I'm blown away by this man's passion. I was lucky to have had some incredible teachers, but not as many professors, and I miss learning from someone like him.
You're very lucky. He seems like an amazing teacher. Does he get that emotional in lectures? I had an English teacher like that once and it just warms my heart so much haha
I enjoy how this Ted talk complements understanding literature and yet going against all the standardized requirements (metaphors and analyzation) that I went through regarding English.
Listening, key to many enlightenment, but so few who heed that advice. Age, for some can be a cure though. Literature is truly the last refuge. How lucky are you that have him as a teacher.
He is right. Hearing a live performance is so much more powerful than watching any movie of a Shakespeare play. I saw Olivier's "Richard III" and thought, "Meh." I saw a local production with local talent and was blown away! The scene between Richard and Lady Anne, Richard III Act I, scene ii, OH MY GOD! You could hear the audience's jaws hit the floor at the end of that scene!
Prof. Brown talks about how Lady Capulet is losing Juliet (the child) to Paris, & following that, continuing with this same theme, the nurse, too, having had lost her child at birth. Anyhow, when Dr. Brown’s voice swerves, & he momentarily puts his prayered hands together at 13:34, I can’t help but to ponder if he’d lost a child himself... A very powerful moment in this lecture.
This has helped me see Shakespeare in a way I never thought I could imagine. I love to read it with my students. I love to see it, to hear it, but omg I have never listened like this. Beautiful!!!!!
Brilliant! I will be able to use this to make a case for Shakespeare for whatever group I am interacting with: public school drama departments, programming partners, and more.
7:15 "Whenever we apprehend an effect we want to comprehend a cause. And that's a problem, especially with theatre and always with life, something happens to us and we want to know why. Well, the cause doesn't matter. Who knows what the first cause of anything is?...They're beyond my comprehension, right? But in the moment of life I apprehend constantly what it is to be living, and to seek meaning in that - rather than to simply swim in the luxuriousness of my own soul and heart, seems like an extraordinary abandonment of the joy of living."
"The nurse says that looking at Juliet, and Lady Capulet is looking at Juliet, and two daughters are dead. And if we are not listening, we miss that." Damn.
Shakespeare is proof of innate intelligence - uncorrupted to any imaginable degree of understanding that is possible to comprehend. This is my own understanding of a Superior person, who articulates way beyond the destiny of his genetic predisposition, bringing forth a new realm of consciousness which nobody can understand but many can perceive just as he did. Why Shakespeare? Give me a call...because people like us these days always keep ourselves to ourselves.
Shakespeare is beloved the world over in so many ways, in so many other countries, except he's practically absent in the UK. Few people are seen reading the plays in the streets, few statues, fountains and art on the streets, few public houses and streets named after him or his characters. England mourns one of their most famous sons.
Wow, I have never thought to approach any text in this way, despite having studied some Shakespeare in high school. I am a business major and my mind is largely oriented around very practical concerns. Thank you, Dr. Brown, for challenging me. I look forward to giving Shakespeare another go.
Wonderful vulnerability! And absolutely! So many productions miss things - I would love to direct more Shakespeare and help people SEE it for what it is and not READ it. Thanks so much.
I mean if you don't do what the entire video talks about maybe. But if you actually look at it, so many themes are just as relevant today as they were before. Anger and frustration with controlling parents who don't like who you're dating, wanting to act out and go against them. How dearly the cousins in As You Like It care for eachother and would do anything for each other. Iago's jealousy leading him to make Othello paranoid that his wife was cheating on him. Beatrice and Benedict are a romcom in the making, two friends that love to bicker with each other but totally don't like each other actually falling in love. Many fathers that worry about the men trying to marry their daughters are not in love with them and won't treat them well, or wanting their daughters to be happy and finding good men to introduce to them. Wanting revenge after someone harms you or your family. Wanting a higher status and how far people are willing to go for position in the spotlight. Theres a reason shakespeare is constantly being remade and reinvented into modern classics. Lion King being Hamlet is well known and West Side Story is an obvious Romeo and Juliet, but then there's 10 Things I Hate About You (Taming of the Shrew), She's the Man (Twelveth Night), and tons more.
@Extravagant Baboon No, you don't NEED to, but if you're able to engage with art (any art, not just Shakespeare, not just literature), if you're able to engage with it in the way this professor is trying to describe to you, your inner life will be enriched immensely. If you're young, that's something which can be difficult to see or comprehend - and some people never see or comprehend it, whatever their age - but if you can, then trust me, it makes life so much more worthwhile. The book's age is irrelevant.
@Extravagant Baboon Perhaps part of the point also is that if we learn from people's past mistakes, we can do better or feel less alone. The relevance in Shakespeare's themes sheds light on the idea that much of the human experience is relatable and similar regardless of where you are born or what year you live in. And why do we read anything? To enlighten ourselves, to derive enjoyment and pleasure, and to learn, so I do not see why Shakespeare should fall outside of this category because some people find his writing inaccessible. As others have said, art enriches your inner world in many ways.
While I agree with much of what he says, he is wrong about how long it was before people talked about "seeing" a play as Pepys wrote in 1662 about Midsummer Nights Dream "the most insipid ridiculous play that ever I saw in my life", sounds like people were talking about seeing a play in the 17th century
If we think to ourselves " what would self aware artificial intelligence take away from Shakespeare." One reason is because humanities is one of the things that might teach artificial intelligence the value of human life.
"We shouldn't have feared him to begin with"! YES! Found this really interest as a professional Actress. Thanks for recording this TED and Prof. Brown for writing/sharing this! Thank you!
The importance of Shakespeare and his plays in history of mankind is also the opposite of what Stephen Brown said. His plays were one of the great trailblazers of the Enlightenment, the era of 'comprehension'. All the social critique of the habits and mores of the kings and 'noble' men and women was to open up a vision towards a new society, to get rid of the feudal schemes and murders where the common people didn't have any interest in, except to look at it with disdain. As Hamlet fools Claudius that Polonius is being fed to the worms. "A fisherman can use a worm as a bait, but the worm itself can be filled with the intestins of a King." Is it a coincidence that the Dark Middle ages (where one would indeed have to listen and not try to comprehend) was more easily shed off in England than in France in the seventeenth century? And led to Cromwell and the Glorious Revolution compared to the absolute monarchies in France of Louis xiii en xiv? The plays of Shakespeare might have well have educated generations to not only 'feel' the historic period they lived, but as well as to comprehend it and opened them up to overthrow it.
I am very grateful to the book series, "Shakespeare made easy," and, "No Fear Shakespeare" because I love Shakespeare's plays and I found some of the dialogue almost incomprehensible. The English language has changed quite a bit since Elizabethan times, and also Shakespeare uses slang words that have completely disappeared. I would like to see a play done with the modern English used in the above books. In my opinion it would still be a great play. It is better to become familiar with Shakespeare's original dialogue, but I think that many people are put off by lack of understanding many of the words.
I like the emphasis on the importance of listening and encouraging people to enjoy Shakespeare's original works and the power of live theater. That said, there are a number of inaccuracies. Here's a link to the scene he references, I.iii: internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/doc/Rom_F1/scene/1.3/. Juliet is actually not present in those lines of the nurse. In addition, Lady Capulet puts up with the Nurse's prattling about Juliet's age, but there's no indication she doesn't remember. I see the Nurse's affection for Juliet standing in sharp contrast to the distance of her mother.
Shakespeare ( like the Beatles ) had no nationality. It just so happened by random chance that they were born in that place ; at that time . Somehow or other - subconsciously I assume ? - people all over the World realise this and this is partial explanation to his universal acceptance .
Pls someone let this guy direct some Shakespeare so he can stop TELLING people what plays mean. SHOW, don’t tell. It’s a PLAY. You should be both watching and listening. Because it’s being performed.
Totally agree. The cheerings for Hamlet clearly outnumbered the acclamation for 'Romeo & Juliet'. And the Professor picked up largely from those rooting for 'Romeo & Juliet'. Thats not done, Man! Personal preference outweighed popular demand. Truth be accepted! If there was anyone else in his place, one could easily have said that he was just not confident enough to do a take off from Hamlet.
That Asian guy in the audience at 5:25 knows that he is a culprit because he has used No Fear Shakespeare SparkNotes to write his English commentaries for Shakespeare's works just like the rest of us.
I'm really glad I watched this. In 20 minutes I don't think I've ever learned more about storytelling. What a fantastic professor.
I agree
His speech skills and voice are also incredible (except "uh" and "right?" That he mumbles all the time lol)
‘ When Shakespeare wants ya to listen, he has a listener on stage’
So obvious but literally blew my mind right now..
pretty ingenious
Except it's not true. Hence soliloquies.
I'm blown away by this man's passion. I was lucky to have had some incredible teachers, but not as many professors, and I miss learning from someone like him.
He was my prof! Great prof! Loves what he does and you can tell.
You're very lucky. He seems like an amazing teacher. Does he get that emotional in lectures? I had an English teacher like that once and it just warms my heart so much haha
loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooool
@@Dani_London When I had him for a professor back in the 90's, yes he did.
@@paulcleaver8747 That's amazing, what a top man!
I enjoy how this Ted talk complements understanding literature and yet going against all the standardized requirements (metaphors and analyzation) that I went through regarding English.
everyone saying who is watching this for english class nobody summarizing it for me so i dont have to do my assignment. sad.
who is watching for school
me
Hello 👋 I'm here for school too
Listening, key to many enlightenment, but so few who heed that advice. Age, for some can be a cure though. Literature is truly the last refuge. How lucky are you that have him as a teacher.
He is right. Hearing a live performance is so much more powerful than watching any movie of a Shakespeare play. I saw Olivier's "Richard III" and thought, "Meh." I saw a local production with local talent and was blown away! The scene between Richard and Lady Anne, Richard III Act I, scene ii, OH MY GOD! You could hear the audience's jaws hit the floor at the end of that scene!
In every word he utters there is a great sense of empathy. He has the thorough understanding of the ethics of Shakespearean play. Thank you sir.
Shakespeare sucks
@@flybiguns1013 WEEEEEEEEEE WOOOOOOOOO BADASS ALERT
Prof. Brown talks about how Lady Capulet is losing Juliet (the child) to Paris, & following that, continuing with this same theme, the nurse, too, having had lost her child at birth.
Anyhow, when Dr. Brown’s voice swerves, & he momentarily puts his prayered hands together at 13:34, I can’t help but to ponder if he’d lost a child himself...
A very powerful moment in this lecture.
This has helped me see Shakespeare in a way I never thought I could imagine. I love to read it with my students. I love to see it, to hear it, but omg I have never listened like this. Beautiful!!!!!
Normal people: right
This guy: riyye
Stephen is national treasure. How this man isn't famous I have no clue.
absolutely amazing, got me thinking about so much. only 18 min and I learned more from him then my teacher ever has. Absolutely incredible.
Why am I with tears in my eyes?
What a mesmerizing teacher.
Brilliant! I will be able to use this to make a case for Shakespeare for whatever group I am interacting with: public school drama departments, programming partners, and more.
7:15 "Whenever we apprehend an effect we want to comprehend a cause. And that's a problem, especially with theatre and always with life, something happens to us and we want to know why. Well, the cause doesn't matter. Who knows what the first cause of anything is?...They're beyond my comprehension, right? But in the moment of life I apprehend constantly what it is to be living, and to seek meaning in that - rather than to simply swim in the luxuriousness of my own soul and heart, seems like an extraordinary abandonment of the joy of living."
Nailed it right there
My absolute favourite University prof!
Dude, give Jeff Goldblum his voice back.
"The nurse says that looking at Juliet, and Lady Capulet is looking at Juliet, and two daughters are dead. And if we are not listening, we miss that." Damn.
Great Ted talk.
One of the best in recent memory.
Shakespeare is proof of innate intelligence - uncorrupted to any imaginable degree of understanding that is possible to comprehend. This is my own understanding of a Superior person, who articulates way beyond the destiny of his genetic predisposition, bringing forth a new realm of consciousness which nobody can understand but many can perceive just as he did. Why Shakespeare? Give me a call...because people like us these days always keep ourselves to ourselves.
Judging from your comment , this
" innate intelligence " seems to preclude modesty . ?
Why am I so sleepy
Shakespeare almost makes me proud to be a human.
Shakespeare is beloved the world over in so many ways, in so many other countries, except he's practically absent in the UK. Few people are seen reading the plays in the streets, few statues, fountains and art on the streets, few public houses and streets named after him or his characters. England mourns one of their most famous sons.
Wow, I have never thought to approach any text in this way, despite having studied some Shakespeare in high school. I am a business major and my mind is largely oriented around very practical concerns. Thank you, Dr. Brown, for challenging me. I look forward to giving Shakespeare another go.
Wonderful vulnerability! And absolutely! So many productions miss things - I would love to direct more Shakespeare and help people SEE it for what it is and not READ it. Thanks so much.
How can you be bored when you've met William Shakespeare?!
What an amazing lesson - about shakespeare and about listening. Great and touching!
I wish I'd studied with this man before I subjected my students to my own love of Shakespeare. They would have gotten so much more of the good stuff.
1. Why should modern audiences still read/watch Shakespeare? What makes him so relevant to today?
😂English class
I mean if you don't do what the entire video talks about maybe. But if you actually look at it, so many themes are just as relevant today as they were before. Anger and frustration with controlling parents who don't like who you're dating, wanting to act out and go against them. How dearly the cousins in As You Like It care for eachother and would do anything for each other. Iago's jealousy leading him to make Othello paranoid that his wife was cheating on him. Beatrice and Benedict are a romcom in the making, two friends that love to bicker with each other but totally don't like each other actually falling in love. Many fathers that worry about the men trying to marry their daughters are not in love with them and won't treat them well, or wanting their daughters to be happy and finding good men to introduce to them. Wanting revenge after someone harms you or your family. Wanting a higher status and how far people are willing to go for position in the spotlight. Theres a reason shakespeare is constantly being remade and reinvented into modern classics. Lion King being Hamlet is well known and West Side Story is an obvious Romeo and Juliet, but then there's 10 Things I Hate About You (Taming of the Shrew), She's the Man (Twelveth Night), and tons more.
@Extravagant Baboon No, you don't NEED to, but if you're able to engage with art (any art, not just Shakespeare, not just literature), if you're able to engage with it in the way this professor is trying to describe to you, your inner life will be enriched immensely. If you're young, that's something which can be difficult to see or comprehend - and some people never see or comprehend it, whatever their age - but if you can, then trust me, it makes life so much more worthwhile. The book's age is irrelevant.
@Extravagant Baboon Perhaps part of the point also is that if we learn from people's past mistakes, we can do better or feel less alone. The relevance in Shakespeare's themes sheds light on the idea that much of the human experience is relatable and similar regardless of where you are born or what year you live in. And why do we read anything? To enlighten ourselves, to derive enjoyment and pleasure, and to learn, so I do not see why Shakespeare should fall outside of this category because some people find his writing inaccessible. As others have said, art enriches your inner world in many ways.
he talks like that poetry teacher from one of SNL's skits that's amazing lol
Really enjoyed listening to Stephen. So many layers.
He's awesome
An inspiration for English teachers
7:00 --- just nailed it..
I am going to audition for Titania next month wish me luck!
christin smith hope you got the part!
No
3 years later how did it go
@@karrishay1359 they didn’t give me the role. They treated me horribly. They had no respect for me at all.
@@Disneylover2023 oh, sorry to hear that. What did you do since then?
He even has the Shakespeare haircut
5t.
You nailed it!
Does he have lectures online?? I need more of Stephen Brown! ❤
Oh My God, that ending was precious!
Let’s talk more===...
X+1 :8:0 :2/ 2/ 6/ 5/ 1/ 2 :2 :6
W/h/~a: s / a : p ~p🚀::::
:::::::::.........
Shut
who out here in 2019
Tucker A. Hawkins me
Me.
We all are 😊
right?
This was wonderfully presented. Who cares what the man looks like?
While I agree with much of what he says, he is wrong about how long it was before people talked about "seeing" a play as Pepys wrote in 1662 about Midsummer Nights Dream "the most insipid ridiculous play that ever I saw in my life", sounds like people were talking about seeing a play in the 17th century
Can someone explain how are 2 daughters dead?
I love you, love this talk thank you for opening my mind and my heart
easy - because it's beautiful.
If we think to ourselves " what would self aware artificial intelligence take away from Shakespeare." One reason is because humanities is one of the things that might teach artificial intelligence the value of human life.
Is that Larry David?
Right?
Brilliant. Thank you!
"We shouldn't have feared him to begin with"! YES! Found this really interest as a professional Actress. Thanks for recording this TED and Prof. Brown for writing/sharing this! Thank you!
Wonderful. Thank you.
I love this, and everything he's saying/teaching, but for the life of me I can't stop thinking about how much his voice sounds like Jeff Goldblum's.
The importance of Shakespeare and his plays in history of mankind is also the opposite of what Stephen Brown said. His plays were one of the great trailblazers of the Enlightenment, the era of 'comprehension'. All the social critique of the habits and mores of the kings and 'noble' men and women was to open up a vision towards a new society, to get rid of the feudal schemes and murders where the common people didn't have any interest in, except to look at it with disdain. As Hamlet fools Claudius that Polonius is being fed to the worms. "A fisherman can use a worm as a bait, but the worm itself can be filled with the intestins of a King."
Is it a coincidence that the Dark Middle ages (where one would indeed have to listen and not try to comprehend) was more easily shed off in England than in France in the seventeenth century? And led to Cromwell and the Glorious Revolution compared to the absolute monarchies in France of Louis xiii en xiv? The plays of Shakespeare might have well have educated generations to not only 'feel' the historic period they lived, but as well as to comprehend it and opened them up to overthrow it.
I am very grateful to the book series, "Shakespeare made easy," and, "No Fear Shakespeare" because I love Shakespeare's plays and I found some of the dialogue almost incomprehensible. The English language has changed quite a bit since Elizabethan times, and also Shakespeare uses slang words that have completely disappeared. I would like to see a play done with the modern English used in the above books. In my opinion it would still be a great play. It is better to become familiar with Shakespeare's original dialogue, but I think that many people are put off by lack of understanding many of the words.
When he says "he right?" And " hm mkay?" He sounds like Mark Zuckerberg in south park
Proffesor: Talks *minecraft villager noise*
Bro legit moved from being a fan of Shakespeare to becoming the double of 'The Bard of Avon" himself😂❤
I dont get it someone please help
Juliet is my dad
You are mistaken.. he must be Julian!
Did you know "Hamlet" has been translated in to Klingon?
Why yes I did actually. It's only good if you watch it in original Klingon
King Arthur now they just need an English version.
Wow. Wow. Wow. That was magical.
I like the emphasis on the importance of listening and encouraging people to enjoy Shakespeare's original works and the power of live theater. That said, there are a number of inaccuracies. Here's a link to the scene he references, I.iii: internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/doc/Rom_F1/scene/1.3/. Juliet is actually not present in those lines of the nurse. In addition, Lady Capulet puts up with the Nurse's prattling about Juliet's age, but there's no indication she doesn't remember. I see the Nurse's affection for Juliet standing in sharp contrast to the distance of her mother.
Great stuff, really. Thank you.
Our gorgeous young prime minister did it for me… cheers
Guys, I have to finish my assignment. The topic is 'Modern day reaction to William Shakespeare'. Can you give your thoughts pls?
GOOD LUCK
did you finish it
Yes.
Will need to discuss that with your prof. first if that's permissible. Right! Until then... Good Luck, dude!
Who watching this because they are actually interested in Shakespeare.......
Wasted a lot of my time and could have studied something more useful.
They don't make 'em like Stephen Brown anymore.
Hello Classmates
This guy said anything I said to my friends when they can't enjoy literature and movies lol
I was forced to watch this during English class but I have to admit that it's a great video
Masterful.
Does anyone know of a production of Romeo and Juliet that does, in fact, play Act 1 Scene 3 in this manner? I'd love to use it in my classroom!
This guy is amazing!
Right
Beyond the shadow of a doubt!
Amazing!!
Great Performance
Shakespeare ( like the Beatles ) had no nationality. It just
so happened by random chance that they were born in that
place ; at that time . Somehow or other - subconsciously
I assume ? - people all over the World realise this and this
is partial explanation to his universal acceptance .
Why would someone rather listen to a play in his own language then in another - what a question!
Pls someone let this guy direct some Shakespeare so he can stop TELLING people what plays mean. SHOW, don’t tell. It’s a PLAY. You should be both watching and listening. Because it’s being performed.
Nice save at 13:29
didn`t know larry david is an shakespeare expert
I didn't catch his name when I clicked on the video and I honestly thought this was Larry David.
why?
this was great
Everyone shouts Hamlet. 'Okay let's do Romeo and Juliet'. Prepared one more than the other much?
Zippo404 could be what the mics picked up
Tyler Boyle Exactly what I was thinking =)
Totally agree. The cheerings for Hamlet clearly outnumbered the acclamation for 'Romeo & Juliet'. And the Professor picked up largely from those rooting for 'Romeo & Juliet'. Thats not done, Man! Personal preference outweighed popular demand. Truth be accepted!
If there was anyone else in his place, one could easily have said that he was just not confident enough to do a take off from Hamlet.
extraordinary
That Asian guy in the audience at 5:25 knows that he is a culprit because he has used No Fear Shakespeare SparkNotes to write his English commentaries for Shakespeare's works just like the rest of us.
To say the man never cared that he didn’t make a penny from his play is both a lie and a generally ridiculous thing to say.
Stephen either is a god, or Stephen could kill god, and I do not care if there is a difference!
Impressive
There is no subtitle you know?
The reasons to read (and "listen" to) Shakespeare FAR outweigh the reasons not to and the reasons not to are amazingly all superficial...
ill give someone five bucks if they summarise this for my english lol
2020
What does apprehend the effects mean?
Unfold yourself ... into life.
I love Shakespeare. I thank god that this gentleman wasn't the person who introduced me to the Bard.
that was amazing