The Balcony Scene - Has anyone ever...?

Question:When reading that famous scene, for pleasure or any other reason, have you ever sat down with it and just read it out loud? With the kind of tenderness with which you might describe someone you love?

Because, even though I've heard and watched and memorized and studied that scene more times than I can count, I just recently did that.
I looked past the "performance" of the piece and tried to reach the heart.

And, truly, it is beautiful. It's never touched me like it did. I've always appreciated Shakespeare, in the way that every person involved in the art of theatre does, but now I have a better sense of what made him so great when it was first performed. Because in this day and age, that scene has been tattooed in our brains for centuries and it's hard to find it fresh and loving.

For anyone that finds the Bard a bit boring I suggest you find someplace quiet and read it as though you have no pre-concieved notions about how it should sound.

Just expressing a few thoughts.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: When reading that famous scene, for pleasure or any other reason, have you ever sat down with it and just read it out loud? With the kind of tenderness with which you might describe someone you love?

Because, even though I've heard and watched and memorized and studied that scene more times than I can count, I just recently did that.
I looked past the "performance" of the piece and tried to reach the heart.

And, truly, it is beautiful. It's never touched me like it did. I've always appreciated Shakespeare, in the way that every person involved in the art of theatre does, but now I have a better sense of what made him so great when it was first performed. Because in this day and age, that scene has been tattooed in our brains for centuries and it's hard to find it fresh and loving.

For anyone that finds the Bard a bit boring I suggest you find someplace quiet and read it as though you have no pre-concieved notions about how it should sound.

Just expressing a few thoughts.

I agree. That scene is the most beautiful, most touching part of the play. I often times take out my copy and just read it aloud to myself. Not for any particular reason.. just randomly. It's amazing how he captured such raw emotion and put it into words, and how those words can have such an affect on some people (including myself.) I have read the play countless times, seen it performed live, and watched a few different movie versions of it. And every time it gets to that scene.. I'm truly blown away.

I think getting deep into any play (or even prose, poem, song, etc) by reading aloud and with passion and feeling is the best thing you can do. Art, in my opinion, is nothing without feeling. So reach deep and find it!
Carry on!