h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: 'Romeo and Juliet' - The Play by William Shakespeare - In Progress - A2271476
Author: Jodan - No langwidge kan holde mee! - U201497

Should I divide this up into smaller entries? If so, how? By acts?

It's 9,000 words long, so I want it to be divided up into smaller entries obviously.

I agree - splitting it up would probably be a good idea, but I'm not sure how...

By the way - some random information - did you know that there *is* a house in Verona, Italy, that local tourist guides will insist on being the balcony of Juliet? I've seen some claims that Shakespeare based his play on something that happened in RL

I'm not focusing on the history of the play - I'm considering writing a companion entry on the history of R&J.

Do you think it would work splitting it up in Acts? That would create five different entries though, and that's a lot. I could group them into two acts per entry, but that's a bit odd.

Two acts per entry still seems a bit long to me - but then, I tire easily when trying to read very long entries written in English, which is a foreign language to me - one act per entry seems kind of logical

Is five entries too much for one play?

Ha!

I'm definitely *not* the right person to ask - I'm still trying to write about *one* specifc book and - so far - I've got four entries focused on different aspects of it

That doesn't make your opinion any less useful

I've only read the part covering the first act so far, but one thing I noticed is that sometimes the quote relating to a certain paragraph comes before the paragraph and sometimes afterwards - sometimes it's a bit confusing trying to work out which paragraph the quote belongs to.

Looking good though!

When it comes before it, it introduces it. When it comes after it, it is introduced by the paragraph (with something like "He said-" at the end of the paragraph)

Well, yeah, I worked that out in the end, it was just a bit confusing at first

I don't think there's much point in splitting it up. I think it's all right how it is, although I don't think it's really necessary to go through each scene (then again, you've already done that, so it doesn't matter much).

I would like to see more about the history of the play, famous stage and screen versions etc. which is far more interesting in my opinion. A separate entry would be good.

Niwt

That's exactly what I didn't want to do I want a guide to the play, (which goes through each scene) and not a history of it. If I wanted, I could whip up a history section in 15 minutes, but I don't want to.

I'm thinking of a companion entry on the history, but I don't feel like writing it because I'm not interested in it. Anyone here if welcome to write it

I guess there are hundreds of guides out there, and I was looking for one a bit more interesting. Maybe I'll write it.

It does go through scene by scene - I haven't read all of it but it seems it just summarises it, explains it a little, doesn't really go into it in much depth. Then again, maybe that's just me. I don't really like English.

I'd have to agree. I'd suggest paring down the summary and adding historical detail but I fear your head will explode if anyone suggests that again

So, how about adding more commentary on the textual level. This is a play with so many interesting features, just as a creative work. Like, the 'palmer' conversation between R+J takes the form of a sonnet, and there are two more in the 'balcony scene'. There are many quibbles I could make with your analysis of that scene but it is your opinion, so no reason why it shouldn't stand. By the by, there is no mention in the text of a balcony. That comes from the performance tradition. The stage direction is something like 'enter Juliet, aloft, as at a window'.

Oh also, (though this relates to your name and so is entirely impertinant) the quote you are referancing is not 'by any other name' but 'by any other *word*' Not that I'm suggesting that you shouldn't misquote in your name, it is the common perception of the phrase, after all, I'm just on a pedantic roll.

N

I think it would also be a good idea, if you are going to quote extensively, to referance the quotes.

N

Nah. I'm not doing this entry anymore.

And I couldn't very well list Jodan as a word in my nickname. It's a name. A made up one too. It's just a little joke.

Sometimes you are strangely literal I was only teasing ya.


N

Literal is just a nice word for gullible isn't it?

Yup. Definitely.

Any chance of popping this into PR, Jodan? I'd love to see this edited. R&J got me through my English Literature "O" Level at night school in 1977.

Nah. I don't think I could deal with the PR response to this one - either deafening silence because of its length or deafening complaining because of its errors.