About.com Shakespeare

Edward de Vere - New Evidence?

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 12:49:41 +0000

A new book supporting the theory that Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, was the real author of Shakespeare's plays and sonnets has just been released in Germany to critical acclaim.

The Telegraph has reported that Kurt Kreiler's new book, The Man Who Invented Shakespeare, has "uncovered the most conclusive evidence to date that the works of William Shakespeare were in fact written by Edward de Vere." If this is true - if Kreiler has actually managed to uncover new evidence - then I can't wait to get my hands on a copy!

Certainly, De Vere is the strongest candidate in the Shakespeare authorship debate, but I suspect that Kreiler will only add to the mounting circumstantial evidence - compelling as it is, it does not prove a link.

Unfortunately, I can't read German, so I'll have to wait until the English translation becomes available next year. If we have any German-speaking readers who have been reading Kreiler's book, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Edward de Vere - New Evidence? originally appeared on About.com Shakespeare on Tuesday, November 24th, 2009 at 12:49:41.

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'Hamlet' Online

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 06:12:26 +0000

This week, the Shakespeare Quartos Archive has lined up a real treat for Shakespeare enthusiasts. They have collated all 32 surviving quarto editions of Hamlet in a free online archive.

This new venture enables you to compare Hamlet online and annotate high-quality page reproductions without the need to source copies from the greatest libraries around the world.

I think that this venture, led by the Bodleian Library in Oxford and the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington DC, is a fantastic new resource in the arsenal of Shakespeare scholarship. Access to original manuscripts is often perceived as near impossible - that barrier has now been removed.

I hope that the accessibility that this new project affords will inspire a new generation of Shakespeare scholars and inspire new studies of Hamlet.

Photo � British Library

'Hamlet' Online originally appeared on About.com Shakespeare on Wednesday, November 18th, 2009 at 06:12:26.

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Jude Law in 'Hamlet'

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:27:06 +0000

When a big-name Hollywood celebrity returns to the stage, it's always a risk. Jude Law has taken the biggest risk by playing Shakespeare's most complex and multi-faceted character, Hamlet.

Well, it seems that Jude Law's risk has paid off with the production becoming an official Broadway hit. Last week, it was revealed that his $2.5 million production of Hamlet is in profit after less than a three-month run at the Broadhurst Theater in New York.

I think that high-profile productions like this are important because they connect with new audiences like never before. Already, Jude Law has attracted hundreds of young audience members and exposed them to Shakespeare for the first time.

Also, it's heart-warming to see Shakespeare become a huge commercial success on Broadway.

The production runs until 6 December 2009 - Have you seen it? Do you rate Jude Law's Hamlet? Share your reviews here for other theater goers.

Photo � Andrew H. Walker / Getty Images

Jude Law in 'Hamlet' originally appeared on About.com Shakespeare on Tuesday, November 10th, 2009 at 12:27:06.

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Keep Shakespeare in Our Schools

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 23:45:36 +0000

Last week, the UK government barred state schools from offering a new IGCSE qualification because it would allow students to opt out of studying Shakespeare.

I think that the very idea that an entire generation of students could leave school without being exposed to Shakespeare at all is terrifying. The study of Shakespeare forges a link with our culture, our history, our heritage and our language - factors that will give the adults of tomorrow a solid grounding in life.

The importance of Shakespeare in our schools was expressed perfectly by Jacqui O'Hanlon, director of education at the Royal Shakespeare Company, in her letter to the Guardian this weekend:

There is a reason why Shakespeare is the only compulsory writer on the secondary English curriculum ... we know that when students engage actively with the plays, when they are up on their feet saying the words and making choices about character motivation and setting, they are also exploring living dilemmas about democracy, leadership, family loyalty, love and power. They increase their confidence, self-esteem and communication skills in the process.

Can we really study the English language without Shakespeare? I think not because his writing provides the essential context to our modern language and his influence pervades our every word.

Let's keep our children exposed to Shakespeare.

Photo � NYPL Digital Gallery

Keep Shakespeare in Our Schools originally appeared on About.com Shakespeare on Monday, November 9th, 2009 at 23:45:36.

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Tourism Will Fund Shakespeare�s Church

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 07:59:27 +0000

Should the tourist industry fund repairs to Holy Trinity Church? This building has been the subject of my blog for some weeks now and finally the tourist industry has taken a proactive step in the right direction.

A group of 34 travel agents from the US have donated $200 towards the vital repair work needed to keep Shakespeare's final resting place open to the public. The money was originally raised by the Anne Hudgins Shakespeare Class.

Of course, many other tourists have already donated to the church by paying the small fee to see the Bard's grave when touring Shakespeare's Stratford.

Like it or not, it seems that a large proportion of the bill will be picked up by the tourist industry in one way or another.

If you would like to save Shakespeare's final resting place, then donations can be made online to The Friends of Shakespeare's Church. Simply visit www.shakespeareschurch.org.

Tourism Will Fund Shakespeare�s Church originally appeared on About.com Shakespeare on Monday, November 2nd, 2009 at 07:59:27.

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Idiots Ruin Shakespeare!

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 15:31:32 +0000

I was appalled to learn that a company of Shakespeare actors was jeered off stage by drunks during an open air performance of The Two Gentlemen of Verona in Tunbridge Wells, UK.

The Pantiles Players has been performing Shakespeare on a local bandstand since World War Two, but have now decided to cancel the project following a barrage of abuse from drunks at a nearby pub. The actors have finally had enough of being jeered at by idiots saying that they "look gay" in their Shakespearean costume.

The free community performances have been disrupted since England introduced a smoking ban in public places, forcing smokers at the nearby pub out onto the street of Tunbridge Wells.

I know that Shakespeare isn't for everyone, but where's the community spirit? Although I can't vouch for the quality of the performance, I suspect that this reaction to Shakespeare is more common than we'd like to think. I've sat a few times in theaters with restless idiots behind me ruining the performance.

At the risk of opening a can of worms, I'd like to hear about your Shakespeare horror stories. Has the utter disrespect or a sad lack of interest on someone else's part ever ruined a Shakespeare performance for you?

Idiots Ruin Shakespeare! originally appeared on About.com Shakespeare on Sunday, November 1st, 2009 at 15:31:32.

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Funding Shakespeare�s Heritage

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 07:02:16 +0000

This year I keep returning to Shakespeare's final resting place, Holy Trinity Church, to report on how money can be found to repair the historic building and save it from closure.

In my blog last month, I raised the issue that Shakespeare himself was responsible for financing repairs to Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon because he bought tithe land on condition that the Shakespeare family finance all future repairs.

I casually discussed this as if it were an archaic and unenforceable law - but, the last few weeks have proved that this is not the case.

A few miles away from Holy Trinity Church is St John the Baptist Church in the village of Aston Cantlow. It is believed that Shakespeare's parents were married there because the family home of Shakespeare's mother is nearby.

An ancient covenant required the owners of a local Grade II-listed farmhouse to pay for the upkeep of the Chancel. After loosing a 20-year legal battle with the Church of England, they have been forced to auction their home to fund �230,000 worth of repairs.

Since the auction took place last week, the story has divided opinion in the UK. What's your reaction? Who should fund these repairs? Is this a "necessary evil" to protect the UK's architectural history? Or is there something very un-Christian about the church's actions?

Funding Shakespeare�s Heritage originally appeared on About.com Shakespeare on Tuesday, October 27th, 2009 at 07:02:16.

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Shakespeare Didn�t Work Alone

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 10:59:44 +0000

The key mysteries that surround the authorship of Shakespeare's plays has perplexed and enraged scholars for centuries. And now, Sir Brian Vickers, an authority on Shakespeare at the Institute of English Studies at the University of London, has drained all passion out of the debate.

Did Shakespeare ever collaborate? Did Shakespeare write the unattributed play about Edward III (published in 1596 when Shakespeare was 31)? All questions that fire the heart of any Shakespeare enthusiast.

In a less passionate moment, Vickers fed the text of Edward III into a computer designed to detect plagiarism and clicked "Go". A few moments later, the results collated in his printer tray as if the centuries of debate had never happened.

The result? Yes, Shakespeare did write Edward III because there are close matches with the phrases used in Shakespeare's early works. Rather more interestingly, the results also proved that the Bard collaborated with Thomas Kyd, best known for The Spanish Tragedy, a play known to have influenced Shakespeare.

About 40 per cent of the play was written by Shakespeare, while the other 60 per cent was contributed by Kyd.

In truth, I felt a little deflated when I read this story. I much prefer the debate, the passion and the mystery ... a computer print out just doesn't do it for me. Ah, well! There goes scholarship!

Shakespeare Didn�t Work Alone originally appeared on About.com Shakespeare on Tuesday, October 20th, 2009 at 10:59:44.

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Can Anyone Do Shakespeare?

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:22:17 +0000

In an effort to conclude our current debate on whether or not Americans can do Shakespeare, I'd like to reflect on an unrelated letter that recently appeared in the New York Times Magazine.

Andrew Charig commented on the corruption of language:

In Error-Proof, Ammon Shea suggests invoking Chaucer and Shakespeare as a defense against criticisms of bad grammar because they used so many obsolete forms that almost any error can be found among their works. But Shakespeare wrote before English was standardized; Chaucer before it was English at all.

I think this hammers home the point that Shakespeare's English is not our English - neither that of the UK nor the USA. Rather, Shakespeare's influence is buried with equal depth in both accents. And of course, the wide range of regional accents in both countries must surely highlight the impossibility of attaching a specific dialect to Shakespeare's language.

Perhaps what English people mean when they say "Americans can't do Shakespeare" is "we don't the idea of foreigners doing it!" ... That said, I don't know what Nicolas Cage's excuse is!

... or perhaps we can agree to disagree?

Can Anyone Do Shakespeare? originally appeared on About.com Shakespeare on Monday, October 19th, 2009 at 12:22:17.

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Americans CAN do Shakespeare!

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 11:34:35 +0000

Last week I reported Nicolas Cage's comment that the American accent is not suited to Shakespeare - this week I found the perfect counter-argument.

I was pleased to find a story in The Telegraph over the weekend that blows Cage's theory out of the water. Trevor Nunn, possibly one of the most authoritive voices on Shakespeare in Performance as former artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre, said that he wants to direct an all-American Shakespeare production because he believes the accent to be "closer" to the Elizabethan dialect of Shakespeare's day.

Nunn said:

I very much want to do Shakespeare with American actors using their own accents because there is a different energy and a different use of language. Some people mock this idea, but it is almost certainly true that today's American accent is closer to the sounds that Shakespeare heard when he was writing.

Exactly how he knows this is beyond me - perhaps it just goes to show how subjective the entire "accent debate" is. As I argued before, a good performance comes from the actor's physical engagement with Shakespeare's language ... the accent is irrelevant.

Do you agree with Nunn's comment? Could the American accent really be closer to the speech patterns of Shakespeare's day? Vote in our poll and let your voice (regardless of accent) be heard.

Americans CAN do Shakespeare! originally appeared on About.com Shakespeare on Tuesday, October 13th, 2009 at 11:34:35.

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