_01: Another thing you can do that I love to do with the classics is to listen to
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_01: an audiobook while you are looking at the words.
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_01: This really helps me maintain my focus, especially in an age when our focus is so fractured.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_01: And even when I read the No Fear editions,
• 21:00
  SPEAKER_01: I still go to summaries and analyses online,
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_01: things like spark notes,
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_01: to give me a little bit more context about the plot,
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_01: and even the historical time in which it occurred.
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_01: Lastly, I've mentioned a few adaptations, and I find that that always helps.
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_01: And I thought of a new one this year.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_01: Not only can you watch an adaptation,
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_01: which may stray from the original text, but you can also watch a performance.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_01: These Shakespearean tragedies are in the public domain,
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_01: so you can actually just go right on YouTube and find some performances.
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_01: Either watch or watch and read along.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_01: Whatever works for you.
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_01: All right,
• 21:32
  SPEAKER_01: so I did my best here to inspire you to dig into Shakespeare and
• 21:35
  SPEAKER_01: to feel both excited and confident in doing so.
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, it actually can feel like a night of Bravo.
• 21:41
  SPEAKER_01: So I hope you'll do as I do and make your own Shakespeare in the Park this summer.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_01: See you next time.
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks so much for listening to Friday Night Readers.
• 21:51
  SPEAKER_00: I love having you here in our little corner of the Gilmore Girls world.
• 21:55
  SPEAKER_00: If you'd like even more Feel Good Fun,
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_00: Then upgrade to a free or paid email subscription membership
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: at Friday Night Readers.substack.com.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_00: Free members get my personally verified list of the 475 plus books on Gilmore Girls.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_00: Upgrade to paid for the list with episodes based on my years of rewatches and
• 22:15
  SPEAKER_00: the writing of my book, The Unofficial Guide to the Books on Gilmore Girls.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_00: You'll also unlock members only posts like monthly recaps as well
• 22:23
  SPEAKER_00: as full community access to our chats.
• 22:25
  SPEAKER_00: It's the coziest virtual place like Stars Hollow,
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_00: and your support helped keep this podcast going strong.
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_00: Lastly, if you enjoyed today's episode, please take a minute to rate and review the show.
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_00: It helps other Gilder fans find us, which helps me provide you with more content like this.
• 22:44
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time, life's short, read fast.