THE BOOK OF
GIANTS
Shakespeare does something newThe Modern Age begins
Chapter 16
When he saw how successful his inventions of comedy and tragedy had been, Shakespeare decided it was time for another new form that contained both tragedy and comedy.
2And so, after scanning some old Greek and Roman writings about the deeds of ancient heathens like aJulius Caesar and bCleopatra and so forth, he decided to invent something brand new,
3Called history,
4Which he tried out in a large number of plays,
5Called c‘Julius Caesar,’ ‘dAntony and Cleopatra,’ ‘eHenry IV, Part II,’ ‘fRichard III,’ and so forth.
6The important thing about history was that you had to write about real characters and real events, based strictly on the facts you had,
7gAnd whatever facts you could make up,
8hSo that the audience would believe they were really seeing it the way it was.
9Shakespeare’s invention of history was such a gigantic success that it convinced all the Giants to take all their many new inventions, such as art and science and politics and literature, out into the world and start making new history of their own,
10Which they did,
11And explains why there came to be a Modern Age,
12Which means an age so full of tragic events that it seems like some big icomedy of errors.
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Chapter 16 / 16