Tag Archives: Sonnets

All the Sonnets of Shakespeare

It’s taken a while for me to get round to reading Paul Edmondson and Stanley Wells’ book All the Sonnets of Shakespeare, published in September 2020 by Cambridge University Press. They are both some of the most familiar and some … Continue reading

Share
Posted in Plays and Poems | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on All the Sonnets of Shakespeare

Shakespeare and National Walking Month

It’s still National Walking Month, when everyone is encouraged to get out and increase the amount of walking they do. We don’t all have lovely countryside to walk around so inevitably some of our walks are a bit mundane. Over … Continue reading

Share
Posted in Legacy, Stratford-upon-Avon | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Shakespeare and National Walking Month

Fulke Greville, a great Elizabethan

On 30 September 1628, Fulke Greville died, just days before his 74th birthday. He had lived a remarkable life, that ended dramatically after being stabbed by a servant who supposedly felt cheated after being left out of his master’s will. … Continue reading

Share
Posted in Legacy, Shakespeare's World | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Fulke Greville, a great Elizabethan

The mystery of Mr W H

The headline read: “Has the mystery of Shakespeare’s sonnets finally been solved?” My thought was – which one? The sonnets are puzzling in many ways. Do they tell  a real story, or are they purely fictional? What order were they … Continue reading

Share
Posted in Plays and Poems, Shakespeare's World | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on The mystery of Mr W H

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

Share
Posted in Legacy, Plays and Poems | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

Summertime Shakespeare projects

It’s only a month since I wrote a round-up covering some of the new developments and forthcoming events, but, well, it’s been a busy month. First off, and probably the publication that’s got the most attention, is the new book … Continue reading

Share
Posted in Legacy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Summertime Shakespeare projects

Peter O’Toole’s Shakespeare

The actor Peter O’Toole has recently announced his retirement from stage and screen, shortly before his 80th birthday. His reason? “The heart for it has gone out of me: it won’t come back.” It occurred to me that it’s unusual … Continue reading

Share
Posted in Legacy, Plays and Poems, Shakespeare on Stage | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Peter O’Toole’s Shakespeare

The case for Anne Hathaway

Last week I attended a lecture in which the speaker said, with a laugh, that according to Stephen Greenblatt and others Shakespeare left Stratford in order to get away from his wife. I bristled. Why, when it wasn’t relevant to the … Continue reading

Share
Posted in Plays and Poems, Shakespeare's World | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

The mysterious Passionate Pilgrim and Shakespeare

I’ve been spending some time just recently re-reading James Shapiro’s great book 1599, which I strongly recommend if you haven’t already read it. It focuses on a single year, decisive in Shakespeare’s creative life as well being as the year … Continue reading

Share
Posted in Plays and Poems, Shakespeare's World | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on The mysterious Passionate Pilgrim and Shakespeare