As long as we’re making lists, how about our top five scenes? I made my list (see below), feel free to play along in the comments, or on your own blog, or both. As before, this list is based on my own personal preferences at this particular moment. I’ll be using the scene divisions from Bartleby.com.

And, as before, my top five list has twenty-five entries. Enjoy!

25. A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Act 5, Scene 1
I had to include the Pyramus & Thisby performance at the end of Midsummer. The happy ending to the real story has already come, and now we can just relax and enjoy the show.

24. Hamlet: Act 3, Scene 4
The effect of Hamlet’s berating his mother in her bedchamber, and raising the tension until it is released by his killing Polonius, is devastating on stage. When the ghost arrives, we must listen.

23. King John: Act 1, Scene 1
Robert Faulconbridge claims that his brother Philip is a bastard, not entitled to his father’s lands. King John and his mother recognize the madcap Philip as natural son to the late King Richard, and welcome him into the royal family.

22. Richard the Third: Act 1, Scene 2
Richard has killed Anne’s husband and his father. He woos her and wins her hand, reveling in overcoming impossible odds. There is some really elegant use of language in this scene.

21. The Comedy of Errors: Act 3, Scene 1
This scene cracks me up. Antipholus of Ephesus is locked out of his house, because his wife thinks he’s inside. Actually, it’s his long lost twin brother. The rolling verse makes the scene.

20. Twelfth Night: Act 2, Scene 4
Viola is in love with Orsino, but he thinks she’s a boy. She tells him of her love using a supposed sister. Orsino is in love too, and both of their passions are stirred by a song. This scene “gives a very echo to the seat where love is throned.”

19. Measure for Measure: Act 2, Scene 4
Angelo has sentenced Isabella’s brother to death, but he offers to release him in exchange for sex. She tells him to stick it. But now she’s in a bind. In the hands of talented actors, this scene kills.

18. Henry the Sixth, Part Three: Act 1, Scene 4
The Duke of York has made a claim to the throne, but now is captured by Queen Margaret who taunts him with a paper crown and a napkin dipped in the blood of his dead son. He curses her, and she has him killed. “Off with his head!”

17. As You Like It: Act 5, Scene 4
Rosalind and Celia reveal their true identities to their astonished lovers. And if four weddings and some songs aren’t enough of a happy ending, the banished Duke is restored. I couldn’t resist including it.

16. King Lear: Act 1, Scene 1
This scene could be a play unto itself. Cordelia refuses to participate in flattering her father for his land and is banished. But then she weds the King of France and lives happily ever … no, wait.

15. Othello: Act 3, Scene 3
Through subtle innuendo and hints of suspicion, Iago brings Othello from being completely free of suspicion toward Desdemona, to a jealous rage against her.

14. Measure for Measure: Act 5, Scene 1
Shakespeare spent the whole play setting up the dominoes and lets them fall in this final scene. Isabella has a big choice to make, and she takes the high road. But what about her final choice? Shakespeare doesn’t say.

13. Macbeth: Act 5, Scene 7
The prophecies have all come true, but Macbeth isn’t ready to give up the crown yet, let alone the ghost. In defiance of law, of country, of nature, and of fate itself, he fights. And he dies.

12. Hamlet: Act 5, Scene 1
Hamlet jokes and reflects on death with a gravedigger and Horatio before learning the grave is to be Ophelia’s. And the gravedigger started working the day Hamlet was born. Think about that for a moment.

11. Macbeth: Act 1, Scene 7
Lady Macbeth goads Macbeth into regicide by attacking his manhood and questioning his love. He’s against killing the king on moral grounds, until she presents a plan with a good chance of working, and then he’s in.

10. Henry the Fourth, Part One: Act 2, Scene 4
A fun tavern scene with Jack Falstaff telling tall tales, and a role-playing exercise that turns sour.

9. King Lear: Act 5, Scene 3
The sisters undo themselves. Edgar defeats his treacherous brother Edmund. And then Lear dies with Cordelia in his arms. Good has triumphed over evil, but what spoils are left for the victor?

8. Richard the Third: Act 5, Scene 3
The ghosts of all Richard’s victims disturb his rest the night before the decisive battle. In the morning, he and Richmond deliver orations to their troops, contrasting their different leadership styles.

7. Hamlet: Act 3, Scene 1
The “To be, or not to be” soliloquy is great, but the scene with Ophelia that follows is what makes the list. Love has turned to resentment and bitter mistrust. He must continue to play mad, but his actual sanity is now at risk.

6. Julius Caesar: Act 3, Scene 2
At Caesar’s funeral, Antony, who has promised not to speak ill of the conspirators, delivers an oration that turns the crowd against them. It’s a testament to the power of good rhetoric, and the power of love and loyalty.

5. Othello: Act 5, Scene 2
Othello murders Desdemona and then discovers the truth of the plot against him. Othello’s passionate speeches of angst and remorse are contrasted with Iago’s dispassionate demanor after being caught.

4. A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Act 3, Scene 2
The four lovers, giddy with love’s madness, quarrel to the shock and amusement of the fairies. After going to much trouble to set it up, Shakespeare doesn’t let us down. This is just pure fun.

3. Macbeth: Act 4, Scene 1
Obsessed with succession, Macbeth demands answers from the witches, who tell him much more than he really wants to know. The witches’ brew part alone is for the ages. “Double, double, toil and trouble…”

2. King Lear: Act 4, Scene 6
The mad Lear meets the blind Gloucester. Lear’s speech is filled with sense, and yet is nonsense. Gloucester, who has by now realized he was blind when he had eyes, now says he sees the world feelingly. Also notable is Edgar pretending to lead his blind father to the edge of a cliff. Heartbreaking.

1. Richard the Third: Act 4, Scene 4
By the fourth scene of the fourth act of the fourth play in the series, most of the bad stuff that was going to happen has already happened. The widows gather and compare their losses. Then Richard, the cause of their misery, enters. He recieves a blistering rebuke from his own mother. He is then left on stage with his sister-in-law, whose two sons he has murdered. And he asks her for the hand of her daughter, his niece, in marriage. Now that’s chutzpah!

I’m a musical leader; and Ringo’s small part;
When it comes to resistance, I’m low on the chart;
I am super or semi when science is smart;
But I must take your ticket before we depart.

Who am I?

UPDATE: Riddle solved by Brian. See comments for answer.

The Shakespeare Geek has posted his top five favorite Shakespeare plays, based on another blogger’s post listing his top five favorite Shakespeare plays.

Man, how can you do that? I tried it myself, but the list got a little out of hand. My top five list turns out to have twenty-five plays in it. Bear with me. Here they are, in the ascending order of my preference today. If I made the same list tomorrow, it might be different.

25. The Tempest – Critics deny this is Shakespeare’s farewell to the theatre, but read it and decide for yourself. Prospero, Ariel, Caliban, and Miranda are unique in Shakespeare, strange for so late a play.

24. Much Ado About Nothing – There is a lot in this play to recommend, but Beatrice and Benedick are the most fun. I’m also a fan of Dogberry the Constable and, in his own way, Don John.

23. The Winter’s Tale – I like this play… not as much as other people may like it, but I like it well enough. There are some great speeches in the play, and more than a few moments that kill on stage.

22. Henry the Sixth, Part Three – The paper crown scene alone should bring this play some recognition. I also enjoy the early character development of Richard Gloucester, the future King Richard III.

21. Henry the Fourth, Part Two – Vibrant tavern scenes, darkly comic scenes, frenetic battle scenes, and one intense standoff between King Henry and his son Hal. Don’t miss the last five minutes.

20. The Comedy of Errors – This play can be a lot of fun if you accept it on its own terms. The scene where Antipholus of Ephesus is locked out of his house is reason enough to make the list.

19. Cymbeline – This is a hidden treasure, filled with great scenes and powerful moments. It has a beautiful fairy-tale quality, strong characters, passionate poetry, and a satisfying ending. More here.

18. The Taming of the Shrew – The first scene between Kate and Petruchio is an all-time classic, and the piece as a whole is a wonderful bit of inspired silliness. The taming can be a bit jarring, though.

17. Romeo and Juliet – I think it would be hard for anyone to make a Top Five and Twenty list of favorite Shakespeare plays and not include Romeo & Juliet. The poetic language is beautiful.

16. Twelfth Night – There’s a lot going on in this play, and it all works on stage. Don’t let the slapstick elements fool you into thinking this is an unsophisticated play. It isn’t.

15. The Merchant of Venice – This is another play with a rich complexity that seems to burst out of its fairy-tale frame, which is what allows the darker elements of the play finally to surface.

14. Henry the Fourth, Part One – Who could resist the irrepressible Falstaff, and his relationship with the young Prince Hal? This play has my favorite tavern scene, and lets not forget Hotspur either.

13. King John – Shakespeare wrote this play just after the death of his eleven-year-old son, and the influence of that event on this play is breathtaking. Also, the Bastard is a character well worth knowing.

12. Richard the Second – For God’s sake, let us sit upon the ground and talk about the richly complex symbolism and beautiful flowing poetry in this play. Go and fetch me a looking glass.

11. Antony and Cleopatra – It’s a love story. It’s a war epic. It’s a geopolitical thriller. It’s the greatest story in history told by history’s greatest storyteller. This is not your high school Romeo and Juliet.

10. Henry the Fifth – This is a tight, passionate, stirring play. It’s also a Rorschach test for how you feel about war. Each scene is a mini-masterpiece, and the use of language is extraordinary.

9. Julius Caesar – This powerful tale of politics, rhetoric, and betrayal in Ancient Rome may be a schoolhouse classic, but it’s a better read as an adult. I find myself coming back again and again.

8. Measure for Measure – Darker and more overtly sexual than most of Shakespeare’s other comedies, this play explores both the depths of depravity and the better angels of human nature.

7. As You Like It – This Shakespearean fairy tale is filled with laughs, love, and music. Shakespeare knew what audiences liked, and he gave it to them in this aptly named comedy.

6. A Midsummer Night’s Dream – One can only imagine what the effect must have been of having fairies and nobles and workmen wrapped up in the same story on stage. One for the ages.

5. Othello – This is a true masterpiece: in characterization, plot structure, emotion, pacing, poetic language, potency, and thematic cohesion. This is how to write a play, my friends.

4. Macbeth – I’ve always found this play extremely riveting from beginning to end. The witches prophesy Macbeth will be King, setting a chain of events irrevocably in motion. Spellbinding.

3. Hamlet – Never before or since has there been such an intimately detailed character study. Was he mad? My father once said, “if you took that close a look at any of our minds, we’d all seem mad.”

2. King Lear – I make new discoveries every time I read this play, and not just discoveries about the play. This may be the greatest thing ever written in the English language. I may never fully grasp it.

1. Richard the Third – My personal favorite, and a guilty pleasure at that. Somehow, Shakespeare makes us root for the bad guy. Is there a secret evil genius within us that he speaks to? I’ll never admit to it.

So those are my top five favorite Shakespeare plays. Feel free to post your top five favorite Shakespeare plays in the comments, however many there may happen to be.

In a Venn Diagram puzzle, there are three overlapping circles, marked A, B, and C. Each circle has a different rule about who or what can go inside. The challenge is to guess the rule for each circle. You can find a more detailed explanation of Venn Diagram puzzles, along with an example, here.

This week, we’re going to try a twist on the increasingly-classic Venn Diagram puzzle. The entry for the center section has been removed. Can you still guess the rules without the most important clue?

Have you figured out one of the rules? Two? All three? Feel free to post whatever you’ve got in the comments below. Just tell us which circle you’re solving, and what the rule is.

And, for an extra challenge, can you figure out what should replace the question mark in the center?

Enjoy!

UPDATE: Circles A, B, and C solved by Annalisa. The center clue has been solved by Kenneth W. Davis. Alternate answer for the center suggested by Brian. See comments for answers.

Why is this night different from all other nights?

Just a reminder that The Tudors premiers tonight on Showtime. You can also view the episode On Demand, or for free online.

Use the comments section of this post to discuss the episode. Any comments I may have will be posted in the comments section as well.

This is the first of a ten-part series. If I like the show, and others want to talk about it as well, this may become a weekly feature here on the blog, like the Slings & Arrows thread that just came to an end along with the series. Let me know what you think.

WARNING: Comments may contain further discussion of the show, including potential spoilers. Click through only after viewing the episode. Commenters may discuss this episode as freely as they like, but are asked not to spoil future episodes they may have seen online or elsewhere.

By the way, did you know that the beginning of the Tudor dynasty is marked at the end of Shakespeare’s Richard III, when the Earl of Richmond (a Lancaster) marries the Princess Elizabeth (a York), uniting the two houses, ending the War of the Roses, and becoming King Henry VII? That’s hot.