tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6942147318185235475.post7727179973000282678..comments2024-03-05T10:34:30.182-05:00Comments on The Marlowe-Shakespeare Connection: Praying We See the Light by Anthony KellettUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6942147318185235475.post-32295252299322789512013-05-05T09:06:17.220-04:002013-05-05T09:06:17.220-04:00Thank you all for your comments.
Clearly, my piec...Thank you all for your comments.<br /><br />Clearly, my piece reaches far wider than Marlowe’s possible authorship; or the authorship issue, itself. However, I think it is important to take a step back, from time to time, and recognise our work has far wider potential (or should have) for future generations. The authorship issue can be a tool to facilitate a much-needed sea-change in education.<br /><br />One the finest ‘speeches’ I ever heard was actually a response, in a live debate, by Christopher Hitchens. Though he was responding to a theological point, I do not think it is inappropriate to my case; particularly given the framing of my piece.<br /><br />When already close to death, from terminal cancer, Hitchens was asked why he doesn’t simply accept the ‘wonderful offer’ of eternal life in heaven. I unreservedly agree with the conclusion of his moving reply (of which I recommend a full viewing)…<br /><br />“To me, the offer of certainty, the offer of complete security, the offer of an impermeable faith that can’t give way, is an offer of something not worth having.<br /><br />I want to live my life taking the risk, all the time, that I don’t know anything like enough yet; that I haven’t understood enough; that I can’t know enough; that I am always hungrily operating on the margins of a potentially great harvest of future knowledge and wisdom. I wouldn’t have it any other way. And I’d urge you to look at those people who tell you that you are dead, until you believe as they do - what a terrible thing to be telling to children - and that you can only live by accepting an absolute authority. Don’t think of that as a gift; think of it as a poisoned chalice. Push it aside, however tempting it is. Take the risk of thinking for yourself. Much more happiness, truth, beauty and wisdom will come to you that way.”<br />Anthony Kellettnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6942147318185235475.post-77285510950244342612013-04-11T20:29:05.667-04:002013-04-11T20:29:05.667-04:00Superb essay, Anthony. Should be read by every pro...Superb essay, Anthony. Should be read by every professor of English lit. The authorship question forces you not only to read the plays in the First Folio but also the plays written by Marlowe. It wasn't until I had read all of Marlowe that I was able to find so many of the clues in the plays attributed to WS. That the people in charge of the Hoffman prize should not really believe in the Marlowe theory is something of a scandal. Intellectual curiosity, as Maureen points out, is not an act of apostasy. It's an absolute and fearless pursuit of truth no matter what others may think.Sam Blumenfeldnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6942147318185235475.post-26980882499968529272013-04-11T18:58:46.578-04:002013-04-11T18:58:46.578-04:00Beautifully expressed, Anthony. Couldn’t agree mor...Beautifully expressed, Anthony. Couldn’t agree more. Here's my experience. Mike Rubbo's documentary made me realise that Shakespeare had no documented literary existence outside of the plays and poems attributed to him. My curiosity fired up, I turned to late 16th century history to find out more. I learned about the war in the Netherlands, the threat from Spain, the religious divisions of Europe and the subsequent flood of French and Italian immigrants into England, the question of the succession, the Earl of Essex’ disastrous Irish campaign, Archbishop Whitgift’s English Inquisition, the Cambridge connection to the plays and the various European intellectual movements of the time. I also read about many of the personalities associated with "Shakespeare", eg, members of the Sydney family, Sir Fulke Greville, John Florio, etc – all of whom have documented biographies. This allowed me to understand and appreciate the plays more deeply, for they are rooted in the historical time and place of their invention. However, there remains a disconcerting gap in the centre. Where is the author’s life? What kind of man could have written them? My conclusion so far from the plays and poems is that the person (or persons?) who wrote these exquisite poems and plays was Cambridge educated, fluent in Classical and 16th century Italian sonnet forms, had visited various parts of Italy and had a deep knowledge of 16th century European intellectual ideas to the point of satirizing some of them and, of course, was able to pour a well of passions and wide-ranging emotions into the language at the heart of his work. It is hard to believe that these biographical elements conjure up the profile of a marriage-broker and grain merchant from Stratford whose six faltering signatures on legal documents are the only evidence we have that he could write at all. Maureen Duffnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6942147318185235475.post-12620207989194382662013-03-22T23:51:09.698-04:002013-03-22T23:51:09.698-04:00What a fine essay, Anthony. The Stratfordians ofte...What a fine essay, Anthony. The Stratfordians often do treat questioners as apostates! But I try not to blame them too much. After all, this puzzle was set up so that people would believe the actor from Stratford wrote the works. It's what they were taught by their own professors.<br /><br />What a shame, though, that most of them are defensive about the authorship question, rather than curious. For in addition to learning the lessons you mentioned, questioners learn lessons about humility, wisdom, and the foresight to think not only about the present, but about generations to come. If the Stratfordian did not write the works, the primary author who did possessed these qualities in abundance. And his nobility of character would make William Shakspere look boorish by comparison (as is William in "As You Like It")<br /><br />The story future English professors teach their students could be so much deeper and inspirational.Donnanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6942147318185235475.post-6259995766307444492013-03-22T11:24:14.793-04:002013-03-22T11:24:14.793-04:00To use a more modern example, let's take Hemin...To use a more modern example, let's take Hemingway. His experiences in World War I (including his injury) and the Spanish Civil War, for example, certainly provide for a rich exegesis of such works as <i>A Farewell to Arms</i>, <i>For Whom the Bell Tolls</i>, the Nick Adams stories, etc. Let's say the same for Joyce - certainly his stories were shaped by his life experiences in very Catholic Dublin. <br /><br />Hemingway and Joyce unquestionably drew from their personal experiences.<br /><br />Browning clearly hasn't rubbed elbows with many who study Shakespeare authorship - my experience is that those who do pursue the authorship question actually study the plays even more closely.CARLO D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/17648756132380258388noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6942147318185235475.post-8472474546625222042013-03-22T10:22:37.783-04:002013-03-22T10:22:37.783-04:00Thank you Anthony, I agree one hundred per cent. I...Thank you Anthony, I agree one hundred per cent. I was brought up in a home where Shakespeare was always present, my step-father working for the then very Shakespeare-oriented Old Vic company; and my most enjoyable time at school (despite the efforts of Eng. Lit. O & A levels to put me off!) was spent acting in Shakespeare's plays. We also lived within a short bus-ride of the Old Vic itself, where I was able to get (and did) a place on a bench up in the 'gods' for sixpence. Yet even with these huge advantages, I can honestly state that I didn't really start to 'get' Shakespeare until my interest in just who wrote this wonderful stuff was aroused by the authorship question.<br /><br />PeterPeter Fareynoreply@blogger.com