I mentioned last week that I am reading Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare by Stephan Greenblatt. One of the reasons cited in the book as to why Shakespeare was so great was because he was simply too good a playwright for the textual cavities in his plays to be the result of some kind of author's oversight or ineptitude.
Greenblatt reasons that Shakespeare frequently omitted explanations on purpose to create an illusion of metatextual depth. For example, why does Hamlet pretend to be mad? Why does Lago hate Othello? Why does Lear make his daughters do language love tests? We are never told. Apparently Shakespeare ignores the perfectly logical explanation in his original sources (The Gesta Danorum, Hecatommithi and Holinshed, respectively), so that he can demonstrate that the play is a totally perfect snapshot of a fully realised world that can be viably manifested beyond the confines of any of his work.
In other words, Shakespeare's apparent mistakes are the distinguishing mark of his genius.
Men's Capri Pants, however, are just a mistake.
1 comment:
Shirt with a check pattern will make you look young and trendy.
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