Shakespeare’s London and the Dark Lady of the Sonnets Compiled by John Kean version 20170816 William Shakespeare and the Dark Lady William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616) grew up in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, and went on to become arguably the greatest writer and playwright in the English language. Yet little is known of his life apart from a few key dates salvaged from church registers and public records. Shakespeare and his wife Anne had three children and one grandchild but no great-grandchildren. While Anne and the family remained in Stratford, Shakespeare spent a good portion of his life in London, writing and working in the theatres. Many myths and mysteries surround Shakespeare, but one of the most compelling concerns the identities of the two muses to which his 154 sonnets are addressed. Sonnets 1 to 126 speak to a “Fair Youth”, while the remaining 28 concern a “Dark Lady”. The sonnets were published in full in 1609, almost certainly without the author’s permission, so it is not known how widely Shakespeare intended them to be read. Also, it is not known how much literal truth lies in them – are they autobiographical or mere fancy, fiction or nonfiction? Most scholars seem to accept that the Fair Youth was probably either Henry Wriothesley (pronounced “rosely” or “rizzly”), 3rd Earl of Southampton, or William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke, both of whom were handsome young men and patrons of Shakespeare. However, the identity of the notorious Dark Lady remains a hotly debated topic, even four centuries after Shakespeare’s death. 1 In Black Sonata you will pursue the Dark Lady’s hidden movements through Shakespeare’s London, collecting clues to her identity. The game features eleven of the most compelling candidates and tries to be as faithful to history as possible. This document gives background details on the Dark Ladies of Shakespeare’s world, as well as the few London locations where we know he spent time. It is not intended to be a full and accurate biography, but rather to pique interest in Shakespeare’s life, the culture of the times, and to add depth to the experience of playing Black Sonata. Sonnet 145 Those lips that love’s own hand did make Breathed forth the sound that said “I hate” To me that languished for her sake; But when she saw my woeful state, Straight in her heart did mercy come, Chiding that tongue that, ever sweet, Was used in giving gentle doom, And taught it thus anew to greet: “I hate” she altered with an end That followed it as gentle day Doth follow night, who like a fiend From heav’n to hell is flown away. “I hate” from hate away she threw, And saved my life, saying “not you”. Since the sonnets were apparently published without Shakespeare’s input, we do not know in what order they were intended to be read. Number 145 may actually be a very early sonnet addressed to Shakespeare’s wife, Anne Hathaway, due to the pun on her name in line 13. If so, she must initially have spurned him before accepting him. 2 Anne Whateley The first of the Dark Ladies, Anne Whateley may never have existed. In 1582 the Episcopal register at Worcester records that a marriage licence was granted to “Wm Shaxpere” to marry “Annam Whateley” in the village of Temple Grafton. The same month, William Shakespeare, aged 18, married Anne Hathaway, aged 26, of Shottery. Some authors have claimed that Shakespeare was in love with one girl, Whateley, but was forced to marry another, Hathaway, because she was pregnant to him; Shakespeare’s lost love, Anne Whateley, would then form the model for his Dark Lady. However, most scholars now attribute Whateley’s existence to a clerical error, since the spelling of names was notoriously fluid at the time – Shakespeare himself spelled his own name differently in every one of his half dozen surviving autographs. Sonnet 21 WJ Fraser So is it not with me as with that muse, Hutchison Stirred by a painted beauty to his verse, claimed this Who heav’n itself for ornament doth use, portrait And every fair with his fair doth rehearse - depicts Anne Making a couplement of proud compare Whateley, but With sun and moon, with earth and sea’s rich gems, it is probably With April’s first-born flow’rs, and all things rare Girolamo That heaven’s air in this huge rondure hems. Casio by O let me, true in love but truly write, Giovanni And then believe me: my love is as fair Boltraffio. As any mother’s child, though not so bright As those gold candles fixed in heaven’s air. Let them say more that like of hearsay well; I will not praise that purpose not to sell.. In this early sonnet, grouped with those dedicated to the Fair Youth, Shakespeare promises not to sugar- coat his love, but tell it how it is (unlike other poets). 1 London Bridge From Roman times until the 19th Century, only one bridge ever spanned the Thames in London, though it was destroyed and rebuilt several times. The London Bridge known by Shakespeare was completed in 1209 and was crowded with some 200 wooden buildings of up to seven stories tall that all but blocked the road and overhung the river on each side. London Bridge was a thriving centre of commerce, especially for mercers and haberdashers. A prominent feature of the southern gatehouse was the spiked heads of executed criminals, dipped in tar and boiled to preserve them. Because of the congestion, crossing the bridge could take over an hour, so the wealthy often elected to use the bustling water taxis that crossed the river directly from locations such as Falcon Stairs. Sonnet 127 In the old age black was not counted fair, Or if it were, it bore not beauty’s name; But now is black beauty’s successive heir, And beauty slandered with a bastard shame: For since each hand hath put on Nature’s power, Fairing the foul with Art’s false borrowed face, Sweet beauty hath no name, no holy bower, But is profaned, if not lives in disgrace. Therefore my mistress’ eyes are raven black, Her eyes so suited, and they mourners seem At such who, not born fair, no beauty lack, Sland’ring creation with a false esteem: Yet so they mourn becoming of their woe, That every tongue says beauty should look so. This, the first of the Dark Lady sonnets, establishes the persistent theme of “blackness” in the Lady, initially in complexion but later in actions. 4 Shoreditch Shakespeare probably arrived in London in the late 1580s, aged in his mid twenties, leaving his older wife and three children behind in Stratford. At the time a thriving industry of playhouses existed outside the city walls, particularly in Shoreditch to the north east of the city. It was there, in 1576, that the actor and joiner James Burbage built one of the first permanent dedicated theatres in England. The aptly if unimaginatively named “Theatre” hosted a number of important acting troupes including the Lord Chamberlain's Men, to which Shakespeare became connected as an actor and playwright. James Burbage’s son Richard was a key member of the troupe and became famous for his titular role in one of Shakespeare’s plays, Richard III, written c.1592. Some remains of The Theatre have been found on New Inn Yard in Shoreditch. The other major theatre of the time, The Curtain, lay approximately at the site of the current Horse & Groom pub on Curtain Road. Shoreditch, from the “Agas” map of London c.1560. 5 Winnifred Burbage Winifred Burbage (c.1570 - 1642) was the wife of Richard Burbage, one of the most famous English actors of the late 16th and early 17th centuries, with whom she had at least eight children. After his death in 1619 she married another actor, Richard Robinson. Little else is recorded about her, and even her maiden name is unknown. Her known association with Shakespeare and her compatible age are the only characteristics that make her a candidate for the Dark Lady. Sonnet 143 Lo, as a careful housewife runs to catch One of her feathered creatures broke away, Sets down her babe and makes all swift dispatch In púrsuit of the thing she would have stay; Whilst her neglected child holds her in chase, Cries to catch her whose busy care is bent To follow that which flies before her face, Not prizing her poor infant’s discontent: So run’st thou after that which flies from thee, Whilst I, thy babe, chase thee afar behind. But if thou catch thy hope, turn back to me, And play the mother’s part, kiss me, be kind. So will I pray that thou mayst have thy Will, If thou turn back and my loud crying still. The domestic metaphor of this sonnet might suggest that the Dark Lady has children. Or perhaps it is just a metaphor. 6 Clerkenwell In Elizabethan England, all theatre productions were controlled and censored by the Master of Revels, deputy to the Lord Chamberlain. All new plays and troupes had to pass his inspection before they were permitted to be shown to the public. During Shakespeare’s career the Master was Edmund Tylney (1536 - 1610) and the Office of the Revels was based in St. John's Priory, Clerkenwell. Shakespeare would have visited Clerkenwell often throughout his career. Under Tylney the Office became increasingly concerned with censorship, and increasingly corrupt.