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The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius: Selections Annotated and Explained Russell McNeil, PhD Editor, Malaspina Great Books In 1862 the English literary critic and poet Matthew Arnold described Marcus Aurelius as "the most beautiful figure in history." The Stoicism of Aurelius is grounded in rationality and rests solidly on an ethical approach rooted in nature. Stoicism promises real happiness and joy in this life and a serenity that can never be soured by personal misfortune. This philosophy has universal appeal with practical implications on problems ranging from climate change and terrorism to the personal management of sickness, aging, depression and addiction. I truly believe that the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius has much to offer us now...(Click on book cover for more)

Category:	Renaissance Theatre Renaissance Literature
Name:	William Shakespeare - GLBT Series
Birth Year:	1564
Death Year:	1616
Representative Image:
Biography, Lectures, and Research Links:	Biography - GLBT Series Blog William Shakespeare SEARCH NOW: by title by author Find your favorite art: barewalls.com William Shakespeare is considered by many to have been greatest writer the English language has ever known. As a playwright, he wrote not only some of the most powerful tragedies, but also many of the funniest comedies ever to appear on an English stage. He also wrote 154 sonnets and several major poems, some of which are considered to be the most brilliant pieces of English literature ever written, because of Shakespeare's ability to rise beyond the narrative and describe the innermost and the most profound aspects of the human nature. For the most famous examples of this ability, see quotations. He is believed to have written most of his works between 1585-1610, although the exact dates and chronology of the plays attributed to him is not accurately known. The identity of William Shakespeare the playright has been the subject of considerable debate and confusion. The vast majority of academics hold that actor Shakespeare and the playright Shakespeare are one and the same person, but this subject has been hotly debated over the years. See below for further details. Most historians agree that actor and playwright were both the same William Shakespeare for whom we have considerable historical records. That Shakespeare was born in Stratford, England, in 1564, the son of a glove maker. The baptism of Shakespeare is recorded on the 26th of April of that year and the 23rd has traditionally been considered his birthday. After his marriage to Ann Hathaway in 1582, which seems to have been rushed by the bride's pregnancy, little is known of Shakespeare until he appears on the London literary scene. He was sufficiently known to be denounced in 1592 by Robert Greene as "an upstart Crow, beautified with our feathers, that with his Tygers hart wrapt in a Players hyde, supposes he is as well able to bombast out a blanke verse as the best of you: and beeing an absolute Johannes fac totum, is in his owne conceit the onely Shake-scene in a countrey". Shakespeare became an actor, writer and ultimately part-owner of an acting company known as The Lord Chamberlain's Men - the company was named, like others of the period, for their aristocratic sponsor. It was sufficiently popular that after the death of Elizabeth I and the coronation of James I (1603), the new monarch adopted the company and it became known as The King's Men. Various documents recording legal affairs and business transactions show that Shakespeare grew increasingly affluent in his London years. He retired approximately 1611 and died in 1616, on April 23rd, perhaps the reason behind the tradition of his birthday being this same day. Shakespeare authorship Since approximately the middle of the 19th century, certain writers have questioned the claim that William Shakespeare is the actual author of the plays and poetry published under his name. This school, going by the general title of "Anti-Stratfordians", assert that Shakespeare, often referred to as "the Stratford man", was a country bumpkin whose father was unable to write his own name. The author of the Shakespeare canon they declare to be a man of better education and probably noble background, concealed behind a pseudonym because the writing of drama for the public stage would have been considered a disreputable activity for an Elizabethan gentleman. Some say that we know little about Shakespeare's life. Others believe we know a good deal -- more than we do about any literary figure of that day, with the exception of Ben Jonson. The signatures on various documents attributed to Shakespeare show multiple spellings of his name, which has been taken by some as evidence that William Shakespeare was barely literate. But it is uncertain that Shakespeare himself actually signed those documents. Even if he did, spelling of names in the period was not as consistent as in modern usage. Early editions of the works of Christopher Marlowe spell his name as Marlowe, Marlo, Marlow, Marklin, and Marley. The proposed identities of the "real Shakespeare" include: Francis Bacon (1561 - 1626) Bacon was the first alternate candidate proposed, originally by a woman named Delia Bacon who also believed, contrary to available information, that she was his descendant. In Bacon's favor are that his dates are right and he was, indisputably, a genius. Against Bacon is the vast difference in style and tone between Bacon's known writings, which show a deep influence from his training as a lawyer and frequently the numbing prose for which the profession is notorious, and those of Shakespeare. Another problem is that Bacon was a great philosopher, the primary founder of the modern scientific method, a major scientist himself, a courtier, a diplomat, an essayist, a historian, and a successful politician who became in sequence Solicitor General (1607), Attorney General (1613), and Lord Chancellor 1618. Even for a genius, this is already a busy life. It seems hard to explain where he found still more time to write the most impressive body of literature in the English language, still harder when considering that some enthusiatic Baconians also credit him with writing the works of Christopher Marlowe and even Don Quixote. Isaac Asimov has also argued out that Bacon's erudition is evidence against his having written the plays: a historian and scientist would not have put the line "constant as the northern star" in the mouth of an ancient Roman, because there was no reliable pole star in Julius Caesar's time. Edward de Vere (1550 - 1604) De Vere was the 17th Earl of Oxford. First proposed by a writer with the name, either unfortunate or appropriate depending on your position, of John Looney in 1920, de Vere seems today to be the most popular alternative candidate. Advocates of de Vere as the Shakespeare author are usually referred to as Oxfordians. In his support is the fact that he certainly did possess high enough position to have had a motive to hide a hobby of writing for the public stage. He is known to have written some poetry and court masques. He has connections with some of Shakespeare's works: he was the son in law of Lord Burghley, who is widely regarded as the model for Polonius. His own daughter was engaged to Henry Wriothesley at about the time that most believe the first sonnets were written. The early sonnets encourage a young nobleman to marry, and Wriothesley has long been regarded as on of two candidates to be the young man in question. Against him is the fact that his extant writings are quite mediocre. There is in fact no clear proof in the historical record that he had exceptional gifts in any area. While writings fulsomely praising him do exist, these are of the sort that were routinely directed to men of wealth, title, and court influence, by authors seeking a financial or political patron. Also, his death in 1604 creates a problem, since it is has traditionally been believed that about 10 plays were written after this. It has been argued that one of Shakespeare's plays, The Tempest, seems to contain direct references to events that took place in 1609. However, the exact chronology of the actual writing of Shakespeare's plays is not know with certainty, and it is possible that those plays dated after 1604 were actually written prior to Oxford's death. Christopher Marlowe (1564 - 1593) In Marlowe's favor is the fact that he alone has the demonstrated traits most essential to a Shakespeare candidate: a proven literary genius, with a love for the stage. The main problem is that Marlowe died very young. There has long been an aura of mystery and conspiracy surrounding Marlowe's death in what was officially an ordinary tavern brawl. It is extremely probable that he was a paid agent of Sir Francis Walsingham, the Queen's gifted intelligence chief. He was also under arrest and awaiting trial for atheism, having been accused under torture by the poet and dramatist Thomas Kyd. He may well also have been homosexual - certainly his writings would suggest it. With powerful enemies and powerful friends, and all these currents running through his death, some have suggested that Marlowe didn't actually die in 1593, but staged his death. After elaborately staging his death, he is then supposed to have disappeared to a secret location somewhere and continued publishing under the name of Shakespeare. The counter-argument here is that the theory is just getting too complex. There is no scrap of real evidence that Marlowe survived the bar fight. Marlowe's tragic early death was referred to by many contemporary writers - including Shakespeare - none of whom dropped even the slightest hint he was still around. How he could have written so extensively, received payment for his work, and overseen the publication of much of it, all while keeping his continued existence a secret is inexplicable. Also, it is known that Shakespeare was writing under his own name in 1592, before Marlowe's death. Other arguments exist against the claim of any rival author. The opening lines of Sonnet 135 argue strongly against any alternate author, or at least any not named William: Whoever hath her wish, thou hast thy 'Will,' And 'Will' to boot, and 'Will' in overplus; More than enough am I that vex thee still, To thy sweet will making addition thus. A rebuttal to this is that the author of Sonnet 135 was smart enough to remain in character. It is also hard to understand why the poems, if by a nobleman, would have been published under an assumed name. The writing of poetry was an expected skill of an Elizabethan courtier, and poems like The Rape of Lucrece or Venus and Adonis, long narrative works on classical subjects, were a completely distinct category from popular plays - a prestigious and highly respectable form of composition. Also, the fact that they were originally published after a period when theatres had been closed by an outbreak of the plague is more consistent with composition by a professional writer looking for an alternate source of income than by a rich dilettante. One piece of evidence that is difficult to square with Stratfordian authorship is William Shakespeare's will. It is long and explicit, listing the possessions of a successful bourgeois in extensive detail, but is remarkable for containing no mention at all of personal papers, manuscripts, or books. (Books were rare and expensive items at the time.) Other theories on who, other than the Stratford actor, may have written the works have been proposed. Shakespeare's reputation--as a poet and dramatist--has ebbed and flowed over the past five centuries. But in evaluating these theories, one should keep in mind that there is no evidence at all that anyone in Shakespeare's own day believed anyone else to have written the works we attribute to Shakespeare. The theories of ghost authorship began to develop two centuries or more after Shakespeare's death. [This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License and uses material adapted in whole or in part from the Wikipedia article on William Shakespeare.] The Great Books: William Shakespeare Please browse our Amazon list of titles about William Shakespeare. For rare and hard to find works we recommend our Alibris list of titles about William Shakespeare. Post Comments, Questions or Suggestions! This database is maintained by Malaspina Great Books.
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Records from Related Period and Category:	Renaissance Literature Renaissance Theatre

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This web page is part of a biographical database on Great Ideas. These are living ideas that have shaped, defined and directed world culture for over 2,500 years. By definition the Great Ideas are radical. As such they are sometimes misread, or distorted by popular simplifications. Understanding a Great Idea demands personal engagement. Our selection of Great Ideas is drawn from literature and philosophy, science, art, music, theatre, and cinema. We also include biographies of pivotal historical and religious figures, as well as contributions from women and other historically under-represented minorities. The result is an integrated multi-cultural and multi-disciplinary database built upon the framework of the always controversial Great Books Core List published in 1940 by the late Great Books Pioneer Mortimer Adler (1902-2001). Most of the works on that list are available in the 60 volume Great Books of the Western World.