Shakespeare and Modern Politics

That we live in unstable times, to be sure, yes, that is the case. That local and regional politics have proven to be a source of endless ire and amusement, yes, that, too.

I’m reminded of Shakespeare’s Richard III, while a relatively early play, quite good as many corollaries can be drawn from that drama. I was listening to it, the other afternoon, a badly-read refresher for me, and I heard it, again.

But I am in
So far in blood that sin will pluck on sin.

King Richard in Shakespeare’s Richard 3 (4.2.64-5)

The whole aside is worth it. A few scant lines after the lords leave but before the hired killer enters. “But I am in so far in blood that sin will pluck on sin.”

That was the line. Stuck out. Stuck with me. Brought an impish grin to my face. Recently, a sitting senator from the great State of Texas quibbled with the Supreme Court decision. Just one? Yeah, well, in my example, yeah, just one. Couldn’t give it up.

So, to get this correct, “I’ll abide by the laws of the land, as long as those laws are convenient, but if the laws go against the my beliefs, then it’s all right to ignore them?”

Recent scholarship has proven that King Richard did, indeed, have a hunched back. He was buried under a car park for hundreds of years. Rather ignoble. To be honest, it was just Shakespeare’s flourish that added the bit where Richard had the two princes killed. Last time I looked, there was no historical evidence to prove that. Doesn’t mean that it didn’t serve the plot rather well, so stick it in?

To quote my own mother, “We never let the facts get in the way of a good story.”

Shakespeare and Modern Politics

Noted elsewhere, Richard the Third, Shakespeare’s character, is the perfect politician. What made me laugh, similar to an evil cackle, was the idea that the senator was so steeped in his rhetoric, he failed to see the facts.

I must be married to my brother’s daughter,
Or else my kingdom stands on brittle glass.
Murder her brothers and then marry her—
Uncertain way of gain! But I am in
So far in blood that sin will pluck on sin.
Tear-falling pity dwells not in this eye.

King Richard in Shakespeare’s Richard 3 (4.2.61-5)

Stay tuned, it’s a long election season, and it’s only going to get weirder from here.

Shakespeare and Modern Politics

The problem with comparing modern politics to Shakespeare’s works? The plays had to make sense. Roughly two and half hours, end-to-end, had to come to a conclusion.

#Shakespeare