The Mentor: Shakespeare's Country 1

The Mentor: Shakespeare's Country 1

The Mentor: Shakespeare's Country, Vol. 4, Num. 8, Serial No. 108, June 1, 1916

Author: William Winter

 

Stratford Impressions

 

 

It is the everlasting glory of Stratford-upon-Avon that it was

the birthplace of Shakespeare. Situated in the heart of beautiful

Warwickshire, it nestles cosily in an atmosphere of tranquil

loveliness, and it is surrounded by everything that gentle rural

scenery can provide to soothe the mind and to nurture contentment. It

stands upon a plain, almost in the center of England, through which,

between low green hills that roll away on either side, the Avon flows,

in many capricious windings, to the Severn, and so to the sea.

 

The golden glory of the setting sun burns on the gray spire of

Stratford church, and on the ancient graveyard below,--wherein

the mossy stones lean this way and that, in sweet and orderly

confusion,--and on the peaceful avenue of limes, and on the burnished

water of silver Avon. The tall, pointed, many-colored windows of the

church glint in the evening light. A cool, fragrant wind is stirring

the branches and the grass. The songbirds, calling to their mates or

sporting in the wanton pleasure of their airy life, are circling over

the church roof or hiding in little crevices of its walls. On the

vacant meadows across the river stretch away the long, level shadows of

the stately elms.

 

It is an accepted tradition in Stratford-upon-Avon that the bell of the

Guild Chapel was tolled on the occasion of the death and also of the

funeral of Shakespeare.

 

Sweet bell of Stratford, tolling slow,

In summer gloaming’s golden glow,

I hear and feel thy voice divine,

And all my soul responds to thine.

 

As now I hear thee, even so

My Shakespeare heard thee, long ago,

When lone by Avon’s pensive stream

He wandered in his haunted dream.

 

From “Shakespeare’s England,” by William Winter

 

 

 

 

[Illustration: WARWICK CASTLE, WARWICK]

 

 

 

 

Shakespeare’s Country

 

WARWICK CASTLE

 

Monograph Number One in The Mentor Reading Course

 

 

No one should come abruptly upon Stratford, the home of Shakespeare, as

Mr. Winter says. It is wiser and pleasanter to approach it gradually

by way of Warwick and Kenilworth. Both these castles have a place in

Shakespeare’s plays, and it is well worth while for the visitor to see

them.

 

Warwick is a quaint old town. Its population is about 12,000, and it

lies on a hill rising from the river Avon. Far back in antiquity it was

a settlement of the Britons, and, afterward, it was occupied by the

Romans. Its present name is of Saxon origin. Many of the houses retain

their medieval appearance; and in fact two of the old gates of the town

are still standing.

 

The prevailing quality of the town of Warwick is a sweet, solemn peace.

The people live there as in a gentle dream of repose. The little rows

of cottages breathe contentment; ivy embowers them, and roses cluster

about their windows.

 

The Church of St. Mary at Warwick as it now stands was rebuilt after

a fire in 1694. The Lord Leicester Hospital was established by Robert

Dudley, Earl of Leicester, in 1571. He founded it for the reception of

twelve poor men. This building contains several interesting relics, one

of which is a Saxon chair said to be a thousand years old; and another

is a piece of needle-work by Amy Robsart, the heroine of Sir Walter

Scott’s novel, “Kenilworth.”

 

On a commanding position overlooking the Avon rises Warwick Castle,

the ancient and stately home of the Earls of Warwick. This castle is

one of the finest and most picturesque feudal residences in England.

It probably dates from Saxon times; but the oldest part now standing

is the tall Cæsar’s Tower, 147 feet high, which was probably built

soon after the Norman conquest. In 1871 a great fire almost completely

destroyed the castle; but it was restored in the old style. The most

important event in the history of the building was its successful

defence by the Parliamentarians during the Civil War in England.

 

The interior of the castle contains an interesting collection of

paintings, old armor, and other curiosities. In the Great Hall are the

sword and some other relics of the legendary Count Guy of Warwick. His

feats of arms in slaying terrible monsters are an important part of

English legend. In the Great Hall also are the mace of Richard Neville,

Earl of Warwick, who was known as “the king maker,” and the helmet

of Oliver Cromwell. This castle is noted for its famous collection

of pictures, among which are several by Rubens and Van Dyck. In the

conservatory of the castle is preserved the famous Warwick vase of

marble, which was found near Hadrian’s Villa at Tivoli, in Italy, and

is attributed to the fourth century B. C.

 

Nathaniel Hawthorne has put into words the very feeling that comes over

each visitor to Warwick: “We can scarcely think the scene real, so

completely do those towers, the long line of battlements, the massive

buttresses, the high-windowed walls, shape out our indistinct ideas of

the antique time.”

 

PREPARED BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION

ILLUSTRATION FOR THE MENTOR, VOL. 4, No. 8, SERIAL No. 108

COPYRIGHT, 1916, BY THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION, INC.

 

 

 

 

[Illustration: KENILWORTH CASTLE, KENILWORTH]

 

 

 

 

Shakespeare’s Country

 

KENILWORTH CASTLE

 

Monograph Number Two in The Mentor Reading Course

 

 

It was in 1575 at Kenilworth Castle that the Earl of Leicester, then a

suitor for the hand of Queen Elizabeth, entertained her and the court

at “excessive cost” as described in “Kenilworth,” by Sir Walter Scott.

 

Everyone who has read the book knows that the Earl of Leicester had

secretly married Amy Robsart, the daughter of a country gentleman, and

at the same time was attempting to gain the favor of Elizabeth. When a

disclosure of the truth was about to precipitate the ruin of Leicester,

he prepared a magnificent pageant at his castle for the Queen; in

the meanwhile his follower, Varney, was to pass himself off as Amy’s

husband.

 

At Kenilworth Castle, on the Queen’s first entry, “a small floating

island illuminated by a great variety of torches … made its appearance

upon the lake,” upon which, clad in silks, were the Lady of the Lake

and two nymphs waiting on her. During the several days of the Queen’s

stay “rare shews and sports were exercised.”

 

The town of Kenilworth has a population of only about 5,000. The

magnificent old castle is now in ruins. It was originally founded

about 1120. In the 13th century it passed into the hands of Simon de

Montfort. Some years later it came to John of Gaunt. Later the castle

became royal property, and in 1562 Queen Elizabeth presented it to the

Earl of Leicester. He spent enormous sums of money in enlarging and

improving the building. At his death, however, it passed back into the

possession of the Crown. When Cromwell became Ruler of England he gave

the castle to some of his officers, who demolished the stately pile

for the sake of its materials. After the Restoration it passed into

the hands of the Earl of Clarendon, who still retains it. One of the

principal parts of the building remaining is Leicester’s gatehouse, now

occupied as a private dwelling. Then there is also the Norman Keep of

Cæsar’s Tower. This has massive walls fifteen or sixteen feet thick.

Merwyn’s Tower, built by John of Gaunt about 1392, may also be seen:

the “small octangular chamber” on its second floor is the one assigned

by Walter Scott to Amy Robsart.

 

PREPARED BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION

ILLUSTRATION FOR THE MENTOR, VOL. 4, No. 8, SERIAL No. 108

COPYRIGHT, 1916, BY THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION, INC.