Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Shakespeare May Have Visited Venice After All

The ANNOTICO Report

It is not unusual for Shakespeare to have Italy as the setting for one third of his works, since Northern Italy was considered the global centre of Western Civilization in the 16th century.

The only question is whether Shakespeare was able to be so accurate in his portrayals merely by meticulously gleaning information from Italian merchants visiting London on business, or can attribute it part to the fact that Shakespeare had a working knowledge of Italian, and that one of his friends was the Anglo-Italian translator and lexicographer John Florio, who lived from 1553 to 1625.

Italian Scholars in a new book 'Shakespeare in Venice' argue that the Bard's information was based on a first hand account - his own.

Shakespeare May Have Visited Venice After All

ANI     

Tuesday 25th March, 2008

London, Mar 25 : For decades, scholars have thought that William Shakespeare described Venice so vividly in his plays thanks to information he gleaned from Italian merchants visiting London on business. Now however, Italian academics have challenged this notion.

Shaul Bassi, a lecturer at Venice University, and the writer Alberto Toso Fei have penned a new book 'Shakespeare in Venice' in which they argue that the Bard's information was based on a first hand account - his own.

"Most scholars believe that what Shakespeare knew about Venice must have been the fruit of wide reading and his contact with Italians," Times Online quoted Mr Bassi, as saying.

"But the local references -- implicit as well as explicit -- are so numerous they point to an alternative hypothesis: what if he did come here after all?"

About a third of Shakespeare's works are based in Italy, or have specific references t o events and locations in the country which was a global centre in the 16th century.

As there is no concrete proof that the Bard ever travelled outside England, scholars usually agree that his source of information were the traders who came to London.

They also believe that Shakespeare had a working knowledge of Italian, and that one of his friends was the Anglo-Italian translator and lexicographer John Florio, who lived from 1553 to 1625.

Though they agree that some references in his plays did not prove that Shakespeare had visited Italy, others like giving the name "Gobbo" to Shylock's in 'The Merchant of Venice' - a reference to the carved figure of a hunchback (Il Gobbo di Rialto) on the Rialto Bridge - would not be known outside the city.

Such references, they say, can also be seen in other plays like 'Othello' in which Shakespeare uses local words such as gondola and gondolier.

http://feeds.bignewsnetwork.com/?sid=341052

The ANNOTICO Reports Can be Viewed (With Archives*) on:

Blog: www.AnnoticoReport.com

Italia USA: www.ItaliaUSA.com * [Formerly Italy at St Louis]

Italia Mia: www.ItaliaMia.com *

Topix.net: www.topix.net/world/italy

Annotico Email: annotico@earthlink.net