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While it is obvious that Shakespeare drew a tremendous amount of inspiration from Christopher Marlowe (note the effect of The Jew of Malta, Hero and Leander, and Tamburlaine on The Merchant of Venice, As You Like It, and Shakespeare's history plays, respectively), this kind of borrowing and [...]

The post Shakespeare’s contemporaries and collaborators [infographic] appeared first on OUPblog.

In the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, Shakespeare's plays were performed at professional playhouses such as the Globe and the Rose, as well as at the Inns of Court, the houses of noblemen, and at the Queen's palace. In fact, the playing company The Queen's Men was formed at the express command of Elizabeth I to [...]

The post Shakespeare and performance: the 16th century to today [infographic] appeared first on OUPblog.

It is probable that Shakespeare observed, or at least heard about, many natural phenomena that occurred during his time, which may have influenced the many references to nature and science that he makes in his work. Although he was very young at the time, he may have witnessed the blazing Stella Nova in 1572.

The post Shakespeare and the natural world [infographic] appeared first on OUPblog.

Forever demanding new performers to interpret them for new audiences under new circumstances, and continuing to elicit a rich worldwide profusion of editions, translations, commentaries, adaptations and spin-offs, Shakespeare’s works have never behaved like unchanging monuments about which nothing new remains to be said.

The post Twenty-first-century Shakespeare appeared first on OUPblog.

In 2012, when the world tuned in for the opening ceremony of London’s Olympic Games, they were witness in part to a performance of one of Shakespeare’s most famed speeches, delivered by one of today’s most revered Shakespearean actors. Kenneth Branagh, dressed as English engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, offered lines from The Tempest in the spirit of the ceremony’s larger theme, “The Isles of Wonder”.

The post Shakespeare’s Not-So Sceptered Isle appeared first on OUPblog.

It’s 1608. You are passing by the bookstall of the publisher Thomas Pavier on Cornhill, a stone’s throw from the elegant colonnades of London’s Royal Exchange, when something catches your eye: a sensational play dramatising a series of real-life gruesome domestic murders. A Yorkshire Tragedy has that enticing whiff of scandal about it, but what persuades you to part with your hard-earned cash is seeing the dramatist’s name proudly emblazoned on the title-page: “Written by W. Shak[e]speare”.

The post “What’s in a name?”: Was William Shakespeare popular during his lifetime? appeared first on OUPblog.

Certain facts surrounding Shakespeare, his work, and Elizabethan England have been easy to establish. But there is a wealth of Shakespeare knowledge only gained centuries after his time, across the globe, and far beyond the Anglophone realm.

The post Five random facts about Shakespeare today appeared first on OUPblog.

We’ve heard a lot lately about what Shakespeare would do. He’d be kind to migrants, for instance, because of this passage from the unpublished collaborative play ‘Sir Thomas More’ often attributed to him: 'Imagine that you see the wretched stranger / Their babies at their backs, with their poor luggage / Plodding to th’ports and coasts for transportation (Scene 6: 84-6).

The post What would Shakespeare do? appeared first on OUPblog.

The first collected edition of Shakespeare's plays printed in 1623 - known as the First Folio - has a rich history. It is estimated that around 700 or 750 copies were printed, and today we know the whereabouts of over 230. They exist in some form or another, often incomplete or a combination of different copies melded together, in libraries and personal collections all over the world.

The post Copies of Shakespeare’s First Folio around the world [map] appeared first on OUPblog.

Since the groundbreaking Original Pronunciation productions at Shakespeare’s Globe in London in 2004-05, OP has captured the imagination of performers, directors, and the play-going public. Going back to the pronunciation of the late 16th and early 17th centuries reveals nuances, puns, and rhymes that otherwise lie completely hidden, and gives fresh dynamism to productions.

The post Why people enjoy hearing Shakespeare in Original Pronunciation appeared first on OUPblog.

You may know Christopher Marlowe and Richard Burbage, The Globe Theatre and The Swan, perhaps even The Lord Chamberlain's Men and The Admirals' Men. But what do you know of modern Shakespeare: new productions, new performances, and ongoing research in the late 20th and 21st centuries? Shakespeare has, in many ways, remained the same, but actors, directors, designers, and other artists have adapted his work to suit the needs of the world and audiences today.

The post How well do you know 21st-century Shakespeare? [quiz] appeared first on OUPblog.

The most striking aspect of Shakespeare in India today is that it seems to have at last got over its colonial hangover. It is well known that Shakespeare was first introduced to Indians under the aegis of colonialism: first as an entertainer for the expatriates, then soon incorporated into the civilizing mission of the empire. This resulted in Indians being awed by Shakespeare, taking him too respectfully, especially in academia.

The post Shakespeare and India appeared first on OUPblog.

As Shakespeare's work grew in popularity, it began to spread outside of England and eventually extended far beyond the Anglophone world. As it was introduced to Africa, Asia, Central and South America, his plays were translated and performed in new and unique ways that reflected the surrounding culture.

The post Shakespeare around the world [infographic] appeared first on OUPblog.

Whether in Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and beyond -- or in various unknown, lost, or mythological places -- Early Modern actors treaded stage boards that could be familiar or unfamiliar ground. Shakespeare made some creative choices in the settings of his plays, often reaching across vast distances, time, and history.

The post How much do you know about Shakespeare’s world? [quiz] appeared first on OUPblog.

In Shakespeare’s comedies, sex is not only connected to marriage, but postdates it. Prospero in The Tempest insists to his prospective son-in-law that he not break the “virgin-knot” of his intended bride, Miranda, “before / All sanctimonious ceremonies may / With full and holy rite be ministered,” lest “barren hate, / Sour-eyed disdain, and discord . . . bestrew / The union of your bed with weeds so loathly / That you shall hate it both” (4.1.15-22).

The post Sexuality in Shakespeare’s plays and poems appeared first on OUPblog.

Whether he fills his scenes with raunchy innuendos, or boldly writes erotic poetry, or frequently reverses the gender norms of the time period, Shakespeare addresses the multifaceted ways in which sex, love, marriage, relationships, gender, and sexuality play an integral part of human life.

The post Sex, love, and Shakespeare [slideshow] appeared first on OUPblog.

Considering the many love affairs, sexual liaisons, and marriages that occur in Shakespeare's plays, how many of them accurately represent their real-life counterparts? Genuine romantic entanglements certainly don't work out as cleanly as the ending of Twelfth Night, where Sebastian and Olivia, Duke Orsino and Viola, and Toby and Maria all wind up as married couples.

The post 5 facts about marriage, love, and sex in Shakespeare’s England appeared first on OUPblog.

At the outset of an undergraduate Shakespeare course I often ask my students to make a list of ten things that may not, or do not, exist. I say “things” because I want to be as vague as possible. Most students submit lists featuring zombies and mermaids, love charms and time travel. Hogwarts is a popular place name, as are Westeros and Middle Earth. But few students venture into religious territory.

The post Shakespeare and conscience appeared first on OUPblog.

What’s your favorite tragedy by William Shakespeare? Martin Grandjean, a designer, has created an infographic to examine some of The Bard’s most “doomed” characters.

According to Grandjean’s website, the intent behind this project is to present “a network visualization in which each character is represented by a node connected with the characters that appear in the same scenes.” The image features analysis on 11 Shakespearean plays.

We’ve embedded the full image below for you to explore further—what do you think? Follow this link to download a digital copy of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. (via Electric Literature)

When opening a work of Shakespearean biography, it’s not unusual to find some sort of lament about a lack of data – albeit that it quickly becomes clear that this has not stood in the way of producing a substantial volume. However, rather than dwell on how this can still be done, perhaps we should re-examine what we mean when we say there is little to go on.

The post Sources for Shakespeare’s biography appeared first on OUPblog.

Eric Gladstone, a writer at Marvel Heroes 2016, has raised $13,808.00 on Kickstarter for a comic called No Holds Bard. The original fundraising goal was set at $10,000.00. The story, written mostly in iambic pentameter, stars William Shakespeare as a crime-fighting superhero. We’ve embedded a video about the project above.

Here’s more from the Kickstarter page: “While writing yet another one of his masterpieces, Shakespeare receives a call from his trusty page, Page, with most disturbing news—The Queen has been stolen! From there, the Dramatic Duo of The Bard and Page set off in a series of rollicking misadventures that lead to the highest echelons of Renaissance power. He’ll cross paths with weirdos of all shapes and sizes. You might even recognize a few of them from someone’s most famous plays (but then, I don’t want to spoil all the fun).”

Welcome to our Kickstarter Publishing Project of the Week, a feature exploring how authors and publishers are using the fundraising site to raise money for book projects. If you want to start your own project, check out How To Use Kickstarter to Fund Your Publishing Project.

George Bernard Shaw considered himself a socialist, but was apt to make surprising remarks about the poor. "Hamlet's experiences simply could not have happened to a plumber," he wrote in the preface to his play The Dark Lady of the Sonnets in 1910, and "A poor man is useful on the stage only as a blind man is: to excite sympathy."

The post The rich and the poor in Shakespeare appeared first on OUPblog.

Why make New Year's Resolutions you don't want to keep? This year the Very Short Introductions team have decided to fill the gaps in their knowledge by picking a VSI to read in 2016. Which VSIs will you be reading in 2016? Let us know in the comment section below or via the Very Short Introductions Facebook page.

The post Very Short Resolutions: filling the gaps in our knowledge in 2016 appeared first on OUPblog.

The Spymonkey production company will put on a show that features the 74 deaths from the plays of William Shakespeare. The Complete Deaths will open at the Royal & Derngate (based in Northampton, United Kingdom) in May 2016.

Here’s more from The Telegraph: “The Complete Deaths will detail all of the Bard’s 74 scripted deaths in one play, from early rapier thrusts to the more elaborate viper-breast-application adopted by Cleopatra. The total makes Shakespeare’s complete works more gory than notorious HBO TV show Game of Thrones, which has scripted 61 deaths in 50 episodes, including the controversial burning of a child at the stake.”

The image embedded above features a pie chart listing the “causes of deaths in Shakespeare plays.” Follow this link to download a digital copy of the Complete Works of William Shakespeare. (via mental floss)