Modern scholars generally agree that Polonius was based on William Cecil, Lord Burghley, right hand man to Elizabeth. He had a small book of sayings very much like those of Polonius, that was passed around court, he would often read from it, but it was unknown to anyone in the outside world. Edward DeVere, (the actual Shakespeare) was his ward since the age of 12, when DeVere's father died. Edward married Burghley's daughter, Anne Cecil/Ophelia, and theirs was a fractious marriage. Edward the prodigious scholar, poet, playwright, court wit, favorite of Elizabeth could run rings around the pedantic Burghley. He couldn't, however, avoid Burghley's certain controls over him, but Edward/William Shakespeare could mercilessly lampoon Burghley in Hamlet, getting his final revenge by killing him onstage, in the character of Hamlet/Edward. If you're seriously looking to discover the real Polonius, you're searching in the dark until you study the life of Edward DeVere as Shakespeare.
Love this! And it’s actually really timely, since my son and I are currently taking care of a really pretty stray cat whom we have named Ophelia. We both adore “Hamlet” and have actually discussed Polonius a couple of years ago when he studied the play at Illinois Wesleyan.
I’m sharing this essay with multiple friends right now.
We have a couple of house cats, and the young one is not happy with this interloper development. His name is Hal, after David Foster Wallace’s character Hal Incandenza, from “Infinite Jest,” a title cribbed from Billy Shakespeare. This is all coming together…
“Ophelia, she’s ‘neath the window
For her I feel so afraid
On her 22nd birthday
She already is an old maid
For her death is quite romantic
She wears an iron vest
Her profession’s her religion
Her sin is her lifelessness
And though her eyes
Are fixed upon Noah’s great rainbow
She spends her time peaking into
Desolation Row”
Fantastic work, John. Nearly every day you spark conversations among family and friends. You have quite a gift.
Modern scholars generally agree that Polonius was based on William Cecil, Lord Burghley, right hand man to Elizabeth. He had a small book of sayings very much like those of Polonius, that was passed around court, he would often read from it, but it was unknown to anyone in the outside world. Edward DeVere, (the actual Shakespeare) was his ward since the age of 12, when DeVere's father died. Edward married Burghley's daughter, Anne Cecil/Ophelia, and theirs was a fractious marriage. Edward the prodigious scholar, poet, playwright, court wit, favorite of Elizabeth could run rings around the pedantic Burghley. He couldn't, however, avoid Burghley's certain controls over him, but Edward/William Shakespeare could mercilessly lampoon Burghley in Hamlet, getting his final revenge by killing him onstage, in the character of Hamlet/Edward. If you're seriously looking to discover the real Polonius, you're searching in the dark until you study the life of Edward DeVere as Shakespeare.
On Bob. Enjoy, my friend.
https://open.substack.com/pub/johnnogowski/p/dylan-still-worth-talking-about?r=7pf7u&utm_medium=ios
Love this! And it’s actually really timely, since my son and I are currently taking care of a really pretty stray cat whom we have named Ophelia. We both adore “Hamlet” and have actually discussed Polonius a couple of years ago when he studied the play at Illinois Wesleyan.
I’m sharing this essay with multiple friends right now.
We have a couple of house cats, and the young one is not happy with this interloper development. His name is Hal, after David Foster Wallace’s character Hal Incandenza, from “Infinite Jest,” a title cribbed from Billy Shakespeare. This is all coming together…
“Ophelia, she’s ‘neath the window
For her I feel so afraid
On her 22nd birthday
She already is an old maid
For her death is quite romantic
She wears an iron vest
Her profession’s her religion
Her sin is her lifelessness
And though her eyes
Are fixed upon Noah’s great rainbow
She spends her time peaking into
Desolation Row”
Fantastic work, John. Nearly every day you spark conversations among family and friends. You have quite a gift.
Nice!