Monday, October 28, 2013

Lou Reed (R.I.P.) Performs the Dagger Speech from Macbeth

Reed, Lou. "The Dagger Speech." Macbeth. Unknown origin. Unknown date.

I enjoy collecting versions of the Dagger Speech from Macbeth. That speech alone can reveal a great deal about the direction the rest of the production is pursuing (cf., for example, this post, one of a series addressing various dagger speeches).

I also enjoy The Velvet Underground, Lou Reed's foundational, inspirational Rock 'n' Roll band. Saddened to learn of his death yesterday, I mentioned it to Shakespeare Geek, who often knows odd celebrity Shakespeare connections.  He nearly instantly pointed me to this clip of Lou Reed reciting the Dagger Speech:


Flabbergasted is not too strong a term to describe how I felt on seeing that. I wanted to share it right away—even though the scholarly side wanted to wait until I knew more about where it came from. I'll try to track that information down; in the meantime, Candy Says that Stephanie Says that Lisa Says that Sweet Jane (Who Loves the Sun), Found a Reason that Lou Reed (and Sister Ray) are Beginning to See the Light—After Hours.  And That's the Story of my Life.  R.I.P., Lou Reed.

Note: Here's a second video file in case the file above vanishes:

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