Folk-lore of Shakespeare

by T.F. Thiselton-Dyer

This is a comprehensive studies of the folklore aspects of Shakespeare, providing a full-spectrum exposure to the cultural background of Elizabethan society. The Reverend Dyer, who also wrote Folk-lore of Women, delves into the source of innumerable passages in Shakespeare which were mysterious even back in Victorian times. Although usually he manages to clear up the mystery, in few instances he has to admit defeat.

This book is vital if you want to really understand Shakespeare's cultural context and times. He covers everything from the supernatural (fairies, witches, mermaids) to the games, weddings, dance, punishments, proverbs, animal lore. You can read it straight through, but it is also a browser's delight; you never know what bit of the bard lodged in your mind he will shed light on next.--J.B. Hare.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Ebooks

Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1883

About the author

Thomas Firminger Thiselton Dyer was an English writer of popular non-fiction books, including British Customs: Past and Present, The Folk-lore of Plants, and perhaps most famously, Strange Pages from Family Papers, which was considered a masterpiece of popular historical writing.

Reviews

[Yngvild · Rating 5 out of 5]

By far and away, T F Thistelton Dyer’s Folk-lore of Shakespeare told me more about Elizabethan and Shakespearean drama and poetry than any other book on Shakespeare I have read. It is crammed with information, all of it readable and extremely interesting.

The book handles three basic areas: supernatural beings, such as ghosts and witches; natural history; and social matters, such as rituals and children’s games. The level of detail is astounding, and Thistelton Dyer is especially adept at cross-referencing topics. For example, he will quote from other contemporary writers, such as Spenser, Jonson and Middleton, as well as subject specialists.

Consider one of Hamlet’s more obscure comments to the king’s spies, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.

Hamlet. I am but mad north-north-west: when the wind is southerly I know a hawk from a handsaw.

Most Shakespeare collections gloss this simply by saying that “handsaw” is possibly a corruption of “hernshaw”, meaning a heron. That helps only so much. Here is Thistelton Dyer’s approach in his chapter on birds.

Heron. This bird was frequently flown at by falconers. . . handsaw being a corruption of “heronshaw” or “hernsew”, which is still used, in the provincial dialects, for a heron. In Suffolk and Norfolk, it is pronounced “harnsa”, from which to “handsaw” is but a single step. Shakespeare here alludes to a proverbial saying, “He knows not a hawk from a handsaw”.

Mr J C Heath explains the passage thus: Most birds, especially one of heavy flight like the heron, when roused by the falconer or his dog, would fly down or with the wind, in order to escape. When the wind is from the north the heron flies towards the south, and the spectator may be dazzled by the sun, and be unable to distinguish the hawk from the heron. On the other hand, when the wind is southerly the heron flies towards the north, and it and the pursuing hawk are clearly seen by the sportsman, who then has his back to the sun and without difficulty knows the hawk from the hernsew.

--Folk-lore of Shakespeare, T F Thistelton Dyer (1883)

The overall impression is of an informed amateur talking to other Shakespeare lovers about a topic that interests them both. It has none of the didactic psychobabble that makes modern books about Shakespeare dry and indigestible.

[Mr.B · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Scholar's Resource

Thorough and exhaustive, as well as pedantic to a fault. A purely academic compilation, worthy of scholarly note, but undeserving of widespread public attention.