a bonobo humanity?

off with it

I hear this morning that it’s Shakespeare’s 450th birthday. It’s officially celebrated tomorrow (April 23) but the actual date isn’t known – only that he was baptised on April 26, an event that usually occurred within days of birth. People are being asked, on the morning news program, to tweet in their favourite Shakespeare quote. I’m not a tweeter, so I’m suggesting here the quote above, from Henry IV part 2, as a reminder of the grave dangers of mediaeval politics, when the uneasiness was as much about one’s mortality as one’s political standing – in spite of the divine right of kings to rule over the canaille.

Thankfully in our more secular age, that uneasiness is more often reserved for football managers.