Stratford-upon-Avon, Part 1

Well, everyone, the visit to Stratford-upon-Avon was by far the best day I have had on this trip: best weather, best attractions, best tours, best food—best everything! As you can imagine, I took enough pictures to fill a book; as a result, this post will have to be split in two with Part 1 dealing with Shakespeare’s birthplace, the Stratford public library, and the River Avon.

The ride to Stratford was about two hours, which after the 8-hour plane ride felt like nothing. Half-way through we did make one pit stop at a place called Welcome Break.
Apparently, the UK has these sort of mega-rest areas that are far superior to the measly bathroom-and-vending-machine variety back in the States. Their rest areas have bathrooms, convenience stores, two Starbucks, and several fast-food restaurants (Burger King, KFC, Subway, etc.). All of us American students were quite impressed. Anyway, for a snack, I purchased some British Doritos. Do not ever do this if you are in the UK!  These were BY FAR the nastiest Doritos I have ever had in my entire life! I cannot even begin to describe the taste. Their "regular" brand is called "Chili Heatwave"--they do not even have regular Doritos--and they are beyond disgusting. If you find yourself in Britain and trying to decide on which chip--excuse me, "crisp"--to buy, stay away from their Doritos!

After the pit stop, we got back on the road. Our bus driver was one of my favorite people I've met here in the UK. His name was Mick, and he was hilarious. Through the microphone, he gave us plenty of tips, always using a humorous tone. My favorite was his pointing out the shopping district in London, which we passed early in the morning. He got on the intercom and announced, "Ladies, this is your dream. If there are any husbands and wives here, husbands, hide your credit cards." Ha! He was delightful and funny, and one of the most loquacious people I have met. He seemed to genuinely love telling stories. I swear, he would really fit in in the South. 

We arrived in Stratford around 2:00 pm and were given the entire day to explore; at 6:30, we had to report to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre for the evening’s performance. We were going to see Henry IV, Part I, which, for the uninitiated, is the second play in Shakespeare's Wars of the Roses series, which includes Richard II (one of my favorites!); Henry IV, Part I; Henry IV, Part II; Henry V; and Richard III. I'll go into the play's origins and themes in more detail in next post. 

Stratford is a majestic, quaint little town. The entire town smelled wonderful; the scent of roses permeated everything--I am not exaggerating! There were flowers and trees spread throughout the town, giving it both a fresh appearance and intoxicating aroma. It is simply one of the most beautiful places I have ever had the honor to visit. Frankly, I understand why Shakespeare derived so much inspiration while living here. Who wouldn't!

The very first place we visited was Stratford's public library, which is on the way to Shakespeare's birthplace. We walked down a lovely street to get there, and the walk was majestic. The exterior of the library tried to maintain a Tudor-esque architecture. From the outside, it is just as quaint as the rest of the town.

 

 

 

When we went inside, however, I was disappointed to see how few books were in the library. As you can see their library is rather barren. 

 

 

 

These pictures you see are the only books I saw! And this is the library in SHAKESPEARE'S hometown! I was aghast and could not help wondering what Shakespeare would think of this library. Fortunately, this venture did give me an idea for my research paper, which I'm happy to talk to you about offline. The library's setting was lovely, though, and it did seem to be a pretty place to study. That being said, I did feel confused by the lack of books there. Anyway, this was my only complaint about Stratford. 

A few blocks down, we came to the granddaddy of literary historic sites: Shakespeare's birthplace. For an English major, there is no greater destination; it doesn't get better than this! They did offer tours of the interior, but the price was a little out of my budget. I just stood in the street instead, soaking up the meaning of that house. Truly, I could not help feeling a bit bewildered and awestruck in equal measure standing in front of this building. To think a young baby boy, born to a glove maker, having no more than a typical grammar school education, grew to become the most important writer--no, artist--arguably in the history of literature or theater is astounding. Indeed, Shakespeare's life story is an inspiration: one really can rise up no matter the class one is born into. I took many pictures of the exterior and did not care how grossly tourist-y this appeared to the locals. 

 

 

 

 

I spent a few minutes just staring at the house, thinking about those things. Across the street, I saw a few street musicians. There was a man playing a saxophone, which I think Shakespeare would have loved, and this guy, who was singing "Farewell and Adieu to You, Fair Spanish Ladies." That's right; a man in Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare's hometown, was singing the same song as Robert Shaw in Jaws. I found that hilarious and had to take a picture.

In case you needed a reminder, here is the song I'm talking about: 

Then, I noticed there was a Shakespeare gift shop...and a Shakespeare BOOK STORE. Well, you know where I had to go! On the way over, I saw a girl in costume. Evidently, the birthplace has people in costume lead the tours. I asked if I could take her picture, and she said absolutely. Like everyone I met there, she was very polite and obliging. 

 

I stayed in the bookstore for a while--to the point that I think everyone was getting tired of waiting on me. I felt somewhat guilty, but not that much. How many chances will I have to be in the Shakespeare Bookstore? Not too many. I perused the books with great care, seeing many I wanted to buy that dealt with Shakespeare himself and Tudor history in general. I also saw a biography about Olivier, but somehow managed not to buy it, despite how much I wanted to. Finally, I decided on Shakespeare's Language by Frank Kermode. 

I chose it because it seemed the most interesting and because Shakespeare's contributions to the English language, which consist of over 1,700 words he invented himself, are among the most interesting aspects surrounding scholarship on him. The back cover of the book lists several questions the book addresses: 

Shakespeare's revolutionary use of language is where the true power of his plays lies. Yet how could he be so wildly experimental with the English language and still remain a popular dramatist? If we sometimes find his plays hard to understand today, was it necessarily much easier for an Elizabethan theatregoer? How and why did Shakespeare's dramatic verse undergo such an extraordinary change around 1600? And why did he develop an obsessive passion for particular words? This landmark study distills a lifetime's thinking to unlock the secrets of Shakespeare's 'wild and whirling words.'

Reading these questions did make me think, so naturally I chose this one. I look forward to reading it soon. 

Also, I could not leave the Shakespeare gift shop without purchasing something, so I settled on a Shakespeare bag and two postcards, neither of which will I send--they'll make good bookmarks, though! 

 

 There was another bag that, with similar artwork to this one, had depictions of the important Shakespearean locations in Stratford. I chose this one, though, because it listed the table of contents for the First Folio in Old English, a touch I loved. I've taken this bag on a couple of day trips so far, and I've always received compliments. The postcards are in Elizabethan English, too, and they had one from pretty much every play. I chose Hamlet and Measure for Measure simply because they're two of my all-time favorites. 

After the birthplace adventure, I went with part of the group to the park along the River Avon. It was nothing short of majestic. Truly, I have never seen a more beautiful town. It reminded me of Charlottesville, VA, home of the University of Virginia, but Stratford is actually prettier. According to a tour I took later that day, which will be in Part 2 of this post, "avon" was an Old Welsh word for "river." It's sort of funny to think the river is in its most literal sense called "River River." 

There were a great many ducks and swans on the river, and I just had to take some pictures. 

 

 

 

 

 

Around 3:00, we decided to get some food. I tried the onion rings at a quaint little restaurant. They were delicious and more than compensated for those nasty Doritos! After resting and taking in the lucious beauty of Stratford, most of the group decided to venture to Shakespeare's church, which was down the street. Sarah--a new friend--and I, however, decided to take a tour on Stratford's "Hop-on, Hop-off Bus": a tour that takes you to all of the major destinations pertaining to Shakespeare (11 in all), allowing you to "hop off" at any destination to visit it and take pictures and then "hop on" to continue the tour. We got a student discount of 11 pounds, and boy, was it worth it! Considering the length of this post, though, you'll have to wait for Part 2 to read about it!

For now, good evening!

Love, 
Laura