Stay in Touch
Get sneak previews of special offers & upcoming events delivered to your inbox.
Sign in
03-15-2020 09:23 PM - last edited on 03-16-2020 01:38 AM by Wayne-QVC
"The Atlantic" has a fascinating little piece on the relationship of bubonic plague to Shakespeare's titanic literary output.
As you know, in his time, the plague roiled all of Europe, and came and went with some frequency. Shakespeare was an actor as well as a writer, but when the plague raged in London, the theaters were closed:
"It’s long been thought that Shakespeare turned to poetry when plague closed the theaters in 1593. That’s when he published his popular narrative poem, Venus and Adonis, in which the goddess begs a kiss from a beautiful boy,
Then, get this, also from the "Atlantic" piece:
"But Shapiro suggests that another closure of theaters, in 1606, allowed Shakespeare, an actor and shareholder in The King’s Men, to get a lot of dramatic writing done, meeting the demand for new plays in a busy holiday season at court. According to Shapiro, he churned out King Lear, Macbeth, and Antony and Cleopatra that year."
How sobering and astounding to think that masterpieces like King Lear and Macbeth, may have seen the light of day partly due to the enforced idleness of busy actor and writer Shakespeare during plague-caused theater shut-downs....
Coincidentally, I was watching part of Olivier's "Hamlet" tonight, and thinking about Shakespeare....
Raising a cup of warm, pre-bed milk (ick, that sounds horrid) to the immortal Bard!
03-15-2020 10:35 PM
Oznell - I had read that too.
03-15-2020 10:38 PM
Thank you, ozzie. I saw your post as I was about to put up new closing info on a far more sublunary topic, the Las Vegas strip.
Interesting thought.
03-15-2020 10:50 PM
Thanks for sharing this @Oznell 😊
I've read that one reason The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet was popular was because it was performed after some shut-downs. The people were excited to see a play. . .any play. . .and to see Romeo being delayed at the end because the messenger was quarantined really hit home. Recent events will surely help modern day students have a better understanding of that part of R and J.
03-16-2020 06:48 AM
Great story and insight, @wildcat fan ! Knowing what's happened in the past, always increases understanding of present-day events, I believe.
03-16-2020 07:11 AM
That's quite fascinating. Every cloud has a silver lining. Perhaps, this will make us all a lot more appreciative of our blessings and the little things that we take for granted.
Another tidbit for you is that during a Plague outbreak in London, Sir Isaac Newton retreated to the English countryside and there formulated many theories and wrote Principles of Mathematics which was one of the most important books of the Scientific Revolution and helped lead to the Industrial Revolution.
I know this piece of information because I'm an old history teacher!
03-16-2020 07:14 AM
Wow, fascinating, @Tennesseegal -- thank you for that tidbit about Isaac Newton, another gift of pure genius to the world.
03-16-2020 07:43 AM
I thought it was common knowledge that the spear-shaker was not the actor, but a society, i.e., more specifically, Sir Francis Bacon that wrote the plays. Shakespeare, the actor, was quite illiterate, couldn't even sign his name.
@Oznell Have you ever looked into this? But, interesting to hear of the theatre shut downs.
03-16-2020 09:34 AM
Well, @Harpa , interesting, I believe there's long been controversy, with advocates on both sides, as to the authorship of the plays. When I listen to them, each side, the "pro-Will-wrote them" and the "anti-Will wrote them" have interesting and persuasive points to make. But I didn't think anything's been established definitively-- so until it is, I guess I'll go with Will!
Get sneak previews of special offers & upcoming events delivered to your inbox.
*You're signing up to receive QVC promotional email.
Find recent orders, do a return or exchange, create a Wish List & more.
Privacy StatementGeneral Terms of Use
QVC is not responsible for the availability, content, security, policies, or practices of the above referenced third-party linked sites nor liable for statements, claims, opinions, or representations contained therein. QVC's Privacy Statement does not apply to these third-party web sites.
© 1995-2024 QVC, Inc. All rights reserved. | QVC, Q and the Q logo are registered service marks of ER Marks, Inc. 888-345-5788