International Youth Theater Network

Archive for January, 2008

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The “Taming of the Shrew”, one of William Shakespeare’s earlier plays, had been the subject of much criticism especially from feminists who perceive it as offensively discriminatory to the female gender. This comedy tells the story of Petruchio, a young man who did not seem to care about the appearance or the personality of the woman he will marry so long as she came with a rich dowry and Kate, the shrewish daughter of a wealthy merchant. The play centers on how Petruchio transformed Kate from a hot-tempered woman to a completely tame and obedient wife. At the end of the play, Kate delivers a monologue stating why wives should always obey their husbands.

Many assumed that this Shakespearean play was well received by the theater-loving public during his time. However, this was not exactly accurate. In fact, many in the society felt uncomfortable after witnessing the “Taming of the Shrew.” John Fletcher, a contemporary playwright of Shakespeare, felt the need to write a play as a response to Shakespeare’s Shrew. The sort of sequel to the latter’s comedy was entitled, “The Woman’s Prize, or The Tamer Tamed.” In this play, Kate died and Petruchio soon married his second wife, Maria. The story revolves on how Petruchio, once the tamer, was tamed by his new wife.

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Several of William Shakespeare’s plays are touted as among the best in the English language and in the Western literature. One of his critically acclaimed plays is “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” a romantic comedy. Through the years, this play had been widely performed all over the world.

Historians do not know for sure when this play was written. It was heavily speculated that this was written sometime between 1595 and 1596 for an aristocratic wedding, which was commonplace at that time. Some also speculated that “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” was written for the Queen of England as part of the celebration for the feast day of St. John.

The plot of this story centers on the escapades of four Athenian lovers, a band of amateur actors, and a fairy couple whose lives intermingled due to the wedding of Duke Theseus of Athens and Hippolyta, the Amazonian queen. This play was originally set in the realm of Fairyland. It was noted that some of the elements of its plot and characters are based on earlier literature. The story of Pyramus and Thisbe, for example, which was performed by the amateur actors within the play, came from “Metamorphoses”, Ovid’s masterpiece. Similarly, Apuleius also based the transformation of Nick Bottom, one of the play’s characters, into an ass on “The Golden Ass”.

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Shakespeare Through Life and Death

Success did not come easily for William Shakespeare, considered the world’s greatest English writer. He was plucked from obscurity when he came to London in 1588 where he established a successful career in acting and playwriting as part of the theater company, Lord Chamberlain’s Men. His experience in the theater made him a rich man. With his wealth, he acquired New Place, a three-story house in Stratford. He was able to purchase other properties when his fortunes increased.

It was in New Place that Shakespeare spent his last years. He died on the 23rd of April in 1616. Incidentally, April 23 was also the month and day that historians assigned as his birth date. The cause of Shakespeare’s death was a mystery but it was speculated that he caught fever after a night of drinking with friends and fellow playwrights, Ben Jonson and Michael Drayton. His wife, Anne Hathaway and two daughters, Susanna and Judith, survived him. Aside from bequeathing his estate and some belongings to his family, he also left money for the poor people of Stratford and for his friends in his theatrical company, Richard Burbage, John Heminges and Henry Condell. For posterity, Heminges and Condell collected and published the 36 plays written by Shakespeare in a folio edition. Later known as the First Folio, this categorized the plays into comedies, histories and tragedies.

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The Life of William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare, English playwright and poet, is recognized as the world’s greatest dramatist. His plays, created more than 400 years ago, continue to impact millions of people. During his time however, these plays did not make him rich. He did not receive any commissions or royalties for creating the plays that are now regarded as among the best ever created. Despite this, Shakespeare soon became a wealthy man because he was a sharer of his theatrical company called Lord Chamberlain’s Men. As a sharer, he received a percentage of the company’s profits aside from his salary as an actor and as a playwright.In London, Shakespeare successfully established his reputation as an actor and playwright. During his time, many poets and critics expressed admiration for his works. However, he was not as revered when he was alive as he is now. Critics during his time found his skills inferior to that of John Fletcher and Ben Jonson. In fact, many mocked and condemned his plays. Thomas Rymer, in fact, heavily criticized Shakespeare for combining the comic and the tragic in his plays. Another playwright, Robert Greene, distributed pamphlets in London lambasting Shakespeare for trying to outrank other playwrights who were university-educated such as Christopher Marlowe, Thomas Nashe and Greene himself.

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