William Shakespeare lived in an incredible time, and no doubt drew inspiration for his work from events that surrounded him. Here are some contemporary passages from the reign of Queen Elizabeth I that he may have found helpful....
If any person had either the gift or the style to win the hearts of the people, it was this Queen. All her faculties were in motion, and every motion seemed a well-guided action; her eye was set upon one, her ear listened to another, her judgement ran upon a third, to a fourth she addressed her speech; her spirit seemed to be everywhere. Some she pitied, some she commended, some she thanked, at others she pleasantly and wittily jested, condemning no person, neglecting no office, and distributing her smiles, looks and graces so artfully that thereupon the people again redoubled the testimony of their joys, and afterwards, raising everything to the highest strain, filled the ears of all men with immoderate extolling of their prince.
-Sir John Hayward on Elizabeth I's entrance into London
November 28, 1558
We princes are set as it were upon stages in the sight and view of all the world.
-Elizabeth I
October 29, 1586
He carries his love and his hatred on his forehead.
-Unknown person describing the Earl of Essex
She walks much in her chamber, and stamps with her feet at ill news, and thrusts her rusty sword at times into the arras in great rage.
-Sir John Harington on Elizabeth's reaction to Essex's uprising
February, 1601
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Words, Word, Words
"Seems, madam! Nay, it is; I know not 'seems'.
'Tis not alone my inky cloak, good mother,
Nor customary suits of solemn black,
Nor windy suspiration of forced breath...
That can denote me truly;."
- Hamlet, I.ii.79
suspiration
deep sighing, intense breathing
all entries for "Words, Words, Words" taking from Shakespeare's Words: A Glossary and Language Companion by David and Ben Crystal, Penguin Books, 2002
'Tis not alone my inky cloak, good mother,
Nor customary suits of solemn black,
Nor windy suspiration of forced breath...
That can denote me truly;."
- Hamlet, I.ii.79
suspiration
deep sighing, intense breathing
all entries for "Words, Words, Words" taking from Shakespeare's Words: A Glossary and Language Companion by David and Ben Crystal, Penguin Books, 2002
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Words, Words, Words
"....and Petruchio is the master;
That teacheth tricks eleven and twenty long,
To tame a shrew and charm her chattering tongue."
- The Taming of the Shrew, IV.ii.57
eleven and twenty long
meaning: just right, perfect
derived from: a winning hand in the card game of Thirty-one
all entries for "Words, Words, Words" taking from Shakespeare's Words: A Glossary and Language Companion by David and Ben Crystal, Penguin Books, 2002
That teacheth tricks eleven and twenty long,
To tame a shrew and charm her chattering tongue."
- The Taming of the Shrew, IV.ii.57
eleven and twenty long
meaning: just right, perfect
derived from: a winning hand in the card game of Thirty-one
all entries for "Words, Words, Words" taking from Shakespeare's Words: A Glossary and Language Companion by David and Ben Crystal, Penguin Books, 2002
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