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Category Archives: Shakespeare’s World
Very like a whale: Adventures in the far North, Part 2
In Part 1 I looked at some of Shakespeare’s references to whales, and the history of whaling in Spitsbergen. This time I’m looking at the stories of adventurers who headed north. The very first English trading company was established by … Continue reading
Posted in Plays and Poems, Shakespeare's World
Tagged hunting, Love's Labour's Lost, Measure for Measure, Shakespeare, Spitsbergen, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Troilus and Cressida, whaling, William Barents
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Stratford-upon-Avon’s Mop Fair
For a few days every October the residents of Stratford-upon-Avon have the history of the town brought home to them. The centre of the town literally comes to a standstill, all the cars, buses and lorries that pound the streets … Continue reading
Posted in Shakespeare's World, Stratford-upon-Avon
Tagged agriculture, Autolycus, fair, Mop Fair, Shakespeare, Stratford-upon-Avon, The Winter's Tale
1 Comment
Very like a whale: Adventures in the far North, Part 1
Most people are familiar with the phrase “very like a whale”, used nowadays to indicate a mocking disbelief. It is, of course, Shakespeare, from the scene in which Hamlet, in his antic disposition, taunts the “tedious old fool” Polonius by … Continue reading
Posted in Shakespeare's World
Tagged Arctic, Pericles, sea monster, Shakespeare, Spitsbergen, whaling
1 Comment
Seeing the spider
Autumn’s coming round, and that means we are all seeing more spiders in homes, gardens and in the countryside. Spiders have always got a bad press. In folklore they’re associated with evil, malevolence, and rumoured to be venomous. Spiders don’t … Continue reading
Posted in Plays and Poems, Shakespeare's World
Tagged folklore, insect, Richard III, Shakespeare, spider, superstition, The Winter's Tale
2 Comments
The Parnassus Plays: our fellow Shakespeare
I’ve referred a couple of times in my blogs to the Parnassus plays. This trilogy of student dramas are usually relegated to the footnotes in Shakespeare biographies so I decided to do look at them in a bit more detail. … Continue reading
Posted in Legacy, Shakespeare's World
Tagged Cambridge, Parnassus Plays, Shakespeare, Spenser, St John's College
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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
Posted in Plays and Poems, Shakespeare's World
Tagged Cambridge Shakespeare Conference, Hamlet, King Lear, Macbeth, Pericles, Shakespeare, The War of the Theatres
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Treasures of St John’s, Cambridge
From 9-11 September Heritage Open Days all over the country celebrated the history, architecture, art and gardens of the UK. The City of Cambridge opened up many of its historic sites, and while staying in the city I visited … Continue reading
Posted in Legacy, Shakespeare's World
Tagged Cambridge, Henry Wriothesley, Margaret Beaufort, Parnassus, Shakespeare, St John's, William Crashaw
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Shakespeare’s magical island in The Tempest
Where is the unnamed isle in The Tempest? The literal-minded will say that it’s obviously in the Mediterranean, where a ship headed from Tunis to Italy might have foundered. Those who know Shakespeare’s written sources will mention Strachey’s 1610 letter … Continue reading
Simon Forman, Shakespeare and the stage
12 September 2011 is the 400th anniversary of the death of the colourful astrologer-cum-physician Simon Forman – or perhaps it was 11 September, or even 5 September, accounts vary. Whichever is correct, Forman was a well-known, even notorious figure in Shakespeare’s … Continue reading
Posted in Plays and Poems, Shakespeare's World
Tagged astrology, Ben Jonson, Casebook Project, John Dee, John Hall, Macbeth, medicine, science, Simon Forman, The Alchemist
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Shakespeare’s mothers and sons
Towards the end of Shakespeare’s life, early September must have been a sad time, not just because it signalled the end of summer. Both parents died at this time of year: his father was buried on 8 September 1601, and … Continue reading
Posted in Plays and Poems, Shakespeare's World, Stratford-upon-Avon
Tagged death, King John, Mary Arden, mothers, Shakespeare, Snitterfield, The Winter's Tale, Wilmcote
4 Comments