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Category Archives: Shakespeare’s World
Shakespeare’s early reputation
Shakespeare is now so universally known, his reputation so unassailable, we naturally wonder how he was received during his own lifetime. Did his contemporaries realise that he would be remembered and celebrated centuries afterwards? This was the question, subtitled “What did … Continue reading
Posted in Legacy, Shakespeare's World
Tagged Ben Jonson, First Folio, reputation, Roger Pringle, Shakespeare Club
2 Comments
Shakespeare and the Russians
17 February is the anniversary of the 1598 election of Boris Godunov to be Tsar of Russia. Currently playing at Stratford’s Swan Theatre, Michael Boyd’s production of Adrian Mitchell’s version of Pushkin’s play Boris Godunov marks the end of Boyd’s … Continue reading
Posted in Legacy, Shakespeare's World
Tagged Adrian Mitchell, Boris Godunov, Michael Boyd, Pushkin, Royal Shakespeare Company, Russia
Comments Off on Shakespeare and the Russians
The Shakespeare Head Press: a link to Stratford’s past
As visitors to Stratford walk between the Shakespeare Hotel and Nash’s House, they pass a handsome building housing a second-hand bookshop. The sign hanging up outside bears a picture of Chaucer, and the shop is known as the Chaucer Head … Continue reading
Posted in Legacy, Shakespeare's World, Stratford-upon-Avon
Tagged A H Bullen, Complete Works of Shakespeare, Kelmscott Press, printing, Shakespeare Head Press, William Morris
Comments Off on The Shakespeare Head Press: a link to Stratford’s past
Acting companies and the ensemble
A couple of weeks ago Gregory Doran, the new Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, was “In conversation” with Michael Dobson, the head of the Shakespeare Institute in Stratford-upon-Avon. The session was recorded on video and is now generously … Continue reading
Posted in Shakespeare on Stage, Shakespeare's World
Tagged Charles Dickens, David Tennant, First Folio, Frank Benson, Gregory Doran, Henry Irving, Julius Caesar, Saxe-Meiningen, Shakespeare Institute
Comments Off on Acting companies and the ensemble
Shakespeare and Ovid’s Metamorphoses
In 1598 the writer Francis Meres wrote that “the witty soul of Ovid lives in mellifluous and honey-tongued Shakespeare”. And well he might: Shakespeare had already written his own version of one of Ovid’s tales, as well as borrowing stories … Continue reading
Posted in Shakespeare's World, Sources
Tagged A Midsummer Night's Dream, Francis Meres, Metamorphoses, Ovid, The Winter's Tale
4 Comments
Getting inventive in Shakespeare’s England
BBC 2 is currently screening a season, Genius of Invention, accompanied by a listing of 50 Great British Inventions. But although these include the obvious (steam and jet engine) and the quirky (soda water, baby buggy), not one of these … Continue reading
Posted in Shakespeare's World
Tagged Francis Bacon, Genius of Invention, Henry V, invention, Jethro Tull, John Dee, Julian Bowsher, Mathew Baker, science, Stephen Johnson
1 Comment
Shakespeare’s school: new discoveries
This is the second post I’m writing about the new book, J R Mulryne’s The Guild and Guild Buildings of Shakespeare’s Stratford: Society, Religion, School and Stage, published by Ashgate. The first can be found here. The fame of this … Continue reading
Posted in Shakespeare's World, Stratford-upon-Avon
Tagged Alms Houses, archaeology, education, Guild Hall, Guild of the Holy Cross, Ovid, school, William Lilly
2 Comments
Stratford’s Guild: the background to Shakespeare’s town
Any guide to the town of Stratford-upon-Avon will mention the buildings of the Guild of the Holy Cross and their association with William Shakespeare and his family. For it was here Shakespeare almost certainly received his education and here he probably … Continue reading
Hilary Mantel and Shakespeare: two tales of Henry VIII
I’ve only just got round to reading Hilary Mantel’s 2009 novel Wolf Hall, the first of a trilogy (the third part still being written) about the life of Thomas Cromwell. Both Wolf Hall and its sequel Bring Up the Bodies … Continue reading
Posted in Legacy, Plays and Poems, Shakespeare's World, Sources
Tagged Bring up the Bodies, Henry VIII, Hilary Mantel, Man Booker prize, Thomas Cromwell, Wolf Hall, Wolsey
2 Comments
Exit, pursued by a bear? Bear-baiting in Shakespeare’s London
On Sunday 13 January 1583 one of the bear-baiting arenas that had stood on the Thames’s south bank collapsed. Bear-baiting was a popular spectacle for all kinds of people: both Henry VIII and Elizabeth 1 enjoyed the “sport” in which … Continue reading
Posted in Shakespeare's World
Tagged animal-baiting, arenas, Bear Garden, bears, Dave Saxby, jackanapes, Julian Bowsher, King Henry VIII, MOLA, Queen Elizabeth
1 Comment