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Honolulu Lite
FOR centuries, when people read lines by William Shakespeare like, "Age cannot wither, her nor custom stale her infinite variety; other women cloy the appetites they feed, but she makes hungry where most she satisfies," one question always sprang to mind: what was Shakespeare smoking? Shakespeare
takes a hitThanks to a recent scientific discovery, the answer to that question may be marijuana. Scientists have discovered a bunch of clay pipes at the site of Billy the Bard's former home in Stratford-on-Avon that contain traces of marijuana. The pipes also show traces of cocaine and other hallucinogenic substances, which could mean that Shakespeare was one rockin' dude.
Of course, just the presence of the pipes doesn't mean Shakespeare actually was a doper. But they would explain a lot. In "Richard III" is the line "Now is the winter of our discontent," which could refer to Shakespeare smoking the last of his buds and realizing that he has to go score some more.
In the same play, Shakespeare wrote: "A horse! My kingdom for a horse!"
In light of the new discoveries, maybe he meant: "Horse! My kingdom for some horse!," a clear reference to heroin. It is the agonizing cry of a hop-head in the painful stages of heroin withdrawal.
Shakespeare was a prolific writer, cranking out 38 plays, 154 sonnets and innumerable poems. Those numbers don't seem so astounding now that we know he might have been cranked up on cocaine. In the 17th century, users would either have smoked coke or put it in wine. You can imagine Shakespeare having a little toke of the coke pipe and suddenly becoming flooded with inspiration to write the famous line in "Richard II" by John of Gaunt (no relation to Clarence of Scrawny): "Methinks I am a prophet newly inspired."
METHINKS when you start getting those kinds of visions of grandeur, you've had one too many hits.
It wouldn't be surprising that Shakespeare was part of the swinging drug crowd of England. After all, he was an actor turned writer (although what he really wanted to do was direct.) He must have attended many Hollywood-style soirees where the beautiful people partied, struck development deals on the side and said things to each other like, "My liege, why dost thou bogart that joint?"
Shakespeare discloses what the chic London party culture must have been like in "A Midsummer Night's Dream," where the impish Puck runs around a pagan paradise looking for magical flowers so that he can secretly get people stoned on love and watch them cavort like rabbits.
But there was just as much jealousy in London's entertainment industry then as there is in Los Angeles today, and plenty of people thought Shakespeare was a phony and lousy writer.
"The Great American Bathroom Book," an essential reference to historical literature, states that critics often savaged Shakespeare, comparing his "honey-tongued comedies, tragedies and histories with those of Plautus and Seneca." That had to hurt. Unbelievably, reviewers also gave "Hamlet" a resounding two thumbs down.
Shakespeare may have sought solace from these attacks in drugs. And he may have salted his works with hidden references to his growing drug dependency. In "The Winter's Tale," Hermione, the Queen of Sicily, becomes a statue. At the end of the play, King Leontes kisses the statue's lips. The Queen comes to life. This causes the King to remark that the Queen is "stone no more." Get it? The Queen was stoned, man.
And was it just an accident that one of the main characters in "The Two Gentlemen of Verona" is named Speed? Methinks not.
Charles Memminger, winner of
National Society of Newspaper Columnists
awards in 1994 and 1992, writes "Honolulu Lite"
Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Write to him at the Honolulu Star-Bulletin,
P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu, 96802
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