Gentle shakespeare?

[peethagoras]

According to the text facing the Droeshout "portrait" Shakespeare was "gentle". Why then is he shown wearing the collar of a warrior?

The plays are full of examples of both gentle and violent characters.

 

The front edge of the collar is bowed, but it should be perfectly straight.

Here's a practical experiment :

make a hard copy of the full title page of the first folio. Lay in on a flat surface and sit as if reading a big book

such as the first folio. Now start to turn the page such that the paper forms a u-shaped center, and look

along the channel thus formed. If the page is tilted backwards the face is gentle. If the page is tilted forwards, the face becomes violent.

 

                                                                       gentle Shakespeare

 

 

 

                                                                     vicious Shakespeare

 

Edited January 28 by peethagoras
insertion of 2 images