Tuesday 19 May 2015

His True Face?

So, the 'true face of Shakespeare' - a portrait 'drawn from life, and in the prime of life' - has been discovered on the frontispiece of Gerard's Herbal. Really? There does seem to be good reason to believe that the figure (bottom right of the four) is intended to represent Shakespeare, but that's all it is - a representation, a stylised image, not a portrait likeness. That's why this 'Shakespeare' has pretty much the same face as the other three figures (especially his near-twin at top left). Still, it's an interesting find - if not exactly 'the literary discovery of the century'.

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