If you are familiar with the works of John Florio, his translation of Montaigne’s essays for example, it is hard to resist the notion that he and Shakespeare must have been close friends because his style, ideas and language leap from the pages of Shakespeare’s early plays in multitude. Literary evidence aside, I aim to show here that the historical record and contemporary writings confirm this relationship. Florio is the flamboyant Italian character ‘Gullio’ of the famous comedy sketch produced by Cambridge students in the early 1600s, “The News from Parnassus, Part Two” in which he cries “sweet Mr. Shakespeare, I will have his picture in my study at Court”.
Il famoso Globe Theatre dove venivano recitate le opere di Shakespeare.
READ IN THE "SHAKESPEARE'S FRIENDS" SECTION THE ARTICLES OF THE AUTHORS WHO PARTICIPATE AT THE PROJECT OF DEVELOPING A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF SHAKESPEARE'S IDENTITY. LOOK IN THE 'DOWNLOADS' SECTION FOR MORE ARTICLES.
Preface written by Giulia Harding, italian translation by Saul Gerevini
My contribution to this website aims to demonstrate that there is considerable evidence that Shakespeare and Florio were more than passing friends. The two became literary collaborators;
"Was Shakespeare English?" offers a fresh, daring and controversial view of the great playwright's identity. Russian-born, London-based director Alicia Maksimova, takes us on an enthralling voyage from the Strait of Messina to Venice, Verona, Stratford-upon-Avon, and back to Sicily for a mesmeric finale on the little Aeolian island which inspired The Tempest. Enticing travelogue, beautifully shot and provocatively argued, this bold docu-journey offers a Shakespeare who is both a hot potato for our times and a supreme artist for the ages.
97 minutes, 2016.
Alicia Maksimova has created a masterpiece. I say this not as casual praise, but because I realise that her film, once seen, can only be considered a masterpiece. Let me back up my assertion so that it doesn't appear to be a generic celebration.
First of all, the film is moving because of its visual beauty, its splendid images at times reminded me of the shots of English country houses in Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon.
It's the evidence of the profound sensitivity and artistic flair of this director, a sensitivity that makes the very essence of beauty resonate in the soul of the spectator.
Gli AA. investigano il lemma “Florio” (già indagato da Vito Costantini) del dizionario di Florio del 1611, definito come un uccello che, col proprio fischio, mette in fuga il cavallo. Gli AA. confutano uno studio del 2018, per cui la definizione del lemma riguarderebbe il volatile “Florus” (“Anthos” per i greci), che imita il verso dei cavalli e li metterebbe in fuga; ma la bibliografia, ivi citata, evidenzia che tale “Florus” fugge dai cavalli (e non viceversa)! Per gli AA., il volatile del lemma (un forzato neologismo che trasforma il latino “Florus” nel cognome italiano di “Florio”) sarebbe un’invenzione di Florio, un incrocio dei caratteri dei due unici volatili, denominati “Florus” da Conrad Gessner, nel suo libro sugli uccelli (letto da John e neanche citato nello studio del 2018!): 1) il “Florus”, cacciatore d’api; 2) il citato “Florus/Anthos”. Per gli AA., la metafora del lemma (ove si segua la “tesi Floriana” di Santi Paladino) è l’augurio che il cognome “Florio” (incastonato nel dizionario) non cada nell’oblio e tutti i suoi meriti siano un giorno rivelati; simile all’augurio di Florio (1611), “giocato” ancora sul suo cognome:“ floreat ultra FLORIUS”, “che FLORIO continui a fiorire oltre”, anche dopo il 1611!
