Amanda's Shakespeare Blog December 2005 Archive

Good name in man and woman, dear my lord, Is the immediate jewel of their souls: Who steals my purse steals trash; ’tis something, nothing; ’Twas mine, ’tis his, and has been slave ... Read More

The general consensus is that Shakespeare wrote thirty-seven plays. However, no one can know for certain because of the poor documentation at the time the plays were first being organized ... Read More

Doubt thou the stars are fire; Doubt that the sun doth move; Doubt truth to be a liar; But never doubt I love. ("Hamlet", 2.2.123-6) Are Hamlet and Ophelia Shakespeare's best couple? Take our ... Read More

At Christmas I no more desire a rose Than wish a snow in May’s new-fangled mirth; But like of each thing that in season grows. "Love’s Labour’s Lost" ... Read More

In Elizabethan England, New Year's Day was the usual day to exchange presents. Queen Elizabeth loved to receive gifts and every member of her household, lords and servants alike, would ... Read More

Anyone hoping to achieve stardom in the Elizabethan theatre had to win the approval of one man – the Master of Revels. Inside you’ll find out about the man who ... Read More

Bell, book, and candle shall not drive me back, When gold and silver becks me to come on. "King John" (3.3.14-5), Philip the Bastard to King John "Bell, book, and candle" refers to ... Read More

By the time John Heminge and Henry Condell were ready to collect Shakespeare's works into a single volume, the Elizabethan disdain for plays as reading material was waning. The general ... Read More

Which character uttered the dying phrase, "Thus with a kiss I die"? Take our quiz and see if your guess is right. To the quiz...

All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts, His acts being seven ages. "As ... Read More

"Macbeth" was Abraham Lincoln’s favorite play. The well-read president would often entertain guests by quoting his favorite passages. Eerily, less than a week before his assassination at the hands of ... Read More

According to the noted English dramatic critic and caricaturist Max Beerbohm, Shakespeare despised the most jolly of holidays. In his famous parody, "A Christmas Garland" (1912), Beerbohm declares: "That Shakespeare hated ... Read More

These are the youths that thunder at a playhouse, and fight for bitten apples; that no audience, but the Tribulation of Tower-hill, or the Limbs of Limehouse, their dear brothers, are able to ... Read More

"If music be the food of love, play on..." As you probably guessed, the famous line above opens Shakespeare's comedy "Twelfth Night." But which Shakespearean drama opens with the line, "I ... Read More

Although The Two Noble Kinsmen likely was written in 1613, the first printing of the play did not occur until 1634, when "the memorable worthies of their time, Mr John ... Read More