Wherefore Art Thou?

 

At a restaurant inspired by all things Shakespearan, I found this quote. The painting probably depicts the balcony scene from 'Romeo and Juliet', but the lines are not from Shakespeare.  They are from a poet called Bayard Taylor. Such misrepresentation is quite common with a lot of things related to the Bard.

Is he as good as he is hyped out to be? Maybe not. But the beauty of his work lies in the varied themes he so painstakingly explores. There is nothing more romantic than Shakespeare's sonnets that a lot of non literary folk are unaware of. The Oedipus complex, depression and psychological intricacies captured in 'Hamlet', guilt and its trauma in 'Macbeth', the wordplay and subtle wit in his comedies, that again most people avoid reading. My favourite play of his is 'King Lear'. I remember reading it in college and shedding quiet tears because it tugged so hard at my heart strings. 

Coming back to 'Romeo and Juliet', the most popular in all things Shakespearan. Like most Shakespearan tragedies, this one too ends with basically everyone dying in the end. William was inspired by Arthur Brooke's poem, who in turn was inspired by something else. It just goes to show that most art is inspired. And there's nothing wrong with it. Even Bob Dylan has been accused of plagiarism. 

Shakespeare's play written in the 1600's has inspired countless stories of star crossed lovers, not to mention the endless films based on the theme. And with inspiration comes adaptation, the ability to play around with the original. Like Baz Luhrmann's movie, which even though was thrashed a lot, was actually a masterpiece. I remember getting goosebumps in my teenage years because Leonardo Di Caprio was just so perfectly all things Romeo, I would have to admit he was my first Hollywood crush only in this movie.

Inspiration by nature is not original. You hear a word, see an image, meet a person, and a whole chain of thoughts leads you to create something that justifies your idea of it. It is trying to capture in Art what isn't yours, but you want to make sense of it anyways, and make it your own. Humans have for centuries, written, painted, put into music, put into images, all with the sole purpose of making sense of things and making it their own.

I like to think of inspiration as the Muse. A beautiful, ethereal creature that comes down and hovers over your head. She closes your eyes and whispers in your ears. And all you have to do is surrender to her, trust her, give yourself to her. And when she's done and spent, making love to your mind, she leaves. And you are left alone, but now feeling satiated, feeling fresh, with something new that didn't exist before.

And if that is how inspiration really works, then the Bard was really a genius because he has so much so to say, each time with so much eloquence, so much depth, so much courage. And that is why, I guess the hype does justice to his work and his name.

Shakespeare looked up to his contemporary Christopher Marlowe, who was also his nemesis, and there has always been speculation that Shakespeare was in fact, Christopher Marlowe himself. Whoever he was, he will always be remembered kindly by Time, for giving the world so much to emulate. For therein, lies everything that was and will be.

"It's not enough to speak, but to speak true." A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Act V, scene 1