Shakespeare, Shaken, not Stirred (Badri) [Archive]

RR

18th August 2005, 12:33 PM

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Will (Won’t) Shakespeare - A Brief Biography<o:p></o:p>[/b]

<o:p></o:p>[/b]

To write or not to write…that is the
question!, Fortunately (or depending on how you view it, perhaps
unfortunately), that was not a question William Shakespeare a.k.a
The Bard asked himself before he set forth to write 37 odd plays and 154 even
poems! In the following few episodes, we will be
exploring some of the poems and plays his pen has…er…penned.
But before we begin this daunting task of reading Shakespeare the Poet, perhaps
it would be a wise move to know more about Shakespeare, the man.

Fossil
Records <o:p></o:p>[/b]

http://www.tnellen.com/pics/shakes02.gif
To learn about the life of Shakespeare is
akin to learning about the life of a Stegosaurus by excavating and studying its
fossil records. In the event, we’d probably end up knowing more about the
Stegosaurus than about Shakespeare, for the dinosaur left far more records than
the Bard! We owe much of the information that we have about William
Shakespeare, to genealogists and literary buffs (note: not buffoons[/i][/b]), who
for some reason, believed their lives were the worthier for trying to learn
about the poet! Why they were thus convinced we shall never know, but as a
great man once said, it takes all kinds to make up this world, and these ardent
students may only be described as one such species that make it up. 

Be that as it may, we learn from their
studies, that the name Shakespeare (spelt variously as Shaxper,
Shakesper, even Shaxberd) was
very common during the Sixteenth century. In fact, one of the earliest Shakespeares was hanged in Gloucestershire for theft in
1248! This Hanging Shakespeare has since been traced to be among the early
ancestors of the poet, and as some detractors aver, the origin of the Bard’s
own literary kleptomaniac tendencies.* 

We also know that the Bard’s father, while
applying for a coat-of-arms claimed his grandfather was a
hero of the War of the Roses. No historical evidence, however, is available to
corroborate this fact, although it does prove that the art of embellishing a
resume while applying for something is not a latter day invention of
job-trotting software professionals.

The Bard's paternal grandfather was Richard
Shakespeare, a farmer in Snitterfield, a village four
miles northeast of <st1:City><st1:place>Stratford</st1:place></st1:City>. There is no record of Richard Shakespeare before 1529, but this
does not necessarily mean the man did not exist before the said year.* There is no record of Richard Shakespeare's
wife either, but since he had two sons (possibly more) it is reasonable to
assume he had at least one wife (possibly more?). John Shakespeare, one of these
two sons, came to <st1:City><st1:place>Stratford</st1:place></st1:City> before 1532 as an apprentice glover and
tanner. He was successful, and expanded his business into wool and farm
products. He bought a lot of property, and more importantly, managed to marry
Mary Arden, daughter of the wealthy Robert Arden of Wilmecote,
the surest sign of a successful man!* 

Happy
Birthday, Will…um…when exactly?<o:p></o:p>[/b]

To Mary and John was born, among other
children, William Shakespeare. The exact date and place of his birth are not
known, leading to some detractors of the Bard make use of this unhappy chance
to propound the theory that he was therefore never born! Recognizing that this
is a tad too extreme, we can happily subscribe to the traditional belief that
he was born on <st1:City><st1:place>St. George’s</st1:place></st1:City> Day - <st1:date Year="1564" Day="23" Month="4">April 23rd 1564</st1:date>. And
the fact that he also died the same day – several years later,
that is – lends an exciting, and esoteric highlight to the otherwise
mundane details of his life.

Lost
Years <o:p></o:p>[/b]

The growing up years are
lost in history. In fact, one marvels as to how little is
actually known of the man, save his plays and poems. It is possible that he
attended school at Stratford till his father’s financial difficulties made him,
what we would call a “drop-out”, but not before he had picked up* “the small Latin and less Greek”. There are
innumerable suggestions as to what he did after dropping out of school, and to
accept all of the plausible theories would admit to discussing the professions
of all the men in Statford on <st1:place>Avon</st1:place>, for legend has it that he
might have been a butcher, a glover, a tanner, a
schoolmaster, a lawyer, and/or an actor. There is also a possibility that he
stole a deer belonging to a Sir Thomas Lucy and fled <st1:City><st1:place>Stratford</st1:place></st1:City> to escape
prison. 

I Do,
She does…and…er…so does the baby!!!<o:p></o:p>[/b]

The only thing we do know for certain of
these “lost years” is the fact that he married Anne Hathaway, who was six
months pregnant with his child. As all things Shakespeare, the marriage too is
mired in controversy. For there are two records, the first of
which shows his intent to marry an Anne Whateley
while the second that confirms his marriage to Anne Hathaway. Theorists,
eager to inject an aura of mystery and intrigue into the Bard’s life, have
forwarded a theory that he probably wanted to marry the former, but because of
an indiscretion and a subsequent attack of conscience, ended up marrying the
latter, who at 26 was 8 years older than William Shakespeare. 

There, of course is, another more
straightforward and demystifying possibility –maintaining records was not the most
exciting or demanding of professions, and it is entirely possible that the
clerk, who made the entry in the Church registers, could have been thinking of
several things ranging from dinner to a jolly night with Miss Whatizhername, and hence had been a little relaxed with the
names. 

More
Lost Years<o:p></o:p>[/b]

After marriage and a few children, we
encounter another mysterious blank in the history, a blank that we shall dub
once more, as another set of the “lost years”. In fact, this is something we
have to get used to, and even feel comfortable with, for as Charles Dickens
said, “It is a great comfort, to my way of thinking, that so little is known
concerning the poet. The life of Shakespeare is a fine mystery, and I tremble
every day lest something should turn up." But the next we hear of him is
when Robert Greene, a <st1:City><st1:place>London</st1:place></st1:City> playwright of his times, went green with envy and referred to
Shakespeare as “an upstart crow, beautified with our feathers”. *This was the first of the accusations that
have been levelled against the Bard that he simply passed off as his own, the
works of others. An accusation, we wish to add, that still finds supporters to
this day.* 

A
crow comes to roost<o:p></o:p>[/b]

Greene’s caustic comments, notwithstanding,
the Bard had already begun to make his mark in the theatre, as an actor,
playwright and as a managing partner in operations of a drama company called
Lord Chamberlain’s Men. During the seven years that elapsed between the
marriage and Greene’s comment, one can only assume Shakespeare had been
perfecting his dramatic skills, and collecting plots for his subsequent plays. His
company was the most successful in <st1:City><st1:place>London</st1:place></st1:City> in his day.
He had plays published and sold in octavo editions, or "penny-copies"
to the more literate of his audiences. It is noted that never before had a
playwright enjoyed sufficient acclaim to see his works published and sold as
popular literature in the midst of his career. The upstart crow had finally
arrived! 

He had a fine run in the theatre and as a
poet. In fact, his fame grew as a poet with his famous sonnets, and when he
retired in 1611, he had already been acclaimed and feted. He died on <st1:date
Year="1616" Day="23" Month="4">April 23, 1616</st1:date> – the same day as his alleged day of birth and is buried in the <st1:place><st1:PlaceName>Holy</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceName>Trinity</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType>Church</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> in <a
href="http://encyclopedia.laborlawtalk.com/Stratford-upon-Avon">Stratford-upon-Avon</a>,
his epitaph holding a final curse to all that dare to disturb his slumber! 

Good friend, for Jesus' sake forbear,

To dig the dust enclosed here.

Blest be the man that spares these stones,

But cursed be he that moves my bones. 

Hopefully, this article and the subsequent
ones do not make him turn in his grave! Does that count as moving the bones,
one wonders!

(To be continued)

-Badri
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Querida

1st September 2005, 09:37 PM

Badri,

great article :D ...the voice being the most important part...anyways wish i had this as my intro in my Shakespeare class...waiting anxiously for the upcoming articles...

scorpio

5th September 2005, 03:21 PM

Badri,

Nice one. Liked your word play and subtle humour :-)

Badri

6th September 2005, 05:57 AM

Thanks Q and Scorpio! Glad you guys enjoyed it!

:D

P_R

12th September 2005, 10:20 AM

[tscii:5e0d6ff429]
act that he also died the same day – several years later, that is :lol: That was riotous. I know several graveyard suffering brethren who are going to love this series.
As far as I go:
increase in appetite has grown By what it fed on. Carry On
:thumbsup: [/tscii:5e0d6ff429]

Badri

12th September 2005, 10:25 AM

[tscii:2b5245b93e]
act that he also died the same day – several years later, that is :lol: That was riotous. I know several graveyard suffering brethren who are going to love this series.
As far as I go:
increase in appetite has grown By what it fed on. Carry On
:thumbsup: [/tscii:2b5245b93e]

Hmm...I was waiting for you!! Waiting and wondering why you weren't seen around!

Thanks, mate!! Will endeavor to satisfy!

malligai

17th October 2005, 09:56 AM

Badri,

great article :D ...the voice being the most important part...anyways wish i had this as my intro in my Shakespeare class...waiting anxiously for the upcoming articles...

Badri...WOWOW...how did i miss this one...that too on Shakespeare... :)
like Q said, I wish this was my intro to the Bard too... :)

how come u dint mention anything about his 'Dark Lady'...that perhaps was a rumor too..but dint they believe that he created 'Cleopatra' in her image?

keep going & goinggg... :thumbsup:

Badri

17th October 2005, 10:14 AM

Thanks Malligai! Glad you enjoyed it!

:)

malligai

17th October 2005, 07:31 PM

i sure did, Badri :) ..

waiting for the next one...