Katherine Duncan-Jones is unconvinced, as she reveals in this week’s TLS:
But the man portrayed, with his elaborate lace collar and gold embroidered doublet, appears far too grand and courtier-like to be Shakespeare. Though a leading “King’s Man”, Shakespeare was no nobleman, and even his status as “gentleman” was repeatedly called in question by some of [...]
Archive for March, 2009
That portrait again
Posted in Uncategorized on March 19, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Shakespeare Productions
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Productions on March 16, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
One of your number, Cryss, alerted me in a comment a few posts back that the Bristol based Tobacco Factory company are playing in Antony and Cleopatra shortly, having also done their Julius Caesar. I hadn’t thought to list performances so far afield, but actually, since many of you will be travelling about at Easter, [...]
Cleopatra’s sister?
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Antony and Cleopatra on March 16, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
There’s a predictable brouhaha about the supposed discovery of the skeleton of Cleopatra’s sister, and the”fact” that she appears to have some African genes. The whole thing is expertly dissected here. A sample:
The headlines of both the Telegraph (”Cleopatra had African ancestry, skeleton suggests”) and the AFP coverage (”Cleopatra ‘was part-African’”) show the leap the [...]
Portrait of WS?
Posted in Uncategorized on March 9, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Stanley Wells, the leading Shakespearean scholar, suggests that a painting about to go on show at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust is an authentic portrait of our man:
Up to now only two images have been accepted as authentic representations of what Shakespeare may have looked like. One is the engraving by Martin Droeshout published in the [...]
Shakespeare’s First Theatre
Posted in Uncategorized on March 9, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
An interesting archaeological find is reported today:
A team from the Museum of London discovered the foundations of what they believe is the original Globe Theatre in Shoreditch last summer.
Built in 1576, it is thought the Bard acted there and that it also hosted the premiere of Romeo and Juliet.
The site is now owned by the [...]
Tutorial report
Posted in Macbeth, Tutorials, tagged Macbeth, Polanski on March 8, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
On a day more fair than foul, we gathered in the South Wing of the arts building at Manchester University to think and talk about Macbeth- Shakespeare’s and Polanski’s.
We established that Macbeth, more so than many Shakespeare plays, comes with its own historical and cultural baggage. Most people with no interest in Shakespeare will recognise [...]
Ebert’s view of Polanski’s Macbeth
Posted in Macbeth, TMA, tagged Macbeth, Polanski on March 5, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Roger Ebert, the American film critic has some trenchant views on Polanski’s film, which may be of interest as you prepare for the second assignment. Here’s a taste:
No effort has been made to make Macbeth a tragic figure, and his death moves us infinitely less than the murder of Macduff’s young son. Polanski places us [...]
Writing and referencing
Posted in TMA, tagged Referencing, Writing on March 5, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
I’m just about to finish marking the first batch of assignments, and I thought it might be useful to point you in the direction of a couple of places for help with academic writing.
There are loads of books and websites on writing essays, including the OU’s Study Guides of course, and many of you will [...]
