
A Chapter in the Early Life of Shakespeare
Polesworth in Arden
Arthur Gray(Author)
Cambridge University Press
Published on 20. July 2009
Book
Paperback/Softback
156 pages
978-1-108-00557-9 (ISBN)
Description
In this charming and thought-provoking 1926 volume, Arthur Gray, Master of Jesus College, Cambridge from 1912 to 1940, explored the possibility that William Shakespeare spent his formative years at Polesworth Hall in the Forest of Arden, perhaps serving as a page boy. The Forest of Arden once stretched from just north of Stratford-upon-Avon to Tamworth, and covered what is now Birmingham; Polesworth, near Tamworth, was the home of Sir Henry Goodere and the centre of the famed 'Polesworth Circle'. This splendid focus of creative and cultural activity would have offered the young William exposure to the finest minds, a wonderful education and valuable introductions. Sir Henry, who evidently knew John Shakespeare in Stratford, was certainly patron of many young writers and musicians, including the eminent Elizabethan poet, Michael Drayton. If Gray is correct, Drayton would have been a contemporary of Shakespeare's at Polesworth.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
8 Halftones, black and white; 70 Line drawings, black and white
Dimensions
Height: 216 mm
Width: 140 mm
Thickness: 9 mm
Weight
206 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-108-00557-9 (9781108005579)
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Schweitzer Classification
Content
1. The problem stated; 2. The Marlowe fiction; 3. The Greenwood theory; 4. The Stratford legend; 5. Does Shakespeare rail? 6. William Shakespeare, gentleman; 7. Concerning genius; 8. Stratford fact and fable; 9. The flight to London; 10. Shakespeare's silence about Stratford; 11. Concerning Arden; 12. Of poets, patronage and pages; 13. What happened in 1572; 14. Polesworth; 15. Shakespeare in north Warwickshire; 16. Shakespeare's road to London; 17. Michael Drayton; 18. The Polesworth circle; 19. The Gooderes; 20. The sonnets; 21. Southampton; 22. Warwickshire scenes in Shakespeare's youth; 23. The last days.