There was an arts programme on the radio and it began with a scene from a play by Shakespeare; usually when a clip like that is put on it is from a well-known part of a well-known play… I recognized immediately it was Shakespeare but was utterly stumped as to which play.
It was Corialanus. Now I have read it, when I was about seventeen I read all of Shakespeare’s plays, but I really don’t remember Corialanus. It’s a tragedy, I can tell you that, and it’s about a Roman general… there that’s the sum of my knowledge. I am going to read it though, I think I need to get back into Shakespeare and to study it again. The radio programme mentioned that no-one is quite sure exactly when it was written but most scholars think it was in 1608, eight years before Shakespeare died. The programme also suggested it contained coded references to the fact that Shakespeare had been prosecuted for grain hoarding… well, fancy that! Having a quick glance at facts about the play I learn without much surprise that Corialanus ends up dead…
I will report back when I have read it!
Lois Elsden 