Move out of the way Shakespeare, you've met your match.

Would it be completely presumptuous of me to announce another project I'm gonna try starting to work on? If so, would it also be arrogant for me to undertake a project that's an attempt to revive Shakespeare?

I watched Were The World Mine today and it was a spectacular film. A very pomo take on Midsummer Night's Dream. What struck me most about it, however, was when the characters started speaking in iambic pentameter. Most of Shakespeare's writing, when spoken aloud, sort of has an archaic feel to it, and it's not just a factor of the obvious anachronisms, but there's just something there. But modern day speech in iambic pentameter is filled with a glory I can only assume the audiences of Shakespeare experienced.

It would be a lie to say it sounded completely natural. But at the same time it wasn't unnatural. I guess one could say it's supernatural. Like many things I am for in life, it feels like it perfectly matches precisely what it's supposed to be. In this case, it would be language and metaphor being utterly congruent through an iambic meter. Guess it's why most people consider it one of the most pertinent measures in English poetry.

Therefore, I wish to embark upon a journey of trying to write a play in total iambic pentameter, using the spondees and phyrric feet Mr Shakespeare would've used, using the dramatic devices and all the beauty of the English language. It's more than just a reshaping of a classic Shakespearian play into a modern (or maybe even post-apocalytic) interpretaion, but is a totally new play in our current modern day setting, utilising the language. This, as far as I'm aware, hasn't been done in mainstream culture (I'm almost positive someone out there would've done it.. but it's not reached by ears).

I mentioned some time ago that I was gonna write an Oscar Wildean play, flourishing purple prose adorning my script, and I had a pretty neat Earnestian plot ... but maybe I can utilise that here. How much humour can be conveyed in iambic pentameter, I wonder. Or maybe I'll come up with a completely different plot.

Every time I read something about poetry or think about Othello I also start talking to myself in lil' podules of iambs. Figure why not try stringing them together into a more substantial work? Trick is now to get my hands on my old Shakespeare texts from school, which will have my notes so I can properly observe the tropes and devices ;)