Hello there, Will Shakespeare

On a bright sunny day, we decided to undertake a momentous trip. Across the continents we went, down the annals of history in search of the man whose quill has woven tales that have endured through the ages, birthing thousands of retellings and hundreds of cinematic productions.

Ladies and Gentlemen, bringing to you today, a tete-a-tete with the greatest wordsmith, the unparalleled playwright and poet, the inimitable William Shakespeare.

Good day sir. Welcome. It’s wonderful to have you on the blog. We’re eager to get to know the man behind the quill.

Shakespeare (WS): I am wholly at thy disposal. Inquire forthwith.

Before we do a deep dive into your life and work we want to tell you what huge fans we are. We love the drama you create. Your comedies are masterful, your tragedies, heart-rending.

WS: I am most humbly and profoundly grateful for thy kindness. I extend mine earnest thanks, as a thousand roses bloom in my heart for the graciousness thou hast shown unto me.

We’ve been besieged with requests from aspiring writers who want to be great storytellers like you. What would you say to them?

WS: To thine own self be true, I’d say, for in authenticity doth the soul find its compass. Write with passion, and when in doubt, addeth a ghost or two. Ghosts maketh everything more dramatic, trusteth me.

That’s sound advice. We love your creativity. Sincere thanks for adding so many glorious words to our vocabulary. Which is your favourite?

WS: Indeed I do adore the word ‘gossip’ for it spawns many a tale. And ‘swagger’, more renowned as ‘swag’, possesses a certain allure. There’s ‘bedazzle,’ a jewel in the crown of language, from one of mine most celebrated plays, ‘Taming of the Shrew.’

Since you brought up Taming of the Shrew, we must ask, with due apologies, what made you write a misogynistic piece like that? ‘Taming’ a woman, really?

WS: Ah, alas! Thy kindness doth wane, good sir. In my own defense, a man may entertain the crowd on occasion. Thou shouldst have beheld the laughter that it didst provoke.

Only from the men, we assume.

WS: That might be. For sooth, I aspired to lift a mirror unto the society. ‘Twas the 1500s, and women subservient, held the title of the only ‘good women’. However, did thee fail to mark the irony woven in this tale? By taming Katherine, Petruchio did dismantle the very woman he had fallen in love with. I ponder at times; perchance, in a sequel, ’tis Petruchio who wouldst find himself the vanquished one.

Hmm.. you do have a point.

WS: I bear no enmity towards the fairer sex. How can thou overlook the resplendent Rosalind from ‘As You Like It’, the ambitious and powerful Lady Macbeth, or mine own dearest, the apple of mine eye, the wise and beauteous Portia? Tunnel vision, that’s the quandary of this generation. Always poised to pounce upon others without striving to attain a broader perspective.

Okay okay okay, we apologise. We stand corrected. Talking about your plays, what do you enjoy writing the most — comedies or tragedies?

WS: Ach! A cliched query. ‘Tis a difficult choice, yea, very difficult. However, if compelled at the point of the metaphorical musket (as a certain famed producer-director might say in jest), I wouldst elect comedies. I delight in putting my characters in situations seemingly insurmountable, I revel in the mirth that doth arise when they engage in witty jousts or proffer clever rejoinders. A man of wit am I, or so they allege. Above all, the notion of love doth capture mine fancy, especially when it ends in blissful matrimony.

You’ve written a lot about love. Do you think it exists in real life?

WS: Indeed, it doth. Mine tales are plucked from the tree of reality. I have traversed its myriad forms in my works – the dutiful filial affection, the profound bond of siblings, and, of course, the ardent flame of youthful love.

Despite your elaborate tales of love, rumour has it that you had no love for your wife.

WS: That’s slander, good sir! Fetch me the one who did utter such falsehood. Anne was the very love of mine existence. I couldst not wait to claim her as mine own. We did enter into wedlock when I was but a youth of 18. She was my inspiration, my steadfast companion.

And yet you left her and your children for decades together. And in your will all you left her was your second-best bed?

WS: A man must toil. I had to journey where duty led me, even if it rent my heart asunder. As for the bed, here thee well, it was our conjugal resting place. I left behind cherished memories of marital joy. And now, if it pleases thee, I have endured enough. I am finished here, good sir.

Fair thee well, I bid adieu.

Wait wait please, we still have a rapid-fire round….

WS: Nah, no more, the curtain must fall now, Adieu, until our fates entwine once more.

And so it was that our interview came to a rather abrupt end. Our rapid fire remained undone. Another time, perhaps. You’ll have to excuse us as we go backstage now and try to pacify the great man.

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Do let us know if you enjoyed our chat and we might be able to convince him for a second round.

Meanwhile, you might like to check out another interview we did with the great fighter Obelix of the Asterix Comics fame.

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This post is a part of Blogchatter Blog Hop and also the Bookish league hosted by Bohemian Bibliophile.