Posted by gfdg on January 04, 19101 at 10:15:53:
In Reply to: Re: Tragedy in Shakespeare's life posted by Sonnet CLV on May 05, 19100 at 14:54:51:
: You're taking on a tough one here ... tragedies in William Shakespeare's personal life? You see, very little is actually known of that life. A lot of speculation is made, and the sonnets give us a look here and there, but you won't find any single source entitled "Tragedies in Shakespeare's Life." Unless, of course, you're talking about the tragedies he wrote: HAMELT, MACBETH, etc. You can get a list of those from this very site, by jumping back to the main Shakespeare board where tragedies are listed.
: If you really want to do an ignment on that topic you list, try finding a few biographies of William Shakespeare, and read through them, picking out anything that might be considered a tragedy, in whatever sense you mean that. You might consider incidents in the social life of England to qualify. For example, when Queen Elizabeth died and James took over, one might say this was a tragedy for Shakespeare, if one reads MACBETH as I do, as an attack against James -- where James and his family (Duncan) is praised in a play where opposites rule ("Fair is foul, and foul is fair.") Or, you might consider the attention given to rivals of his day (people like Marlow) to have been a tragedy to him ... to which he responded by writing plays like TITUS ANDRONICUS. (In fact, this idea of Marlowe is a running joke in the movie SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE. And TITUS is coming out as a film soon, with Anthony Hopkins.) Or maybe the tragedy was the murder of Marlowe ... by the Queen's secret service (not in a tavern duel as is usually depicted), which leads to interesting comments in a number of plays. Shakespeare was determined to keep his head. Or maybe you want to consider Shakespeare's marriage (to the older woman) a tragedy. He did leave home and go off to London to become the greatest playwright who ever lived, perhaps because of it.
: In any case, when you find out anything ... please post a few highlights on this site. Meanwhile, clarify your definition of what this paper is about. That will give you a start.
: If you have a clearer thesis ... post it. Ol' Sonnet CLV will check back later on.
urine!