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Tag Archives: King Lear
Shakespeare’s minds diseased: mental illness and its treatment
Shakespeare was clearly fascinated by mental illness, many characters displaying a variety of symptoms from Lear’s madness, Jaques’ melancholy, Timon’s bitter cursing, Macbeth’s visions and Lady Macbeth’s sleepwalking, to the obsessiveness of Leontes. It’s usually accepted that Shakespeare was influenced in medical matters by … Continue reading
Lawyers inspiring Shakespeare
Among the beautiful Tudor portraits at the National Portrait Gallery is this one of a dignified elder stateman, Thomas Sackville, painted around 1601 by J de Critz the Elder. The label, as well as detailing his role in government, mentions … Continue reading
Posted in Plays and Poems, Shakespeare's World, Sources
Tagged Gorboduc, Hamlet, Hanery VI Part 3, Inns of court, King Lear, Shakespeare, Thomas Sackville, tragedy
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Shakespeare’s plays in his lifetime: the Cambridge Conference
One of the sessions in the recent Cambridge Shakespeare Conference was on Shakespeare’s Plays in his Lifetime. Frustratingly little is known about the performance of Shakespeare’s plays and how they were originally received so I looked forward to hearing from people … Continue reading
Shakespeare’s fathers: nature or nurture?
It’s Father’s Day in the UK today, and the prime minister, David Cameron, is taking the opportunity to have a go at fathers who fail to take financial or emotional responsibility for their families. There are children growing up …who … Continue reading
Posted in Plays and Poems, Shakespeare's World
Tagged Cymbeline, family, fathers, Hamlet, King Lear, Shakespeare, sons, The Winter's Tale
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Shakespearian stars 2: Paul Scofield as King Lear
In 2004 The Daily Telegraph published a survey in which RSC actors voted for the greatest Shakespeare performance in history. It wasn’t exactly a scientific poll, but the result was clear, and not unexpected. The winner was Paul Scofield in … Continue reading
Posted in Plays and Poems, Shakespeare on Stage
Tagged King Lear, Paul Scofield, Peter Brook, Richard Burton, Shakespeare
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Thomas Hardy and Shakespeare
A few days ago, on June 2nd it was the birthday of the novelist Thomas Hardy, a giant of literature whose long career spanned the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In a discussion on this morning’s Radio 4 Broadcasting House (about 37 … Continue reading
Cuckoos, cuckolds, and the coming of spring
According to one website, Shakespeare “writes more about birds than any other poet”, with 606 mentions of 64 different species. He certainly names many species, and associates them with feelings, people or events. The day before yesterday I heard my … Continue reading
Posted in Shakespeare's World
Tagged Chaucer, cuckold, cuckoo, infidelity, King Lear, Love's Labour's Lost, Richard II, Shakespeare, spring, The Rape of Lucrece, Wordsworth
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