Questions about William Shakespear

  • Thread starter wolram
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In summary, Anthony Burgess believes that Shakespeare was in the army and that this might explain why he didn't write about battle scenes.
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  • #2
. Christopher Marlowe is considered by some to be the most highly qualified to have written the works of Shakespeare. It has been speculated that Marlowe's recorded death in 1593 was faked for various reasons and that Marlowe went into hiding, subsequently writing under the name of William Shakespeare.
 
  • #3
1. Yes. Why not? The people who think someone else must have show a predjudice; that a country bumpkin couldn't have been so talented. The argument against Marlow is just: compare the plays! Marlowe never shows the physchological insight or underlying fairness to all the characters that are so characteristic of the plays attributed to Shakespeare.

2. Dunno, or care. Her identity adds nothing to the sonnets.

3. Like 2. It has been suggested he was in the army. That might be interesting, but most other suggestions are just aids to some theory or other.

4. Only bisexuals seem to find this persuasive.
 
  • #4
2. I had an English teacher who once speculated that the 'dark lady' was a North or West African woman, possibly a serving girl at one of the taverns Shakespeare frequented. In the 130th sonnet, Shakespeare says her eyes are 'nothing like the sun' (presumably dark), her hair is black and wirey, and her breasts are 'dun' (a shade of brown). He was obviously taking a poke at the traditional syrupy sweet, beloved-flattering sonnets in this tribute, but might he also have been speaking directly about his sweetheart's race?
 
  • #5
Math Is Hard said:
2. I had an English teacher who once speculated that the 'dark lady' was a North or West African woman, possibly a serving girl at one of the taverns Shakespeare frequented. In the 130th sonnet, Shakespeare says her eyes are 'nothing like the sun' (presumably dark), her hair is black and wirey, and her breasts are 'dun' (a shade of brown). He was obviously taking a poke at the traditional syrupy sweet, beloved-flattering sonnets in this tribute, but might he also have been speaking directly about his sweetheart's race?

Although twenty-six of the sonnets are love poems addressed to a married woman (the "Dark Lady"),
This drew my interest MIH, how does the article know she was married, without
knowing who she was ?
 
  • #6
by SA, 3. Like 2. It has been suggested he was in the army. That might be interesting, but most other suggestions are just aids to some theory or other.

The missing 10yrs is interesting, where was he last known to be ?
 
  • #7
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  • #8
Math Is Hard said:
2. I had an English teacher who once speculated that the 'dark lady' was a North or West African woman, possibly a serving girl at one of the taverns Shakespeare frequented. In the 130th sonnet, Shakespeare says her eyes are 'nothing like the sun' (presumably dark), her hair is black and wirey, and her breasts are 'dun' (a shade of brown). He was obviously taking a poke at the traditional syrupy sweet, beloved-flattering sonnets in this tribute, but might he also have been speaking directly about his sweetheart's race?
Anthony Burgess, author of A Clockwork Orange, wrote a fictional biography of Shakespeare called Nothing Like The Sun, which took this same interpretation of "dark" as its premise: he made the lady an African.
At some point Burgess had been in the military and stationed in a hospital that had a ward devoted to sufferers of advanced syphilis. He was surprised to find that as their minds broke down they started using language in peculiar ways, some of which struck him as poetic. He thought he saw some of the same breakdown of language in the later (crappy) Shakespeare plays, so he worked this into his book, having the bard die of syphilis after having written his last several linguistically degenerated plays.
 
  • #9
selfAdjoint said:
3. Like 2. It has been suggested he was in the army. That might be interesting, but most other suggestions are just aids to some theory or other.
Shakespear in the army:rofl: :rofl: I'am not sure if that whould ture he dosen't like he whould be in the army.Why whould a famous playwright be in the army.I whould like to see fighting in the battlefield:rofl:
the battle of poetry
Shakespear is in the army and there going go to meet the emeny troops
Shakespear fights an emeny soilder in the battle
Emeny soilder:Your strong soilder what is your name so that I can rember to name my dog after you?
Shkaespear:What is in a name?That which we call a rose by any other name whould sweet as sweet.
Emeny soilder:What?My dog pee's on tree's a lot and on neighbors houses somtimes but never on roses...
Shakespear was able to confuse the emeny soilder and let his guard down.Then Shakespear was able attack him severly wond and the emeny soilder emeny no longer had left leg.
Emeny soilder: what have you down
he looks at his right hand ingornring his absant leg
Emeny soilder: what an Insult I will never be able to fight because weird guy was able chop my right hand off using poetry.Please kill me I'am dieing a slow and paniful death and If live any longer I will loose my bet.
The emeny soilder looks over at one of his allies who's also dying
Shakesper:To be or not to be that, is the question
Emeny soilder:Frist my right hand then my leg and now more poetry.Please just kill me
Shakesper:The evil that men do lives after them.The good is often interred with their bones.
Emeny soilder:Since your a poet can you right this down:I give unto my wife
my second best bed with the fuinture.
Shakespear:'Et tu,Burte
Shakespear finally kills the emenny soider because of he had a better poetry then he did.
Shakespear's allied soilders,that srounrend him to listen to his poetry, claped
Allied soilder:You should wright more poetry and maybe plays about histroical events like one about the roman emporer
They didn't realize that this distracted them from noticing the emeny army competly surroinding them
Emeny General:What fools these mortals be.
Emeny General body gurd:Is poetry a WMD?:rofl: :rofl:
 
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What are the most famous plays written by William Shakespeare?

Some of the most famous plays written by William Shakespeare include Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Macbeth, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Othello.

What is Shakespeare's most well-known quote?

Shakespeare's most well-known quote is "To be, or not to be: that is the question" from his play Hamlet.

Did Shakespeare write all of his plays by himself?

There is some debate about whether Shakespeare wrote all of his plays by himself or collaborated with other writers. However, there is no definitive evidence to suggest that he did not write them himself.

How many plays did Shakespeare write?

Shakespeare is known to have written 38 plays, including tragedies, comedies, and histories. He also wrote 154 sonnets and other poems.

What is the significance of Shakespeare's works?

Shakespeare's works are significant for their enduring themes, complex characters, and powerful language. They have had a lasting impact on literature, theater, and popular culture, and continue to be studied and performed around the world.

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