The True Face Of Shakespeare Revealed ?

Research has found what is supposedly the " True Likeness " of William Shakespeare. If this is so, then he looks nothing like we have all been led to believe prior.

The portrait and how it was found can be found here

www.bbc.co.uk...

I think this discovery is still open to conjecture.

a reply to: alldaylong

I don't believe he was a real person.

I think it was a group or somebody else who used that name during the times.

~Tenth

originally posted by: tothetenthpower
a reply to: alldaylong

I don't believe he was a real person.

I think it was a group or somebody else who used that name during the times.

~Tenth

a reply to: alldaylong

"We do not think anyone is going to dispute this at all," he said.

Given that Shakespeare was a multiracial polysexual time traveller, I must beg to differ.

a reply to: alldaylong
Obviously the Roman-style laurel crown was not meant to be part of his regular appearance. Just symbolic.
Otherwise the main difference is the styling of the hair, and that may well vary during a man's life.
I'm not sure that the shape of the face is very different.
This picture and the traditional one might both be genuine portraits from different periods.

originally posted by: tothetenthpower
a reply to: alldaylong

I don't believe he was a real person.

I think it was a group or somebody else who used that name during the times.

~Tenth

Shakespeare was a real person.

Family records show he existed. I think what you are trying to say is that others used his name.

a reply to: alldaylong

It's too bad that the link doesn't go into any detail concerning the cipher and how it proves that it describes the drawing to be of Shakespeare.

Either way, it's a cool mystery, regardless.

Time for ATS to change the Literature icon?

a reply to: alldaylong

I thought there were serious questions regarding that, but maybe it's been updated since the last time I checked.

I do think somebody else used Shakespeare's name, regardless to write some of the things attributed to him.

~Tenth

a reply to: alldaylong

The object of art is to give life a shape

originally posted by: tothetenthpower
a reply to: alldaylong

I thought there were serious questions regarding that, but maybe it's been updated since the last time I checked.

I do think somebody else used Shakespeare's name, regardless to write some of the things attributed to him.

~Tenth

Francis Bacon, and his round table?

a reply to: alldaylong

For a second there, before i clicked the link i imagined he may have turned out to be black. LoL

www.londontosheffield.com...

I don't doubt that could be Shakespeare. I read recently that Beethoven was black, and there are drawings from his time that seem to prove it.

Anything is possible.

a reply to: DrogoTheNorman

Personally i don't imagine William Shakespeare to be anything other than a Caucasian male. I suppose the only way to conclusively prove otherwise would be to exhume the body from the Holy Trinity Church in his home town of Stratford, Warwickshire. Then again he did leave somewhat of a warning against such an act on his epitaph.

"Good friend for Jesus sake forbeare,
To dig the dust enclosed here.
Blessed be the man that spares these stones,
And cursed be he that moves my bones."

William Shakespeare was about as black as Jesus was white. LoL

originally posted by: andy06shake
a reply to: DrogoTheNorman

Personally i don't imagine William Shakespeare to be anything other than a Caucasian male. I suppose the only way to conclusively prove otherwise would be to exhume the body from the Holy Trinity Church in his home town of Stratford, Warwickshire. Then again he did leave somewhat of a warning against such an act on his epitaph.

"Good friend for Jesus sake forbeare,
To dig the dust enclosed here.
Blessed be the man that spares these stones,
And cursed be he that moves my bones."





William Shakespeare was about as black as Jesus was white.

LoL

I think you misread my post. I wasn't saying Shakespeare was black. I was saying that if there is evidence to prove that Beethoven was black, then I'm not surprised that our traditional image of Shakespeare might be wrong.

I actually suspect Shakespeare was racist. If Othello was really a black character, then clearly the portrayal is unsympathetic, playing on the stereotypes of the "out of control African" run amuck with a white woman.

Or that's just my impression of the Othello play as I saw Anthony Hopkins do the part.

a reply to: DrogoTheNorman

I suppose most people were racist to some degree or another back then down to there religious belief systems among other reasons. As to Othello some people interpret him to be a Spanish Moor, some claim his character to be of negroid descent, and others say Shakespeare based him upon himself.

originally posted by: andy06shake
a reply to: DrogoTheNorman

Personally i don't imagine William Shakespeare to be anything other than a Caucasian male. I suppose the only way to conclusively prove otherwise would be to exhume the body from the Holy Trinity Church in his home town of Stratford, Warwickshire. Then again he did leave somewhat of a warning against such an act on his epitaph.

"Good friend for Jesus sake forbeare,
To dig the dust enclosed here.
Blessed be the man that spares these stones,
And cursed be he that moves my bones."

William Shakespeare was about as black as Jesus was white.

LoL

did he really put that on his grave, who would do that unless some other folks that had used his name didn't want anyone to open it up and see the coffin empty?

a reply to: alldaylong

I think Shakespeare was one of the brightest humans to have ever lived. Wit, wisdom and insight throughout most of his works and, arguably, no single author before him had covered the human condition so extensively.

What he looked like doesn't matter at all.

It's hard to dispute your mention of 'conjecture' regardless of the speculative cipher. After all, artistic license and patronage have always been competing values when it comes to portraying the likenesses of people who are powerful, liked or paying the artist. For example, Queen Elizabeth the First had scores of portraits sketched and painted and, although there's a uniformity, could any of us pick her out of a crowd? The image could, in fact, be Shakespeare, but it's still just a sketch and not necessarily accurate.

originally posted by: Kandinsky
a reply to: alldaylong

I think Shakespeare was one of the brightest humans to have ever lived. Wit, wisdom and insight throughout most of his works and, arguably, no single author before him had covered the human condition so extensively.

What he looked like doesn't matter at all.

It's hard to dispute your mention of 'conjecture' regardless of the speculative cipher. After all, artistic license and patronage have always been competing values when it comes to portraying the likenesses of people who are powerful, liked or paying the artist. For example, Queen Elizabeth the First had scores of portraits sketched and painted and, although there's a uniformity, could any of us pick her out of a crowd? The image could, in fact, be Shakespeare, but it's still just a sketch and not necessarily accurate.

does it matter? not in grand scheme of things. is it fun to discuss and theorize about who he was? yes. in my opinion.