Shakespeare William Shakespeare Is One

Shakespeare

William Shakespeare is one of the most famous playwrights of the English literature and one of the titans of the Renaissance movement. His works gave way to new forms of literary creations, or the perfection of old ones. Nonetheless, controversy did not eluded him and today he is still one of the majestic emblems of the British people and one of the great representatives of his time.

Despite rigorous research made to complete Shakespeare's biography, little is known for certain about his life. He was born at Stratford-upon- Avon in April 1564. His family was rather prosperous and highly regarded in town. However, by 1582, he had married Ann Hathaway, a woman eight years older than him; a fact that especially at that time stirred some controversy, as it was considered to be against the moral values of the era. Nonetheless, they had three children. The records show scarce evidence of his existence until his arrival in London in 1585. "There is no tradition, not universally accepted, that he fled From Stratford because he was in trouble for deed stealing, and had fallen foul of Sir Thomas Lucy, the local magnate; another that he was for some time a school master." (Shakespeare, 7) Another explanation is that he had studied Law in the city, which would account for his in depth knowledge of judicial practices. What is certain though is that he soon enters the world of the theatre and despite the fact that as an actor he only interpreted small roles such as the shadow of Hamlet's father, his literary presence was immediately noticed "in the autumn of 1592 Robert Green, the best known of the professional writers, as he was dying wrote a letter to three fellow writers in which he warned them against the ingratitude of players in general, and in particular against 'an upstart crow'...the whole passage suggests that Shakespeare had become suddenly famous as a playwright" (8). When his rivals, Marlowe and Kyd died, he was left without anybody challenging his literary supremacy and he began publishing part of his work and thus was able to become co owner of the newly built Globe Theater. "By the summer of 1598, he was recognized as the greatest of English dramatists" (9), which gave him the opportunity to stage most of his plays freely. He greatly benefited from the protective influence of Elisabeth I, before whom the Company had often performed. Nonetheless, her successor proved to be an even more enthusiastic patron of arts, as King James took under his protection the Theater Company and they became known as "The King's Men." (9) However, from 1601 onwards the amount of work systematically reduced, and new playwrights emerged on the scene, Ben Johnson, Chapman, Dekker, Marston. From 1607, he seemed to spend most of his time in Stratford, where he was given the utmost attention. The last four years of his life were marked by retirement and inactivity. He died on April 23, 1616. "His body was buried in the chancel of the church...shortly after wards, a memorial, which still exists, with a portrait bust, was set up in the North Hall" (10).

Due to the limited information resources available, there is indeed a lot of controversy surrounding Shakespeare. One debated topic questions whether he indeed was the author of all his plays. (Shakespeare Biography 2005) However, there is enough evidence, among it Robert Green's criticism, Francis Meres' verbal attacks, and his ownership of the Globe, to combat this theory.

Shakespeare's entire work comprises 154 sonnets, a few poems and 37 plays, from which 36 are placed in "The Shakespearean Canon." The most important poems are "Venus and Adonis," "The Rape of Lucrece."

No matter the controversy surrounding him, William Shakespeare was the result of the times, of the historical events that defined the British reality and the European one as well. He experiences one of the most turbulent periods in history.

The 15th century gives way to a rapid development of commerce and industry; commercial companies are now being set up. As a consequence, the London Stock is created, as Britain starts to vividly promote its colonial practices. The country was well aware of its privilege position as an insular state and of the supremacy of institutions such as the Parliament or the common law, which gave the British political life a different aura from the rest of the European countries. However, Britain made no exception from the general trend of the absolutist rule. The Tudor dynasty (1485- 1603) was a one of the times in British history when the Parliament instead of being the guardian of the common law, it was manipulated to strengthen the authority of the royal power. (Trevelyan 1962 319-326)

The development of the textile industry, and the commercial fleet allowed England to distance itself from the continent and to search for new maritime supremacy. Internally, English becomes the national language and a new cultural identity is thus born. During the Renaissance, its political evolution was similar to that of Spain and France. The Tudors, who favored this independence also encouraged the protestant religious Reform and put an end to the rule of the Papacy on the Island. (Trevelyan 1962 361- 368) Still, this independence from Rome transformed itself in a total dependence of the Church towards the Royal authority "Even if Henry VIII provokes the schism with the Roman church, one cannot talk about a real religious Reform,..., he will end ties with the Pope because he wanted to divorce his wife, Catherine de Aragon, but Pope Clement VII is afraid of upsetting Charles V (the uncle of Catherine) and thus drags things as to make the relationship between England and the Pope worse. After he is recognized as the head of the Church, the king gets the separation from his wife. The Pope condemns this divorce and excommunicates the king of England: the break up is definitive." (Berstein and Milza 147)

All these elements, the territorial expansion, a boosting economic development, and an emerging religious independence gave Britain the elements for the forging of the strong and modern national state.

At the cultural level, Britain could not have escaped the Renaissance and Shakespeare is one of its most important representatives. However, there are few noticeable influences in the architecture which is very little impacted by the Italian innovations and remains loyal to its gothic style.

This cannot be said about most of the other countries on the continent. The Renaissance was the major molding force of the period and the phenomenon which was determinant for the later developments of the European history. It advanced changes in the philosophy of man, who now became the centre of his own creation; this in turn led to a more remote role for the church in interpreting the religious dogma; nonetheless, artists such as Michelangelo, Botticelli or Da Vinci are prototypes for representing the religious spirit of the movement. The Reform of the Catholic Church "finds its origins in the unrest of the end of the Middle Ages and in the incapacity of the Church to put it to rest. The spectacle of death...stimulates even more the desire for redemption. Or, the papacy seems to be incapable to show the faithful ones the right path. The mob listens more to popular preachers." (139)The first victims of the Reformation are the German states, followed by France and the neighboring countries.

In this confusing climate, the geographical discoveries play a major role. The conquerors try to impose their civilization and culture on the natives and thus establish what would later become the British, the Spanish of the Dutch Empires. Charles V's attempt to unite Europe into a single state fails dramatically after a series of devastating wars.

The aggressive politics conducted by the princes around Europe, together with poor crops, hunger and epidemics cause an increase in the number of beggars, which throws the European world back into an area of darkness and skepticism. This is manifested in artistic movements such as the baroque used by the Church to illustrate its new dogmas. It would later become the means of manifestation of the glorification of the Church and its wealth. The beginning of the 17th century sees a rise of the scientific spirit "with the discoveries made in astronomy on the basis of Kepler and Galileo's ideas and with Decartes' Discourse on the Method. Thus, one can notice the construction on a Europe of science men, which is still hesitant in truly promoting reason, in which faith still constitutes the leant of the society. (170)

Shakespeare's entire work is considered to be delimitated in three phases. "Othello" is part of "four wheels of his chariot, the four wings of his spirit," (Shakespeare: Life and Plays 57), it is a drama of betrayed trust and sacrificed love. The plot is build around the dramatic love story between Othello and Desdemona which is slowly crippled by intrigues set in motion by Iago and Roderigo. In the end, after an intricate development of events, Othello, in a jealousy crisis, kills his wife whom he suspected of infidelity and after discovering the truth and the evil machineries of Iago and his accomplices, he decides to take the ultimate step and kill himself. (Shakespeare 1994)

The play stands out from many aspects. However, there are some elements which make it one of the most important of Shakespeare's works and one of the most acclaimed. The tragedy comes from the eventual incompatibility between true love and the code of honor. Convinced by Iago's evil plan that his wife was unfaithful, Othello the Moor of Venice becomes blind to any explication and swears revenge. In the end, every one of the characters finally pays for his deed, although Desdemona appears to be the one pure presence of the play that is sacrificed in the midst of revenge. The story of the Othello is relevant because it showed a deep psychological and analytical approach on the character, a characteristic which is present in the drama of Hamlet. Moreover, Shakespeare builds his characters as mere peons in Iago's hands who, through thorough manipulation managed to influence them all. However, there is a heated debate on whether Shakespeare, when elaborating his character despised of his characteristics. One can agree though that "though for complexity Iago cannot approach Hamlet, he is almost as interesting" (Shakespeare: Life and Plays 57). He is exquisite in manipulating all the characters: "Roderigo is another instrument and a useful pigeon" (57) and Desdemona is the perfect tool against Othello, because she is the center of his universe, through her purity and love for him. This feminine character is of particular importance for the theater world, as it was the first character ever to be played by a woman back in 1660. Up until then all roles were played by males. (Mabillard)