The Boss couldn’t get me a seat to see A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Westside this week — it must have been booked out.
Or maybe he didn’t want me there: I can get a bit excited when there’s fairies dancing around or witches playing up. And I’ve always liked Shakespeare’s comedies because they have a happy ending.
He was no dog lover but The Bard could certainly put his finger on it. My favourite quote from A Midsummer Night’s Dream is, "Lord, what fools these mortals be!"
It’s an observation by the mischievous fairy, Puck, but one which all dogs know to be true.
It just shows that things haven’t changed much since Shakespeare wrote it in 1595.
Puck was talking to his master, the fairy king Oberon, about the antics of the four Athenian lovers lost in the fairy forest — lovers mostly confused due to Puck’s interference, employing his magic potion.
The lovers end up marrying the right people after Puck uses his potion more helpfully. In the meantime, Shakespeare continues his little insights into the human condition, including one The Boss likes: "The course of true love never did run smooth."
But generally, The Boss prefers Shakespeare’s tragedies, where the Bard dramatically reveals the great canvass of human behaviour, mostly not in a good way. There is nothing in any of them to surprise a dog but The Boss thinks Shakespeare’s plays can still teach people a lot if they want to listen.
Take Macbeth, for instance — a play first performed in 1606, the year after the Gunpowder Plot. This is about the brave Scottish general, Macbeth, who receives a prophecy from a trio of troublesome witches that he is destined to be the king of Scotland.
Spurred on by his ambitious wife, Lady Macbeth, he becomes increasingly excited about the idea and kills King Duncan to win the throne... but soon becomes paranoid and consumed with guilt, as he commits more and more murders to maintain his position.
He turns into a tyrant. The consequent civil war drives both of them mad before Lady Macbeth kills herself, while Macbeth is beheaded by an avenging Macduff, whose family was killed by Macbeth.
As I say, there is nothing here to surprise a dog. This play is about the corrupting effects of political ambition on people who seek power, isn’t it?
The Boss nods. “Well, that puts it very nicely. You could say Shakespeare is exploring the physical and psychological impacts of overweening ambition, as well as power, treachery and guilt.
“You won’t be surprised, General, to know that a performance of Macbeth — starring Ralph Fiennes — is currently being performed in Washington.”
And I’m not. The Boss went on to say he’d come across a comment from the production’s director, Simon Godwin, who offered another interpretation: “Macbeth is really about that part of every human being that thinks... he really deserves more, no matter how much he has.”
So there’s another notable difference between humans and dogs — except, of course, for me at feeding time. Woof!