Scene Setting
SCENE: The Boar’s Head Tavern, Eastcheap. The year is 1606. The air is thick with tobacco smoke and the smell of roasted capon. Seated in a corner, nursing a cup of sack, is MASTER WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, playwright of the King’s Men. Opposite him sits BARNABY QUILL, a scribbler for a local broadsheet.
BARNABY QUILL:
God ye good den, Master Shakespeare. 'Tis a rare honor to find thee away from the scribbling desk. The city buzzes like a hive of bees over thy latest tragedy, the Scottish play. They say King James himself was much pleased?
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE:
(He offers a weary but polite smile)
Ay, Barnaby. His Majesty hath a keen eye for the darker humors. 'Tis a strange time we live in—gunpowder plots and witches in the wind. A playwright must hold the mirror up to nature, even when nature looks a trifle grim. But come, drink. The sack here is good, and methinks I have earned a moment’s peace from the players.
BARNABY QUILL:
Indeed. Thou hast come far from the days when Master Greene called thee an "upstart crow." Now, the King’s Men are the toast of London. Does the favor of the Crown weigh heavy on thy quill?
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE:
Heavy? Perchance. A King’s favor is a cloak of gold—warm, yet stifling. When Good Queen Bess reigned, she loved a merry jig and a sharp wit. King James... he peers into the shadows. Hence the ghosts, the madness, the sound and fury. But 'tis the work. I am but a servant to the story, and the story demands what it will.
BARNABY QUILL:
Speaking of stories, the groundlings at the Globe—that great "Wooden O"—they clamor for blood one moment and jests the next. How dost thou balance the philosophy of a Hamlet with the bawdy humor they crave?
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE:
Ah, the groundlings. Bless their penny-pinching souls. They stand in the rain and the mud, jaws agape for three hours. Thou must give them a skull to ponder, aye, but thou must also give them a gravedigger to laugh at. Life is not all soliloquies, Master Quill. 'Tis mingled yarn, good and ill together. If I make a Prince speak of the infinite, I must also let a fool speak of his breakfast. 'Tis the only way to keep them from throwing apples.
BARNABY QUILL:
Rumor hath it thou pinest for Stratford. That this bustling, plaguey London is but a workshop to thee, and thy heart remains in Warwickshire.
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE:
(He looks into his cup, his expression softening)
London is the forge, Barnaby. Here is the noise, the heat, the iron. But Stratford... Stratford is the garden. A man cannot live in the fire forever. I have bought a patch of land there, New Place. A fine house. Someday, when the ink is dry and the final curtain falls, I shall retire there. I shall trade my quill for a pruning hook and leave the ghosts to the actors.
BARNABY QUILL:
One last query, ere the bell tolls. What is the secret, Master Shakespeare? How dost thou spin such worlds from thin air?
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE:
There is no secret, friend. Only observation. I watch the courtier strut and the beggar limp. I listen to the lovers’ whisper and the soldiers’ oath. I steal it all. Every man is a book, if thou knowest how to read him. Now, put away thy tablet. The sack is finished, and the players await. The show must go on, as they say, until we are all merely dust.
BARNABY QUILL:
I thank thee, Master Shakespeare. God be wi' you.
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE:
And with thee, Barnaby. Keep thy wits sharp.
Backgrounder Notes
As an expert researcher and library scientist, I have identified several key historical and literary references within the text that provide essential context for understanding William Shakespeare’s world in 1606.
Historical and Literary Backgrounders
The Boar’s Head Tavern, Eastcheap A real and famous London establishment, this tavern was immortalized by Shakespeare in his Henry IV plays as the favorite haunt of Sir John Falstaff. In the 17th century, Eastcheap was a bustling commercial district known for its meat markets and vibrant nightlife.
Sack Sack was a popular type of fortified wine imported from Spain and the Canary Islands, similar to modern-day sherry. It was a staple of English taverns and was often consumed warm or sweetened with sugar.
The King’s Men Originally known as the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, this acting troupe was granted a royal patent by King James I upon his accession in 1603. This elevated Shakespeare’s company to the highest level of social and professional prestige, making them official members of the royal household.
The Scottish Play This is a traditional theatrical euphemism for Macbeth, used by actors to avoid a supposed curse associated with the play. It was written around 1606 and was specifically tailored to the interests of King James I, who had a well-documented obsession with witchcraft and a Scottish ancestry.
The Gunpowder Plot Occurring in 1605, just a year before this dialogue is set, this was a failed attempt by Catholic conspirators to blow up the House of Lords and assassinate King James I. The event created a climate of paranoia and treason that heavily influenced the dark, political themes of Shakespeare’s later tragedies.
Upstart Crow This was a famous insult directed at Shakespeare by rival playwright Robert Greene in his 1592 pamphlet, Groats-Worth of Wit. Greene was criticizing the fact that Shakespeare, an actor without a university education, had the audacity to write plays and compete with the "University Wits."
The Wooden O This term refers to the Globe Theatre, the circular, open-air playhouse where many of Shakespeare's greatest works were performed. The nickname comes from the prologue of Henry V, which describes the building’s multi-sided, timber-framed architecture.
Groundlings These were the lowest-paying members of the audience who stood in the "pit" or yard directly in front of the stage. For the price of a single penny, they experienced the play without seating or cover, often becoming the most vocal and rowdy segment of the crowd.
New Place Purchased by Shakespeare in 1597, New Place was the second-largest house in Stratford-upon-Avon and a significant symbol of his upward mobility. It served as his primary residence during his retirement years until his death in 1616.
The Humors (Darker Humors) Based on ancient medical theory, the "four humors" (blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile) were believed to control a person’s temperament and health. Shakespeare’s reference to "darker humors" suggests a lean toward melancholy or cynicism, reflecting the shift from Elizabethan optimism to Jacobean anxiety.
