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Duke of Chandos. At one time it had also belonged to Sir William Davenant, a playwright who claimed that he was Shakespeare’s illegitimate son. The most interesting thing about this latter portrait, however, is what it tells us about the writer and his times. The gallery’s Dr Tarnya Cooper explained that the earring and the loose shirt-ties point to a poet or someone with an adventurous disposition. “The collar is of a type that was popular between about 1590 and 1610,” she said, “just when Shakespeare was having his greatest successes and was thus most likely to sit for a portrait.” Furthermore, he must have been fairly prosperous because his clothes are black. She said that it took a lot of dye to make a fabric dark, so it was cheaper to produce clothes that were of a light colour. Therefore, black clothes in the sixteenth century were a sign of wealth. The Droeshout engraving The claim that the Chandos portrait represents Shakespeare has increased since the gallery’s investigation, but it is not absolutely watertight, according to Dr Cooper. It seems that people have always had their own ideas of what the Bard should – or should not – have looked like. In 1864, J. Hain Friswell wrote, “One cannot readily imagine our essentially English Shakespeare to have been a dark, heavy man, with a foreign expression, of decidedly Jewish physiognomy, thin curly hair [and] a somewhat lubricious mouth.” Well, we ask ourselves, what should a national poet look like? Does it really matter? The Bard’s appearance, authorship and sexuality have been questioned, but his most essential legacy – his writing – stands above such mundane matters. As Sir John Falstaff, his most iconic character, would say, “There are questions to be asked; but those are questions not to be asked.” 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 105 0 If Shakespeare lived today, he would be … paparazzi and by his fans. chased by ✔ 1 As he was so famous, he would be able … the best actors and actresses. 2 In an age of visual communication people … the faces of their stars. 3 For Ben Jonson reading the book … looking at Shakespeare’s face. 4 The most interesting aspect of the Chandos portrait is that we … the author and his times. 5 The fact that he was wearing black clothes shows that he must … man. 6 Shakespeare’s appearance may be … but his poetry is not. b) Look at the previous text again and explain its structure and its characteristics. c) Discuss the purpose of this text. Why could it have been written? 139 Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv