Locator: 46133BOOKS.
Holiday reading: Shakespeare.
I have just finished the first reading of Chris Skidmore's Richard III: England's Most Controversial King, c. 2017. That was a library copy. I have just ordered my own copy from Amazon / third party so I can mark it up -- LOL.
Wow, what a great book. It all started with Brenda James and The Truth Will Out:
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Shakespeare -- Incarceration And Release
Hamlet: while Shakespeare was incarcerated in The Tower. He was
incarcerated for his role in the Essex Rebellion, in which the
conspirators sought to overthrow the monarch; Hamlet is a play about overthrowing a king.
Measure for Measure: Shakespeare's first play upon being
(unexpectedly) released from The Tower. From wiki: believed to have been
written in 1603 or 1604. Originally published in the First Folio
of 1623, where it was listed as a comedy, the play's first recorded
performance occurred in 1604. The play's main themes include justice,
"mortality and mercy in Vienna," and the dichotomy between corruption
and purity: "some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall." Mercy and
virtue predominate, since the play does not end tragically.
First, the tetralogy of his family (Henry VI and Richard III). Henry VI, Part 1, probably written 1589 - 1592. Richard III probably written 1592 - 1593.
- Henry Neville: in 1590 was 26 years of age. He was member of Parliament as early as 1584 (age 20). In 1579, his father inherited a highly successful cannon manufactury -- Henry would have been 15 years old.
- So, at an early age, in his 20's, he did not write a blog, but instead he wrote four plays to record his family's involvement with perhaps the most important part of England history -- from medieval times (Edwardian) to modern times (House of Tudor). These plays were nothing to write home about but it got him started as a playwright.
- I think one can argue, it was the Neville family, specifically Cecily Neville, that had the greatest impact on the outcome of the War(s) of Roses and the ultimate "winner" -- Richard III, Henry VII, and Henry VIII, the House of Tudor.
- Sir Henry Neville was knighted at age 35, in 1599, the same year he was sent to France as the British ambassador.
Then, the seven comedies. – the Italinate comedies – seven plays in the four years
after 1593 – all except two categorized as “comedies” – set in places he
had visited in Italy. This is pretty cool -- probably all written as a result of his "Grand Tour."
- Titus Andronicus
- The Two Gentlemen of Verona
- The Comedy of Errors
- The Taming of the Shrew
- Romeo and Juliet
- Love’s Labour’s Lost – set in France
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream – set in Greece
During this period –
Just before the Falstaff plays –
- plays more profound
- created his most popular character, Falstaff
- his most patriotic play, Henry VI
Richard II (~ 1595) has always been linked with the rise of the Essex circle (Essex rebellion – 1601)
- King Richard II
- King John
1 Henry IV – first play featuring Falstaff. Arguably S’s most satisfyingly single play.
TMWOW – lots to say about it (p. 117 – 118).
Then – the two final plays of this period – 2 Henry IV and Henry V – considered two of his best-known plays.
Falstaff banished from plays, when Shakespeare banished from England -- sent to France as England's ambassador.In France: alone, frustrated, angry bored;
- As You Like It
- Twelfth Night
- Much Ado About Nothing – probably written earlier
A gap of about a year between Twelfth Night – just before the Tower – and Hamlet – in the Tower – needed a year to regain balance.Post-Tower plays:
Many of the sonnets written while in The Tower.
- Troilus and Cressida
- All’s Well That Ends Wells
- Possibly also in the Tower, Othello (the 2nd of his 4 great tragedies).
1609 - 1615: toward closure:Measure for Measure, was the first (see above). A very dark comedy; the first of the so-called "problem plays."Increasingly needed money:
1604 – 1608: three of his greatest tragedies – Macbeth, King Lear, and Anthony and Cleopatra and three other tragedies: Timon of Athens, Coriolanus, and Pericles, Prince of Tyre.
- Cymbeline
- Winter's Tale
- The Tempest: his last substantial play
Died: 1615.
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Sir Henry Neville
1564 - 1615.
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