The Shakespeare Conference: SHK 16.1987 Thursday, 1 December 2005
[1] From: Jim Blackie <
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Date: Wednesday, 30 Nov 2005 09:51:17 -0800 (PST)
Subj: Re: SHK 16.1972 Shadowplay
[2] From: Debra Murphy <
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Date: Wednesday, 30 Nov 2005 10:10:35 -0800
Subj: RE: SHK 16.1972 Shadowplay
[1]-----------------------------------------------------------------
From: Jim Blackie <
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Date: Wednesday, 30 Nov 2005 09:51:17 -0800 (PST)
Subject: 16.1972 Shadowplay
Comment: Re: SHK 16.1972 Shadowplay
Bravo, Bill Arnold!
And also in Hamlet- what are we to make of the references to purgatory?
If Shakespeare's is strictly a Protestant view, there IS no such place,
therefore the "ghost" would have to have been a demon from hell, no?
Jim Blackie
[2]-------------------------------------------------------------
From: Debra Murphy <
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Date: Wednesday, 30 Nov 2005 10:10:35 -0800
Subject: 16.1972 Shadowplay
Comment: RE: SHK 16.1972 Shadowplay
I didn't know Sophie Masson was a SHAKSPERian! Alas, we haven't really
had a chance to get to know one another as yet. But small world,
n'est-ce pas?
Yes, "Godspy" is most definitely an allusion to Lear's speech to
Cordelia. In fact, Godspy published an article by Fr. Paul Murray,
O.P., entitled "Shakespeare and the Mystery of Things":
http://www.godspy.com/culture/Gods-Spy-Shakespeare-and-the-Mystery-of-Things.cfm
.
And speaking of it being a "small world", when I first stumbled on
Godspy a little less than two years ago, I, too, was struck initially by
the title, which I figured could not possibly be an accident. In fact,
it was a bit of a Twilight Zone moment for me, as I was then about to
publish a literary thriller (with plots and themes stolen liberally from
Shakespeare and Spenser) entitled, yes, _The Mystery of Things_. At any
rate, I loved the magazine's mission statement and overall sensibility
(aiming to look at the interface between faith and culture from a
vantage-point that respects "mystery"), and submitted an article. The
editor liked it, and I've been writing for them ever since. I loved the
Asquith assignment in particular because it permitted me to indulge my
passion for Shakespeare. It also induced me to read further in a
problem in Shakespeare biography (and Elizabethan history) with which I
was only marginally familiar.
As for my own view, I am not scholar enough to argue the particulars of
Asquith's case either way, except to say that I agree with her notion
that a layer of topicality need not in any way detract from our
appreciation of Shakespeare's universality. Also, her theory for the
reasons for Shakespeare's sudden retirement makes more sense to me than
any I've read heretofore, and possibly her theory about his educational
opportunities as well-both matters which have caused no end of scholarly
feuding, as we all know, and been at the heart of a good deal of
anti-Stratfordianism. I was also intrigued by Asquith's suggestion that
Shakespeare biography and criticism from a Protestant perspective has
thus far been too parochial; has tended to ignore the possible influence
of cultural developments (the Jesuit Drama of the Counter-Reformation,
for instance) in the rest of Catholic Europe.
Fascinating business, whichever way you jump. And I enjoyed chatting
with Mrs. Asquith immensely-a thoroughly engaging and thoughtful person.
Debra Murphy
www.bardolatry.com
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