Googleplex – 12/19/08
It’s time once again to check in on what searches people have done to find themselves at Shakespeare Teacher, and to respond in the name of fun and public service. All of the following searches brought people to this site in the past week.
Now we’re getting a little closer to the present. King George III was king during the American Revolution; he was the King George we were revolting against. His reign was long – over 59 years! In fact, only his granddaughter Victoria reigned longer, though Elizabeth II is likely to pass him as well on May 12, 2011. But I digress.
George III is a direct ancestor of all subsequent monarchs of England. He was succeeded by two sons, a granddaughter, a great grandson, etc. So I’d imagine he’d be a direct ancestor of pretty much everyone who we consider to be of English royal birth today, though someone with a better grasp of how all of that works may correct me. I’d also imagine that he has many descendants who are not considered English royalty, their connection to the crown being too distant. Again, I am not beyond correction on this point.
The Tudors is for adults.
Cheater!
Many important historical events occurred during the 52 years of Shakespeare’s life, both in the world and in England in particular. Shakespeare was born in 1564, just two months after Galileo, and died on his birthday in 1616 on the same day as Cervantes (actually ten days later).
That’s a lot of history to cover here, but I’ll give you a sampling of five of the more significant English, but non-Shakespearean, events that took place during Shakespeare’s lifetime and how they may have affected Shakespeare. I invite readers to quibble with my choices:
1588 – The English navy defeats the Spanish Armada. This sparked a new era of English patriotism which coincided with the beginning of Shakespeare’s writing career. It’s why a lot of his early plays are Histories, as that was a popular trend at the time.
1603 – Elizabeth I dies without an heir, and is eventually replaced by King James I. James became a patron of Shakespeare’s company, now “The King’s Men,” and Shakespeare will write Macbeth in honor of the new king.
1605 – Catholic conspirators attempt to murder James in the Gunpowder Plot. It is believed that there are references to the Gunpowder Plot in Macbeth.
1607 – Establishment of Jamestown colony in Virginia. The Tempest may have been inspired by the wreck of a ship that was headed for the colony.
1611 – Publication of the King James Bible. Rumors that Shakespeare worked on the project are mere speculation. Stories about Psalm 46 containing hidden messages should be taken with a grain of salt.
The expression “slings and arrows” is from Hamlet, but I assume you’re talking about the Canadian television series. There were three seasons, each revolving around a different Shakespearean tragedy. Julius Caesar was not one of them. The plays were, in order, Hamlet, Macbeth, and King Lear.
He would look like a 517-year-old man holding a giant drumstick.
I leave the task of responding to the remaining search terms to my readers:
at what point should you feel bad for iachimo
who were shakespeare’s teacher
shakespeare time machine professor
funny alternate endings for king lear
music for a powerpoint shakespeare music
shakespeare was not good at math
December 20th, 2008 at 5:12 am
The descendants of George III can be found by going through number 529 on this list. (There are more than 529 of them, but some of them have been disqualified from the British throne for various reasons…)
December 20th, 2008 at 4:35 pm
Regarding “music for a powerpoint shakespeare music,” I’ve always either used generic classical music or pop/jazz music with lyrics referring to one of his plays. For instance,
“Un Giorno Per Noi” by Josh Groban is a remake of the theme song from Franco Zeffirelli’s film adaptation. Same tune, different lyrics.
“Fever” by Peggy Lee. Of the hundreds of covers, I like Michael Buble’s best.
“Romeo’s Tune” by Steve Forbert or the recent cover by Keith Urban, which is surprisingly catchy.
“Love Story” by Taylor Swift, although I don’t quite understand some of the lyrics (for instance, “you were Romeo, I was the Scarlet Letter”?).
“Romeo and Juliet” by The Killers or the live cover by Matt Nathanson.
Also, one could always just search for one of his plays on iTunes. That works, too. :)
December 20th, 2008 at 5:38 pm
Welcome Micah and Katherine!
Micah, thanks for posting this. It’s a great resource. And as I suspected, I was way off base. All of his descendants seem to be considered royal, if not in line for the throne, and there are royals with ties to the crown that go back much further.
Katherine, thanks for the suggestions. The only thought I had was Greensleeves. I guess it depends on what your presentation is about. But it seems like you give a lot more Shakespeare PowerPoint presentations than I do.