Discussion:
On Stratman's bastards
(too old to reply)
Donald Cameron
2020-12-08 14:37:16 UTC
Permalink
This note on "Shakespeare's bastards" I find interesting, because it
concerns William Davenant, son of tavern proprietor and Mayor of
Oxford, alleged to be one or both Shakespeare's godson and bastard.

See what some, who assume the Stratman side in the "authorship
attribution" bone of contention, would advance as a kind of evidence
for William Davenant, who would become Poet Laureate, as Stratman's
bastard.

(quote)

In Remembrance of Master Shakespeare (c. 1618)
by William Davenant

Beware, delighted poets, when you sing,
To welcome nature in the early spring,
Your numerous feet not tread
The banks of Avon, for each flower
(As it ne'er knew a sun or shower)
Hangs there the pensive head.

Each Tree, whose thick, and spreading growth hath made,
Rather a Night beneath the Boughs, than Shade,
(Unwilling now to grow)
Looks like the Plume a Captive wears,
Whose rifled Falls are steeped i'th tears
Which from his last rage flow.

The piteous River wept itself away
Long since (Alas!) to such a swift decay;
That reach the Map; and look
If you a River there can spy;
And for a River your mock'd Eye,
Will find a shallow Brook.

Sister Projects.sister projects: Wikidata item.
Davenant, who was possibly Shakespeare's godson, knew him as a child,
since the playwright stayed in his parent's house in Oxford when
travelling between London and Stratford. Davenant says he wrote this
ode at the age of 12, in 1618, two years after Shakespeare died.[1] It
was published in 1638 in Madagascar with other poems.
(unquote)
John W Kennedy
2020-12-08 19:22:55 UTC
Permalink
Post by Donald Cameron
This note on "Shakespeare's bastards" I find interesting, because it
concerns William Davenant, son of tavern proprietor and Mayor of
Oxford, alleged to be one or both Shakespeare's godson and bastard.
See what some, who assume the Stratman side in the "authorship
attribution" bone of contention, would advance as a kind of evidence
for William Davenant, who would become Poet Laureate, as Stratman's
bastard.
(quote)
In Remembrance of Master Shakespeare (c. 1618)
by William Davenant
Beware, delighted poets, when you sing,
To welcome nature in the early spring,
Your numerous feet not tread
The banks of Avon, for each flower
(As it ne'er knew a sun or shower)
Hangs there the pensive head.
Each Tree, whose thick, and spreading growth hath made,
Rather a Night beneath the Boughs, than Shade,
(Unwilling now to grow)
Looks like the Plume a Captive wears,
Whose rifled Falls are steeped i'th tears
Which from his last rage flow.
The piteous River wept itself away
Long since (Alas!) to such a swift decay;
That reach the Map; and look
If you a River there can spy;
And for a River your mock'd Eye,
Will find a shallow Brook.
Sister Projects.sister projects: Wikidata item.
Davenant, who was possibly Shakespeare's godson, knew him as a child,
since the playwright stayed in his parent's house in Oxford when
travelling between London and Stratford. Davenant says he wrote this
ode at the age of 12, in 1618, two years after Shakespeare died.[1] It
was published in 1638 in Madagascar with other poems.
(unquote)
I think there is something in play here that I don’t know about. Is
”Shakespeare’s Bastards” a book, a website, a conference, or something
else? And is it aware of the “natural daughter” mentioned by Theobald in
his preface to “Double Falshood”?
--
John W. Kennedy
"The blind rulers of Logres
Nourished the land on a fallacy of rational virtue."
-- Charles Williams. "Taliessin through Logres: Prelude"
Donald Cameron
2020-12-09 04:34:25 UTC
Permalink
On Tue, 8 Dec 2020 14:22:55 -0500, John W Kennedy
Post by Donald Cameron
This note on "Shakespeare's bastards" I find interesting, because it
concerns William Davenant, son of tavern proprietor and Mayor of
Oxford, alleged to be one or both Shakespeare's godson and bastard.
See what some, who assume the Stratman side in the "authorship
attribution" bone of contention, would advance as a kind of evidence
for William Davenant, who would become Poet Laureate, as Stratman's
bastard.
(quote)
In Remembrance of Master Shakespeare (c. 1618)
by William Davenant
Beware, delighted poets, when you sing,
To welcome nature in the early spring,
Your numerous feet not tread
The banks of Avon, for each flower
(As it ne'er knew a sun or shower)
Hangs there the pensive head.
Each Tree, whose thick, and spreading growth hath made,
Rather a Night beneath the Boughs, than Shade,
(Unwilling now to grow)
Looks like the Plume a Captive wears,
Whose rifled Falls are steeped i'th tears
Which from his last rage flow.
The piteous River wept itself away
Long since (Alas!) to such a swift decay;
That reach the Map; and look
If you a River there can spy;
And for a River your mock'd Eye,
Will find a shallow Brook.
Sister Projects.sister projects: Wikidata item.
Davenant, who was possibly Shakespeare's godson, knew him as a child,
since the playwright stayed in his parent's house in Oxford when
travelling between London and Stratford. Davenant says he wrote this
ode at the age of 12, in 1618, two years after Shakespeare died.[1] It
was published in 1638 in Madagascar with other poems.
(unquote)
I think there is something in play here that I don’t know about. Is
”Shakespeare’s Bastards” a book, a website, a conference, or something
else? And is it aware of the “natural daughter” mentioned by Theobald in
his preface to “Double Falshood”?
I got interested in the "bastards" issue about the time I noticed how
many references and plot ramifications concerning bastards there are
in the plays, along with the questions about authorship.

It seems that in Shakespeare's time bastardy was a lively topic, and
Shakespeare, himself, indulged in it, like in Lear and King John; both
plays showing the bastard redeemed, or something. And I go so far as
to imagine that at some point Stratman became aware of his own
bastardy.

Anyway, psychologists sometimes speculate that children will fantasize
they are really born of royalty or at least of different parents. I
think I read that sociologists assume that a surprisingly large
percentage of births, like one third, occur in families that don't
know who the real parents are.

As I look up "Shakespeare's bastards" in an Internet search, I'm
finding lots of scholarship on the subject, especially concerning
Davenant.

Is it just a coincidence that Stratman visited the Davenant's tavern
often, then William Davenant has the inclination and ability to become
Poet Laureate, buried in the Poets' Corner of Westminster Abbey?

That Davenant may have speculated that he is a "chip off the old
block" could be noticed in his poem at the age of 12, where he
compares "River" and "Brook," with perhaps a play on the words "sun"
and "Eye."
marc hanson
2020-12-17 19:16:11 UTC
Permalink
Post by Donald Cameron
On Tue, 8 Dec 2020 14:22:55 -0500, John W Kennedy
Post by John W Kennedy
Post by Donald Cameron
This note on "Shakespeare's bastards" I find interesting, because it
concerns William Davenant, son of tavern proprietor and Mayor of
Oxford, alleged to be one or both Shakespeare's godson and bastard.
See what some, who assume the Stratman side in the "authorship
attribution" bone of contention, would advance as a kind of evidence
for William Davenant, who would become Poet Laureate, as Stratman's
bastard.
(quote)
In Remembrance of Master Shakespeare (c. 1618)
by William Davenant
Beware, delighted poets, when you sing,
To welcome nature in the early spring,
Your numerous feet not tread
The banks of Avon, for each flower
(As it ne'er knew a sun or shower)
Hangs there the pensive head.
Each Tree, whose thick, and spreading growth hath made,
Rather a Night beneath the Boughs, than Shade,
(Unwilling now to grow)
Looks like the Plume a Captive wears,
Whose rifled Falls are steeped i'th tears
Which from his last rage flow.
The piteous River wept itself away
Long since (Alas!) to such a swift decay;
That reach the Map; and look
If you a River there can spy;
And for a River your mock'd Eye,
Will find a shallow Brook.
Sister Projects.sister projects: Wikidata item.
Davenant, who was possibly Shakespeare's godson, knew him as a child,
since the playwright stayed in his parent's house in Oxford when
travelling between London and Stratford. Davenant says he wrote this
ode at the age of 12, in 1618, two years after Shakespeare died.[1] It
was published in 1638 in Madagascar with other poems.
(unquote)
I think there is something in play here that I don’t know about. Is
”Shakespeare’s Bastards” a book, a website, a conference, or something
else? And is it aware of the “natural daughter” mentioned by Theobald in
his preface to “Double Falshood”?
I got interested in the "bastards" issue about the time I noticed how
many references and plot ramifications concerning bastards there are
in the plays, along with the questions about authorship.
It seems that in Shakespeare's time bastardy was a lively topic, and
Shakespeare, himself, indulged in it, like in Lear and King John; both
plays showing the bastard redeemed, or something. And I go so far as
to imagine that at some point Stratman became aware of his own
bastardy.
Anyway, psychologists sometimes speculate that children will fantasize
they are really born of royalty or at least of different parents. I
think I read that sociologists assume that a surprisingly large
percentage of births, like one third, occur in families that don't
know who the real parents are.
As I look up "Shakespeare's bastards" in an Internet search, I'm
finding lots of scholarship on the subject, especially concerning
Davenant.
Is it just a coincidence that Stratman visited the Davenant's tavern
often, then William Davenant has the inclination and ability to become
Poet Laureate, buried in the Poets' Corner of Westminster Abbey?
That Davenant may have speculated that he is a "chip off the old
block" could be noticed in his poem at the age of 12, where he
compares "River" and "Brook," with perhaps a play on the words "sun"
and "Eye.".
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