Shakespearean Beatles

During my years as an undergraduate, I have been fortunate enough to take some classes that interest me not only in an academic sense, but on a personal level, as well. Two of these classes were Early and Later Shakespeare. Ever since I read Romeo and Juliet my freshman year of high school, I have always looked forward to studying The Bard at school. Last summer I was even priveleged enough to see his home at Stratford-upon-Avon (above right) and to visit the Globe Theatre in London.

Another class of great personal interest to me in which I am currently enrolled is about the Beatles. I have been a Beatles fan since elementary school. My parents and I saw Ringo in concert when I was 13, and I nearly cried when I visited Abbey Road Studios in London and took pictures of the loving grafitti on the walls outside (left).

During a class discussion on Midsummer Night's Dream in my Early Shakespeare class, our teacher mentioned that the Beatles had once performed the comical play-within-a-play of Pyramus and Thisbe from the final act. The Beatles did this comical performance as part of a television special called "Around the Beatles," which aired just after Shakespeare's 400th birthday.

I love this clip because of its sheer obscurity. I love the fact that my favorite band performed a scene from my favorite playwright all the way back in 1964. The excitement and energy that surrounded the Beatles in their early years sets the perfect tone for the rowdy and comical scene at the end of Midsummer Night's Dream.