Anonymous: So You Want To Be Shakespeare?
James Dugan
ell brownWriting is dangerous business. The act of putting thought to words, words to ink, and ink to paper is the path to enlightenment, power and fame. It is one of the few acts of the individual bent on changing and creating the world.
This is what I garnered in viewing the visually beautiful and politically potent Elizabethan era film, Anonymous. The film reconfigures the omnipotent literary figure of William Shakespeare by suggesting that the plays and the poetry were the artful creations of the Earl of Oxford, Edward De Vere, not the bard. Unable to display his poetic talent due to his Puritan household and the explosive political climate, he pawns off his masterpiece plays to Ben Johnson. Writing is too dangerous for the Earl, but as anonymous (and soon as the scoundrel actor Shakespeare) he can watch his art transform drama and poetry forever.
The political drama directed by Roland Emmerich is worth viewing for its original perspective of the villainous Will Shakespeare, the sensitive and talent doubting Ben Johnson, and the historical intrique of the late 16 century. The tumultuous Elizabethan era has become trite with recent books and movies, but the plot is so ratcheted with sadness, longing, and loneliness of its excellent cast that it feels new. It has the same charming quality that made Shakespeare in Love immensely popular.
The film's theme is how writing transcends humanity at the cost of the individual. The Earl of Oxford loses his love, Queen Elizabeth; his claim to the throne; his rightful fame as the greatest wordsmith in English. The tragic character is beset with Hamletian luck that leaves him asking about his worth on his deathbed.
Writing is a passion that is undeniable. It offers scant reward for its lifetime devotion. The ink on the Earl’s hands stay with him throughout the movie. A true writer is always writing as the craft strains every aspect of life including relationships, finances, and societal status. A literary life is a quixotic quest asking the poet to empty his soul for others’ enlightenment. The irony is that the quest never promises enlightenment in return, but only a contract fulfilled when you have nothing. The stain on the fingers is a badge of courage that separates the writer from society.
The final theme centers on the symbolism of the planks that the actors walk above the muddy streets of London. During the film a character warns, “All writing is political.” Living a life with emotion and opinion bubbling at the surface will cause anxiety for the outer skin making others approach warily. Writers must walk the plank between too much truth and entertainment. Their words can transform but also make them a target of the powerful. Words are most lingering when the individual must fight for its freedom. All writers must walk the metaphorical plank and balance the subtly of decorum with the mayhem of truth.
Anonymous illustrates the danger of the act of writing, but also the possibility of its greatness. It is a must see for fans of Shakespearean drama and a keen caveat for those who take up the pen to emulate the master, who ever he was.
Reader Comments (1)
Shakespeare, as you say, "Who ever he is/was", definitely had to balance the sensitivity of politics, gender, race, and economics very carefully. Having taught Shakespeare for many years, I have often brought my students' attention to this idea that there is great danger in writing, even creatively, because of the subjectivity of the reader. This notion is especially true in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, specifically in his portrayal of the conspirators. If their cause is noble, then we conclude that Monarchies are bad- a dangerous sentiment indeed under the rule of a queen. If ignoble, then Shakespeare is merely pandering to the royals, isolating his audience of commoners. Further, he must manage his portrayal of women, given Elizabeth's influence and passion for the theater. If they are too proud and influential, he disturbs the customary view of the time, and if women are too weak he offends the one woman who decides if his plays can be performed at all.
It's an interesting idea, one that still has implications today when we see books still burned and authors' lives threatened for their ideas.