Shakespeare’s Secret Diaries.
Andre Willers
18 Apr 2012
Synopsis:
Shakespeare , as a compulsive scribbler , kept copious notes in a private diary . These were concealed for political reasons , but he left three clues to their whereabouts .
Discussion :
Tired of Great Things ?
Do something completely frivolous .
Find Shakespeare’s secret diaries.
1.Did these diaries exist ?
Certainly . Shakespeare was a very acute observer and noted everything around him . From evidence of “Timon of Athens” (an unfinished play) , he created his plays as sub-groupings , which he then assembled and polished into a whole . All this required a lot of writing by hand . This resulted in a form of Repetitive Stress Injury . See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Writer's_cramp
How many words ?
http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/stats/
884 429 words as finally polished products over a 24 year career . This gives about 3070 words per month . Experienced writers would normally rewrite about three to five times .
So , there were a lot of documents . But only the initial , unvarnished observations by a genius class mind would be sensitive to the milieu Shakespeare moved in ( the likes of Southampton) . He successfully concealed their existence even after his death , but could not resist leaving clues to be found long after his death .
2.The Clues :
There are three , in keeping with his works and way of thinking :
Clue 1 : His gravestone . This plainly states that there is something worth looking for , but it is not there in the grave . Any “curst” is the curse of ignorance .
Clue 2 : The very specific bequest of the second-best bed to his long-suffering wife . This , according to the custom of the times , was the marital bed . The best bed was kept for guests . And Shakespeare’s guest always was a Muse .
But which one ?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muse
“In Renaissance and Neoclassical art, the dissemination of emblem books such as Cesare Ripa'sIconologia (1593 and many further editions) helped standardize the depiction of the Muses in sculpture and painting, so they could be distinguished by certain props, together with which they became emblemsreadily identifiable by the viewer, enabling one immediately to recognize the art with which they had become bound.
Calliope (epic poetry) carries a writing tablet; Clio (history) carries a scroll and books; Erato (love/erotic poetry) is often seen with a lyre and a crown of roses; Euterpe (lyric poetry) carries a flute, the aulos; Melpomene (tragedy) is often seen with a tragic mask; Polyhymnia (sacred poetry) is often seen with a pensive expression; Terpsichore (choral dance and song) is often seen dancing and carrying a lyre; Thalia (comedy) is often seen with a comic mask; and Urania (astronomy) carries a pair of compasses and the celestial globe.”
Shakespeare’s Muses could be Clio , Erato , Euterpe , Melpomene , Terpsichore , Thalia . Note the date above (1593) . Shakespeare would have been well-aware of the standardized depiction of the Muses .
The highest probability lies with the two not usually applicable to him : Polyhymnia and Urania .
Back to Clue 1: On the tombstone he said “for Iesvs sake” , a clear religious reference . So the Muse Polyhymnia has the highest probability .
Clue 3 : The unknown clue . The most difficult one .
Shakespeare would certainly not have trusted Michael Drayton or Ben Johnson (his drinking buddies at the end) . They would simply have stolen what they could use and used the rest to the detriment of Shakespeare’s family . Nor could he pass it to descendants , as there was no male descendant in sight . Besides , he was not famous yet . This happened only from about 50 years after his death .
So , the third clue would be hidden in his works . If he became foumous , he trusted somebody would dig it out . If not , then it would not matter . A perfect hiding place .
A prime candidate for Muse : Polyhymnia would be the Muse of the work below :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Phoenix_and_the_Turtle
“The Phoenix and the Turtle is an allegorical poem about the death of ideal love by William Shakespeare. It is widely considered to be one of his most obscure works and has led to many conflicting interpretations.[1] It has also been called "the first great published metaphysical poem".[2] The title "The Phoenix and the Turtle" is a conventional label. As published, the poem was untitled.”
Shakespeare still beating himself up over the Dark Lady (Emmilia Bassano)
See Appendix I for the poem .
Note the next-to-last lines :
“To this urn let those repair
That are either true or fair;”
Interpret the poem as fairly literal instructions to find a buried packet (the Phoenix of Truth) . Then the allusions are fairly clear . (Shakespeare outsmarted himself by making things a bit too allegorical)
Remember the Shakespeare coat-of-arms ? The falcon on top . Look for it .
The Packet :
Shakespeare knew it might have to last for centuries . They had the technology for it . The packet (probably about 10 thick paperback-sized volumes) would be tightly wrapped in oil-skin , then copper-sheathed .
Then a lead cladding with air-holes , heated slightly to expel moisture , then soldered shut . This would last for hundreds of years .
Modern detectors should be able to pick it up if the approximate location is known .
The contents should be fascinating , as well as extremely valuable .
The candid observations of Shakespeare in his own hand .
Now you know as much as I do .
Happy hunting !
Andre
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Appendix I
Text of the poem
The Phoenix and the Turtle
Let the bird of loudest lay,
On the sole Arabian tree,
Herald sad and trumpet be,
To whose sound chaste wings obey.
But thou, shriking harbinger,
Foul pre-currer of the fiend,
Augur of the fever's end,
To this troop come thou not near.
From this session interdict
Every fowl of tyrant wing,
Save the eagle, feather'd king:
Keep the obsequy so strict.
Let the priest in surplice white,
That defunctive music can,
Be the death-divining swan,
Lest the requiem lack his right.
And thou, treble-dated crow,
That thy sable gender mak'st
With the breath thou giv'st and tak'st,
'Mongst our mourners shalt thou go.
Here the anthem doth commence:
Love and constancy is dead;
Phoenix and the turtle fled
In a mutual flame from hence.
So they lov'd, as love in twain
Had the essence but in one;
Two distincts, division none:
Number there in love was slain.
Hearts remote, yet not asunder;
Distance, and no space was seen
'Twixt the turtle and his queen;
But in them it were a wonder.
So between them love did shine,
That the turtle saw his right
Flaming in the phoenix' sight:
Either was the other's mine.
Property was thus appall'd,
That the self was not the same;
Single nature's double name
Neither two nor one was call'd.
Reason, in itself confounded,
Saw division grow together;
To themselves yet either-neither,
Simple were so well compounded
That it cried how true a twain
Seemeth this concordant one!
Love hath reason, reason none
If what parts can so remain.
Whereupon it made this threne
To the phoenix and the dove,
Co-supreme and stars of love;
As chorus to their tragic scene.
THRENOS.
Beauty, truth, and rarity.
Grace in all simplicity,
Here enclos'd in cinders lie.
Death is now the phoenix' nest;
And the turtle's loyal breast
To eternity doth rest,
Leaving no posterity:--
'Twas not their infirmity,
It was married chastity.
Truth may seem, but cannot be:
Beauty brag, but 'tis not she;
Truth and beauty buried be.
To this urn let those repair
That are either true or fair;
For these dead birds sigh a prayer.
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