SHAKESPEARE
400th. YEAR OF HIS BIRTH STAMP
1964

SHAKESPEARE

“Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him.”

This is one of the famous quotes from the fifth act of the play Hamlet. This 1964 commemorative 400th year of Shakespeare’s birth postage stamp celebrates the life of the man whose literary works have become a part of the world’s culture since he wrote them. There appears to be symbolic references to his play Hamlet and others plays drawn into the image.

According to an article on biography.com it states “No birth records exist, but an old church record indicates that a William Shakespeare was baptized at Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon on April 26, 1564. From this, it is believed he was born on or near April 23, 1564, and this is the date scholars acknowledge as Shakespeare's birthday.” He was known as a poet and a playwright during the Renaissance era and it is believed there was some influence from Bible scriptures in his works.

This entire image on the stamp appears to blend the elements of Shakespeare’s funeral monument, “located inside Holy Trinity Church at Stratford-upon-Avon, the church in which Shakespeare was baptised and where he was buried in the chancel two days after his death” and also the element of the framed look of a theater stage.

On the top of the stamp the artist added images of the masks of comedy and tragedy. The theater and the telling of stories has been around for thousands of years. “The sock and buskin are two ancient symbols of comedy and tragedy. In Greek theatre, actors in tragic roles wore a boot called a buskin (Latin cothurnus). The actors with comedic roles only wore a thin soled shoe called a sock (Latin soccus). Melpomene, the muse of tragedy, is often depicted holding the tragic mask and wearing buskins. Thalia, the muse of comedy, is similarly associated with the mask of comedy and comic’s socks. Some people refer to the masks themselves as "Sock and Buskin." (wikipedia.org/sock and buskin).

On the bottom center of the stamp there are two winged images that appear to be the image of the “putto (Italian: [ˈputto] plural putti [ˈputti]) is a figure in a work of art depicted as a chubby male child, usually naked and sometimes winged.” (wikipedia.org/putto). On the burial monument there are two images of non-winged smaller male figures. A close look reveals the faces to resemble a grown man, with a scull setting next to the image on the right and the figure on the left appears to be holding a shovel. This could indicate a symbolic reference to the scene with the gravedigger and Hamlet in the play Hamlet.

When you take a close look at the winged creatures on the stamp, the face of the one on the left appears to be a lion cub rather than a boy. Could this be a subtle clue to the reference made in Antony and Cleopatra in Act 3 Scene 13, the line spoken by Enobarbus “Tis better playing with a lion’s whelp than with an old one dying.” (sparknotes.com)

Another reference to a lion is in Sonnet 19 that reads, “Devouring Time, blunt thou the lion’s paws…” An analysis of this Sonnet expresses, “In summary, Shakespeare begins Sonnet 19 by considering how time (personified as Time, as in several of the earlier Sonnets) destroys both the mighty and the mild, the strong and the gentle: the lion’s paws are blunted by time, as are the tiger’s jaws, and the earth which gives life to every living thing ends up devouring every creature (because we and other land animals end up in the ground, rotting into the earth).” Interestingly, the paw on the winged lion image on the stamp is drawn more circular, possibly to be viewed as blunt, without showing any claws.

On the postage stamp the doublet that Shakespeare is wearing is fastened with nine buttons. On the sculpture in the funeral monument there are twenty-nine buttons on the doublet. I wondered if there was any significance to this and if these are hidden clues that the artist and sculpture had drawn and created on the images. If the number of buttons were to represent a Sonnet, then on the stamp image the nine buttons could represent Sonnet 9.

One analysis of this sonnet states, “The poet asks if it is fear of making someone a widow that causes the young man to refuse to marry. The argument is unsound, says the poet, for a beautiful youth must leave behind him a form or copy of himself, otherwise the world itself will endure widowhood, and yet have no consolation for it.” (shakespears-sonnets.com) Another states “a brief analysis of Sonnet 9, yet another ‘Procreation Sonnet’ in which the Bard endeavours to find new ways of persuading the Fair Youth to marry and have children.” (interestingliterature.com)

On the funeral monument the number of buttons on the doublet could represent Sonnet number 29, which is said to be one of the best sonnets written by Shakespeare. An analysis of this Sonnet states,

“It is famous for its themes of love and hopelessness. It was first published in 1609. The poem speaks about an unfortunate man, frustrated with the present state of his life. It also illustrates the power and impact of true love. “Sonnet 29”, As a Representative of Love: This poem is about a speaker, initially downcast about fate, but becomes excited when he recalls his beloved. The poem begins with the description of the speaker’s discontent and his lamentation over the miserable plight of life.” (literarydevices.net).

Both represent love, but possibly at different stages of life.

On the stamp there is the image of a skull next to the paper that Shakespeare is touching whereas on the funeral monument the prominent skull sculpture is setting atop of the entire monument. Could the younger image of Shakespeare portrayed on the stamp with the skull next to him, signify contemplation of death? Could the skull over the top of the funeral monument with the sculpture of an older Shakespeare signify the over shadowing of death that is inevitable for everyone?

On the stamp Shakespeare’s right hand holding the quill pen can easily be seen. It is also the same in the funeral monument. However, on the stamp his left hand appears to be missing, but not on the monument. In reference to the stamp, there is no part of the arm or wrist that can be seen extending from the sleeve of the doublet. Could this be one more hidden clue in reference to the play Titus Andronicus, in which, “Titus has Aaron cut off his (Titus's) left hand and sends it to the emperor…” (wikipedia.org). When it was mentioned that the Bible helped influence Shakespeare’s writing could this also offer a clue to yet another of his writings? There are few scriptures in the Bible about the left hand, but one is mentioned at Proverbs 3:16, which states, ““Length of days is in her right hand and in her left-hand riches and honour.” King James Version (KJV). Could these have the meanings of long life and the lasting memories a person leaves behind? Could riches mean true treasures, not just of gold and silver, but of life and finally “honour” being respect and integrity of inner beauty?

If this is true could the numbers of Proverbs 3:16 indicate a subtle message of two more Sonnets, 3 and 16? In one analysis of Sonnet 3 it states, “The youth is urged once more to look to posterity and to bless the world by begetting children…” “But if he chooses to remain single, everything will perish with him.”

Likewise, in the analysis of Sonnet 16 is states, “Here the poet takes a step backwards from the declaration of promised immortality, for he has second thoughts and his verse (his pupil pen) is found to be inadequate to represent the young man as he really is, or to give a true account of his inner and outer beauty. Therefore, the boy is urged once more to give himself away, in marriage, and thus to recreate himself.” (shakespeares-sonnet.com).

Could these sonnets imply that the creation of children is how the memory of a person can continue after the person has perished. The stamp itself is a memory of the birth of Shakespeare. With all the writings that were created and left behind, the memory of Shakespeare will undoubtedly always live on.

Some might say that it’s likely that a stamp is just randomly drawn and printed for postage. Nevertheless, when you take the time to examine the image on a stamp it seems that hidden clues can be found that might give insight into why the artist chose to draw an image the way it is.

I’ll end with an inspired original thought in honor of Shakespeare’s influence.

It is not just what the eyes can see, but the interpretations that bring the meaning to life. For if a man doth hold truths in his thoughts, then his voice shall be heard in the manifestations beheld. For as the written words arranged by another fine soul are conserved for future eyes to perceive and if the mind of the pupil hast the ability to engage in deep thought, not just of what is seen, but what meanings are beheld beneath and intertwined within the realm of the thoughts of the writer, then truly the character of the writer will live on and be remembered as long as there continues to be a pulse of life within humanity. (KWR, jamboza.com).

Referenced Articles

https://www.biography.com/writer/william-shakespeare

https://www.sparknotes.com/nofear/shakespeare/hamlet/page_288/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakespeare%27s_funerary_monument

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sock_and_buskin

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Putto

https://www.sparknotes.com/nofear/shakespeare/antony-and-cleopatra/page_216/

https://interestingliterature.com/2017/01/a-short-analysis-of-shakespeares-sonnet-19-devouring-time-blunt-thou-the-lions-paws/

https://literarydevices.net/sonnet-29/

http://www.shakespeares-sonnets.com/sonnet/9

https://interestingliterature.com/2016/10/a-short-analysis-of-shakespeares-sonnet-9-is-it-for-fear/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titus_Andronicus

https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Proverbs-3-16/

http://www.shakespeares-sonnets.com/sonnet/3