Memorials to William Shakespeare: Difference between revisions

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[[Image:Thomas Banks Shakespeare attended by Painting and Poetry c 1789.jpg|thumb|250px|Engraving of the sculpture of Shakespeare at the entrance to the [[Boydell Shakespeare Gallery]]. The sculpture is now in the former garden of Shakespeare's home [[New Place]] in Stratford.]]'''
[[William Shakespeare]]''' has been commemorated in a number of different statues and memorials around the world, notably his [[Shakespeare's funerary monument|funerary monument]] in [[Stratford-upon-Avon]] (c. 1623); a statue in [[Poets' Corner]] in [[Westminster Abbey]], London, designed by [[William Kent]] and executed by [[Peter Scheemakers]] (1740);<ref name="poetscorner">{{cite web|url=http://www.westminster-abbey.org/our-history/people/william-shakespeare|title=William Shakespeare|publisher=[[Westminster Abbey]]|accessdateaccess-date=19 April 2012}}</ref> and a statue in New York's [[Central Park]] by [[John Quincy Adams Ward]] (1872).<ref name="statues">{{cite web|url=http://www.william-shakespeare.info/william-shakespeare-statues-and-memorials.htm|title=Memorials and Statues of William Shakespeare|accessdateaccess-date=17 October 2008}}</ref><ref name="ny-statue">{{cite web|url=http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_your_park/historical_signs/hs_historical_sign.php?id=9772|title=William Shakespeare statue|date=12 February 2007|publisher=New York City Department of Parks & Recreation|accessdateaccess-date=22 October 2008}}</ref>

[[Image:ShakespeareMonument cropped.jpg|thumb|left|Shakespeare's funerary monument]] [[Shakespeare's funerary monument]] is the earliest memorial to the paywrightplaywright, located inside Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon, [[Warwickshire]], UK, the same church in which he was baptised. The exact date of its construction is not known, but must have been between Shakespeare's death in 1616 and 1623, when it is mentioned in the [[First Folio]] of the playwright's works.shakespeare was a good man who wrote many books and novels or someshit.

[[Image:Poets corner.jpg|thumb|Poets' Corner in Westminster abbey, showing Scheemaker's statue of Shakespeare]]As Shakespeare's reputation rose, monuments began to be created in nationally significant locations. [[William Kent]] designed a statue for Poets' Corner in [[Westminster Abbey]]. The design was executed by the sculptor [[Peter Scheemakers]] and installed in 1740. Its creation was funded by [[Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington|Lord Burlington]] and [[Alexander Pope]], among others. At least two fundraising events were led by the efforts of the [[Shakespeare Ladies Club]]: a benefit performance of ''Julius Caesar'' on April 28, 1738 at Drury Lane and a benefit performance of ''Hamlet'' on April 10, 1739 at Covent Garden.<ref>Avery, Emmett L. (1956). "The Shakespeare Ladies Club". Shakespeare Quarterly 7 (2): p. 157</ref><ref>Dobson, Michael (1992), The Making of the National Poet: Shakespeare, Adaptation and Authorship, 1660-1769, Oxford, England: Clarendon Press, pp. 137-138137–38, 159-160159–60 {{ISBN|0198183232}}.</ref> There are carved heads on the pedestal, which probably depict Queen [[Elizabeth I of England|Elizabeth I]], [[Henry V of England|Henry V]] and [[Richard III of England|Richard III]]. Shakespeare is depicted leaning on books and pointing to a scroll which has a slightly misquoted version of [[Prospero]]'s lines from ''[[The Tempest]]'' about the globe dissolving to "leave not a wrack behind". A variant of Kent's design was installed in a Glasgow theatre in 1764. It is now in the [[Theatre Royal, Glasgow|Theatre Royal]] in Dunlop Street.<ref>Raymond McKenzie, Gary Nisbet, ''Public Sculpture of Glasgow'', Liverpool University Press, 2001, p. 434</ref>

In 1757 the English actor [[David Garrick]] commissioned a marble statue of William Shakespeare from the French sculptor [[Louis-François Roubiliac]] for his [[Palladian architecture|Palladian]] [[Garrick's Temple to Shakespeare|Temple to Shakespeare]] at [[Hampton, London|Hampton]]. Garrick himself is thought to have posed for the statue.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/pe_mla/m/marble_full-length_figure_of_w.aspx|title=Marble full-length figure of William Shakespeare by Louis-François Roubiliac|publisher=British Museum|accessdateaccess-date=11 November 2013}}</ref> It was bequeathed, along with Garrick's books, to the [[British Museum]] in 1779; in 2005 it was transferred to the [[British Library]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://britishlibrary.typepad.co.uk/english-and-drama/2013/11/the-shakespeare-sculpture-at-the-british-library.html|last=Howes|first=Jennifer|title=The Shakespeare sculpture at the British Library|work=English and Drama blog|publisher=British Library|date=11 November 2013|accessdateaccess-date=11 November 2013}}</ref> Garrick later commissioned Roubiliac to produce a bust of the poet for his Shakespeare festival in Stratford in 1769;<ref name = "dob">Michael Dobson ''The Making of the National Poet: Shakespeare, Adaptation and Authorship, 1660–1769, Oxford University Press, p. 6</ref> this is now in the [[Garrick Club]] in London.<ref name="statues"/>

In 1788, in the exterior wall of [[John Boydell]]'s [[Boydell Shakespeare Gallery|Shakespeare Gallery]] building, the architect [[George Dance the Younger]] placed [[Thomas Banks (sculptor)|Thomas Banks]]'s sculpture ''Shakespeare attended by Painting and Poetry'', for which the artist was paid 500 [[Guinea (British coin)|guineas]]. The sculpture depicted Shakespeare, reclining against a rock, between the Dramatic Muse and the Genius of Painting. Beneath it was a panelled pedestal inscribed with a quotation from ''Hamlet'': "He was a Man, take him for all in all, I shall not look upon his like again".<ref name=SurveyofLondon_2930>[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=40580 Sheppard, 325–38].</ref><ref>[[William Shakespeare]], ''[[Hamlet]]''. [[s:Hamlet#Scene 2. A room of state in the castle.|Act I, scene ii]]. ''[[Wikisource]]''. Retrieved on 15 January 2008.</ref> The building was later used by the [[British Institution]]. After its demolition the monument was relocated to the garden of [[New Place]] in Stratford.

===USAUnited States===

New York City's [[Central Park]] contains a statue of Shakespeare that was commissioned in 1864 as a celebration of the tricentenary of Shakespeare's birth in 1564. Funds were raised by a performance of ''[[Julius Caesar (play)|Julius Caesar]]'' in which [[Edwin Booth]] took the lead role, with [[John Wilkes Booth]] playing Mark Antony.<ref>[http://publications.villanova.edu/vumagazine/winter2001/Falvey.htm Villanova Magazine Archive – Winter 2001.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060829010606/http://publications.villanova.edu/vumagazine/winter2001/Falvey.htm |date=29 August 2006 }} It is sometimes mistakenly said that John Wilkes Booth played Cassius, cf. Frederick Wagner, ''American Actors and Actresses'', Dodd Mead Company, New York, 1961.</ref> The statue was designed by [[John Quincy Adams Ward]]. Following the creation of the statue, in 1873 commissioners proposed that the Mall should be a designated location for sculpture and the statue was moved there, soon to be accompanied by others<ref name = "strat">{{cite web|url=http://www.william-shakespeare.info/william-shakespeare-statues-and-memorials.htm |title=Shakespeare Memorials |publisher=William-shakespeare.info |access-date= |accessdate=10 December 2011}}</ref> (in 1986, a replica of the statue was made for the State Theater in [[Montgomery, Alabama]], which has a yearly Shakespeare Festival).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_your_park/historical_signs/hs_historical_sign.php?id=9772 |title=William Shakespeare Statue, New York City department of Parks and Recreation |publisher=Nycgovparks.org |date=12 February 2007 |accessdateaccess-date=10 December 2011}}</ref>

}}, pp. 114–5114–15</ref> Another statue was erected in [[Stratford, London]], a suburb with the same name as Shakespeare's home town.

In 1877 a committee was created in [[Stratford-upon-Avon]] to erect a memorial to Shakespeare. This originally comprised a theatre building, to be sited on land donated by the bank of the Avon within sight of the church where Shakespeare was buried. A statue was also created in 1888, the work of [[Lord Ronald Gower]]. This is situated in Stratford's Bancroft Gardens. The monument shows Shakespeare seated on a pedestal, surrounded, at ground level, by statues of [[Prince Hamlet|Hamlet]], [[Lady Macbeth]], [[Prince Hal]], and [[Falstaff]]. These characters were intended to be emblematic of Shakespeare's creative versatility: representing Philosophy, Tragedy, History, and Comedy.<ref name = "strat"/> Another statue is present in a niche on the exterior of the town hall building.

Though most memorials are to be found in English speaking countries, there are also monuments elsewhere. In 1888 a statue was erected on the [[Boulevard Haussmann]] in Paris, designed by Paul Fournier.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.scholarsresource.com/browse/work/2144600577 |title=Statue of Shakespeare (1564–1616) on Boulevard Haussmann, unveiled in 1888 |publisher=Scholarsresource.com |access-date= |accessdate=10 December 2011}}</ref>

Between 1970 and 1993, an image of the Poets' Corner statue of Shakespeare appeared on the reverse of Series D [[Bank of England note issues|£20 notes]] issued by the [[Bank of England]]. Alongside the statue was an engraving of the balcony scene from ''Romeo and Juliet''.<ref name="banknote1">{{cite web|url=http://www.shakespeare.org.uk/content/view/16/16 |title=What Did Shakespeare Look Like? |publisher=The [[Shakespeare Birthplace Trust]] |accessdateaccess-date=17 October 2008 |deadurlurl-status=yesdead |archiveurlarchive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081014011836/http://www.shakespeare.org.uk/content/view/16/16 |archivedatearchive-date=14 October 2008 |df= }}</ref><ref name="banknote2">{{cite web|url=http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/denom_guide/index.htm|title=Withdrawn Banknotes Reference Guide|publisher=Bank of England|accessdateaccess-date=22 October 2008|archive-date=10 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610131654/http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/denom_guide/index.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>

A complex memorial to Shakespeare was created in [[Southwark Cathedral]], which was his parish church when he lived in London close to the [[Globe Theatre]]. It is also the burial place of Shakespeare's brother Edmund, along with other Elizabethan actors and playwrights. A recumbent statue of Shakespeare, created by Henry McCarthy in 1912, was placed in a niche on which was carved images of Elizabethan Southwark depicting the Globe, [[Winchester Palace]] and the tower of the church. An elaborate stained glass window was also created, depicting Shakespearean characters. The original window was destroyed by a bomb blast in [[World War II]] but was replaced in 1954. A birthday celebration of Shakespeare is held every year in April.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.southwark.anglican.org/cathedral/tour/bill.htm |title=Southwark Cathedral -– Shakespeare Memorial |publisher=Southwark.anglican.org |access-date= |accessdate=10 December 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924104109/http://www.southwark.anglican.org/cathedral/tour/bill.htm |archive-date=24 September 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

A memorial in Sydney, Australia was builterected in 1926, designed by Australian sculptor [[Edgar Bertram Mackennal|Sir Bertram MacKennal]]. It was commissioned by Henry Gullett (d. 4 August 1914), a former president of the Shakespeare Society of New South Wales. Paid for with a bequest from his estate, Gullett's daughter [[Lucy Gullett]] ensured that the commission was carried out after her father's death. It depicts not only Shakespeare at the top, but five of his most famous characters around the base – [[Hamlet]], [[Romeo Montague|Romeo]], and [[Juliet Capulet|Juliet]] embracing, [[Portia (Merchant of Venice)|Portia]] and [[Falstaff]]. It is located in Shakespeare Place, between the [[Mitchell Library, Sydney|Mitchell Library]] (part of the [[State Library of New South Wales]]) and the [[Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney|Royal Botanic Gardens]]. In 1959 the statue was repositioned to make way for the [[Cahill Expressway]].

A statue was created for [[Logan Circle, (Philadelphia)|Logan Circle]] section of [[Philadelphia]] in 1926, designed by [[Alexander Stirling Calder]]. It does not depict Shakespeare himself, but rather the figures of [[Touchstone (As You Like It)|Touchstone]] the jester from ''[[As You Like It]]'', representing comedy, and Hamlet, representing tragedy. Touchstone is lounging with his head tilted laughing, his feet hanging over the top of the tall stone pedestal and his left arm resting on Hamlet's legs. Hamlet is seated, brooding, his knife dangling over Touchstone's body.<ref>Patricia Vance, ''Intimate bicycle tours of Philadelphia: ten excursions to the city's art'', University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004, P.64.</ref> The opening lines of the famous [[All the world's a stage]] speech from ''As You Like It'' are inscribed on the pedestal beneath the figures.

File:ShakespeareMemorialASC.jpg|Shakespeare memorial, Logan Circle, Philadelphia, PA. Designed by [[Alexander Stirling Calder]], 1923-261923–26.

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