Thou mammering shag-hair pignut! Thou goatish pottle-deep scullion! Thou spongey ill-nurtured lewdster!
Believe it or not, these are all insults of the Elizabethan Era! In other terms, Shakespeare days! There are so many more phrases where that came from. In fact, there is a whole dictionary on JUST these words! Cool, right?
It’s safe to say that Shakespeare is cool. So cool, that many musicals and songs contain Shakespeare themes! Will Shakes is regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world’s greatest dramatist. No wonder so many stories are based on his writing!
Well, we think he’s cool too. So cool, that we are doing a whole event on songs based on his stories! We are so excited to have you experience this incredible event! In honor of Showtunes: Shakespeare coming up, we are giving you some fun facts and theories from Shakespeare’s life to prepare you for this epic event!
Not a history fanatic? Stick with it, maybe you’ll find your next ZOOM party conversation starter. OR maybe we can get a bit closer to why those crazy insults were actually insults...
Shakespeare was M.I.A
There is nothing documented in Shakespeare’s life between 1585 and 1592. His twins were baptised in 1585 and nothing was documented again until 1592 when Robert Greene (dramatist and pamphleteer, known for his negative comments about his peers) called him an “upstart crow.” Even Shakespeare had to deal with the wrath of these insults! So what did Shakespeare do during these “lost” years? The world may never know...Maybe Netflix can figure it out on their next installment of “Unsolved Mysteries”...
Shakespeare is Spelled Wrong
Oh. My. God. If you are a person with a long name or unique name, you know this pain. We have been spelling his name wrong for over 430 YEARS! Yikes. Then what is his real name you ask? Historians suggest that Shakespeare’s real last name has over 80 variations including “Shakspeare,” “Shaxberd,” “Shappere,” and many more.
Shakespeare Cursed His Grave
Now, in the Elizabethan Era, digging up the remains of graves to make room for new burial sites was something common. Shakespeare did not want this to happen to his remains. He decided to take an...unconventional...approach to these infamous gravedigging techniques.
His curse goes like this:
Good friend for Jesus’ safe forbear,
To dig the dust enclosed here:
Blest be the man that spares these stones,
And cursed be he that moves my bones.
Crazy stuff right! The interesting part is that NO ONE moved his remains, and they are still in their same original location. Shakespeare must have been pretty intimidating for his curse to work…
Shakespeare Made Himself a Gentleman
This is in fact where the modern day term “gentleman” came from! In the Elizabethan Era, a gentleman was someone who was entitled to bear arms, but was not a part of the nobility. It was about status. Shakespeare applied to be a gentleman and was turned down. However, he did not take “no” for an answer! He made his father come with him to the College of Arms to secure one for his family, just so he could have it! Thus, Shakespeare’s family has a coat of arms!
Curious what it looks like? Click the button to view!
Now all these facts are cool, but how can we use these to the best of our ability, beyond conversation starters (because we all know people will think you are way cool because you know Shakespeare facts)? Use these fun facts to ignite a passion for exploring more about the Era! They had some very interesting societal norms, and if you want to be entertained, find some interesting articles on the worldwide web!
MORE IMPORTANTLY, use this brief knowledge to help you understand a bit more about our program, ShowTunes Shakespeare, coming up on Tuesday, August 4 at 7:00 p.m. EDT on the Shakespeare at Notre Dame YouTube page! To find this page, click the button below! With your new knowledge, you can navigate these songs sung by professional artists with insider knowledge on the origin! Can’t wait to see you there!
Sources Used:
History.com Staff. (2013, July 16). 10 Things You Didn't Know About William
Shakespeare. Retrieved July 24, 2020, from https://www.history.com/news/10-things-you-didnt-know-about-william-shakespeare
Jeff, Ollie, Reece, John, Gontar, D., Hentai, 6., . . . Onyinye. (2020, July 07). 50 Little
Known Facts About The World's Greatest Playwright, William Shakespeare! Retrieved July 24, 2020, from https://www.nosweatshakespeare.com/resources/shakespeare-facts/
What Is a "Gentleman," Anyway? (2013, June 09). Retrieved July 24, 2020, from
https://shakesyear.wordpress.com/2013/06/09/what-is-a-gentleman-anyway/