Thursday 19 August 2010

'Brush up your Shakespeare ...

... start quoting him now' penned the swellegent Mr Cole Porter in 'Kiss me Kate', his riff upon 'The Taming of the Shrew' which took Broadway by storm in 1948.

Thinking along parallel lines, permit me to take a Shakespearian brush to these photographs taken in Castlereagh Street in the City, opposite Tattersalls.

Here we have our modern-day Hamlet, hanging out on the battlements of down-town Sydney, wondering whether he has the gumption to 'off' his mummy's new fella or whether he should just nip into the 'Elephant & Castle' on the corner for another coldie.

To be or not to be, that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles
And, by opposing, end them.
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all,
And the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprises of great pitch and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry,
And lose the name of action.

'A midi of Tooheys Old, please mate' ...

A member of the Theme Thursday community. This post is in response to the prompt 'brush'.

25 comments:

Luis Gomez said...

These are great. Wonderful post Julie.

jabblog said...

He made the right decision. A deranged mother is not a happy companion.

Francisca said...

I'd say he made the right decision... cowardly or not (I don't much like to think of conscience in those terms, though)... Nice take on the theme, Julie. [You're way ahead of me... I'll be posting my "brush" theme later... and quite different.]

Betsy Brock said...

to be or not to be...that's the extent of the Shakespeare I can quote! LOL! I need to read more!

Brian Miller said...

haha...nice play...great pics too...i wonder does he know you wrote about him...lol. i think he probably made the right decision...happy theme thursday!

Stefan Jansson said...

Great candids. A coldie sound fine.

Julie said...

No ... he had no idea I was stalking him ... he had a lovely possie in he early morning sun ... and to these sore eyes, was a charming sight.

Lew said...

I love the application of the Old Bard to the tody's world - great post!
Thanks for your comment on my SC flag post. The southeast (and southwest)costal areas of the US are dotted with palm trees. Palmetto logs were used in the 1700's to build forts in SC and survived a British baobardment during the revolution, hence the selection as the state tree.

One Prayer Girl said...

What a creative Theme Thursday. Great pictures too.

My TT will be up this evening.

PG

Joan Elizabeth said...

You sure do some innovative things with the themes. Sitting in the winter sun ... nice.

Tom said...

willy had quite the way with words

Julie said...

Joan, a theme can be a bit like a 'Riff' ... given a day to think about it can be quite exhilarating.

I am off for 6 hours on the harbour today to visit all the 'lighthouses' which I put in quotes because I suspect some will be beacons.

JeffScape said...

Sometimes a cigar is Yorick's skull. ;)

Jim said...

Another great peoplewatching post.

If you're ever looking for The Satyr in the Botanic Gardens, it is located near the Opera House gate, not far from the Man O'War Steps that I featured yesterday.

Everyday Goddess said...

great post, and great use of the prompt!

Jayne said...

LOL
Perfect.
Except I'm sure I heard he preferred Melbourne Bitter :P

Gabriela Abalo said...

Great, great take on the theme. I love the pictures and your Shakespearian brush :)

Jill from Killeny Glen said...

Julie! How VERY clever!
Love this.

Austin said...

"Brush up" that was good!

Vinay Leo R. said...

very clever take.. again, the interlacing of pictures and words works! :)

mouse (aka kimy) said...

lovely metaphorical brush strokes

The Silver Fox said...

I like the modern setting for the legendary words.

Baino said...

Ah I'll never look at the Tattersalls club in the same light again! Did he know you were photographing him. . gorgeous portraits, liked the Shakespearean angle as well.

Jilly said...

There's so much I miss about Australia and one thing is the sense of humour. Your last quote made me fall about! A totally satisfying set of photos in the sunshine.

Julie said...

Thank you for your appreciation, friends. And Jilly I am pleased to refresh your memory!