Classics Challenge Discussion : The Author

The Classics Challenge is a monthly meme hosted by November’s Autumn.  I love Katherine’s approach to this challenge, which will be to focus on a different topic for discussion each month.  This month’s focus is the author, and the author I will be highlighting is William Shakespeare.

I started reading Shakespeare again last year, for the first time since high school.  When I started my reading project, I had no intention really of reading Shakespeare again.  My reading project focused more on books from the 18th – 20th centuries and I was content to leave it at that.  But last February, I learned that the traveling troupe for the American Shakespeare Center would be coming to my town with a production of As You Like It.  My husband had raved about some Shakespeare performances that he’d seen in the past (from a now defunct troupe) so I arranged for us to go and since I knew that they would be staying true to the original Shakespearean English, I bought a copy of the play to give me a leg up during the performance.  That production was even better than I had anticipated!  I had no idea that Shakespeare could be so entertaining to my modern senses.  I was enthralled.  That night sealed my interest in Shakespeare.  I knew I wanted to read more of his works and definitely see more live performances.  In the following months of 2011, I read two more plays each followed by another live show put on by the ASC at their headquarters, Blackfriars Theater, in Staunton, VA.  I am lucky in that I live only a few hours from there so it’s a feasible weekend getaway.

Anyway, I digress . . .

What did the author look like? That’s the first question posed by Katherine for this discussion, which should be simple enough, right?  With Shakespeare, not so much.  One of the most recognizable images of Shakespeare is the Chandos portrait, dated sometime between 1600 – 1610 and believed to have been painted by a man named John Taylor but it has also been claimed to be the work of another, Richard Burbage.  In short, both the subject of the painting and it’s creator are matters of hearsay and speculation.

Chandos Portrait - most likely painted by John Taylor sometime between 1600 - 1610

An image with less speculation surrounding it is the Droeshout engraving, done by Martin Droeshout and attached to the cover of the First Folio upon its initial publication.

Droeshout Engraving - 1623

Where was Shakespeare born?

Stratford upon Avon in April of 1564

Shakespeare's birthplace in Stratford

Where did he live?

At some point, Shakespeare moved to London.  His plays were performed in the city as early as 1592, but exactly when and how Shakespeare came to London is another matter of speculation.

What did Shakespeare’s handwriting look like?

There are only 6 known signatures belonging to William Shakespeare, three of them from his will.  This one is taken from the third page of his will :

Shakespeare's signature from page 3 of his will

What works are credited to Shakespeare?

Since the works of Shakespeare are so familiar, rather than an exhaustive list, I’m going to list the works that I have read as well as those I wish to read.

Plays I have read : 

In high School:

• Julius Caesar
• Romeo and Juliet

(possibly others but those are the only two for which I have distinct memories)

In 2011 : 

• As You Like It
• The Tempest
• Henry V

Plays I plan to read in 2012 : 

• Much Ado About Nothing
• The Winter’s Tale
• (and at least 2 others, I haven’t decided which)

Currently Reading : 

• A Midsummer Night’s Dream

What is an interesting fact about Shakespeare’s life?  Well, as I noted in my previous post, an interesting fact about Shakespeare’s life is that we know so little about Shakespeare’s life.  Besides the bare bones, much of what is deduced about Shakespeare are things that have been assumed based on Shakespeare’s times and opportunities that were available to him, rather than any definitive proof.  For a more in depth response, see my previous post about Bill Bryson’s biography of Shakespeare.

What do you think of the author’s writing style?  Since, we’re talking about Shakespeare this is a difficult thing to comment on.  So I’ll just offer my experience reading Shakespeare thus far.  When I read As You Like It last February, I knew  that it was a comedy, but as I was reading it, I didn’t find it at all funny.  So I concluded that perhaps it was supposed to be funny as in  ironic funny and not “ha ha,” laugh out loud funny.  Boy was I wrong.  When I saw the play performed live, it was hilarious!   I nearly embarrassed myself with laughter.  Much of the comedy  was physical comedy so I don’t fault myself too much for not “getting” it.  However, I’m now reading A Midsummer Night’s Dream and there have been a number of things that have made me laugh out loud.  Without re-reading As You Like It, I can’t say for certain whether this is because the humor is easier to get in Midsummer, or if perhaps I’m becoming more accustomed to Shakespeare.

A quote from A Midsummer Night’s Dream (so far, I’ve only read through Act 3, Scene 1 – this quote is taken from Act 1, Scene 1 beginning on line 169)

From Hermia:

I swear to thee by Cupid’s bow,

By his best arrow with the golden head,

By the simplicity of Venus’ doves,

By that which knitteth souls and prospers loves,

An by that fire which burned the Carthage queen

When the false Troyan under sail was seen,

By all the vows that ever men have broke

(In number more than ever women spoke),

In that same place thou hast appointed me,

Tomorrow truly will I meet with thee.

Concluding thoughts:

I am so grateful to have rediscovered Shakespeare.  I definitely appreciate him more now than I did when I had to memorize Antony’s famous monologue from Act 3, Scene 2 of Julius Caesar in 11th grade.  I am as intrigued by Shakespeare’s times as much as Shakespeare himself and will be heading to the library this afternoon to see what else I can find about him, perhaps Will in the World by Stephen Greenblatt or Harold Bloom’s Shakespeare : The Invention of the Human.  

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