Friday, March 29, 2024

Rare edition of Shakespeare’s last play discovered in a Spain’s college





A rare edition of “The Two Noble Kinsmen”, the last play of William Shakespeare from 1634, was found in “Real Colegio de Escoceses” which is based in the Salamanca area in Spain.

The researcher Dr John Stone from the University of Barcelona was investigating the work of famous economist Adam Smith when he stumbled upon a rare edition of Shakespeare’s last play.

The 386-year-old play was found tucked into a book that was mistakenly put in the Philosophy section of the college library.

This play is said to be one of the earliest Shakespearean work. It was written by the renowned playwright along with John Fletcher between 1613-1614. Fletcher was one of the playwrights in the Bard’s theatrical company.

The play was considered a “tragicomedy” that narrated the tale of two best friends who were brave knights in a battle. All was well till the spotted a beautiful woman from the prison window and both of them fell in love with her, turning their friendship into jealousy.

However, this was not as known as other plays of his such Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, Hamlet, Othello, A Midsummer Nights’ Dream, etc, and was rarely performed on stage.

Speaking to the BBC, Stone said, “It is likely that these plays arrived as a part of some student’s personal library or at the request of the rector of the Royal Scots College, Hugh Semple, who was friends with the Spanish playwright Lope de Vega and had more plays in his personal library.”

He further added that by 1635, these plays were acquired in the country when some English or Scottish person came to Spain along with them. They were included in Madrid’s elite culture as well. This gave further insight into the cultural exchange between Spain and the United Kingdom.

He also said, “This small community of Scots was briefly the most significant intellectual bridge between the Spanish and English-speaking words.”

 

 


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