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Shakespeare the man of our time

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Page 1: Shakes˜eare - oomph-wellness.org

Shakespearethe man of our time

Page 2: Shakes˜eare - oomph-wellness.org

FROM THE COLLECTION

If you’ve ever longed for your ‘salad days’, considered something a ‘foregone conclusion’ or been on a ‘wild-goose chase’ you have quoted the great bard of Britain, William Shakespeare.

A boy from the relative backwater of Stratford Upon Avon and the son of a humble glover, Shakespeare went on to write close to a tenth of the most quoted lines ever written or spoken in English, according to the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations. What’s more, according to the Literature Encyclopaedia, Shakespeare is the second most quoted English writer after the writers of the bible. A common after dinner conversation starter asks “would you rather be celebrated in your lifetime or remembered for all of history?” Shakespeare is probably the architype for truly achieving both. We are going to take a look into how he managed to become so prominent in his day and so present in ours.

Shakespearethe man of our time

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What was his impact in his lifetime?To better understand how he came to reach us through the centuries, it helps to get an insight into how he was seen in his own time. As a playwright he was more interested in his work than his celebrity. He was prolific, being credited with 37 plays (at least), 154 sonnets and many poems. In fact, we would never have had his sonnets at all but for the theatres being closed due to the outbreak of plague – a thankful use of time spent in lockdown if ever there was one.

None of his plays were published in his lifetime, though they were translated and performed overseas, which is a testament to his popularity and universal appeal even at the time. Publishing may not have made much sense at the time though, as Shakespeare was writing for the masses in Elizabethan England, many of whom were illiterate. Despite this need to create and perform works for the general public, Shakespeare knew where his bread was buttered – he needed patronages. This meant playing to the court and keeping royalty on side. When King James ascended the throne, Shakespeare welcomed the new king with ‘the Scottish play’ - Macbeth (don’t say it out loud). It was a shrewd move and James adopted Shakespeare's company. Their troupe, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, became known as the King's Men henceforth.

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A further sign of having the king’s favour can be found in The King James Bible which contains a hidden message to Shakespeare (maybe). The 46th word of Psalm 46 is ‘shake’ and the 46th word from the end of the same Psalm is ‘spear’. Some think this was a hidden birthday message to the Bard, as the King James Bible was published in 1611 – the year of Shakespeare’s 46th birthday. By the end of his lifetime Shakespeare had secured his place as gentleman. He had his own family coat of arms – a sure sign of upward social mobility and proving just how far he had come from being the son of a humble glover.

How has he influenced modern culture?It is impossible to say quite how deep and broad the roots of his influence have grown. But there have always been the fanatics keeping the dream alive. The word ‘bardolatry’ was coined in the eighteenth century to describe the worship of William Shakespeare. It is these bardolators that we have to thank for some of the most extreme, nuanced and affectionate reflections of his work as we know it today. But it is safe to say his popularity seems as present as ever.The Royal Shakespeare Company sells more than half a million tickets a year and the area known as Shakespeare's England (which takes in the towns of Stratford, Royal Leamington Spa, Kenilworth and Warwick) received 9.94 million tourists in 2014, according to the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.

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They estimate the total value of tourism to the local economy is in the region of £635m, and supporting some 11,150 jobs. So, measure for measure... that is a good start in estimating his importance to us today.But the Warwickshire tourist board isn’t the only locality to give thanks to the great man. The American dream offers him equal adulation. Americans continued to embrace Shakespeare as their national poet after breaking with England in 1776. In 1890 an

American bardolator, Eugene Schiffelin, embarked on a project to import each species of bird mentioned in Shakespeare’s works that were absent from the US. Part of this project involved releasing two flocks of 60 starlings in New York’s Central Park (there are now 200 million nationwide). Ironically a statue of Shakespeare in Central Park is now covered in bird droppings due to this invasive species, and strangely it's kind of his own fault.

He even influenced Freud and had a hand in the construction of psychoanalysis. Shakespeare thought sexual repression was for the birds and his plays can be rather bawdy at times. Future generations found it necessary to censor the Bard substantially. But the unadulterated works occupied a significant place on Sigmund Freud's bookshelf for most of his life.

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Engage your inner writer by penning a poem about a friend's best attributes, then send it to them.

Good DeedOF THE WEEK

He used lines from the plays to help him grasp difficult issues in his life such as failure and death and referenced them as raw materials for his later work on psychoanalysis. The most natural and expected place you would find his effects today is in the modern film industry. From the Lion King to Shakespeare in Love, retellings and reinterpretations of his plots and plays have been the bread and butter of Hollywood for years. Even spawning the teen rom-com royalty that is 10 Things I Hate About You and She’s the Man.

It is fair to say his impact on modern times has been truly astronomical. Literally, in fact, when you consider that the moons of Uranus are named after characters in Shakespeare’s plays.

So, what’s in a name?As Juliet famously asks as she ruminates on her Romeo. There are more than 80 variations recorded for the spelling of Shakespeare’s name after all. It seems fitting then, that man who went by so many signatures in his own time has his hallmarks on so many elements of ours. Interestingly, there are no records of him ever having spelt his name “William Shakespeare”, as we know him today. It seems that whatever the spelling, for bardolators everywhere, the mystery and magic of the man will endure for a long time to come.

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WORDSWORTH

P U Z Z L E R S

'TV or not TV? - that is the question'

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WORDSWORTH’SPUZZLERS

RIDDLE: The more you take the more you leave behind, what am I?

COFFEECONUNDRUM:

Would you rather be an overnight sensation or

remembered for all time?

ANAGRAM: ‘I am a weakish speller’

This bard’s name could be spelled in one of 80 ways

ONLY JOKING: Q: Did you know that Shakespeare once made a performance about puns?A: It was a play on words.

WORD WHEEL: Try to create as many words as possible with the letters in the word wheel. You can only use each letter once and every word must include the letter in the centre of the wheel.

H E

R TEH

AL

C

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ACROSS2. Poem of 14 lines (6)6. Funny entertainment (6)7. Songbirds which form large flocks (9)10. A public presentation (11)11. Is that all you can say? (10)12. Biblical Hymn (5)13. A space for dramatic art of surgery (7)

DOWN1. A star-crossed lover (5)3. Work of universal knowledge (13)4. Saturn's celestial neighbour (6)5. Study of the stars (9)7. Requirement of legal documents (10)8. Method of communication (8)9. Cited another’s words (6)10. A writer for the stage (10)

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WORD LISTEyeball(A MidsummerNight’s Dream)

Moonbeam(A MidsummerNight’s Dream)

Assassination(Macbeth)

Bedazzled(The Tamingof the Shrew)

Fashionable(Troilus andCressida)

Jaded(King Henry VI)

Gnarled(Measure forMeasure)

Ladybird(Romeo and Juliet)

Scuffle(Antony andCleopatra)

Outbreak(Hamlet)

The Lost Works Words of ShakespeareShakespeare contributed thousands of new words and phrases to our language.

Each of the lost words below comes from one of Shakespeare's plays.

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Be a contestant and compete in our games against the clock. Anthea sets the challenges but

you set the timer - so you decide the difficulty! You may

not want to use a timer at all – it's up to you!

Think of a word for each category starting with the letter shown. Score a point for each word and 2 bonus points for each completed category.

C L P

Find words in the grid by using letters that are touching. Letters can be to the

left, right, on top, bottom, or on a diagonal to each other but a letter can

only be used once in each word. Score 1 point for each word found.

ROUND 1: GRID WORDS

ROUND 4: CATEGORIES

Things entertaining

Beverages

Book Titles

Desserts

Modes of transport

In our numbers round how close can you get to the total? Use the random numbers in any way you like to get as close as you can. Score 10 points for reaching the target, and 5 points if you are within 10.

TARGETSCORE

AVAILABLE NUMBERS

ROUND 2: NUMBERS ROUND

Each letter tile is worth a certain number of points.

Score as many points as you can by creating a word using the letter tiles provided

ROUND 3: LETTER TILES

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QUIZTIME!

QUESTIONS

Q1. What is a ‘bardolator’? Q2. Which invasive species is Shakespeare indirectly responsible for

introducing to America?

Q3. How many plays have been attributed to Shakespeare?

Q4. Why did Shakespeare turn his hand to writing sonnets?

Q5. Which defining psychological therapy has (in part) been influenced by Shakespeare’s plays?

Q6. Shakespeare would be the most quoted writer in history were it not for which book?

Q7. The Lord Chamberlains Men was Shakespeare’s company of actors, what did they come to be known as after James I ascended the throne?

Q8. What was Shakespeare’s father’s occupation?

Q9. Psalm 46 of the King James Bible is alleged to contain a coded message, what is it?

Q10. The Bard is recorded as having used over 80 different spellings of his name, which spelling did he famously never use?

Manish believes in ‘mindover ma�er’, take on ourQuiz Master.

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SOLUTIONS

RIDDLE SOLVED:

Footsteps

ANAGRAMSOLVED:

William Shakespeare

CROSSWORD: WORDSEARCH:

QUIZTIME!

A1. Someone who loves or even worships the work of William Shakespeare.A2. Starlings.A3. 37 (at least).A4. The theatres were forced to close due to plague.

A5. Psychoanalysis.A6. The Bible.A7. The King’s Men.A8. A glover.A9. A birthday greeting to the Bard on his 46th birthday.A10. William Shakespeare.

ANSWERS

Happy DaysGAME SHOW

ROUND 2:Here’s how we worked it out.

Did you find another way?50 + 8 = 5858 + 7 = 6565 + 5 = 7070 x 6 = 420

420 - 25 = 395

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Mindful MomentsHum a Happy Tune

Try this, hum your favourite song for the next 20 seconds. Now, don't you feel better? In fact, there's no better way to calm your mind and boost your spirits than by humming a happy tune. Plus, evidence suggests that the simple act of humming may even help keep your sinuses healthy.

It’s free, easy and takes only a few minutes to improve your mood.

Humming turns the body into a musical instrument, creating vibrations that travel through spaces, such as nasal cavities. It’s much easier to have a clearer mind if you have a clearer head!

As with singing, humming leads to a longer exhalation, which can be soothing. A humming breath sequence used in yoga, called brahmari, or bee breath, is said to deepen breathing and reduce anxiety.

Tip: If you are feeling a little self-conscious you can start by practice the breath alone, whilst holding a tune in your head.

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Simply Relax It’s just colouring in...