My fascination with Shakespeare was piqued a few years ago having
read Bill Bryson’s excellent biography, Shakespeare.
Although my bookcase certainly became home to a number of books about the
Bard following this, my general knowledge of his life and works remained sadly
lacking. When I came across FutureLearn, an excellent online resource offering
courses run by a variety of Universities covering a wide variety of topics, and
spied a Shakespeare one among their offerings, I couldn’t resist.
The knowledgeable, enthusiastic
Jonathan Bates, renowned Shakespeare scholar, and Provost of Worcester
College led us through ten weeks of material, covering eight plays, and
focusing on a particular theme each week. Not only were we in the very capable
hands of Professor Bates, but he also had working alongside him Jennifer
Waghorn who studiously read through our discussions and picked out the most
common and interesting questions to ask Jonathan in their weekly round up
videos.
The video content each week was heavily based around the archival
collections held at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust which was a brilliant
opportunity to see some of their treasures. There were curious items that many
of us had never come across before – a money pot used at theatres to collect
the pennies of those wishing to watch the plays (a rare item despite their
profusion at the time because they had to be smashed to get the money out), a
hornbook which would have been used in schools to teach basic vocabulary, the
Lord’s Prayer, and often the alphabet, and a whole host of other fascinating
objects that I’m sure most of us would never otherwise have had opportunity to
see. I was particularly pleased by the constant references to, and use of the
archive as a reminder to how important archives are to the understanding of
history.
We learnt about the ways theatre ran in the time of Shakespeare, the
speed at which playwrights were expected to compose their plays, and the actors
learn them, and the ways in which the expected audience influenced the themes
of the plays. I was interested in the different sources Shakespeare would have
used for inspiration and historical detail, and how Shakespeare often used very
similar wording but made it far more poetic. It was also intriguing to see what
facts and portrayals he chose to change.
Not only did we learn about the plays themselves and the theatres
they were performed in, but we also explored wider issues that were present in
the plays, real life events that often had a deep impact on the plays. I think
my favourite week was probably that covering Macbeth as we delved in to the dark world of magic, madness, and
medicine.
The final week was also interesting as we looked not at a specific
play but at how Shakespeare has become as important as he is. Learning how much
Shakespeare has inspired artists throughout the centuries that have passed
since he himself was writing truly brought home how timeless his work is, and
how everybody can get something different out of it. This didn’t always mean
creating new work inspired by him, however, as his plays have been adapted and
changed to fit contemporary expectations and ideals, especially during the
eighteenth century. We were also encouraged to think about adaptations and
works of art inspired by Shakespeare that particularly resonate with us, and
think about how they capture the essence of the original.
This course provided an enriching ten weeks, and the enthusiasm of
Jonathan and Jennifer was always encouraging and made the course hugely
enjoyable. I feel I now have a greater respect for the works of Shakespeare,
and a deeper appreciation of how, 450 years later, they are still integral to
so much creative output.
If you missed out on the course this time round, I believe they’re
running it again later in the year. Keep an eye on the FutureLearn website if you want to join
in, and while you’re there you might just find something else that takes your
fancy (I’m on course three so far, I think I’m addicted!).
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