Shakespeare's Macbeth: February 2006

Updated News on Shakespeare:

English Has Come A Long, Long Way...

English Has Come A Long, Long Way...

by: David Leonhardt

I often wonder what would happen if Shakespeare were to be transported in a time machine to our world today. What would he think? How would he react?

Yes, Willie would probably tell me "thou hast too much time on thy hands if thou spendeth it wondering about such flights of fancy." But only after he found his feet.

You see, Willie would be blown away by some of the comforts we take for granted. For instance, that box we walk into. The doors close all by themselves...just like magic. When they open, we are magically in a different place.

"What callest thou this contraption?" Willie would ask in utter amazement.

An elevator. You would think nothing would phase a man who just landed his time machine 400 years into the future.

"Ah, I see. It was not magic after all. It elevated us, because it is an elevator."

This Willie guy is pretty handy with his English, isn't he? But that won't get him far these days. A hundred years ago, even fifty, he could have figured out just about every new word by tracing its roots (often to Greek or Latin). But not today.

"What are those...those...those, things?"

Why that's a TV, with a VCR and a DVD player. Over there, it's a CD player, an AM and FM radio and an amp. This is a PC, with CDRW and floppy drives, a powerful CPU, A and C drive, and more RAM than a MAC.

"What? Thy alphabet seems a bit confusing."

Once upon a time, the meaning of a word could always be guessed by simply tracing the entomology of the word back to its lowest roots.

"Thou meanest 'etymology', dost thou not? Entomology is the study of insects and bugs."

I knew that.

I took out a 'Kleenex' because my nose was running.

"But how dost thy nose run?"

I suppose the same way I drivest on a parkway and parkest in the driveway. Or how it doesn't matter whether we fill in a form or fill out a form...either way, the taxman gets the last laugh.

I offered to take Willie for a ride.

"That is more like it. There is nothing quite like a horse under one's bottom.'

No, no, no. We don't ride horses anymore. That is a barbaric way to treat such majestic beasts. Now we drive cars...and kill the horses off with the exhaust.

"I have no idea what you are talking about."

Just have a seat in the BMW, Willie, while I turn on the AC and rev up the RPMs on this old V6. Before you know it, we'll be doing 100 mph down the 102.

"More letters and numbers. Have words become redundant in the future?"

Pretty much. As life got more and more complicated, words got more and more complicated. Pretty soon it was taking several minutes just to pronounce a single government department. So real word groups had to be replaced by acronyms � the first letter of each word. Pass me a CANDY.

"What does CANDY stand for?"

Candy, actually. But maybe I should just leave old Willie guessing. After all, there is just so much to discover in this brave new world. Like why there are so few sundials around. And why some people sleep on the street, while other climb 34 stories to an office tower above to sleep at their desks. And just how do they shrink those liquor bottles for the airlines.

"What is an RSVP? And ASAP? And TLC?"

I had to find just the right way to explain to him that all these crazy letters actually made some kind of sense.

Internal Department of Income Overhaul Transfer Systems.

"Ah, IDIOTS. Now, that I understand!"

About The Author

Like Shakespeare, David Leonhardt is a writer: He is author of:
Inspiration & Motivation To Go:
http://www.thehappyguy.com/l/daily-motivation-inspiration.php
The Get Happy Workbook:
http://www.thehappyguy.com/happiness-work-book.html
and Climb Your Stairway to Heaven: the 9 habits of maximum happiness:
http://www.thehappyguy.com/happiness-self-help-book.html
To write your website copy, newsletter or anything else, email him at: info@thehappyguy.com
Info@thehappyguy.com

For more information about Shakespeare, please visit: http://www.shakespeare-macbeth.com

Term Paper on Shakespeare 's Sonnets
Author: Michael Cooper

Shakespeare's Sonnets: Time and Decay

Eventually, time and decay effect everything. Shakespeare uses this theme in many of his sonnets. The sonnets give no hint of an afterlife and express that nothing survives time. Shakespeare used numerous methods to depict this theme including personification, metaphors and similes. Even though Shakespeare says that time destroys everything, he also addresses how to �defeat� time to a degree. One way to �defeat� time is to marry and have children. A person�s offspring will in some measure carry him or her on throughout time. Shakespeare also believed that poetry is immortal and those who are featured in them will be also. He offers this immortality to his friend and the dark lady. This paper will examine the theme of time and decay in sonnets 15, 18, and 73.

In sonnet 15, Shakespeare writes about the changes that people go through and maturity. In it the sonnet states that perfection only lasts for a little time. He writes, �When I consider every thing that grows holds in perfection but a little moment�� (lines 1 �2). He compares men to plants and says that they display themselves at the height of their perfection and then are slowly forgotten. In other words life is like a flower that blooms. It bursts out with beauty and then time and decay cause it to slowly wither away to old age and death. In the last couplet of the sonnet, Shakespeare gives his friend a way to win the war with time and decay and implant his beauty again. The way offers this is to be featured in his poetry. What better way to �live on� then to be read about for centuries?

The cycle of the year is used to describe life in sonnet 18. Spring equals youth, summer equals maturity and perfection, fall equals middle age and winter equals old age. Shakespeare writes �Shall I compare thee to a summer�s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate�And summer�s lease hath all too short a date�� (lines 1,2 and 4). He is saying to his friend that he is in the height of his perfection right now, but it will not last for very long. Again towards the end of the sonnet he tells him that he shall conquer time and decay by being immortal in his poetry �But thy eternal summer shall not fade�When in eternal lines to time thou grow�st� (lines 9 and 12).

Sonnet 73 is a little different because Shakespeare is making a plea to the dark lady because their love is dying. The whole sonnet has indications of fall such as �That time of year thou mayst in me behold when yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang�� (lines 1 and 2). This is making use of the cycle of the year again and he is expressing that he is in middle age and soon approaching twilight or death

�In me thou seest the twilight of such a day

As after sunset fadeth in the west;

Which by and by black night doth take away,

Death�s second self that seals up all in rest.� (Lines 5-8)

He is saying that he is past his moment of perfection and that death will come soon. Time and decay have started to affect him. In the last couplet of the sonnet he states that the dark lady should value him more because he won�t be here for long, instead of forgetting him because he is no longer in his moment of perfection.

Shakespeare used the theme of time and decay frequently in his sonnets. He states that everything has a brief moment of perfection, which is it�s maturity, and then slowly withers and dies away. He uses many different ways to get this point across including the comparison of life to a year and a day. Shakespeare also tells of how time and decay might be �defeated�. He gives this �immortality to his friend and the dark lady through the written word.

Dr. Mike Cooper provides term paper assistance to college students at http://www.termpaperadvisor.com and http://www.safe-papers.com. Above is a term paper example from his website.

Dr. Mike Copper provides term paper, essay, and research assistance to college and university students.

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Shakespeare and Human Nature
Author: C. Bailey-Lloyd

Isn't it peculiar how human nature evolves through environmental and socialogical conditions? It is evident that we, as Human beings, tend to characterize our capabilities, strengths and emotional intelligence through bonds of society. As we encounter diverse walks of life we have a bizarre and acute tendency to create new personalities. Through human nature, we unintentionally become one with our counterparts. One can travel East to West, North to South and eventually evolution of the mind and soul takes its natural course.

Although differences exist, we enable ourselves to find common bonds of life in general. In doing so, we can interrelate with each other and attain goals that apart, are seemingly impossible. In doing so, great undertakings are initiated. We revolutionize our world through interaction and coexistence.

Even the most minute action creates an affect. In human nature, we attract those that mirror ourselves in small ways. By relating to past and present circumstances, we shape our world of tomorrow. Like clay, we mold ourselves to the structures that be. Perhaps chameleons display the best sense of human nature as they cleverly and instantaneously blend with their surroundings. Not only is this an excellent manuever to avoid danger, it is also a profound way to "fit in" and become one with its immediate environment.

Human nature never ceases amazement. We nurture ourselves with spirituality, duality and even complacency at times, but throughout life , we always manage to grow from our experiences. We learn acceptance and emotional understanding through our compelling desire to "be." Shakespeare's haunting & elusive words, "...to be or not to be...that is the question..." is the most profound phrase in human history. All human nature revolves around this particular piece of artistry - "...to be or not to be..." Shakespeare querried all Mankind.

Human nature is intriquitely defined by its owner. If we wish to merely exist, then exist we do. But if we take his question to a higher state of mind, we find life's perfect answer: Mankind's nature is to evolve. Not only to simply exist but to assure nonextinction of our species. We must use our natural instincts and capabilities to overcome and conquer. That, as in all things, must mature and ripen to a state of wholeness. Human nature may fool those and lure unsuspecting travelers of time, but the higher truth of human nature is the self exploration of life and the ability to broaden horizons of the self or "alter ego" and other individuals so they, too may come to see and equally realize the unequivocal and honest meaning of life.

Yes, Shakespeare conquered literature with his defined works of human nature; but the question he asks of us still confuses even the most intelligent and collegiate individuals of our time. In this day and age, we have a choice "to be or not to be." This is no longer an inquiry but an option. We, as Humans, must choose the path of higher truth and awareness. By remaining unattached, we choose not to fully exist. A play of words can tantalize the senses, but Human nature can enrich the world in which we live. The choice is yours.

01/2003

C. Bailey-Lloyd
aka. LadyCamelot
Public Relations' Director & Staff Writer for Holistic Junction - Your Source for information on Massage Therapy Schools, Holistic Practitioners, Alternative Health, Insightful literature and more!

For more information about Shakespeare, please visit: http://www.shakespeare-macbeth.com

Here is some updated news about Shakespeare:

Shakespeare 's Sonnet XVIII, Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day?
Author: Garry Gamber

Shakespeare�s sonnets require time and effort to appreciate. Understanding the numerous meanings of the lines, the crisply made references, the brilliance of the images, and the complexity of the sound, rhythm and structure of the verse demands attention and experience. The rewards are plentiful as few writers have ever approached the richness of Shakespeare�s prose and poetry.

�Sonnet XVIII� is also known as, �Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer�s Day?� It was written around 1599 and published with over 150 other sonnets in 1609 by Thomas Thorpe.

The first 126 sonnets are written to a youth, a boy, probably about 19, and perhaps specifically, William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke. His initials, W.H., appear in Thorpe�s dedication, and the first volume of Shakespeare�s plays, published by two of his fellow actors, Herminge and Condell, after Shakespeare�s death, was dedicated to William Herbert.

�Sonnet XVIII� is one of the most famous of all of Shakespeare�s sonnets. It is written in the sonnet style that Shakespeare preferred, 14 lines long with three quatrains (four rhymed lines) and a couplet (a pair of rhymed lines).

The Sonnet praises the youth�s beauty and disposition, comparing and contrasting the youth to a summer day. Then the sonnet immortalizes the youth through the �eternal lines� of the sonnet.

First Quatrain

The first line announces the comparison of the youth with a summer day. But the second line says that the youth is more perfect than a summer day. �More temperate� can be interpreted as more gentle. A summer day can have excesses such as rough winds. In Shakespeare�s time May was considered a summer month, a reference in the third line. The fourth line contains the metaphor that summer holds a lease on the year, but the lease is of a short duration.

Second Quatrain

This quatrain details how the summer can be imperfect, traits that the youth does not possess. The fifth line personifies the sun as �the eye of heaven� which is sometimes too scorchingly hot. On the other hand, �his gold complexion,� the face of the sun, can be dimmed by overcast and clouds. According to line 7, all beautiful things (fair means beautiful) sometimes decline from their state of beauty or perfection by chance accidents or by natural events. �Untrimmed� in line 8 means a lack of decoration and perhaps refers to every beauty from line 7.

Third Quatrain

This quatrain explains that the youth will possess eternal beauty and perfection. In line 10 �ow�st� is short for ownest, meaning possess. In other words, the youth �shall not lose any of your beauty.� Line 11 says that death will not conquer life and may refer to the shades of classical literature (Virgil�s Aeneid) who wander helplessly in the underworld. In line 12 �eternal lines� refers to the undying lines of the sonnet. Shakespeare realized that the sonnet is able to achieve an eternal status, and that one could be immortalized within it.

The Final Couplet

The couplet is easy to interpret. For as long as humans live and breathe on earth with eyes that can see, this is how long these verses will live. And these verses celebrate the youth and continually renew the youth's life.

�Shall I Compare Thee� is one of the most often quoted sonnets of Shakespeare. It is complex, yet elegant and memorable, and can be quoted by men and women alike. It has been enjoyed by all generations since Shakespeare and will continue to be enjoyed �so long as men can breathe, or eyes can see.�

Sonnet XVIII, Shall I Compare Thee?
By William Shakespeare

Shall I compare thee to a Summer's day?
Thou are more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And Summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd:
But thy eternal Summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st:
So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

*****************************

Garry Gamber is a public school teacher. He writes articles about politics, real estate, health and nutrition, and internet dating services. He is the owner of http://www.Anchorage-Homes.com and http://www.TheDatingAdvisor.com.

For more information about Shakespeare, please visit: http://www.shakespeare-macbeth.com

Current News and events related to Shakespeare:

Shakespeare Biography
Author: Mike Copper

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was surely the world's most performed and admired playwright. He was well known in his time, and like many artists his fame continues to grow after his death. His plays dealt with many controversial topics, from racism to witchcraft- perhaps adding to the appeal of his plays in general. Shakespeare led an amazing life for his time, a time when actors and actresses were looked down upon and discriminated. He helped to change this stereotype and altered the world perception of theatre forever. In this report, I will outline many areas of Shakespeare�s life, including His birth, marriage and children, parents and family, education, as well as his death.

Birth and early years 1564

William Shakespeare the famous playwright was born in April, 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, about 100 miles northwest of London. According to the records of Stratford's Holy Trinity Church, he was baptized on April 26. It was customary to baptize infants within days of birth, and because Shakespeare died 52 years later on April 23, and-most significantly-since April 23 is St. George's day, the patron saint of England, it has become traditional to assign the birth day of England's most famous poet to April 23 ( Website). As with most sixteenth century births, the actual day was never officially recorded, but along with most remarkable men the power of myth and symmetry has proven irresistible, so April 23 it has become.

Parents and Family

Shakespeare's parents were John and Mary Shakespeare, who lived in Henley Street, in Stratford. John, the son of Richard Shakespeare, was a whittawer (a maker, worker, and seller of leather goods such as purses, belts and gloves) and a dealer in agricultural commodities. He was a solid, middle class citizen at the time of William's birth, and a man on the rise. He served in Stratford government successively as a member of the Council (1557), constable (1558), chamberlain (1561), alderman (1565), and finally high bailiff (1568)--the equivalent of town mayor. About 1577 John Shakespeare's fortunes began to decline for unknown reasons. There are records of some debts he may have had, but of course, none can be verified for certain. In 1586 he was replaced as alderman for shirking responsibilities, and in 1592 was reprimanded for not coming to church for fear of process of debt ( A Documentary).

Mary, the daughter of Robert Arden, had a total of eight children with John Shakespeare. William was the third child and the first son of the family.

Education

Records for the Stratford grammar school from the time Shakespeare would have attended have been lost, but attend he undoubtedly did since the school was built and maintained expressly for the purpose of educating the sons of prominent citizens. The sons of burgesses attended free (Study and research guide).

The curriculum commenced with the hornbook in order to learn the English alphabet, and thereafter was largely devoted to learning the Latin grammar. School began at dawn and proceeded most of the day, with breaks for meals, six days a week. How long Shakespeare attended the school is not known, but from his obvious mastery and love for the Latin authors, the grammar school must have at least begun the process that he later mastered.

No one knows how long Shakespeare remained at the Stratford Grammar School, but Nicholas Rowe reports that �...the want of his assistance at Home, forc'd his Father to withdraw him from thence.� (Rowe, Some Account of the Life, [2]) (Website). Rowe's source was the actor Thomas Betterton, who made �a journey to Warwickshire on purpose to gather up what remains he could, of a name for which he had so great a veneration (Website).� We cannot be certain, but it would seem likely that William was apprenticed to his father's business in the usual way, perhaps some time around 1577 when John Shakespeare's fortunes seem to take a turn for the worse.

The other significant educational opportunity Elizabethans had was mandatory attendance at church, where they were exposed to either the Geneva Bible or the Bishops' Bible. Church attendance also brought them under the influence of The Book of Common Prayer, Foxe's Acts and Monuments, and homilies and preaching ( Study and research guide).

In any event, part of William's early education must be the ways of business he would have learned around his father's shop. Concerning this period, there is a legend reported in Aubrey's Brief Lives (Aubrey was a seventeenth century gentleman known as a gossip and raconteur--1681) that "...his father was a Butcher, & I have been told heretofore by some of the neighbors, that when he was a boy he exercised his father's Trade, but when he kill'd a Calfe, he would do it in a high style, & make a Speech (Study and research guide)." As unlikely as this behavior seems from someone who shows empathy for animals in his poetry the detail of having been apprenticed to his father may be correct.

Finally, as part of Shakespeare's early education and influences, the Warwickshire countryside cannot be ignored. The plays and poetry are full of images taken from nature, gardening, agricultural pursuits, and country folklore. For example, in Henry V we find this description of the land:

Her vine, the merry cheerer of the heart,

Unpruned dies; her hedges even-pleach'd,

Like prisoners wildly overgrown with hair,

Put forth disorder'd twigs; her fallow leas

The darnel, hemlock, and rank fumitory,

Do root upon, while the coulter rusts,

That should deracinate such savagery;

The even mead, that erst brought sweetly forth

The freckled cowslip, burnet, and green clover,

Wanting the scythe, all uncorrected, rank,

Conceives by idleness, and nothing teems

But hateful docks, rough thistles, kecksies, burs,

Losing both beauty and utility.

This sort of learning could not be gleaned from books and schooling ( Website 2).

Marriage

On November 28, 1582 the Bishop of Worcester issued the marriage bond for �William Shakespeare� and �Ann Hathwey of Stratford.� This was almost beyond doubt Anne Hathaway, daughter of Richard Hathaway of Shottery - a gathering of farm houses near Stratford.

Richard Hathaway's will does not specify a daughter Anne, but names her Agnes, a name used interchangeably for Anne in the sixteenth century. He was a substantial, Warwickshire farmer with a spacious house and fields.

The banns were asked only once in church, rather than the customary three times, because the bride was some three months pregnant and there was reason for haste in concluding the marriage. She was eight years older than her new husband William. We can only wonder if Shakespeare was speaking for himself in A Midsummer Night's Dream:

Lysander: The course of true love never did run smooth;

But either it was different in blood...

Or else misgraffed in respect of years--

Hermia: O spite! too old to be engage'd to young.

Or in Twelfth Night:

Duke: Then let thy love be younger than thyself,

Or thy affection cannot hold the bent;

For women are as roses, whose fair flow'r

Being once display'd doth fall that very hour.

(Study and research guide)

The only mention of his wife in Shakespeare's will is the famous bequest of his "second best bed." Whether as a fond remembrance or a bitter slight is not known.

Children

Whatever subsequent feelings, on May 26, 1583 their first daughter Susanna was baptised. Two years later twins were also born, Hamnet and Judith. The twins were most likely named after Hamnet and Judith Sadler, apparently lifetime friends to Shakespeare and remembered in his will.

It is usually assumed by scholars that Shakespeare resided in Stratford at the Henley street residence these years, at least through 1585, but his manner of life and activities are not known and have become the subject of many speculations. (Website)

Death 1616

Undoubtedly Shakespeare's son-in-law, Dr. Hall, attended him at his death. The nature of his final illness is remains unknown. A legend has grown up based on an entry in John Ward, a Stratford vicar's diary. Ward wrote that "Shakspear Drayton and Ben Jhonson had a merry meeting and it seems drank too hard for Shakespear died of a feavour there contracted." The problem is that the report came from a diary half a century after Shakespeare's death, and cannot be confirmed otherwise (Website 2). Undoubtedly Ward was a local gossip and knew Judith Shakespeare in her later years, but we cannot know if this story amounts to anything more than just and idle rumor.

Shakespeare died on April 23, 1616 and was buried in the chancel of Holy Trinity Church April 25. On the slab over his grave appear the words:

GOOD FREND FOR JESUS SAKE FORBEARE,

TO DIGG THE DUST ENCLOASED HEARE.

BLESTE BE Ye MAN Yt SPARES THES STONES,

AND CURST BE HE Yt MOVES MY BONES.

To this day, the inscription mentioned has been honored, and Shakespeare�s body remains at rest.

Conclusion

Shakespeare lead a very interesting and eventful life. This report helped to inform about the life that he lead, yet it is only able to scratch the surface of the events that he influenced in his lifetime. Shakespeare managed to impact thousands of people by turning theatre into a respectable and admirable profession instead of a discriminated one. At the same time, he created many works that remain to be arguably the best ever written. His writings continue to be a benchmark in modern theatre, which are yet to be surpassed.

Bibliography

Bergeron, Sousa. Shakespeare: A Study and Research Guide. New York: Del Publishing Co., 1973.

Schoenbaum, Arthur. William Shakespeare: A Documentary Life. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson., 1968

The Complete Works of Shakespeare. 2 May 1999

The Shakespeare Quarterly. The Shakespeare Association of America. 29 April 1999

�Shakespeare, William�. Encarta 95. CD-ROM. Microsoft, 1995.

Dr. M. Cooper provides research and term paper assistance at http://www.TermPaperAdvisor and http://www.TermPapersMadeEasy.com.

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Up to date information about Shakespeare:

Shakespeare 's Art: Understanding 'King Lear'
Author: Charlotte Evans

Students of Shakespeare have spent a very great deal of time debating the meanings of "Othello", "King Lear", and "Macbeth". The wealth of criticism of any one of his plays can be overwhelming to the casual student. I cite my own experience as a high school student struggling to write credible criticism of "King Lear" whilst juggling History, German, and General Studies reading and assignments. Students benefit from guidance concerning what it is best; at the very least to make best use of the time they have, opting perhaps to read the very best sources only.

Now language, spoke or written, is entirely a reflection of individual experience. We speak and write words we have picked up, first from whom ever taught use to speak; later from those we talk to and from those books which we have read. Consciously or unconsciously, directly or indirectly, we also use language to speak and write about our experiences.

Fiction writers use language, no way in exception to this rule. However many planes they may have crossed using their imagination and knowledge, their fiction will be the product of their experiences. It is important then, for students of literature to learn about a writer�s experiences � how they lived, and what they read being the two points of focus in any such study of a writer. Secondary to reading the text apart from knowledge of the writer to consider language in the abstract, it is necessary for students, searching for meaning, to consider texts with knowledge of their writers.

Considering fiction writers� sources is a practice never more crucial than when studying Shakespeare�s plays. Firstly, it is a relatively easy exercise (and therefore good practice), as none of Shakespeare�s plays are entirely original. Secondly, it is important for most students studying Shakespeare to express their own opinions about the texts. Examiners, certainly of A-Levels, (so I am told), are interested in the thoughts of the candidate, and therefore do not look favorably on regurgitated criticism from leading Shakespeare scholars. Thirdly, knowing something of Shakespeare likely sources is immensely useful at opening paths to substantiated judgments on meaning; it can lead to a whole new level of understanding, from which it is even easier to appreciate bard�s genius.

The discourse to follow on Shakespeare�s sources for three of his best known tragedies is, I admit, a regurgitation of my last three years of studying English. I decided that treading familiar ground was most prudent at this stage in the life of �Arguendo�. I hope to build my own confidence as a writer, as I build your confidence as a reader. Not withstanding that these three tragedies are amongst Shakespeare�s most thought provoking plays, I hope that this essay will indeed provided knowledge to add to you enjoyment of them.

One of the problems or, depending on your perspective, one of the advantages of studying Shakespeare, is that relatively little is known about his life. In particular, scholars are uncertain when he wrote the majority of his plays and sonnets, which leaves, potentially, a substantial gap between Shakespeare�s intended meaning and our own understanding of his work.

The best estimates for the dates that he wrote span several years. He must have written "Macbeth" sometime between 1603, the ascension of James I, and the first known performance of the play in 1611; "King Lear" within three years of the first court performance on December 1, 1606; according to a note in the First Quarto edition of 1608. "Othello" was written about two years before it was performed, apparently for the first time, by the King�s Men in the Banqueting house at Whitehall on November 1, 1604.

The approximate dates for the production of Shakespeare�s plays, scholars have largely derived from the apparent contextual details in the plays themselves. It is possible, then to consider and to use these dates in arguments about Shakespeare�s meaning. Context is an important source for many writers.

Shakespeare�s Context

��this place is too cold for hell.� --(Mac.2.3.13-14)

�What can you say to draw a third more opulent than your sisters?� --(Lr.1.1.80-81)

�My blood begins my safer guides to rule, And passion having my best judgment collied, Assays to lead the way.� --(Oth.2.3.186-188)

These three quotations have meaning set in the context of Shakespeare�s time. This higher level of meaning it is important to know something of the ideas and beliefs of Shakespeare�s England; not surprisingly, it is most important to be aware of the religious beliefs of the time. Perhaps the most fundamental of these was that the king was appointed by god; ruled with divine right. In France the belief in the divinity of the monarchy extended so far that the king�s touch was believed to cure illness. In England, the theory of divine right was no less prevalent: Elizabethan propaganda emphasized the relationship between the monarch and the land. James I was, moreover, quite obsessed with the theory of Divine Right: hence one of the central themes of Shakespeare�s plays, written at about the time of James�s ascension, is about the monarch�s relationship with the land, about who has the right to rule.

The Porter grumbles about the knocking at the gate: �if a man were the porter of hell�s gate, he should have old turning the key.� He asks: �who�s there in the Devil�s name�in th�other Devil�s name?� and then declares �But this place is too cold for hell�. These comments are all ironic, as the audience must realize, given what has taken place in Macbeth�s castle. The Porter has become the keeper of hell�s gate, as he is the keeper of Macbeth�s castle. Macbeth is not only guilty of regicide, he is guilty of murdering a kinsman, as all Scottish thanes were relatives of the king. Shakespeare is ironic when he has the Porter say it is �too cold� to be Hell. The ninth circle of hell was reserved for those who betrayed their kinsmen. The guilty were frozen in ice for eternity as punishment for their crime.

After King Duncan is murdered (Mac.2.2) it is no coincidence that Shakespeare has characters in this scene, Macduff and Lennox, discuss the weather in the next scene: the �unruly� night that has just passed. Shakespeare creates the impression that there were dark forces at work through mention of �strange screams of death, and prophesying with accents terrible, of dire combustion and confused events�. The weather is symbolic: because the king is murdered, God�s chosen is murdered, according to the theory of Divine Right, there is disorder in the kingdom; represented here by a storm. After renouncing his authority formerly King Lear finds that his kingship has truly been usurped by his daughters (Lr.3.2). He finds himself going slowly mad, in a storm, which has many characteristics similar to those featured in the storm alluded to in the scene after Duncan�s death (Mac.2.3.53-59): the verbs Lear uses to command the elements - �blow�, �crack�, �rage�, �blow�, �spout till you have drenched our steeples� - suggest this.

The answer to Lear�s love test is (Lr.1.1.86-92) becomes increasingly clear, considering Shakespeare�s handling of the relationship between the king and the kingdom. When he asks each of his daughters what they can say to �win� the largest portion of his kingdom the only correct, the only acceptable answer for a sixteenth century audience is Cordelia�s: �nothing�.

The Theory of Divine Right was one closely linked with that of the Great Chain of Being; the one very much determined the other. According to the Great Chain of Being, in society every man had a place, a social stratum, in which they ought to remain for their lives. The king was the highest authority in the chain; the highest authorities in the church and in the state, the archbishops and bishops, and the noblemen occupied the second strata, to the parish clergymen and gentry; down to the poorest man. Above everyone, however, was God. The king�s role was to protect the kingdom in God�s name: hence the Theory of Divine Right. The law of primogeniture was thus very important in Shakespeare�s society, to keep the Great Chain in order; without endeavoring to explain the feudal system, it suffices to say that land to remain united was to pass the eldest male child, or to the husband of the eldest daughter. Lear does not protect his kingdom by unburdening himself of his divinely appointed authority: he brings war and division; not only in Ancient Britain, but in his family. The subplot involving the Duke of Gloucester and his two sons further emphasizes the symbolic relationship between the king and the land that emulating that between the father and his children.

When studying "Othello" one of the important contextual details is that colored people were uncommon in Shakespeare's England: Christendom, Christian Europe, had been at war with Muslims for many centuries in and around the Holy Land, and increasingly in the Mediterranean, whereabouts the main drama of "Othello" is set to unfold: on Cyprus. The racial tensions gave way to superstitions and stereotyping: Othello apparently breaks the latter for all Shakespeare presents him displaying composure and control over his emotions; marrying for love; proving successful and intelligent as a military leader. Yet, it is already clear that Othello is destabilized by Iago and reverting to racial type for a sixteenth century audience (Oth.2.3), by giving way to fists of passionate jealously of his wife; and moments of other intense and negative emotions, including anger, when he discovers his soldiers brawling.

Literally and metaphorically, Othello�s �blood� begins to rule him when he is removed from the cultured and safe environment of Venice: Europe. At least this is what the 16th century audience would have surmised.

Some commentators have argued that "Pliny�s Natural History", which Philemon Holland translated in 1601, probably provided the details that Shakespeare uses to enhance with a degree of authenticity Othello�s exotic adventures and alien origin (consider the explanation that Othello gives to Desdemona about the origin of the handkerchief that he gives to her).

However, Geoffrey Bullough has maintained that Shakespeare probably consulted John Pory�s translation of "A Geographical Historie of Africa" by Leo Africanus; in which there is a distinction drawn between the Moors of the northern and those from the southern regions of the country. Africanus also describes both groups of Moors as candid and unaffected but prone to jealousy. Shakespeare�s Othello appears to be quite a faithful rendering of this characterization. Othello is candid and unaffected while in Venice; so much so that he passes as a Venetian, as a European, sufficiently to have achieved prestige as a general. In his speech to Brabantio and the senators in Venice regarding his clandestine union with Desdemona, he is indeed candid and unaffected

It is apparent that Shakespeare was familiar with fifteenth century and sixteenth century accounts of the wars between Venice and Turkey, particularly the battle of Lepanto in 1571, in which the Venetians in alliance with the European Catholic states temporarily regained control of the island of Cyprus.

Being thus aware of the sources that Shakespeare is likely to have used for "Othello", the perspective or meaning of the play is that much more clearly defined. The cause of Othello�s madness is diagnosable; the symptoms are those behavioral characteristics of Moors, according to contemporary accounts. Once Othello leaves Venice, he becomes symbolically isolated from the positive influence of Christian European culture; Othello�s nature begins to take hold of him. When Iago preys upon him, Othello�s reversion to a racial stereotype is apparently dramatically increased.

The lesson for Shakespeare�s contemporaries is that Moors will only revert to erratic behavior if they are first isolated from the European society and second treated with contemptuous cruelty and abused because of their heritage and origin. Hardly a racist attitude within the context of his time; to be likened to Shakespeare�s apparent sympathy toward the villain, Shylock, in "The Merchant of Venice". At the very least, Shakespeare offers Shylock the same chance that the likes of Iago, Edmund and Richard III have to justify their actions; and Shylock�s is quite reasoned when he explains that Antonio has wronged him because:

SHYLOCK I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions, fed with the same food, hurt with the same means, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer, as a Christian is? If you prick us do we not bleed? If you trick us do we not laugh? If you poison us do we not die? And if you wrong us shall we not revenge? If we are like you in the rest, we shall resemble you in that. If a Jew wrong a Christian, what is his humility? Revenge. If a Christian wrong a Jew, what should his sufferance be by Christian example? Why, revenge. The villainy you teach me I will execute; and it shall go hard but I will better the instruction. --(3.1.51-64).

The suggestion that the Jew follows the example of the Christian establishes a hierarchy of sorts. With the Christian above the Jew; it places the Christian in a position of responsibility and culpability for the actions of his Jewish subordinates. The Jews follow the Christians example: when the Christian persecutes the Jew, the Jew will likewise persecute the Christian; as the Christians persecute Shylock, Shylock persecutes Antonio.

Shakespeare�s perspective is thus not anti-Semitic, relative to the context in which he lived as a Christian. He is critical of the treatment of the Jews more than he is condemning of the people or the faith. Considering that the Nazis in Germany promoted "The Merchant of Venice" as evidence that Shakespeare was anti-Semitic, the importance of considering Shakespeare�s sources and the context in which he was writing is practical, as well as of literary significance.

When the meaning is properly understood by means of contextual knowledge, the artwork gains in aesthetic value. The crimes of Macbeth, the weakness of Othello, the madness of King Lear, and the morals of "The Merchant of Venice" are clarified. The plays are more enjoyable; the morals are comprehensible, sympathetic, human, and considered. The message is clear and Shakespeare�s genius is polished; restored to all its glory.

Dr. Evans
April 24, 2005

Dr. Evans has a PhD in English Literature and an MA in History. She lives in New York City and is a freelance writer. Visit her web site at http://www.charlotte-evans.com for more information.