Will Power
Pop those corks! William Shakespeare's 400th anniversary is almost upon us!
This week, April 23, is the 400th anniversary of his death (which was also his 52nd birthday, back in 1616), and why wait another 48 years to throw a party?
And there is much to celebrate in a low-born scribe (his father was a glove-maker), with an unremarkable education, whose plays are still being performed and enjoyed with gusto four centuries later—and still strike an emotional chord in audiences worldwide.
As my character, Jack Dance, actor-turned-pirate-turned actor, says, in my sequel to The Witch From the Sea:
"There’s no censure in Shakespeare, and every facet of life is represented— bawds and kings and villains and fools. Everything you could ever think or feel or want, Shakespeare has already written about it. And everything that happens in your own life affects how you to respond to him, so his words always seem new and fresh, however often you play them."
Not surprisingly, I totally agree! But Jack is only 28 when he says this, so from the vantage point of my own great age, I would add this: as we grow in years and experience, Shakespeare's words become ever more relevant, as we view them from our own ever-expanding perspective.
Shakespeare is timeless, in the same way that mythology, folklore, and fairy tales endure. And their timelessness inspires succeeding generations of bards and storytellers to reinvent the stories on their own terms.
So, check out my list of favorite Shakespeare reinventions—including (but not limited to) the likes of Christopher Moore, Neil Gaiman, Elizabeth Bear, and Walt Disney at
http://ljo-express.blogspot.com/2016/...
This week, April 23, is the 400th anniversary of his death (which was also his 52nd birthday, back in 1616), and why wait another 48 years to throw a party?
And there is much to celebrate in a low-born scribe (his father was a glove-maker), with an unremarkable education, whose plays are still being performed and enjoyed with gusto four centuries later—and still strike an emotional chord in audiences worldwide.
As my character, Jack Dance, actor-turned-pirate-turned actor, says, in my sequel to The Witch From the Sea:
"There’s no censure in Shakespeare, and every facet of life is represented— bawds and kings and villains and fools. Everything you could ever think or feel or want, Shakespeare has already written about it. And everything that happens in your own life affects how you to respond to him, so his words always seem new and fresh, however often you play them."
Not surprisingly, I totally agree! But Jack is only 28 when he says this, so from the vantage point of my own great age, I would add this: as we grow in years and experience, Shakespeare's words become ever more relevant, as we view them from our own ever-expanding perspective.
Shakespeare is timeless, in the same way that mythology, folklore, and fairy tales endure. And their timelessness inspires succeeding generations of bards and storytellers to reinvent the stories on their own terms.
So, check out my list of favorite Shakespeare reinventions—including (but not limited to) the likes of Christopher Moore, Neil Gaiman, Elizabeth Bear, and Walt Disney at
http://ljo-express.blogspot.com/2016/...
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