Elizabethan
Exhibit offers insight on writers of yesteryear
Drew Stewart, posted Nov. 3, 2006
 |
A
closeup of one the art exhibits at the Queen Elizabeth
II exhibit in Ellis Library.
Photo by Drew Stewar.t
|
“There’s
a question that will always face writers no matter what century
they’re living in.” MU English Professor David
T. Read said. “How do you make a living?”
This was
a question Read hoped to explore in the Nov. 1 lecture “Poets
and Patrons: Surviving as a Writer in the Elizabethan Era”
held in Ellis Library. The presentation was one of many to
be given in support of the exhibit “Elizabeth I: Ruler
and Legend” on display in the Ellis Library Colonnade.
Read’s
presentation used two Elizabethan writers as case studies:
Edmund Spenser and William Shakespeare. First of all, Read
pointed out that it was especially difficult for a writer
to make a living in the 15th century since there was no established
infrastructure to support them because there were no forms
of journalism.
Based
on this, he noted that there were four ways a writer could
make a living in the Elizabethan era: becoming a “hack”
writer, meaning they wrote whatever the market would buy;
getting attached to noble and powerful individuals; depending
on gifts, subsidies and pensions; or joining the theater.
Spenser and Shakespeare, Read said, excelled through different
methods.
“Both
of these men achieved success,” Read said. “Only
in different ways. Shakespeare made his money as a partner
in the Lord Chamberlain’s Men Theatre Company, whereas
Spenser made a career by attaching himself to powerful men.”
Although
there were multiple paths to becoming successful, Read pointed
out the true goal for a writer in the 15th century was to
get close to the monarchy. Many pieces of work, including
Spenser’s six-book poem the Faerie Queene, were either
dedicated or written in praise of Queen Elizabeth.
Even though
the days of Spenser and Shakespeare have long passed, today
some still see relevance in their struggle to succeed as writers.
“Even
today, you still need to find a patron or a publisher to print
your work,” Columbia resident Ralph Kreigh said. “Nowadays
a patron is like a publishing house and plays are more like
TV and television. Hollywood’s kind of a new common
theatre.”
Elizabeth
I: Ruler and Legend will extend to Nov. 16. All events are
located in the Ellis Library Colonnade and are free to the
public. For more information, visit the Elizabethan
Exhibit's official Web site or stop by the library and
pick up a brochure.
