My ideal piece of art is a scene from the 1999 film, 10 Things I Hate About You, a modern day adaptation (of sorts) of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew. In it, Kat Stratford (the Shrew), played by Julia Child is reciting the sonnet she creates for English Class shortly after having Patrick Verona (Heath Ledger) break her heart. This poem is my ideal work of art for a handful of reasons. For starters, It’s a sonnet, and if I’m being completely honest I have a bit of a soft side for Shakespeare and sonnets in general. On top of that, It’s a sonnet that’s well written and conveys the message that Kat so badly wants to convey to Patrick. However, it’s the performance of the poem itself, combined with its message that makes it my ideal piece of art.
Kat’s poem is directed at Patrick, listing a number of things that she hates about him and/or their relationship. She begins the poem composed, calmly reading in front of the class, only to make eye contact with Patrick halfway through. It’s here that the poem truly becomes powerful because Kat’s true emotions take over. As she continues to bring herself to state another thing she hates, her voice cracks and the audience truly gets a glimpse at kat’s inner self. You pick up on the raw emotion immediately, feeling for Kat because you can tell she’s in pain and that she loves Patrick and that she doesn’t really know who she is anymore. You can feel the vulnerability in Kat’s voice and demeanor, and you just want to follow her and hold her when she concludes the poem and storms out of the class in tears.
The emotion makes the piece of art ideal. To me, if a poem can deliver such raw emotion without necessarily trying to, it deserves to be iconic. The rawness of Kat’s performance has done just that. If a piece of art can make you feel something that you didn’t even know was there, that provides you with a connection to the piece that you never could have imagined, you’ve done it. You’ve found yourself an ideal piece of art.
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