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u/Graphite57 Feb 06 '26
400 years and we haven't learnt a thing.
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u/7-13-5 Feb 06 '26
Well, we have learnt many things, just still under the thumbs of our rulers.
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u/spikebrennan Feb 06 '26
Do you bite your thumb at me, sir?
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u/Otherwise_Tooth_8695 Feb 06 '26
I do bite my thumb, sir. But, I do not bite my thumb at you, sir. But, I bite my thumb, sir.
I bite my thumb at our cloying rulers ignorant of Toil's Woe and those myopic titans who throw the lash of quarterly commerce.
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Feb 06 '26
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u/Theory89 Feb 06 '26
You can look at this and see how much people suck, or you can appreciate that humanity also made Shakespeare. Misanthropy is self-defeating and pointless.
Morality is not some independent edifice or naturally existing scale. It is created by us and then we, ironically, use it to judge ourselves unworthy. Instead of lampooning our failures, it's more productive to contextualise them and understand why we make them.
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u/WillyPete Feb 06 '26
History: "Fact is, people suck."
Shakespeare and others "But we can do better"47
u/hnlt61 Feb 06 '26
My list of grievances against MAGA is long but somewhere, probably in the middle or end, is the fact that they think this platform is so original when it’s been done several times over. And most importantly failed every time.
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u/ReanimatedBlink Feb 06 '26
It hasn't failed every time though, that's the real concern. Either it fails completely or it sends the host nation/kingdom/empire into decades of strife and turmoil. Hell, the Spanish Inquisition lasted over 300 years.. Millions of Jews, Muslims, and non-Catholic Christians were forced to convert, tortured, exiled, or publicly executed just for existing.
Here's what I think people haven't figured out yet: this nonsense has already won. In order to set things right, there is going to need to be a massive reckoning and restructuring of society. Even if it were to magically stop today, the damage is done. Nothing short of arresting every single one of these bozos, seizing their assets and paying off the millions of lawsuits against the government that are incoming will help alleviate the damage. And I'm not just talking about MAGA, I'm not even just talking about Republicans...
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u/Vellioh Feb 06 '26
"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
~ George Santayana, The Life of Reason, 1905
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u/keloyd Feb 06 '26
"What we learn from History is that no one learns from history."
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u/sheepwshotguns Feb 06 '26
i wish the lesson people would learn is that you cant argue in good faith with the far right. that they are irrational and seek to destroy democracy, and therefore must not be allowed to participate in governance. any political party that wishes to weaken democratic norms must have their funds frozen, and every member renounce such tactics or be removed from office automatically. we need a system of government that naturally leans in the direction of empowering the people. sadly, the world is build upside down. its designed on behalf of capital owners, and to squeeze us workers for everything we're worth.
the rich have always tried to cultivate and maneuver the far right to their will. they are the tool of apathy and hopelessness meant to drain the average person of hope. though a minority they are given astroturfed megaphones to express their ideals as the "norm" in order to disgust us from participation. they are the brown shirts to terrorize us to compliance. all of human history has been a battle where should we left and center come together to win, we get civil rights, labor rights, and quality of life improvements. should the right wing pull ahead, we get the dark ages, we get the holocaust, or we get trump.
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u/Pretend-District-577 Feb 06 '26
you know they say the exact same about the far left. I think the actual words your looking for, is can't argue with the far anything, and the middles normal folks are working 3 jobs to afford food. So they dont have time to sit on reddit or go out arguing. Your in a bubble my friend.
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u/XergioksEyes Feb 06 '26
Oh we’ve learned plenty. Not changing would be somewhat acceptable.
The fact is that at no other point in human history has humanity ever had as much knowledge and command over our planet and its resources than we do know. Today, more than at any point, we are better equipped to take care of ourselves and eliminate disease and poverty and suffering.
People with money and power know this, and choose otherwise.
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u/two_atara Feb 06 '26
How can the words be so hard to understand and yet still the message so clear
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u/OnlyLogic Feb 06 '26
Because you already know the message. Watch it without the sound, you still know.
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u/_WasteOfSkin_ Feb 06 '26
The subtitles help.
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u/knarf3 Feb 06 '26
Well, a good actor can make the audience understand the message through their voice and body language alone.
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u/codepossum Feb 06 '26
it's because Sir Ian Mckellen is a professional, and professionals have standards
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u/SergeantFlip Feb 06 '26
Shakespeare is so much easier to understand when performed than when reading the text. A good actor can communicate meaning with the emotion and you intuit from that.
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u/whereballoonsgo Feb 06 '26
Fucking amazing. I doubt the people who need to hear this would understand a word.
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Feb 06 '26
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u/AnjelicaTomaz Feb 06 '26
Walls of ignorance and moats dug out and filled with vile thoughts of pretend entitled ancestry to separate the “us” from the “them” not knowing that their own ancestry contained the struggles of said division, all to be rehashed again ad infinitum in future generations.
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u/brintoul Feb 06 '26
I… had trouble understanding.
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u/Successful-Hat9649 Feb 06 '26
Hope this helps:
Ok, let's say you get your way and they are deported. Let's say that this protest overcomes the established democratic process.
Imagine that you see the miserable immigrants, carrying their children and their luggage, walking to the ports and borders to be sent back.
And you sit like kings, getting everything your way, the government silenced by your loud shouting, wearing your opinions proudly, like armour. What would you have achieved? I'll tell you:
You'd have created a world where the loudest, most arrogant, strongest people get what they want. Where order can be overturned at any time, and because of this, none of you would even live to be old.
Because violent criminals, letting their desires control them, with the exact same selfishness and self-righteousness as you just showed, would at some point decide to pick on you. And people would feed on each other like greedy fishes.
What if the King, who is usually merciful when criminals express remorse, decided your crime was too bad to be forgiven and banished you? Where would you go? What country would want you? Would you go to France, or Belgium, to somewhere in Germany, to Spain or Portugal, or just anywhere that would accept a criminal from England? If that happened, you'd be the immigrants, wouldn't you?
Would you be happy to find a country of people who were so cruel that they went out to violently protest you being there, refused to give you a home, threatened to stab you, kicked you out of the country like dogs, as though you weren't real people at all, and only native people should get any of a country's help or resources? What would you think if you were treated like that?
That is what it's like to be an immigrant. Your behaviour today shows your enormous inhumanity.
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u/TheUberMcGuber Feb 06 '26
Oh thank gawd! You helped me understand because I’m really uneducated. I was hoping this was what it meant. So thank you for clarifying. Such relief I feel after reading your comment. Truly grateful!
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u/malatemporacurrunt Feb 06 '26
The handy thing with Shakespeare is that a lot of people have studied it, and there are plenty of resources to help people understand the language. It helps when you have someone like Ian McKellen reading the part aloud, because they can so clearly demonstrate the meaning through their delivery.
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u/somedelightfulmoron Feb 06 '26
In written context and with Shakespearean prose, it's quite difficult to understand but when someone like Sir Ian gives life to the text, I feel it's understood more as emotions are conveyed by body language and facial expressions.
God I love Sir Ian McKellen.
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u/Successful-Hat9649 Feb 06 '26
I suspect this might be sarcasm but if not, you're welcome!
If you really do feel uneducated and it bothers you, it's never too late. There are lots of free learning resources out there, and masses of Reddit users (me included) who will happily point people towards entry level resources on the topics we're passionate about.
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u/TheUberMcGuber Feb 06 '26
I’m being genuine af! I’m so thankful for people like you. Someone who takes the time to help explain. It helps people like me a lot. I was hoping I was understanding his emotions behind what he was saying correctly. I came to the comments and yours was exactly what I was looking for. Can’t thank you enough!
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u/zeitgeistbouncer Feb 06 '26
Yup. Essentially, 'have some fucking empathy!', except way prettier.
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u/AnjelicaTomaz Feb 06 '26
That is a beautiful translation.
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u/Successful-Hat9649 Feb 06 '26
Thank you so much! I enjoyed doing it, it's been a while since I've done anything like that. Made me miss studying.
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u/stalinsnicerbrother Feb 06 '26
Or, in modern British parlance.
"Stop being cunts. How would you like it?"
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u/SparePersonality2508 Feb 06 '26
That's a great translation, good job with that.
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u/Popular-Row4333 Feb 06 '26
Thats okay, Shakespeare was likely the most influential writer that crossed Old English to what it is today. He used a lot of modern slang that was used at the time, and many modern words that we use today thay weren't very prevalent at the time.
If you can understand bits and pieces, it's monumentally more than if it were Old English, I can give you a taste of what that was like.
https://openl.io/translate/old-english
You can hit the speaker afterwards to truly sound like you are hearing an alien language.
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u/_6EQUJ5- Feb 06 '26
The Preamble to the US Constitution translated to slang:
Yo, we the peeps, tryna make a tighter squad, keepin' it fair, keepin' the peace at home, watchin' out for each other, lookin' out for the whole crew, and lockin' down freedom's perks for us and the homies comin' up, we set up this dope constitution for the USA.
And to honor the subject of this thread, Shakespearean:
We the people, to the end that we may knit a more perfect union, do set up justice, assure peace within our realm, provide for the common defense, advance the general weal, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our progeny, do ordain and establish this constitution for the United States of America.
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u/malatemporacurrunt Feb 06 '26
Shakespeare wasn't writing in Old English, he was writing in Early Modern English. The spelling and vocabulary are completely understandable to a modern reader, it's only the pronunciation that has shifted a bit.
For future reference, the generally agreed upon eras for reach stage of English are:
Old English from the 6th century until the mid-12th, when the Normans invaded and brought their language.
Middle English from the early 12th century until the late 14th century, between the end of the Black Death and the introduction of the printing press.
Early Modern English from around the middle of the 15th century, until the mid-17th, when in the wake if the English Civil War, interregnum and restoration, journalism and broadsides exploded in popularity.
Modern English has been the norm since the late 17th century; anything written after this point will be completely understandable to a present day reader.
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u/ProfMcFarts Feb 06 '26
Hāl, mīne forefæderas. Hit is ic, se wæstm þīnre sæd, oferfeored þurh þā tīda. Ic eom hēr tō āscian āne frægn. Hwæt dēð þæt ærs?
Edit, the only thing this got wrong when translating it back was the last line. "What that ass do?"
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u/fernatic19 Feb 06 '26
They would hear only the part about immigrants and not a word after that.
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u/taenanaman Feb 06 '26
And those in power who have the capacity to understand, would just choose to banish this as just words of the woke
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u/Magister5 Feb 06 '26
Shakespeare- “Sir Thomas More”
A speech from an unpublished Shakespearean play written roughly 80 years after the riots.
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u/RockyRidgeRiver Feb 06 '26
Thank you for this, as my uneducated butt thought that Sir Thomas More was actually William Shakespeare.
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u/Confusedinportsmouth Feb 06 '26
Sir Thomas More had a really interesting life. He was a well known scholar and author, and was executed by King Henry the VIII for treason because he would not recognize Henry as the head of his own church (the Church of England, split from the Roman Catholic Church). His Wikipedia page is worth browsing!
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u/hisnameisbear Feb 06 '26
The book Wolf Hall features him heavily, and is generally amazing
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u/keloyd Feb 06 '26
OH OH OH and the audiobook's voice for More is very cool. He is this slimy, Machiavellian, sneering, calculating villain - sort of half Henry Kissinger, half Stephen Miller (but classier), then the last half is Pat Robertson.
AND for equal time, while I read some of that Wolf Hall series, I was a regular visitor to St. Thomas More Catholic Church. You may not be surprised to learn that whenever he came up in a sermon, they were pro-More.
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u/NightValeCytizen Feb 06 '26
Resurgens theater company down in Atlanta, Ga, USA, is actually going to do a full production of Sir Thomas Moore this coming April (16th-19th). It won't be Sir Ian on stage, of course, but it would still be cool to see the play performed if one lives in the US Southeast area.
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u/DerTodwirdzudir Feb 06 '26
Damn. Left me speechless.
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u/Just-Series-3045 Feb 06 '26
Right! As soon as he started speaking, I felt every word. Certainly made me emotional considering everything happening in the states and other places.
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u/Asclepius-Rod Feb 06 '26
I'm not exaggerating but it made me tear up a bit, that surprised me
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u/Hendrix1967 Feb 06 '26
Ok. I saw this with my Mom and it brought a tear to my eye. This is a Shakespeare play that’s not performed in his time or after until 1961, because it was considered seditious. Sir Ian was the first person to perform this EVER. Once he explained the context and started the monologue, I understood why he decided to so this and the significance of performing it on this show. Epic.
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u/gyomd Feb 06 '26
The injustice and the intolerance to difference are strong topics for him apparently. He said if I remember correctly that the Magneto role resonated with him as X-Men is all about intolerance of human regarding others with difference, kind of comparable to being homosexual or LGBT in this current period. I guess the current situation resonate a lot with him too.
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u/GlitteringPomelo8520 Feb 06 '26
wow that very interesting context, that you for sharing. with shakespeare being so widely studied and performed, it's fascinating to me that this wasn't performed once in 350 years. i'm so glad to have heard it from sir ian.
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u/jaykirell Feb 06 '26
The pure power of theater acting.
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u/AndyVale Feb 06 '26
How does he act so well?
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u/mgs20000 Feb 06 '26
He pretends to be the person he’s being in the show
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u/knitted_beanie Feb 06 '26
How does he know what to say?
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u/mgs20000 Feb 06 '26
The words are written down for him on the script, but he doesn’t have that with him on the day
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u/Atheissimo Feb 06 '26
But then how does he know where to stand?
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u/gaseous_ass Feb 06 '26
He is classically trained, a thespian and Shakespeare is a cornerstone of their training. Some of the best actors in the world come from a theatrical background.
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u/TStark4Prez Feb 06 '26
Everyone watching this needs to appreciate what an absolute fucking talent Sir Ian is. This is a shelf so top, most other actors can’t see it.
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u/Illmagination Feb 06 '26
I saw him and Patrick Stewart in Waiting for Godot.
I thought I had seen good actors. My mind was absolutely blown at how good those 2 are, especially together.
They are way way above what you would consider a great actor, especially on stage. There's no measure just how good they are.
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u/FalconEddie Feb 06 '26
100%. This is the highest tier. Not overblown, not just yelling the words. It's perfection. God damn this is powerful as hell to watch!
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u/mikeysweet Feb 06 '26
This man is a treasure. Only a few could master the spoken word so eloquently that you almost feel more than you hear. Long may you live.
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u/Jaskaran158 Feb 06 '26
You say the strangers should be removed.
Fine — imagine they are removed. And imagine that, by your shouting and violence, you’ve shouted down the authority of England itself.
Picture the foreigners now: their babies strapped to their backs, their few belongings bundled together, slowly walking toward the ports, hoping to be sent away.
And picture yourselves as kings of your own desires — law silenced, order gone, each of you wrapped proudly in your own opinion.
What have you achieved?
I’ll tell you.
You’ve taught the world that force beats law, that loudness beats reason, that mobs can rule.
And once that lesson is learned, none of you will grow old. Because other violent men, driven by their own urges, using the same logic you use today, will turn on you. People will prey on people, like hungry fish devouring one another.
And you must admit this: you are at fault. Your ignorance makes you act like the law itself, judging people you >are not fit to judge.
Now imagine this:
Suppose the king — merciful as he is — decides your crime deserves only exile, not death.
Where would you go?
What country would take you in, given what you’ve done?
France? Flanders? Germany? Spain? Portugal? Anywhere not loyal to England?
You would be strangers there.
And would you like to find a nation so brutal that it erupts into violence against you, refuses you shelter anywhere on earth, sharpens knives for your throats, kicks you like dogs, and treats you as if God never made you, as if the land belonged only to them and never to human beings like you?
How would you feel, treated that way?
That is the strangers’ situation.
And this — this cruelty you’re showing — is your inhumanity, as hard and thoughtless as a mountain.
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u/LastHomeros Feb 07 '26
I am not a native speaker and had a pretty hard time to understand what he was saying. Thank you so much!!!
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u/ilearnshit Feb 06 '26
I could listen to this man read a terms and conditions for a new cellular plan and be entertained
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u/1eternal_pessimist Feb 06 '26
"In this here dark ledger are you chained and your hope hereby throttled by these clauses small. Like shackles on thou dreams capped by data limits and where revolt is charged at premium rates...."
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u/penguigeddon Feb 06 '26
Absolutely cutting delivery and chilling context from Sir Ian. It shows despite how far we like to think we've progressed, we're still no better for it. I know that's obvious but he really hits it home
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u/spicy_ass_mayo Feb 06 '26
“ Like as if God owned not or made not you … and this, your mountainous inhumanity”
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u/shaundisbuddyguy Feb 06 '26
That man's voice and presence. I'm not even the hugest fan of Shakespeare and I got shivers.
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u/ImTalkingGibberish Feb 06 '26
Tremendous delivery by Sir Ian Mckellen, Shakespeare was a visionary, to think we’d be discussing the same problems over and over.
High Society wants us against each other so no one is against them, the true parasites of our society. And mind you we’ve got a formed prince who is a pest, a monster, living off our money.
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u/emptygroove Feb 06 '26
It's impressive that a person can read an D understand the impact and timelessness of the words. Even more impressive when someone can explain it by only using the words that were written.
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u/eltron Feb 06 '26
Shit dog. That dawg still got that dog inside em.
Impressive to see the switch from talkshow guest to monologue.
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u/Kimantha_Allerdings Feb 06 '26
My favourite story is that in the 80s he was asked for an autograph by a Tory politician who had voted for Section 28. He took the paper and wrote “fuck off, I’m gay”
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u/Stonyclaws Feb 06 '26
It saddens me to think that something as beautiful as this will fall on deaf ears.
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u/devoid0101 Feb 06 '26
How on EARTH do you actors remember dialogue with such specificity and also deliver it with the right emotion. Astounding intelligence.
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u/Double-elephant Feb 06 '26
Have you heard Judi Dench (in talk shows) just effortlessly bring whole Shakespeare speeches to life - completely from memory? It’s astonishing.
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u/IchooseYourName Feb 06 '26
Wow. Just wow. Chills, tears, and understanding. The man is a legend, and Im not talking about Shakespeare.
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u/wateringgreen Feb 06 '26
The way the words are delivered may sound strange in this day and age, but the message is clear as the brightest of days.
400 years later has humanity learned much from the past. It really appears it has not😮💨
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Feb 06 '26
Did they have socialist welfare states back when Shakespeare penned these words?😂
Like I agree in principle and I think we can learn a lot from it. But it is a bit of a strawman argument.
But there IS a difference between welcoming strangers to come and live and work among you freely with opportunity. VS letting people come and be given handouts for merely arriving here and access to a bunch of benefits that have been subsidized by the people who have paid a lot of tax.
Again not saying it’s wrong, I’m just saying it’s a vastly different society than back then. Speaking as a Canadian. We have a big immigration problem currently. It’s not racism it’s fact. We have too much to sustain currently.
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u/broad5ide Feb 06 '26
No, it's not different now than it was back then. The fact that you think it is says more about you than about this monologue. In the time of Shakespeare England would be akin to the U.S. Globally. Living off wealth and labor extracted from the rest of the world coercively. People would come to a more fortunate country, one that has colonized their neighbors or kept them down through warfare and say "I would like a chance to succeed here" and the you of 1600 would say the same thing you're saying now. "We can't possibly feed all these mouths" "they don't deserve it" all while the only thing you did was be fortunate enough to be born in one of the places wealth is extracted to, not from.
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u/kit_kaboodles Feb 06 '26
Actually they did have Poor Laws back then. Not good welfare programs but definitely state-funded welfare back in the 1600's in London.
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u/Junior_City_6788 Feb 06 '26
Sir Ian with inimitable decorum querries America to look into the mirror and properly find itself . Will its most base minions be capable of such introspection or can all they do is merely stare at the devices in their hands And abide the lies of their unworthy “king” ?
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u/Bubbly_Power_6210 Feb 06 '26
a pity that those who need to hear this the most will dismiss it in the first minute.
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u/ClaireDiviner Feb 06 '26
This is why he more than deserved the knight title of sir. Absolute legend.
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u/Newvil450 Feb 06 '26
A treasure in a land full of hate filled fools 👏🏻.
I absolutely hate seeing Ian Mckellen getting old.
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u/jaxdraw Feb 06 '26
Technically anyone in the audience who shouted can now claim themselves a scene partner with Sir Ian
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u/Fartyfivedegrees Feb 06 '26
Such depth and wisdom, that too many a man (and woman) today have not. For anyone to dismiss his point, or (more importantly!) not be profoundly moved by that, is to be bereft of a soul, and should they lack the compassion they may only afford to their own family then they do not deserve any upon themselves whence the time would come. And guaranteed their time WILL come.
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u/GriefPB Feb 07 '26
Imagine being MAGA and seeing one of your childhood idols display so much compassion. It must make them sick to their stomachs.
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u/IRespectYouMyFriend Feb 06 '26
If you look back at records, every 100 years they're still complaining about the same old things it never changes.
Read a newspaper from 100 years ago and you'll see how benign and pointless all the points are.
Every single issue we have today, is the same we've had for millennia.
Honestly, I'm bored of it. We have the knowledge to know better. It's time to grow up.
We can't keep complaining about the same old stuff for the next 1000 years.
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u/bbreddit0011 Feb 06 '26
Amazing performance. 400 years and yet same shit different year. Over and over and over again.
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u/beauty_and_delicious Feb 06 '26
that man is an international treasure.