William Shakespeare

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William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was a noteworthy English poet and playwright (1564 - 1616). Shakespeare is famous for the many great plays that he has written, including Macbeth, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Othello, Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, King Lear, The Tempest, and more. Even the gargoyles have discovered his works since their awakening - and have also encountered a number of his characters, such as Macbeth, the Weird Sisters, Oberon, Titania, and Puck.

Shakespeare was good friends with Macbeth, although he did not know Macbeth's true identity. Shakespeare and Macbeth probably had tea together at the Into the Mystic shop in London or were drinking buddies. Macbeth was amused by his friend's take on his life story, rather than offended.

Other characters from his plays known to exist are Queen Mab, Prospero, Ariel, and Caliban.

Appearances

Real World History

Shakespearean references in the Gargoyles Universe are quite common, thanks to Greg Weisman's fondness for the Bard. Alongside the direct appearance of Macbeth, the Weird Sisters, Oberon, Titania, and Puck in the series, there has also been one definite Shakespearean parallel, between the Coldtrio on the one hand and Othello, Desdemona, and Iago on the other. A number of Shakespearean lines have been quoted in the course of the series, and one of the female gargoyles on Avalon bears the name Ophelia. Also, Dingo's real name is Harry Monmouth, an allusion to Shakespeare's Prince Hal (later Henry V).

Greg also planned to reflect Shakespeare in future episodes, not only through the introduction of Queen Mab and Prospero, but also by making Terry and Sphinx a parallel to Romeo and Juliet in the The New Olympians spin-off.

Shakespearean allusions in "Gargoyles"

  • "The Mirror" Puck is introduced, Oberon and Titania are first mentioned, and Brooklyn and Elisa both mention "A Midsummer Night's Dream".
  • "Vows" Xanatos says to his father, "Reason not the need", a quote from "King Lear".
  • "City of Stone" The Weird Sisters are introduced. Their encounter with Macbeth and Duncan in Part Three echoes the Shakespeare play, and at Macbeth and Gruoch's wedding, Bodhe introduces them as "Lord and Lady Macbeth".
  • "High Noon" Lexington uses the names "Othello", "Desdemona", and "Iago" as password attempts when trying to re-activate Coldstone.
  • "Heritage" Elisa (slightly mis)quotes the line "There are more things in heaven and earth..." from "Hamlet", when speaking to Natsilane.
  • "Ill Met By Moonlight" Oberon and Titania (as Titania) first appear. Ophelia is first named. Oberon's line "The game is afoot" comes from the "Once more unto the breech" speech from "Henry V" (via Sherlock Holmes). At the end of the episode, Goliath says "All's well that ends well, then." The episode title is a quote from "A Midsummer Night's Dream".
  • "The Journey" Broadway and Brooklyn both quote from "Romeo and Juliet" ("But soft, what light..." and "Parting is such sweet sorrow") in the library scene.
  • "The Gate" Kenneth III/the Grim says "Welcome every man according to his station, and who shall 'scape whipping?", based on a line from "Hamlet".
  • "Strangers" Dingo's real name is revealed to be "Harry Monmouth".

See also