Drawing from Life

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

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

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

No better reason to go to Utah

"William Shakespeare's Hamlet gets a sequel — and a musical one, to boot — in "Hamlet 2," a new addition to the Sundance Film Festival lineup."


I want it. I want to see it RIGHT NOW.

To One and All

Some say that ever 'gainst that season comes
Wherein our Saviour's birth is celebrated,
The bird of dawning singeth all night long:
And then, they say, no spirit dares stir abroad;
The nights are wholesome; then no planets strike,
No fairy takes, nor witch hath power to charm,
So hallow'd and so gracious is the time.
-Hamlet, 1.1

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Productions We Never Want to See

There is nothing like a dame

What follows are various pictures of Dame Judi Dench (DJD) from various performances throughout her career.

These pictures come from The Oxford Illustrated History of Shakespeare On Stage ed. Jonathan Bate and Russell Jackson. Oxford University Press, 1996, 2001. My copy just arrived in the mail. Find the book. Buy it. Love it.

There's also a delightful article written by DJD about her experiences.

(Unrelated Note: I've had a mind-crush on Russell Jackson since hearing him speak last year. He is charming and funny and terribly brilliant and used to be the guy at the Shakespeare Institute. Also my mind-crush might meld into a real crush because he is British and wears tweed and (I think) has glasses. And then we'll get married.)




DJD as Ophelia with John Neville as Hamlet. Old Vic, 1957, dir. by Michael Benthall
(Bristol University Theatre Collection, photograph by Angus McBean)







DJD with John Stride as Romeo and Juliet at the Old Vic, 1960. dir by Franco Zeffirelli (Bristol University Theatre Collection)




DJD as Viola in Twelfth Night at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, 1969. with Charles Thomas as Orsino, directed by John Barton
(Shakespeare Centre, photograph by Joe Cocks)





Hermione in The Winter's Tale, Royal Shakespeare Theatre, directed by Trevor Nunn, 1969.
Dench also appeared as Perdita in this production. (Apparently there was fascinating body-doubling during the last scene in order to pull off the end of the play).
(Shakespeare Centre, photograph by Joe Cocks)



DJD as Beatrice with Donald Sinden as Benedick, Much Ado About Nothing, Royal Shakespeare Theatre, 1976 dir. by John Barton
(Shakespeare Centre, photograph by Joe Cocks)




DJD and Anthony Hopkins as Antony and Cleopatra, National Theatre, 1987, directed by Peter Hall. (photograph by John Haynes)