Topic 3: The Bard – Who Else Than Shakespeare… (PDF)

Topic 3. The Bard – Who Else Than Shakespeare…? Shakespeare is a millstone round the neck of British culture. At the same time, very little is known of the playwright’s life: there exist only three visual depictions of the man (the Chandos portrai...

Topic 3. The Bard – Who Else Than Shakespeare…? Shakespeare is a millstone round the neck of British culture. At the same time, very little is known of the playwright’s life: there exist only three visual depictions of the man (the Chandos portrait, the Droeshout engraving, and the painted statue at Holy Trinity Church in Straford-upon-Avon). There are only fourteen words in his own hand (his name signed six times and the words “by me” on his will). Neither a letter, nor a note, and even less a manuscript, survives. The brunt of Shakespeare’s plays (36 out of 38) were gathered in one volume – the First Folio – in 1623, eight years after his death. 223 =sex in a rude but humorous way Many non-English-speaking authors have had difficulty with Shakespeare’s ribald humor and his combination of tragedy and outrageousness. Even with regard to Shakespeare, cross- cultural misunderstandings abound. While in exile in London, Voltaire attended performances of t