Shakespeare’s Recurring Motifs # David Williamson notes that Shakespeare was regarded as a popular entertainer and his scripts not even worthy of keeping for future generations. When he retreated back to Stratford in his early 50s he was sure his writing career had achieved little and strove to remake himself as a provincial property owner. Luckily some of his fellow actors, years after his death, collected his complete plays as an act of homage to a man they venerated.

Biography # Shakespeare was baptised 26^(th) April, 1564 and buried on the 25^(th) April fifty two year later. His father was a successful glover by trade, became a bailiff and senior alderman, but due to over extension fell on hard times charged with illegal trading, usury and bad debts. By 1592, he had been arraigned “for feare of processe of Debtte”. Shakespeare too frequently engaged in litigation mainly over his various properties.

Shakespeare’s Language # The language of Shakespeare is the richest in all literary history. He captures and projects the authentic voice of a variety of speakers. The range of his register and modality demonstrates masterful command. He can flip from the authoritative voice of officialdom to the casual, relaxed, natural argot and dialects of the street in a flash. He appears fluent in legal, musical, and technical terminology. He is best at dialectic or oppositional polemics, displaying a balance that makes it difficult to tell which side he is on.

Shakepeare and Justice # Shakespeare canvasses the issuses of order and good governance in most of his plays. Order tends to be disrupted and then restored at the end. The question of whether justice comes from the heavens or from humans is raised repeatedly. When Macduff’s wife and children are murdered by Macbeth, the questions, Did heaven look on,/ And would not take their part? We look for evidence in other plays.