I’m taking an introductory Shakespeare course at the U of Minnesota this fall.

Week 1: Intro & Life of Shakespeare, 1

The course looks very promising. The professor, Katherine Schiel, is a Shakespeare scholar and in particular researchers the life of Shakespeare’s wife. The course focuses on literature (rather than TV and move adaptations), and the syllabus shows that we will cover eight of Shakespeare’s works, including the sonnets. I was also struck by how much more talkative and friendly the other students in the course are – both in engaging in in-class discussion, and in engaging with me.

Introduction [1.1]

The first class was pretty much focuses on policy and logistics. We broke into small groups to introduce one another. My group consisted of Ryan, a Junior and MIS major from Rogers MN, and Trissy (sp?), a freshman and Biology major from St. Paul. I got a recommendation of which Shakespeare editions to purchase — she recommended the Folger editions (the Folger Library in Boston is a apparently a world-class center of Shakespeare scholarship), and have ordered all the books. Most have arrived before I wrote this entry, and I must say I take an irrational pleasure in having a colorful, well-designed set of books on myself, even though some of them are trade paperback, and others are the conventional smaller paperbacks

Life of Shakespeare, 1 [1.2]

The second class focused on Shakespeare and his life. Here are my takeaways:

• S lived from 1564 to 1616; he died at 54, both on April 23. He was born and spent his early life in Stratford, a market town 2-days horse-ride (4-days walk) from London.
• The following is speculation regarding his education. He was educated by his mother (known to be literate because she was the executor of her father’s will) up to the age of 7. From 7-14 he would have gone to some kind of grammar school in Stratford, where he would have learned Latin and Greek, and been expected to speak Latin at school. At 14 he would have begun 7 years of apprenticeship, but as he married at 18 — not allowed for apprentices — that either did not happen at all or at least did not continue. (It is speculated that his wife encouraged his literary career.) There is no record of S having attended either Oxford or Cambridge.
• His father, John, was a glove-maker, but also apparently was involve din illegal wool dealing. His father was also involved in local politics, and became mayor when S was about 5. There is speculation that his father financed S’s partnership in the Globe Theatre. He may have run into financial difficulty by 1592, when S was 28.
• His mother, Mary Arden, was from a local family that was of somewhat higher status, and that owned land. As noted, she was literate — the executor of her father’s will — and likely taught S to read, etc., up to his 7th year. . Mary had seven sisters, and so S may have had a lot of older women involved in his life and education. Some of Mary’s distant relatives were arrested for practicing Catholicism, so it is possible she was a Catholic. (England was protestant during S’s life, but Catholic before and after).
• Siblings. S had three brothers (Gilbert, Richard and Edmund) and two sisters (Ann and Joan (who died at 8); two other sisters who died in infancy before S was born.
• The plague was rampant in both Stratford and London throughout S’s lifetime. In the year of his birth, 25% of the population of Stratford died. At other times, 1 in 12 (1592), and 1 in 5 1603) people died in London.
• Shakespeare’s work. 180+ sonnets, 37 plays (per the canon), and 2 long poems. There are debates about other plays that he may have written. This represents an enormous output. In particular, sonnets are very difficult to write, and so producing 180+ is amazing.
  That Shakespeare lived and wrote is extremely well documented. No serious scholars believe that his plays were written by someone else. If you want to make a big splash as a S scholar, the way to do it is to ‘discover’ that a previously anonymous play was authored by S.
  About half of S’s plays were printed during his lifetime, and they often would have been read aloud to groups in the custom of the time. S did not receive royalties on published copies. He was famous during his lifetime, but far more famous later.
• At the time, plays had to be approved by a “Master of the Revels” to assure their suitability for public presentation. The could be an explanation for why none of S’s plays were set in contemporary London.

Assignment: Shakespeare’s Life

Write a one-paragraph (100-200 words) summary of what you already know about Shakespeare’s life (without looking anything up—just off the top of your head).  Then list two questions that you have about Shakespeare’s life story.

What I know:

Shakespeare was born. Shakespeare wrote many plays and sonnets. Many — or all? — of the plays were performed in the Old Globe Theatre in London. Then he died. Of this I am confident.

I am pretty sure Shakespeare lived and wrote during the 17^th century. I am pretty sure he was reasonably successful during his lifetime. I don’t know much else about the man and his life.

Two Questions:

I wonder about the trajectory of Shakespeare’s fame. After he died was he forgotten for a while, as, I understand, was true of John Sebastian Bach, or did his reputation live on, gradually growing as the decades passed?

I also wonder about whether, or to what extent, after a play was performed, Shakespeare modified it. Is the evidence that particular plays evolved, perhaps in response to what was well received, or not, by the audience?

Assignment: Globe Theatre Reflection

By 9pm, watch the virtual tour of the Globe Theatre, and submit to the Canvas site a one-paragraph (about 150 words) response explaining what you found interesting or surprising about this space.

I was initially surprised to see it was open to the sky, but then realized that of course realized that lighting would be a big issue — not just expense, but the danger of open flames in a wooden theatre.

It also didn’t seem like there was very much back-stage space (although it was a bit difficult to tell), and wondered how actors and others managed the logistics of costume changing (if they did that), and set changing (if they did that).

It appeared, in a least one of the videos, that a certain amount of activity, and considerable entering and exiting, took place through the audience area. If that’s the case, I wonder how they kept aisles open in what appeared to be an unstructured space for a standing audience.

Assignment: Reflection

“What is the most interesting aspect of S’s life story? What questions do you have?

I am interested to learn that Shakespeare lived during a time when the plague was endemic. Death at time in the lifespan was of course a lot more common prior to 20th C, but the prevalence of the plague must have made the death of friends and acquaintances a very common phenomenon. I wonder how that affected S, and his writing: did it shape what he wrote, or did it get little notice as it would have been the norm throughout his lifetime?

In terms of questions, I’m curious about what the literary/theatrical community was like during Shakespeare’s lifetime. I believe that, a century later, during the life of Johnson, there was a very active literary culture, with gatherings in coffee shops and various salons, as well as a very active publishing scene. Did this have its roots in Shakespeare’s time, or were things different?

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Week 2

Summary from last week

• W. Shakespeare, 1564-1666 (52), b. & d. April 23. Famous and well-to-do in his lifetime, moreso after. No education beyond local; married at 18, so not apprentice.
• Mother: Mary Arden, literate, of landowning family.
• Seven Aunts on mothers side
• Father: John S–, glove-maker, local politician, engaged in illegal wool trade
• Siblings: 2 elder sisters who died soon after birth; 3 brothers (Gilsil, Richard, Edmund) and 2 sisters (Ann, Joan–died at 8).
• Wife: Ann Hathaway, probably ran a brewery
• Marriage: Ann (26) with William (18). Ann was above avg marrying age, W below.
• Eldest daughter Susannah; twins (Judith and Hamlet–Hamnet died at 11); one.
• S remained connected to Stratford all his life, investing in property there (second largest house), and traveling back frequently. Ann never lived in London…

[2.1] Life of Shakespeare, 2

• 1585-1592 (21 – 28): We know nothing of S during this period
• xxxx: Buys share in Globe Theatre
• 1590’s: references to S in London begin appearing….
• 1597: Purchases second largest house in Stratford

Other

• The infamous second best bed in S’s will would have been the marital bed — the bed was reserved for guests…
• His plays show extensive knowledge of worklives of sailors, soldiers, lawyers and schoolmasters with private library (most believe he did the latter)
• Speculation is that S could have become player/playwright through exposure to traveling troupes of actors that came through Stratford; as Mayor, his father would have handled booking them…

Interlude: On the legal rights of women during S’s time

Information on the legal rights of women in the time of Shakespeare with respect to owning property and inheriting money:

The doctrine of coverture  dictated that upon marriage, a woman’s legal identity was subsumed under that of her husband, effectively stripping her of independent legal rights, including the ability to own property. When a woman married, her property would typically become her husband’s. This legal framework meant that married women could not enter into contracts, own property, or manage their financial affairs without their husband’s consent. The only property rights that married women retained were those that they brought into the marriage, which would still be under the control of their husbands.

Inheritance laws during this period favored male heirs, but  there were exceptions:

• Widows: Women who were widowed had some rights to inherit property. The Magna Carta (1215) provided certain protections for widows, allowing them to retain a portion of their deceased husband’s estate.
• Co-heiresses: If a father died without a male heir, his daughters could inherit his estate as co-heiresses, although this often led to complex legal disputes over the division of property.
• Testamentary Freedom: Men could bequeath property to their daughters in their wills, which was a way to ensure that women could inherit property, though this was not universally practiced.

Shakespeare’s own family situation reflects these legal norms. His will indicates that he intended for his daughter Susanna to inherit the majority of his estate, which included several properties. This was somewhat unusual for the time, as it was more common for estates to be passed down to male heirs. Shakespeare’s decision to leave his property to Susanna suggests a recognition of her capability to manage it, although she was still bound by the expectations of her gender and the legal constraints of the time.

Shakespeare’s daughters and female inheritance

At the time of his death Shakespeare had two daughters: Susanna, married to the doctor John Hall; and Judith, who had very recently married Thomas Quiney. Susanna was left her father’s real estate, including four buildings in Stratford (New Place, the grand house in which Shakespeare had lived; the Maidenhead Inn; and properties in Henley Street – including his birthplace – as well as various lands) and an ex-monastic gatehouse in the Blackfriars, London. Judith, in contrast, was left money.

Susanna inherited almost all of Shakespeare’s property, exactly as his son would have done. It’s clear that he wanted to keep his lands together as one patrimony, not split it between two daughters.  Shakespeare’s aim seems to have been for this to be a temporary transfer of lands through Susanna to her unconceived eldest son, or to any of his potential younger brothers.  Susanna had to pass the estate on as her father’s will required: effectively she had a life interest in it. Shakespeare did allow Susanna’s daughter (and only child) Elizabeth to inherit if she had no brothers, and to pass the estate on to her sons. If Elizabeth only had daughters, or had no children, the real estate would instead go to the sons of Shakespeare’s younger daughter Judith; if she had none, it would revert to a more removed male line.

Elizabeth was childless, but lived a long life. The property, acquired with the wealth Shakespeare’s success had produced, remained in her custody until her death in 1670. Then the remains of Shakespeare’s estate went to the grandson of his sister, Joan Hart.

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Week 3 – Taming of the Shrew

See the separate post for a precise and comments on The Taming of a Shrew.

Notes on Origins, Tropes, Produced Versions

Shakespearean borrowing. Petrucio and Kate is an original plot; Bianca, with her suitors, is not — it is taken from a play called I Suppositi (The Pretenders) a play written by the Italian playwright Ludovico Ariosto in 1509. The plot involving Petrucio and Kate appears to be original to Shakespeare.

Shakespearean Tropes. A father with one or two rebellious daughters is a common situation in Shakespeare’s plays, as the soldier-lover (Petrucio) is a common figure.

Produced Versions. We continued our discussion of the play, amplifying it by viewing 4 different productions of the dialog between Petrucio and Kate. The productions ranged from a traditional production using Elisabethan constumes and settings, to adapations using puppets and exchanging the genders of Petrucio and Kate. I was struck by how different — in tone and meaning — the various productions were, and how effective various devices (playing of a harpsicord, smoking a cigarette) can be. The script can be played as light and comedic or as dark and violent.

I didn’t think that language in the TTotS grabbed me, but upon hearing it performed (and read in class), I came to appreciate it more.

Other: Shrew/Shrewd Etymology

I looked up the etymology of “shrew” and “shrewd.” Both started out as negative terms, and tended to be applied to women. During the 16th and 17th century, the meaning of “shrewd” began to changing, taking on positive connotations of cunning. Shakespeare used “shrewd” in both senses in different plays.

Quotes I Like

Tranio [1.1 39-40]
No profit grows where there is no pleasure ta’en
In brief, sir, study what you most affect

Petruchio [1.2: 201-214]
Why came I hither but to that intent?
Think you a little din can daunt mine ears?
Have I not in my time heard lions roar?
Have I not heard the sea, puffed up with winds, Rage like an angry boar chafed with sweat?
Have I not heard great ordnance in the field And heaven’s artillery thunder in the skies?
Have I not in a pitched battle heard Loud larums, neighing steeds, and trumpets clang?
And do you tell me of a woman’s tongue, That gives not half so great a blow to hear As will a chestnut in a farmer’s fire?
Tush, tush, fear boys with bugs!

Petruchio [2.1 139-140]
And where two raging fires meet together
They do consume the thing that feeds their fury.

Kate [2.1 203-205]
Let him who moved you hither, remove you thence.

Petruchio [4.3 177-178]
Our purses shall be proud, our garments poor,
for tis the mind that makes the body rich.

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Week 4 & 5.1: Midsummer’s Night Dream

See the separate post for a precise and comments on A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Notes on Origins, Tropes, Produced Versions

Shakespearean borrowing.

• Theseus is from Greek mythology and a figure of power
• Oberon is from Edmund Spencer’s The Fairie Queen.
• Titania is from Ovid’s Metamorphosis
• The marriage of Oberon and Titania is original to S
• The Play of Pirasy

Shakespearean Tropes.

• A father with a rebellious daughter
• Mischievous gods or spirits that play havoc with mortals
• A play within the play

Produced Versions. We did not compare different productions (or that might have happened in the class I missed).

Other

• Ben Johnson, a S contemporary, described Shakespeare as never blotting a line

Other Notes: Northrup Frye’s Green World

The “Green World” refers to a natural, often forested setting in literature where characters retreat from the constraints of society. This environment allows for transformation, self-discovery, and the resolution of conflicts that are unmanageable within the confines of the civilized world.

• Escape from Society: Characters leave an urban or courtly setting fraught with social rules, conflicts, or injustices.
• Natural Environment: The Green World is typically a wild, untamed space—forests, pastoral landscapes, or any setting closely associated with nature.
• Liminal — Transformation and Reversal: Traditional roles and social hierarchies are often inverted or suspended, allowing characters to explore different aspects of their identities.
• Magical or Supernatural Elements: The setting may include fantastical elements that further facilitate change and resolution.
• Resolution of Conflict: The experiences within the Green World lead to personal growth and reconciliation, enabling characters to return to society with new insights.

Other Notes: Quill & Ink and the history of writing

• The material culture of writing with a quill and ink: quill needed to be continually sharpened; ink was made by hand, often according to a family formula; page needed to be sanded or dusted to dry the ink. Writing took a lot of effort. 

When were various writing implements invented? 

• Quill and ink was used from 6-19^th Century – quill had hollow shaft, enabling it to serve as an ink reservoir. Inks used with quills were typically iron gall inks, made from tannin (gall nuts), iron sulfate, gum arabic, and water, which produced a rich, dark color suitable for writing on parchment and paper.
  • Metal Nib Dip Pens. Metal nibs began to replace quills in the late 1700s due to their durability and ability to produce a more consistent line; they did not need sharpening. They were mass produced in Birmingham England.
  • Fountain Pens. In 1827, Romanian inventor Petrache Poenaru received a patent for a fountain pen with a barrel as an ink reservoir. In 1880 Leon Waterman improved the design by adding a capillary feed, which regulated ink flow. Early fountain pens used rubber sacs to hold ink, which were compressed to fill and release ink. Later models introduced piston fillers and cartridge systems for easier ink replacement
  • Ball Point Pens, etc. László Bíró, invented the ball point pen, using a rotating ball bearing to spread quick-drying ink, in the 1930s. These were mass-produced in the 1940’s. Much innovation occurred in the 1960’s, with roller balls, felt tips, and, in the 1980’s, gel pens. 

Other: Meter and Rhyme in Shakespeare

Blank Verse: Consists of lines with ten syllables each, following an unstressed-stressed (iambic) pattern. Variations in the meter can reflect a character’s emotional state. For example, a disrupted meter might indicate tension or turmoil; in Hamlet,  his soliloquies often contain irregularities in meter, reflecting his inner conflict and feigned or real madness.

Rhymed Couplets. Two consecutive lines that rhyme, often used at the end of a scene or act. Characters who frequently use rhyme, like the fairies in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, are set apart as mystical or otherworldly.

Rhymed verse. In Midsummer Night’s Dream the fairies use rhymed verse, highlighting the contrast between the human and magical realms.

Trochaic tetrameter. The Witches in Macbeth speak in trochaic tetrameter (a stressed-unstressed pattern), creating a haunting rhythm.

Sonnets: The first conversation between Romeo and Juliet forms a perfect sonnet, symbolizing their instant and profound connection.

Prose. Often used by commoners. Or can be used to indicate characters who are feigning madness or in disguise.

Feminine endings in Shakespearean verse refer to lines of iambic pentameter that conclude with an extra unstressed syllable, resulting in an 11-syllable line instead of the regular 10. This technique adds rhythmic variety and can convey subtle nuances in a character’s speech, such as hesitation, complexity of thought, or emotional intensity.

Enjambment: The continuation of a sentence without a pause beyond the end of a line, which can build tension or urgency. Macbeth: 

 Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible
To feeling as to sight? Or art thou but
A dagger of the mind, a false creation…”

Macbeth’s lines spill over from one to the next, mirroring his disturbed mental state and the blurring of reality and hallucination.

Quotes I Like

Trip away, make no stay
Meet me by the break of day. 
– Oberon, 5.1.438-9 (A Midsummer Night’s Dream)

My legs can keep no pace with my desires 
–Hermia, 3.2.474  (A Midsummer Night’s Dream)

And as imagination bodies forth
The forms of things unknown, the poet’s pen
Turns them into shapes and gives to airy nothing
A local habitation and a name.
– Theseus, 5.1.15-18 (A Midsummer Night’s Dream)

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Week 5.2 & 6.x: Much Ado about Nothing

See separate entry for notes on the Much Ado itself.

This was one of Shakespeare’s later comedies — it is dated to 1598.

Inspired by Shakespeare’s poetry
I’ve tried to turn my hand to verse
A few iambic lines a day
Though listeners will no doubt curse

Note to Charles re our meeting on Much Ado…
If gods allow a bout of wind or flood
To ban brave Pip and Chas from east green lawn
Then 222 in Groveland’s stout redoubt
Is where I’ll turn to seek you out.

Origins, Tropes, Versions

Shakespearean borrowing.

• Benedict and Beatrice plot is original
• Hero and Claudio is taken from other (multiple) sources. One is the Italian writer Aristo

Shakespearean Tropes.

• Again we see the soldier as lover in Cladio and Benedict
• Again we see deception. But here deception is deployed for two reasons: As revenge (via Don Juan) to attempt to spoil the marriage between Claudio and Hero; as manipulation (via Don Pedro, et al) to orchestrate a marriage between Benedict and Beatrice.
• We see the strong assertive woman in Beatrice, but unlike Kate (in ‘Shrew’) Beatrice is not bitter and angry, perhaps because she is also accepted for who she is, and is not a daughter of any of the principals, but less closely related

Produced Versions

Some of the ways the play has been performed: A Bollywood style; another set in a park in NYC before the 2020 election; 2014 Victorian production; Royal Shakespeare Co. at Stratford, 2022 – afro-futurist production.

Other notes: Cuckolds

Cuckold jokes – runs through this play, and other plays as well.Why is Benedict still telling cuckold jokes at the end of the play, if he and Beatrice have been brought together in a trusting message. Cuckold jokes may release anxiety or reinforce ideas of unfaithful women – Shakespeare did not actually have any cuckolds in his play. 

Other Notes: Ghost Characters

The world of printing Shakespeare’s texts (and ghost characters – characters who appear only in the stage directions.. Ghost characters might occur because of a shortage of boys who could play women.  S likes family structures with strong fathers and absent mother figures – to highlight patriarchial power. 

Other Notes: Folios, Quartos, and the First Folio

Folio (folded once) – expensive, with leather binding
Quarto (folded twice) ==: cheaply printed single editions

The First Folio

A collection of Shakespeare’s plays (all but Pericles), put together by John Heminge and Henry Condell in 1623, 7 years after Shakespeare’s death. There were three other Folios. 

• Genres: The first Folio sorts the plays into three genres: comedies, romances, and tragedies. We don’t know if Shakespeare used these genres, or if the editors used them. There were around 750 copies printed – only 233 survive today. The most recent one sold for $10 million. Every copy is different, since proofreading occurred as the Folio was printed. 
• Eighteen of Shakespeare’s plays appear only in the first Folio:  MacbethThe Tempest, Julius Caesar, Twelfth Night, As You Like It, Measure for Measure, The Winter’s Tale, King John, Timon of Athens, All’s Well that Ends Well Antony and Cleopatra, Comedy of Errors, Coriolanus, Cymbeline, 1 Henry VI, Henry VIII, The Taming of the Shrew Two, Gentlemen of Verona

Quotes I Like

“I would my horse have the speed of your tongue”
–Benedict, 1.1.139

“I have a good eye, uncle; I can see a church in daylight.”
– Beatrice, 2.1.80

“It is no great addition to her wit,
nor no great argument for her folly.”
– Benedict, 2.3.242-244

“Contempt farewell and maiden pride adieu
no glory lives behind the backs of such.”
– Beatrice, 3.1.115-116

“She would mock me into air…”
— Beatrice, 3.1.79

“Shall quips and sentences and these paper
bullets of the brain awe a man
from the career of his humor.”
– Benedict, 3.1.242-244

Runs not this speech like iron through your blood?
– Don Pedro, 5.1255

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Week xxx: <Play>

See separate entry for discussion of the play itself.

Origins, Tropes, Versions

Shakespearean borrowing. xxx

Shakespearean Tropes. xxx

Produced Versions. xxx

Other notes: xxx

xxx

Quotes I Like

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Week xxx: <Play>

See separate entry for discussion of the play itself.

Origins, Tropes, Versions

Shakespearean borrowing. xxx

Shakespearean Tropes. xxx

Produced Versions. xxx

Other notes: xxx

xxx

Quotes I Like

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