Stratford-upon-Avon

I'm nerdy enough to LOVE Shakespeare-- although I'm not nerdy enough to fully understand the plots and literary devices without the help of sparknotes and no-fear-shakespeare. So far, we've read Macbeth, Hamlet, Cymbeline, and King Lear in my Shakespeare literature class (and I have an essay due Monday if anyone wants to help~) and with the help of my professor and classmates, I've thoroughly enjoyed the plays!

Last Saturday, Harlaxton booked tickets for the Shakespeare Literature class to go to Stratford-upon-Avon and visit Shakespeare's birthplace and watch Cymbeline performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company. The whole experience was amazing.

In the Shakespeare gardens with friends

 We took a bus and arrived around noon. We toured his birth home, and visited the site of where his house once stood (it's been torn down, but now the site is a museum of sorts). The town was lovely, with tacky gift shops and pubs all using Shakespeare puns to entice tourists.

 After visiting those sites, we still had plenty of time before our show that evening, so we headed across town to Holy Trinity, which is the church where Shakespeare was buried. Like all churches in England, it looked ancient and very intimidating.

Holy Trinity Church

THE GRAVE

 Inside however, the people were very kind and had loads of Shakespeare information. His body was up front by the alter, next to his wife and daughters. The plaque says "Good friend for Jesus' sake forbear, to dig the dust enclosed here. Blessed be the man that spares these stones, and cursed be he that moves my bones." It's a creepy curse that they are pretty sure Shakespeare wrote for himself before he died. At Westminster Abbey there is a whole section dedicated to poets and artists, and while Shakespeare has a huge section of it in his honor, they didn't move his body to West Minster. (Although a recent scan of the tomb shows that his skull is missing???? Freaky!)

the church from the inside

After the pub

After exploring the city for the afternoon, we grabbed dinner at a local pub. This pub was recommended to us by our professor and the food was delicious! I am becoming very bitter about how bland the cafeteria food is at Harlaxton, so this was a great change of pace.

our seats for the performance

 Right after dinner, we headed towards our theater to see Cymbeline.

Reading Shakespeare and actually seeing Shakespeare performed are two completely different things. The show was hilarious, and rather dark at some points, but it was one of his comedies, which meant the good guys won in the end. It was a fantastic way to finish up our day trip in Stratford.

friends at the performance

Our bus didn't get back to Harlaxton until 1am. Luckily, I have the natural talent for falling asleep anywhere at any time, so I wasn't too sleep deprived for the upcoming week of classes!


However, tomorrow we leave at 8:30 for a weekend in Northumberland and we won't be returning until Sunday evening. Wish me luck for my quiz in British Studies on Monday morning!!!

xoxo-- Annie