Stratford-on-Avon explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• Literary Creation and Plagiarism

  The chapter explores Shakespeare's early influences and the creation of his works, as well as the authenticity of relics and anecdotes.

• Memory and Monuments

  The visit to Shakespeare's tomb and the various monuments, including the bust and the church, highlight the preservation of memory.

• Rural Life and Nature

  The description of the English countryside in early spring and the rural imagery associated with Shakespeare's youth.

Characters to notice

• Geoffrey Crayon

  The narrator and pilgrim visiting Stratford-on-Avon.

• Shakespeare

  The bard whose life and works are the focus of the chapter.

• Sir Thomas Lucy

  Owner of the park where Shakespeare poached deer.

• Garrick

  Remembered by the sexton as the organizer of the Stratford Jubilee.

• John Ange

  An old crony of the sexton, who assisted in cutting down Shakespeare's mulberry tree.

• The Servants

  The sexton and his companion, who serve as local guides.

Key passages

• “I have little doubt that, in early life, when running like an unbroken colt about the neighborbood of Stratford , he was to be found in the company of all kinds of odd anomalous characters, that he associated with all the madcaps of the place, and was one of those unlucky urchins at mention of whom old men shake their heads and predict that they will one day come to the gallows.”

  Crayon imagines Shakespeare as a wild youth, mixing with eccentric locals and engaging in mischievous behavior that elders would condemn.

  Speculation on Shakespeare's early character.

• “The cold snowdrop, that little borderer on the skirts of winter, was to be seen with its chaste white blossoms in the small gardens before the cottages. The bleating of the new-dropt lambs was faintly heard from the fields. The sparrow twittered about the thatched eaves and budding hedges; the robin threw a livelier note into his late querulous wintry strain; and the lark, springing up from the reeking bosom of the meadow, towered away into the bright fleecy cloud, pouring forth torrents of melody.”

  The early spring landscape is described with vivid natural imagery, including snowdrops, lambs, and birdsong.

  Crayon's poetic description of the countryside awakening.

• “Good friend, for Jesus' sake, forbeare To dig the dust enclosed here. Blessed be he that spares these stones, And curst be he that moves my bones.”

  The epitaph on Shakespeare's tombstone warns against disturbing his remains, invoking a curse on anyone who moves them.

  Shakespeare's self-written epitaph.