Where there's Will, there's a way…
Apr. 23rd, 2006 12:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ricardienneOr,
Happy Birthday, Shakespeare!*
1564-1616-2006
442 years.
(Today is also the birthday of Michael Moore and Timothy McVeigh. Also International Book Day, and the feast of St. George, which is quite appropriate. And Beer Day in Germany, according to wikipedia.)
The thing that struck me today is how recent Shakespeare is. It hasn't even been 450 years since he was born. 442 years before Shakespeare, Eleanor of Aquitaine was born. That's amazing to me. We're only as far away from Shakespeare as Eleanor was. Chaucer was born a little over 200 years before Shakespeare was. 200 years after Shakespeare was born, the French and Indian war was on. Dante was born 300 years before Shakespeare. Three hundred years after Shakespeare, we're in the middle of the American Civil War.
To put things in perspective a little bit more, and because I'm obviously addicted to wikipedia. Virgil died in 19 b.c. Tacitus died in 117. Augustine died in 430.
I guess this is what Early Modern means -- as close, or closer, really, to the modern world as to the ancient world, but it does seem as though time is speeding up.
It's interesting to think about which writers get first names and which by their last. No one would ever call Dante, "Alighieri" but I think all English authors get last names, probably because they all have the same first names so it would get confusing. Classical authors get their cognomen, usually, although Cicero used to by called Tully. Homer only has one name.
Happy Birthday, Shakespeare!*
1564-1616-2006
442 years.
(Today is also the birthday of Michael Moore and Timothy McVeigh. Also International Book Day, and the feast of St. George, which is quite appropriate. And Beer Day in Germany, according to wikipedia.)
The thing that struck me today is how recent Shakespeare is. It hasn't even been 450 years since he was born. 442 years before Shakespeare, Eleanor of Aquitaine was born. That's amazing to me. We're only as far away from Shakespeare as Eleanor was. Chaucer was born a little over 200 years before Shakespeare was. 200 years after Shakespeare was born, the French and Indian war was on. Dante was born 300 years before Shakespeare. Three hundred years after Shakespeare, we're in the middle of the American Civil War.
To put things in perspective a little bit more, and because I'm obviously addicted to wikipedia. Virgil died in 19 b.c. Tacitus died in 117. Augustine died in 430.
I guess this is what Early Modern means -- as close, or closer, really, to the modern world as to the ancient world, but it does seem as though time is speeding up.
It's interesting to think about which writers get first names and which by their last. No one would ever call Dante, "Alighieri" but I think all English authors get last names, probably because they all have the same first names so it would get confusing. Classical authors get their cognomen, usually, although Cicero used to by called Tully. Homer only has one name.
