Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Mariiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiia!!!! (Brooks & Dunn)

I found some new things while doing research yesterday and today. Voila! :)

"The ludicrous sung dialogue [..] beginning 'Farewell, dear heart, since I must needs be gone [..] is so closely based on a song first extant in Robert Jones 'First Book of Songes and Ayres' (published in 1600) as to suggest that the song was new and popular and that for this reason Shakespeare gave it an incongruous context and made the appropriate alterations." (Taken from The Arden Shakespeare's 'Twelfth Night', was a note. Thought this might be cool for Toby and Feste to look at, think about..)

Some new definitions.. (always fun)
*shrew = ill-tempered woman
*pariah = an outcast; any person or animal that is generally despised or avoided (OUCH, rhymes with Maria.. 'aha' moment)
*"by my troth" (can be pronounced with either the o or the a sound) = by my faithfulness, loyalty, fidelity
*beagle = noisy person, loudmouth (circa. 1475 Middle English; possibly derived from Old French); a spy or detective, a constable

Aaaand the typical duties of a Lady-in-Waiting at the time:
*to act as a royal companion
*to accompany the queen wherever she goes
*by right of the lady-in-waiting's status and nobility, can better advise a woman of high station
*expected to play Elizabethan musical instruments
*expected to be proficient in a variety of dances performed by the upper classes
*reading and embroidery (WOOT, getting an embroidery hoop from Michael's this week, fingers crossed; I think this will help with the sustained movement of Maria. I also think this is something she is embroidering for her wedding to Sir Toby - still unsure if they get married, but it's on Maria's mind all the time)

Random final thought.. in addition to the black curlers, what if Maria comes out in a face mask (when she has to silence Sir Toby and Sir Andres)? It seems like a stretch a bit, but I think I could justify it with her desire to attract Sir Toby, even if she doesn't act that way outwardly all the time. I think the idea of Maria waking up with this mask, having the "OSM" because the boys are being rowdy, having to run into the room to tell them to shut up before they wake up Malvolio, and then having to wipe the mask off once Malvolio enters. Too over-the-top?

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