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It would have
been difficult for Shakespeare to become accepted as a
writer
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Playwrights were
not seen as literary experts. A poet was highly acceptable
and viewed as educated intellectuals - Playwrights were not!
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Shakespeare had
not attended University
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Shakespeare was
not a Courtier and neither did he come from a noble family
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He had worked as
an actor which would not have enhanced his reputation as a
Poet, which would have been important to him
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His work as a
Playwright would not have seemed so important other than in
financial terms
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He was looked
down upon by some of his contemporaries and criticised
publically in Greene's Groatsworth of Wit in which he was
referred to as an
"Upstart
Crow"
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Shakespeare had
a patron, a man of prominence who would support the young
writer in his poetic works
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His patron was
Henry Wriothesley who was Third Earl of Southampton
(1573-1624)
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Shakespeare
published his poem Venus and Adonis on April 18th 1593. The
poem was dedicated to Shakespeare's patron, the Earl of
Southampton
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The dedication
refers to the author's "unpolisht lines" and contains the
typically fawning language of a commoner who hopes to gain
more favour by dedicating the poem to a courtier
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The poem was an
artistic success!
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But Shakespeare
went on to concentrate on Plays rather than Poetry. Perhaps
the financial rewards were more potent that artistic praise
( Poems for Show - Plays for Dough!) And Shakespeare did
become very rich through his work in the theatres
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But there were
considerable risks associated with this choice of career
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A Playwright
could prove to be a dangerous occupation!
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Thomas Kyd, a
fellow playwright was arrested on charges of writing a
slanderous play. He was tortured and brande with hot irons
before he was released
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Kyd implicated
the famous playwright Christopher Marlowe in relation to
accusations of Heresy and Atheism
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Marlowe was
summoned to appear before the dreaded Star Chamber but died
suddenly (and mysteriously). It has been said that he faked
his own death rather that appear before the Star Chamber
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Playwrights
often used a pseudonym, or an alias, to conceal their true
identity
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Some Playwrights
did not publish their plays. They sold their work to the
theatre for a 'one-off' payment and the theatre arranged for
publication
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William
Shakespeare never authorised the publication of any of his
plays during his lifetime!
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William
Shakespeare never claimed authorship of his plays during his
lifetime!
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The majority of
Shakespeare plays were first published in the First Folio,
seven years after his death, in 1623!
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Details of first
known dates can be found in
Publication of Shakespeare Plays and
Performances of Shakespeare Plays
