IF Shakespeare were alive today, I wonder what he would think of some modern fads.
The quick answer, I guess, would be not a lot; after all, he would by now be 451.
More specifically, though, what would he think of thousands of tourists visiting his house and taking pictures of themselves?
There's a clue in Twelfth Night, where in Act 3, Scene 1, the bard writes: "Foolery, sir, does walk about the orb like the sun; it shines everywhere." (Go to the back of the class if you thought I was going to quote Polonius's gag in Hamlet, "to thine own selfie be true".)
Whatever his opinion might have been, the guardians of his erstwhile home have spoken: the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust has banned the use of a piece of paraphernalia associated with this black art, the selfie stick (as have the organisers of this week's T in the Park; they're also a no-no at Wimbledon).
The reason given in the Stratford upon Avon scenario that is that they could damage the fragile wattle and daub inner walls; in the case of the two racket festivals, it's because the things are a blasted nuisance. As Billy Connolly might have said, you could have someone's eye out with that.
I have to confess here to a sense of bafflement; I have never taken a selfie. I loathe having my picture taken, and would never dream of inflicting the torture on myself.
In primary school, the visit of a photographer for the annual school snap was treated with as much enthusiasm as the arrival of the nit nurse. I always felt sorry for my parents, and unsuspecting aunts, who were obliged to stump up for a print; the school should have tried to make a virtue of the event and sold the things at Halloween rather than at the end of term.
The arrival of the mobile phone, of course, has made everyone a photographer, of wildly varying ability. People snap away constantly; so much so that many would rather record the moment than live in it.
This I have just about come to terms with; what I cannot get my head round is those who wish to insert their own physiognomy on to the tableau. A celebrity cannot step outside his door without someone pleading to put their arm around his shoulder for a chummy snap that is so patently fake. It's like asking for an autograph and then co-signing it.
I confess I wouldn't mind a picture of Kylie Minogue, but not if she and I were cheek to cheek. As that chap Shakespeare wrote in King Lear: "O, that way madness lies."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article