17 May Appreciating Some Shakespeare
At the time of retirement life, lots of seniors have the chance to do things they couldn’t do as often as they might have liked during the busy years of focusing and raising families on their careers. For some, this may indicate time to travel and see far-off sites they’ve always imagined visiting, or they might utilize most (all!) of their frequent flyer miles to go and spend time with grandkids in distant states. Some other may choose to get out and enjoy cultural experiences and local amusement more than they have in the past.
For hundred of years, people have enjoyed watching plays acted out on stage. And with the modern digitization of music, scores have become extensively familiar as they’re played over and over again. People hardly have to hear 4 measures of a song from Phantomor Les Mis before it’s identified and they’re singing along.
Yet what about prior to that? Take Shakespeare’s work. His plays are still super popular and have been equated into many languages so people around the globe can appreciate them. And if that weren’t a proof to how much they are loved and regarded, surely knowing that his plays are performed more than the works of any other playwright is. Ben Jonson, a man who actually knew Shakespeare, aptly wrote that he was “not of an age, but for all time.”
But what do we understand about the man himself?
To begin with, he wrote over 30 plays and 154 sonnets containing lines that are still familiar to us today.
When he was 18, he wed a woman in her mid-20s by the name of Anne Hathaway. Just six months adhering to their marriage, a baby girl, Susannah, was born. The couple later had twins, Hamnet and Judith, though Hamnet died when he was still a boy.
Shakespeare’s career took off in London, where he was busy wearing the various hats of writer, actor, and part owner of an acting company. The company was called Lord Chamberlain’s Men, but later, under the reign of King James I, its name was switched to The King’s Men.
The popular Globe Theater was built in the fall of 1599, but it refuted in 1613. It was restored the following year and then totally closed in the 1640s. Its modern replica in London was built in 1997, and it stands less than a thousand feet from the place where the original Globe was built.
Interestingly, his will, finalized shortly before his death, notes that he was healthy and well. And it was just a couple of days later, on the 25th of April, that he was buried at Holy Trinity Church.
Seven years afterwards, John Heminges and Henry Condell put together the first collection of his plays. There were a total of 36 in the compilation, 18 of which had never previously been printed. This book is commonly known as the First Folio.
His words may never have survived if it weren’t for that first published collection. Lucky for us, they were kept! 400 years later, we’re still taking joy in the fruits of his work and passion. There’s nothing quite like live theater for pleasure, and retirement is a good time to enjoy some of the things you truly love. Whether that’s watching Wicked on Broadway or traveling to a Shakespearean festival, there’s no better time to travel than in your senior years!
We specialize in group transportation and love to get people wherever they need to be. If you’re taking the family to have fun with plays, or have a group of lifelong friends coming together for an exciting vacation, let us be the wheels to help with whatever’s coming up on your calendar!
(The information for this article originated from the following sources:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Shakespeare
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Folio).