Cynthia Greenwood
Books and ArticlesIn Anonymous, Roland Emmerich Dwells in the Lunatic Realm of Oxfordian Lore
Any Shakespeare enthusiast has a passing familiarity with the groundless hypothesis that aristocrat Edward de Vere, the seventeenth earl of Oxford, wrote the plays attributed to William Shakespeare. As the story goes, only a university-educated noble close to the Elizabethan court would have been capable of such genius. But in order to swallow Oxfordian “history,” we must also imagine that the guy squirreled away modern cultural treasures such as King Lear, Macbeth as well as The Tempest and other romances, which did not surface onstage or in print until after Oxford’s death in 1604. To buy the gospel of Oxfordians, we must also imagine that myriad publishers who printed Shakespeare’s plays saw fit to engage in purposeless conspiracy; and that Ben Jonson, Christopher Marlowe, Thomas Nashe, Thomas Dekker, and others kept Oxford’s pseudonym a secret (in spite of Jonson’s own famous homage to the “Sweet Swan of Avon” in the 1623 First Folio). In Anonymous, director Roland Emmerich and writer John Orloff do more than re-hash a 91-year-old conspiracy theory set forth by J.T. Looney in Shakespeare Identified. Instead they ask us to dwell in the lunatic realm of Oxfordian lore espoused in the Prince Tudor Theory, Part II. Anyone wanting a detailed version of this hypothesis should check out James Shapiro’s Contested Will, but here’s a nutshell version: The earl of Oxford hid his identity as a playhouse poet because he and Queen Elizabeth had a secret love affair that produced Henry Wriothesley, the Earl of Southhampton. Prince Tudor aficionados believe Oxford himself was the bastard son of the queen, who committed incest when he bedded Elizabeth, but their illegitimate child came along after the birth of three other illegitimate progeny who rose to power – the Earl of Essex, Mary Sidney, and Robert Cecil, Elizabeth’s powerful advisor and son of the equally powerful counselor, Lord Burghley. In his muddled mess of a screenplay, Orloff appropriates from the Prince Tudor fiction, positing a cover-up that suggests, without basis in the historical record, that the bastard Essex fomented his 1601 rebellion to take the throne simply because it was his birthright. Emmerich’s raffish vision of London court intrigue and the Bankside theatre milieu under Elizabeth I has about as much resemblance to history as the vision of Empress Nympho (remember Madeline Kahn?) as Nero’s wife in Mel Brooks’s 1981 comedy, The History of the World, Part I. An Investigation into Forgery, Codes, and Misreadings of Early Modern History
A review of James Shapiro's Contested Will: Who Wrote Shakespeare? Illuminating the Intellect of Our Greatest Play-Maker
A review of Jonathan Bate's Soul of the Age: A Biography of the Mind of William Shakespeare In Search of the Shakespearean Ideal
A look at the Shakespearean roots of great operas by Hector Berlioz and Benjamin Britten. Portraits of Passion and Power
A glimpse into the soul of the heroines of Bizet's Carmen and Monteverdi's The Coronation of Poppea A Family Affair
A review of Manil Suri's first novel since his award-winning The Death of Vishnu (2001). The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Shakespeare’s Plays
(April 1, 2008 release) (Reprinted, March 2009) Here Art Thou, True Shakespeare! This accessible new guide to Shakespeare’s major plays focuses on the essence of the spoken word and the benefits of watching the plays in performance - on the stage or screen - whenever possible. You’ll find tips about plot, theme, famous passages and soliloquies, and how to hear the music within the Bard’s verse and wordplay. Remember - Shakespearean theatre is a social art form, and in its earliest days, it was highly commercial. This book brings you closer to the heady world of freelance playwriting and the London playhouses of the 1590s. As a playwright and sharer in the Globe theatre, Shakespeare was at the forefront of Western show business. This book highlights Shakespeare’s career, his dramatic influences, and what 16th-century playgoers in London would have experienced inside the theatre. In The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Shakespeare’s Plays cultural and historical contexts for the major plays are explored, offering perspectives of the director and actor, in addition to that of the scholar and close reader. In particular, the book takes you behind the scenes with Shakespearean directors, who offer commentary about key challenges presented by the plays, famous roles, and a host of other production concerns. Professional actors also discuss how they’ve tackled lead roles in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Much Ado About Nothing, The Merchant of Venice, King Lear, Antony and Cleopatra, and The Tempest, among others. You’ll find: • Twenty (20) major plays explored in depth, explaining literary terms and Elizabethan English, with attention to language and verse; • A look at how the plays have been staged, from the earliest playhouses to contemporary auditoriums; • Appendices spotlighting Shakespeare’s likely collaborations, a glossary, suggested further reading, and tips about acclaimed film and audio versions. Perfect for English and drama students, general readers, theatergoers, and actors. In the Beginning
Opera as we know it today sprang from the work of Claudio Monteverdi, and particularly from his masterpiece The Coronation of Poppea. Where Angels Fear to Tread
The controversial staging of Angels in America at a two-year college in East Texas When the drama department director at Kilgore College in East Texas decided to stage Angels in America at the Van Cliburn Auditorium of the Turk Fine Arts Center, he couldn’t anticipate the effect it would have on the surrounding community. Here is the story of one community’s reaction to the production of a great contemporary American play. |
Books and Selected ArticlesFilm Review
A Review of Director Roland Emmerich's Film, Anonymous, About Edward de Vere and William Shakespeare
Book Review
A review of James Shapiro's Contested Will: Who Wrote Shakespeare?
A review of Jonathan Bate's Soul of the Age: A Biography of the Mind of William Shakespeare
The Age of Shiva: A Bittersweet Tale of a Troubled Marriage
Theatre criticism
A look at the Shakespearean roots of two great operas - Beatrice and Benedict, by Hector Berlioz, and A Midsummer Night's Dream, by Benjamin Britten
Playbill Arts Feature
A Look at the Heroines of Two Great Operas
Theatre; literary criticism
Everything you’d ever want to know about Shakespeare’s most popular and frequently performed plays.
Essay - History of Opera
A look at The Coronation of Poppea and the beginnings of opera
Arts-related Investigative Report
When Kilgore College staged Tony Kushner’s Angels in America, administrators learned there were limits to a liberal education in East Texas. |
