Likely, a large proportion of the population doesn't see the relevance of an English playwright and theater owner who lived from 1564 to 1616. That was, after all, a long time ago, and he was of course just another old white guy. Right?
No. William Shakespeare was a man few can compare to. He essentially created the theater as it exists today; his work has survived the ages, and yes, it still bears relevance to events in modern times. Comedy, tragedy, war, romance, childhood, old age; Shakespeare covered all of it. His work was based on a great knowledge of European history and an innate understanding of what makes people tick, which is why it's survived through the centuries. Oh, not all of his work was created equal; much as I love works like "Macbeth" and "Henry V," I never much liked his best-known romance, "Romeo and Juliet" - I just don't see the appeal of the story of two emo teenagers making a suicide pact.
Most of his works, though, have survived the test of time pretty well. That's why I was a little baffled to see the British taxpayers getting soaked for a study that ends up complaining that William Shakespeare - who, I remind you, lived from 1564 to 1616 - was insufficiently "woke."
The “disproportionate representation” of William Shakespeare in the theatre has propagated “white, able-bodied, heterosexual, cisgender male narratives”, according to researchers in an £800,000 taxpayer-funded project.
The claim has prompted critics to accuse the Arts and Humanities Research Council, which has funded the study by academics at the University of Roehampton, of promoting “cultural clickbait”.
The project, devoted to “centring marginalised communities in the contemporary performance of early modern plays”, is due to be completed in two years’ time.
The researchers want to challenge the “normative trend” in “classical theatre” arising from “the disproportionate representation of William Shakespeare in scholarship and performance”.
To which I can only reply:
If this were play'd upon a stage now, I could condemn it as an improbable fiction. - "The Twelfth Night," Act II
This study is well to the left of ridiculous. Shakespeare doesn't just belong to England, to the Anglosphere, or even to the Western world. His works have been translated into pretty much every language on the planet - and some from outer space. Fortunately, the Bard still has his defenders in British academia.
Lionel Shriver, the author, told The Telegraph: “In Shakespeare’s day, half the European population was white and male. They didn’t have rainbow flags. Being disabled like Richard III was a matter of character rather than politics, and luckily for them no one had ever coined the linguistic abomination ‘cisgender’.
“Still germane because his themes are timeless, Shakespeare will survive even this dogmatic mangling, and his plays will continue to be enjoyed long after today’s ‘intersectional’ performances have foreshortened into a freakish comical footnote in theatrical history.”
Bravo.
See Related: 'American Culture' Is Not 'White Culture' No Matter What the Race Baiters Say
The Evidence That Radical Leftism Causes Mental Illness Is Mounting
It's likely a large part of this nonsense is because young people aren't learning Shakespeare's work. The Bard was required reading for school kids not all that long ago, even in the small-town, farm-country high school I attended in the '70s. Most people don't know how many modern films are based on Shakespeare plays; some examples include:
The Cole Porter musical "Kiss Me, Kate" is based on "The Taming of the Shrew."
Disney's "The Lion King" is based on "Hamlet"
The Dave Thomas/Rick Moranis comedy "Strange Brew," also (loosely) based on "Hamlet"
"West Side Story" is based on "Romeo and Juliet"
The list goes on.
And, of course, nobody - nobody - delivers the Bard's lines like the wondrous Brian Blessed, shown here delivering the English king's message to the King of France, in Kenneth Branaugh's wonderful film rendition of "Henry V."
The simple fact is that William Shakespeare's work, produced by a "straight cisgender white male" notwithstanding, will still be relevant long after the proponents of nonsensical "woke" attitudes are long gone. "Woke" academics can study his work until their eyes fall out, and he will remain one of the greatest cultural figures in Western civilization and, indeed, the world.
The proponents of "woke" seem determined to tear down every vestige of Western civilization. It goes well beyond theater, of course; the same forces are attempting to tear down nearly every societal norm, including even - and inexplicably - our military. In the end, I think they will fail. Most of their ideas are contrary to ordinary good sense, but Shakespeare presents another reason they will fail: Because there are people and works whose influence survives the ages; they survive wars, famines, pandemics, kings and dictators, freedom and tyranny because they address what makes us people on a very basic level.
The "woke" will try. But Shakespeare will survive their efforts.
Lord, what fools these mortals be.
