Today is Shakespeare’s birthday and deathday, if legend is to be believed, yet in the alternative reality of story which permeates our world he has never been more alive.
His affection for the foibles, failings, good, evil, and drama of human experience at every level of society enables his work to transcend shifting time and popular culture to find relevance in every age.
His work has influenced writers as diverse as Herman Melville, Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy, William Faulkner and JK Rowling.
As with so many other writers of fiction, his influence is evident on every page I write. Yet much mystery surrounds the man himself. Was he a grammar school graduate without a university education? Or an aristocrat of the first order? No one really knows for sure, and none of that really matters to me. Everything that matters is in the work itself.
There one finds, writ large, his compassion for the predicaments of those at all levels of society, his curiosity for all forms of knowledge, his hatred of pomposity and self-pride, his understanding of the ambiguities of power, of man’s ability to distort truth to suit himself… so many facets of human nature are reflected in his work, displayed in his version of the globe. We recognize each portrait and can apply the truth of each one to every era because man’s nature hasn’t changed from Shakespeare’s time to ours. What was true then is still true.
That is why Shakespeare’s plays have been successfully re-imagined in thousands of ways without losing any of the essential truth at each one’s core. Whether set in a science fiction future, a neo-Victorian alternative history, or feudal Japan, that truth still illuminates our understanding of ourselves and others.
Every writer worth his salt at some point in his life asks himself the question: “How can I pull that off? How can I make my work transcend time?” The answer is always “Tell the truth” and the master of that, is Shakespeare.
Re-imagining Shakespeare’s plays in a Steampunk setting enables us to interpret and experience his work from a fresh perspective, but should not distort the truth at the heart of his original. I am full of admiration for those who have submitted to our upcoming anthology. The deadline for submission is May 31st if you would like to take a crack at it.
In the meantime, I hope you will find your own way to celebrate Shakespeare on his birthday. You can participate in a vast range of activities set up around the world from street parades to performances, or consider writing your own post about Shakespeare.
We at Steampunk Shakespeare are delighted to have been invited by the Shakespeare’s Birthplace Trust to be one of 50 selected bloggers from around the world to share a story about how Shakespeare has influenced our lives. You can find the others at the Happy Birthday Shakespeare! website.
The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust is offering four days of activities to celebrate: a Saturday morning parade and walking spectacle that culminates at Shakespeare’s grave at Holy Trinity Church, carnival bands, street entertainers, children’s workshops, a Romeo and Juliet Challenge, and Sonnet Sleuths.
It's always good to be reminded that as surely as form follows function, immortality follows Truth.
My recent post What do you hear
Thank you Lia for the lead on Shakespeare’s Birthday site. Shakespeare’s vibes are everywhere writers write. So he’s in my book.
The man has legs, there is no denying it. Like you I don't care who this mystery man really was, rich or poor he was a language innovator – on that count alone he has influenced my very use of language. The number of words that come to us fresh from his work is mind boggling. I saw King Lear with parents as an adolescent and was shocked how visceral theater could be, how ruthless the portraits of his characters. Then Romeo and Juliet sealed the deal. I comfort myself with his sonnets when I am in need, and think about how he must have lived, driven by his emotions and images as I am. Mysterious & transparent at once.
Thanks Lia for this wonderful post on Shakespeare. I first read Shakespeare when I was in the seventh standard in school; his sonnets were a part of our English poetry. And a year later we had Merchant of Venice as a prescribed text book, it was also the play our class performed at the end of the year.
My recent post An Amazing Literary Device – the MacGuffin
In 1992, a strapping Texan, front lit by the headlights of his pick-up truck, parked by the side of the road in the Texas Hill Country, delivered a line previously reserved for Antipholus of Ephesus (Comedy of Manners Act 5, Scene 1) in a Texan twang so thick his teacher at U.T.'s Drama Dept. had fallen off his chair and sent him to the voice coach years earlier. It was our shared theater background and that particular "The Duke and all that know me in this here city, Can witness me that it ain't so," that made me say: Yes! only a good two months later.
How hilarious! This was your husband? Quoting Shakespeare in a thick Texan drawl? Oh, how I wish I'd seen that!
My recent post How Do Your Characters See Themselves
Yes Lia, Gary indeed. I'm sure he'll be happy to repeat it just for you when we meet IRL some day. Mind you he was aware of the impact his delivery might have, let's say it was a cunning move on his part.
Thanks for the post and the reminder of the anniversary of Shakespeare's life and death. But it is also true that though the man's body died hundreds of years ago, his spirit lives on in his works. Shakespeare's plays are a few of those written pieces that one can read over and over from childhood to old age and learn something new everytime. As you say, he was an observer of the human condition in all its ugliness and beauty. He paid as much attention to the comedy of life as he did to the tragedy of life. Shakespeare was a blessing and his works were a gift to the literary world. He still instructs us in the truth of the human condition and the power of the written word. Well done on being invited to be a part of this event Lia. Will be submitting to the Steampunk Omnibus as well.
-"To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man."-
~ Kim
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