Monthly Archives: March 2014

Thomas Wyatt, Hilary Mantel, and the art of poetry

Hilary Mantel’s novel Bring Up the Bodies documents the life of Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII’s chief minister. History has judged Cromwell harshly for ruthlessly masterminding the downfall of Anne Boleyn, but without backing away from this, she makes him a … Continue reading

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Veteran Shakespeare actor, Jeffery Dench

I’ve just heard the sad news that veteran Royal Shakespeare Company actor Jeffery Dench has died. He will be remembered fondly, and greatly missed, by thousands who saw him play a mind-boggling range of roles on the RSC’s stages. His career … Continue reading

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Celebrating Shakespeare at 450 – updated

With less than a month to go, celebrations for the 450th anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth are getting into gear, and will continue right into the summer. A special website pulls together all the activities going on in Stratford over the … Continue reading

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Romeo and Juliet’s balcony scene

Over the past few weeks a lively discussion has been going on at the Shakespeare noticeboard SHAKSPER under the title “Balcony”. The so-called balcony scene in Romeo and Juliet is probably Shakespeare’s most famous single scene, and no wonder as … Continue reading

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Shakespeare in and out of the classroom

Shakespeare is universally agreed to be “a good thing” for people of all ages, and recently there have been many opinions about the best was of introducing him to children. One of the good news stories of the week (and … Continue reading

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John Lyly’s Galatea by Edward’s Boys

Galatea is the first full play by Lyly that Edward’s Boys, the schoolboy troupe from King Edward VI School in Stratford, have performed, and I’d guess that it won’t be the last. Nowadays Lyly is largely remembered as one of … Continue reading

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Falstaff and the loss of Merrie England

This week Sir Antony Sher takes on the role of one of Shakespeare’s most famous characters, Sir John Falstaff, in the first of the Henry IV plays, for the RSC. It’s a role that has attracted many of the greatest … Continue reading

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Shakespeare’s sonnets

I’ve only occasionally written in this blog about Shakespeare’s Sonnets, and then mostly about possible biographical references in them, for instance to Anne Hathaway or to the death of his son Hamnet. These are hard to avoid: for hundreds of … Continue reading

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The future of education for Shakespeare? MOOCs in action

The second of the two Massive Open Online Course (MOOCs)s on Shakespeare is now under way, and in case you fancy trying it out, is still open for enrolment. The first, the Shakespeare Institute’s Hamlet MOOC, has finished, though it’s to be hoped … Continue reading

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Shakespeare and Stratford in World War 1

The outbreak of the First World War in late summer 1914 generated a huge recruiting campaign all round the country. In Stratford, where the summer Festival was taking place, a special performance of Henry V was mounted at the end … Continue reading

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