Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Was William Shakespeare a Taurus?

A few days ago, I wrote a post on the zodiac Taurus and listed William Shakespeare as a famous person born under the sign. Since then I've delved a little deeper and learned that although April 23 is widely accepted as Will's birthday, no one really knows when he was born. What we do know is that he was christened at Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon on April 26, 1564. Since the sun enters Taurus on or about April 20, chances are good that he was a Taurus, but if he was born a day earlier, he'd be an Aries.

Are there any clues in his works, I wondered. Clearly, he was a romantic, as evidenced by his sonnets and many of his plays. That indicates someone ruled by Venus. On the other hand, he loved a good sword fight, at least in his plays, and wrote movingly of King Hal leading his men into battle in Henry V. "Once more unto the breach..." So I'd say he was influenced by both Venus and Mars and probably had a planet or two in Aries, as well.

I've seen his plays performed on stage and watched some of the movies. Being a romantic myself, I love the comedies and romantic plays like Romeo and Juliet best. The Zeffirelli version of Romeo and Juliet is just beautiful and I love the score. I'd have to say, though, that A Midsummer Night's Dream is my favorite of all his works. It's so silly and funny and wildly creative.

What's your favorite Shakespeare work?

Linda

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I wonder... if our signs influence what we feel and how we behave, then perhaps what we write and desire is the opposite? A craving for something different, maybe. A way of living life on the edge or out of our comfort zone without actually having to do so. Or is that just another issue for Gemini? Hmm...

~Debbie

Linda McLaughlin said...

Good question, Debbie. Of course, there's always a fantasy element to fiction, and whether we're reading ro writing, it lets us live vicariously through the characters. It's a way to experience something we'd never do (or be able to do) in real life. Like go back in time or travel to a distant galaxy. So I don't think that's just a Gemini thing. Have to think on this a little more.

Linda

Unknown said...

Linda, I am drawn to Romeo and Juliet because of their innocence and star-crossed-ness. I know that's not a word, ha ha.

Linda McLaughlin said...

Kathleen,

I think I know what you mean. R&J has great conflict, and there have been a lot of romance novels written with the "star crossed lovers" theme, only with a happy ending.

Anonymous said...

The sun actually entered Taurus on April 11th in 1564. You have to adjust for the old calender. So yes, he's a Taurus.

Linda McLaughlin said...

Thanks, Jessica. I get confused by the change in calendars.

Linda