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was shakespeare a woman?

Act I, sc i
Enter jyotsana (hidden behind the curtains hudson and robin)
Friends, Romans, countrymen (never mind if you are neither of these)
just lend me your ears(and your eyes as well) that will do
I am fresh and back from a short vacation to Maharashtra
I gleefully read with glutton
all the comments you put in there on my last post
what ho! I am also back to talk about a woman in particular

god forbid
it’s a man in particular of infinite charms
O mistake me not friends for the Comedy of Errors
I am hitherto a blogger
but here is my Shakespeare
Good bloggers take heart
after my last two posts on love stories
do not you misjudge me
that I deviate from my sole purpose
but do confess here i
my own love affair with the man called Shakespeare
and the turbulence within of the most horrid kind
ever since my ears heard of the controversies raged
By John Hudson and Robin P. Williams
who mistake him for some Amelia Bassano or Countess of Pembroke

A foolish thought to utter

O the effect of Midsummer Night's Dream on these slumberous minds!
this cannot be by no assay of reason

that our Shakespeare be a woman
O why do you not leave him alone
the man who understood his women so perfectly well

Horrible villains I’ll unhair thy heads
or ill even sue you
(the modern way of unhairing people)
but if thou shalt retaliate
with thy thick volumes of research
I shall run away
what would a poor woman like me do
with a tiny heart
but I have a mind to strike thee on my blog ere thou speakest
and out-tongue thee thy most absurd intents

Alas what ignorant sin has a writer committed
to be subjected thus to the stings of an imperial critic
why oh why does critical literature become stronger than creative literature?
Heaven doth truly know it
that a a force creative is beyond all gender race and nationality
where does the writer offend the sensibilities of a critic so
that he dwells more on bisexuality, homosexuality
or a man or a woman Shakespeare
By heaven you do him wrong
Adieu.
Exit
(the post is not a deliberate invective against any-one and is only meant to amuse. the author apologises if any hurt caused to the new school of thought.)


Comments

White Rose said…
"Nothing will come of nothing."

There has always been a flurry of doubt about the work of Shakespeare. I haven't read the books by John Hudson and Robin P Williams, so I really can't comment on them.

I do agree we seem to focus more on his personal life than his work.
What do I care about his sexual proclivities, but I do think if there is proof that the work was authored by someone else they should receive the credit.

But as I said earlier this debate has been raging for years and no solid proof has been found.



Thought provoking as always and I am going to read about Maharastra when I have a little more time. Glad to have you back!
Beatrice V said…
:):):) well done Jyotsana, such fun to read and clear message too, well said --the bard is a "writer", and indeed the pen has no colour, gender or age!
twicedoubleyou said…
Really a good one!
Keep up with the good work! Have found a site about (forgotten) woman's work throughout history,ít's in dutch I think, but I'll check it and let u know! I do agree with wordcrafter, that the pen has no gender or sexuality.
Thanks for visiting my blog by the way...
Siddhartha said…
Very good. And I agree with all my heart that critical literature has become stronger than creative literature and thinks that it is more important! We the teachers are ending up helping this secondary matter and not the really significant things.
Awesome! *Applauds!* It's so true that our education system lays so much emphasis on critically dissecting texts and reading between the lines that the real pleasure of reading literature is lost. No wonder, while I enjoy reading a lot, I never liked studying for an exam (I studied literature).
Anonymous said…
oh this is quite lovely, dearest jyotsana!! and piquant as well. i love you sly twists and turns - and viewpoint as well.

such a beautiful writer - i do hope you are well. i believe both of us have been rather incognito this summer.

much love,
lady blue
Great post, and I totally agree with you...who cares if Shakespeare was hetero, homo, bi or asexual, as long we read and enjoy Twelfth Night and King Lear and Antony and Cleopetra (my faves). Critics are usually busy-bodies who should be given a whole lot of housework/social service/etc, so that they less time to thinp up and write out their weird theories!
Stacey said…
And all the bloggers..
Clapped...
And
Cheered...
and they all shout.....
"bravo bravo bravo"... ;-D

Jyotsana
a brilliant post,and written so well. :-)
Sameera Ansari said…
Cute post :)

His personal life is immaterial,he is simply one of the best writers to have ever walked the face of this earth!
Anonymous said…
May he was gay,, may be he was a bisexual, and may be he was a woman,, But what he certainly was is a brilliant legend that will not be repeated again...
Thanx for your comments on my blog,,all is very well, but I am writing much recently, I am busy with my family, and I am taking a course in creative writing that is consuming most of my time.
Take care
Dawn said…
WOW...quite informative though have heard about the doubts in Shakespeare's work...but no idea about JH and RW.
But good as now I can read about it ;)
Thanks for sharing
cheers
Sayani said…
i watched few days ago the movie
"shakespeare in love",strangely enuf i too felt that a woman's pschy is very difficult for a man to portray,,,but he did that so smoothly...may be it is a point of consideration.

hope u doing well got your wishes al thru...
take care :)
Anonymous said…
I think its too late now for any judgement - lets enjoy the writings.

Reema,
PrivateMarriage.com
Anonymous said…
hmmmm ....

you should view my post entitled foolery .... indeed, beyond two plays published in his name, Shakespeare is a shadowy figure in the history of literature ....

xxx
lady blue
Sunny Daffodil. said…
Simply Lovely !,is all i want to say.Critical literature stands defeating it`s very purpose most of the times.More often than not,it is all ga-ga-goo-goo gibberish stemming out from the failure of the so-called critics.!
Sayani said…
really a power full delivery jyotsana...
and i totally agree with sucharita about criticism......

you are a brilliant writer with effective pulse...loved it...

take care
the basu said…
probably they do have a point given Shakespeare's protagonists being male generally.but i think it's just cheap publicity that they are after;who cares anyway?!
Neelanjana said…
Loved your post. Most critics seem to focus a lot more on the personal life of the author, and seem to ignore the boundless energy that creativity encapsulates. Being an eng lit student, loved reading your post al the more.
Sayani said…
hope everything is fine....
take care
White Rose said…
Just wanted to pop in and say hello. Missing your inspiring posts!
Anonymous said…
hi Jyotsana,

Thank you for the comment you left about my post on Daddy's dating rules. :) i'm glad you like it.

Personally, I think the most sensible of writers, whichever genre are those who are most in touch with the feminine in them... that's where inspiration stems from, and only the strongest are able to draw from it.

hope you don't mind being a regular visitor in my blog. :) see you there!
venuss66 said…
A good one. Enjoyed reading. How are you?
Anonymous said…
Wow! Awesome post!

Very Very well done. Should it really matter the gender or preferences of a writer?

It is the words that touch the heart and mind that matter.

I am so glad I wandered into this blog tonight!
~K
Jaquanda Rae said…
very creative!
Anil P said…
Very entertaining.
Lynda Lehmann said…
Wonderfully done and SO creative! I love Shakespeare and you have got the flow and rhythm here!

Great fun and skillfully contrived! Kudos to you. (And to all men and women who create.)
Gene said…
hey there! How's it going. It has been quite a while since I had the time to blog. Been caught up with my work in the university. Well, if you do remember me, my blog is back on track again.. =)

nice piece here..
काफी संजीदगी से आप अपने ब्लॉग पर विचारों को रखते हैं.यहाँ पर आकर अच्छा लगा. कभी मेरे ब्लॉग पर भी आयें. ''युवा'' ब्लॉग युवाओं से जुड़े मुद्दों पर अभिव्यक्तियों को सार्थक रूप देने के लिए है. यह ब्लॉग सभी के लिए खुला है. यदि आप भी इस ब्लॉग पर अपनी युवा-अभिव्यक्तियों को प्रकाशित करना चाहते हैं, तो amitky86@rediffmail.com पर ई-मेल कर सकते हैं. आपकी अभिव्यक्तियाँ कविता, कहानी, लेख, लघुकथा, वैचारिकी, चित्र इत्यादि किसी भी रूप में हो सकती हैं......नव-वर्ष-२००९ की शुभकामनाओं सहित !!!!
June Saville said…
Thanks for following 70 Plus. You're interested in writing - have you seen my other blog Journeys in Creative Writing?

I love this parody. Shakespeare was sufficiently intelligent and intuitive to be a woman. I would let him into the sisterhood!
June in Oz
manpret kapor said…
I think it is amazing how God sometimes uses the smallest things to change a persons whole day around. I bet Roger had a better day just because you stopped and took an interest in him. Thanks for sharing Christ’s love.

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