Shakespeare and Italy
There is much evidence of
Shakespeare’s impressive knowledge of Italy. And some even argue that much of
this knowledge must have come from first-hand experience. At the least it seems
to have required close acquaintance with those with deep first-hand experience.
And there was a time,
not too long ago, when mainstream Shakespeare scholars could openly share their
belief that the great author had seen much of Italy himself. This was pointed
out by Alexander Waugh in chapter 7 "Keeping Shakespeare Out of
Italy" that can be found in the book Shakespeare Beyond Doubt?
Waugh writes that Charles
Knight considered this first-hand knowledge "the most natural
supposition". And C. A. Brown wrote that "nothing can uproot my
belief of his having been there." A then leading Stratfordian, Professor
Arthur Cooper-Pritchard observed that "the milieu of the time and place
with regard to Italy is so intimate that it is difficult to avoid the belief
that Shakespeare himself actually visited and lived for some time in that
country." Finally, there was Edmund K. Chambers who admitted that in
certain scenes Shakespeare was "remarkably successful in giving a local
colouring and atmosphere" which at the very least appeared to demonstrate
a "familiarity with some minute points of local topography." We
shouldn't be surprised then that some native Italian scholars are convinced of
Shakespeare having traveled in Italy.
If he didn't, though, then he
needed some other ways to acquire this deep knowledge of the country along with
its milieu or atmosphere that is easiest to acquire directly. Possibly some of
this intimate Italian knowledge could come from deep reading of Italian
literature that touched on city layouts, some Italian history, as well as
native customs and social interactions. And some of it could potentially come
from having known some Italians or a variety of travelers to Italy.
Unfortunately for Stratfordians, the Stratford Shakspere is not known to have
had any such connections. Thus the current push to keep the great Author out of
Italy all together and downplay the accuracy of his Italian references and
allusions.
Here I will be briefly
summarizing what seems to me to be the best evidence for Shakespeare's unusual
knowledge of Italy. My sources for this are primarily the books The
Shakespeare Guide to Italy by Richard Paul Roe and also Some Fruits Out
of Italy by Italian Professor Noemi Magri. In no way does this summary do
justice to these two books. These are just brief summaries of what to me were
the highlights of the arguments.
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