C 5.3 Interview with Gregory Thompson Part 3

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From the course by University of London

Introduction to Who Wrote Shakespeare

57 ratings

University of London

Introduction to Who Wrote Shakespeare

57 ratings

This free course from the University of London explores critical thinking, and the interpretation of texts, through the Shakespeare authorship question. Using doubt about Shakespeare’s authorship as our playground, we will explore the key concept of authorship attribution, while developing skills in literary analysis, interpretation, and argument. Through forensic exploration of key texts, you will learn why Shakespeare’s authorship is questioned, and what evidence is cited on both sides of the debate. For those of you interested in exploring the works of Shakespeare from a new angle, or just wanting to hone your analytical thinking skills, this course offers an introduction to a fascinating area of interest. Those of you already interested in the Shakespeare authorship question will be encouraged to question your own assumptions in fruitful ways. Whether undertaken as a standalone course, or as preparation for the University of London BA in English, this course will be food for thought.

From the lesson

The Evidence from Stratford-upon-Avon

In the module, you will look more deeply at the connection between Stratford-upon-Avon and Shakespeare, beginning with Shakespeare-related testimony from people who had a provable personal connection to Stratford-upon-Avon and Shakespeare: William Camden, Michael Drayton, Shakespeare's son-in-law, Dr John Hall, and Shakespeare’s daughters. You’ll consider the question of his daughters’ literacy, and whether has any bearing on the authorship question. You’ll look at what are claimed to be local Warwickshire references in the plays, which have been used to support the traditional authorship attribution. And finally, you’ll consider the monument erected to Shakespeare in Stratford’s Holy Trinity Church, arguments that it was altered in the 18th century, and the three texts engraved on that monument and the connected grave.

C 5.1 Interview with Alexander Waugh - Part 28:40

C 5.2 Interview with Gregory Thompson Part 27:41

C 5.3 Interview with Gregory Thompson Part 37:34

C 5.4 Interview with Peter Dawkins Part 17:27

C 5.5 Interview with Peter Dawkins Part 25:19

C 5.6 Module Summary2:56

Meet the Instructors

Ros Barber
Dr
English and Comparative Literature

Co-authorship is a really interesting thing because

I did some workshops in Iran where there's state censorship,

of course, Elizabethan England, a state, there was censorship,

and they co-authored things so that they could somehow evade who wrote what.

This was the story they told in the workshop of one of the reasons they

worked together is so they can then deny responsibility.

I didn't write that book.

That wasn't me.

I'm not quite sure how that happened.

I don't remember who wrote that.

So sorry about that.

Clearly, two things have gotten together and they shouldn't have.

So, there's a deniability in co-authorship.

And when you're forbidden from talking about

the succession and then you're putting plays on the stage that are,

those history plays aren't the glory of this in our hour.

I guess you could argue Henry V as well,

almost all of those plays are about succession.

That's the issue he’s interested in the history.

And that's the thing that's being forbidden to be spoken about.

So these are, um, you know, this is dangerous. Yeah.

Someone protected this author.

I mean, I don't know whether Richard II was played on the eve of the Essex Rebellion.

But Richard II is a play about a king who's forced to give up his throne.

And that's dangerous.

Who is protecting this author?

In a kind of police state where everybody knows everybody in

this small island of however many million people there were in early modern England..

Not very many.

And the number who were actually literate, very few.

The number who could write plays, even fewer.

So, very small pool of people to choose from.

So, I wonder who knew,

who was the writer?

And they probably knew that it wasn't this William Shakespeare.

That's my fantasy, you see.

Well, there does seem to be evidence.

So certainly, you can read it,

supporting doubt about Shakespeare's authorship from his own lifetime.

But because everything has to be said in such a cagey way because it was essentially,

as you say, a police state.

And this is something else that our students may not be aware of.

Because we have this idea of Elizabethan England from the movies.

It's all so Walter Raleigh throwing his cloak over a muddy puddle for the queen?

He comes to the public play house to see Shakespeare appear in his own play,

of course, all of which is complete fantasy.

From the very fact that the Queen Elizabeth never went to public play houses,

we have no evidence that Shakespeare ever even actually appeared in any of his own plays.

We've got no record of it,

that he was acting on stage,

certainly not in any major role.

And we have a queen whose mother was burnt as a witch.

Burned as a witch.

We have a queen whose mother was beheaded as a witch.

And people where courtiers,

if they say the wrong thing or they lose their hands if they write the wrong thing,

they lose their heads if they say the wrong thing.

This is a dangerous time to live.

It's a very dangerous time to be a writer.

And you've got someone who is writing about the key political issue of the day,

and using the lens of history to disguise that. And that's what he's doing.

And a banned, it's a totally banned subject.

The Queen had specifically said,

this succession is not to be discussed or written about.

And by using history and saying, "Oh, no.

But I'm writing about 200 years ago."

It's this level of protection that the author has.

But it didn't stop another author getting imprisoned for writing a history.

And he's writing about the time before the divine right of kings, which is significant.

As Henry VIII becomes, "I'm head of the church.

I'm now appointed by God."

This is a new thing.

And Elizabeth, therefore, has her power through God.

But previous kings didn't have their power through God.

y'know, they, the pope was the representation of God on earth.

So, there's this huge sucking up of power into the figure of the monarch,

because of Henry VIII's need to provide an heir, really.

Exactly.

And so, this has been inherited.

So, there are people who remember what life was

like before the king was appointed by God, as it were.

And they're saying, "Can we go back to those days

when there was advice and there was a council?"

And the Cecils are going, "No,

we quite like controlling the monarch, thanks.

And having all this power."

And that is the struggle,

the top end of early modern society that you see in the plays,

which is why the plays are so fascinating.

Now, when you go to a hierarchical misogynistic society like Pakistan,

the plays absolutely resonate.

And there's something about early

modern England and more traditional cultures that we forget,

because we live in this democracy.

But when you have absolute power,

and people are frightened of speaking out,

you need to find a way to allow these issues to be spoken of.

So, you translate, you push into other places.

You say, "Well, here's this play set 200 years ago or here we are in Rome.

Here we are in Venice."

Of course, he's always choosing republics to set these plays.

When people say, "Why would anyone hide their identity?"

You almost begin to ask,

"Why would a writer not hide

their identity if they're writing about such difficult subjects?"

I mean, absolutely.

This is a body of work that would be dangerous to put your name to.

And hence, why your name to it, A,

you'd want people to know it wasn't you really, I think.

And also, that you would charge a lot of money,

I think, for doing that.

I mean, the most interesting fact I think about Shakespeare from Stratford is that,

his name appears on the plays for the first time.

And then he buys this big house.

And that I think is really like,

"Okay, there's a fact."

And you go, "So, how did that happen?"

Because that's relatively early in his writing career.

He hasn't made all his money and retired to Stratford.

He buys that big house when his name first appears.

Those of us who have a little bit of success,

you're still a starving artist.

You need sustained success to buy property.

Yes. Then as now.

Exactly.

And it was the second biggest house in Stratford-upon-Avon.

It was a really substantial place.

I think it's really worth people looking at things like timing, like that.

This happened and that happened,

and it might be coincidence but is there a causal connection.

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