The following blog post was adapted from an article that appeared in THE DAY.
Shakespeare intervenes in refugee crisis
THE DAY, Wednesday, 16 March 2016
http://theday.co.uk/arts/shakespeare-intervenes-in-refugee-crisis
This is the only known script in Shakespeare’s hand...
The British Library has digitised a powerful
speech in Shakespeare’s own handwriting: a heartfelt plea for the humane treatment of
refugees. Does the
bard have an answer to Europe’s crisis?
Germany’s chancellor, Angela Merkel, is sticking by her
welcoming policy for refugees, despite the mounting resistance from EU citizens. And
yesterday she found support from an unexpected source: England’s most famous writer
and beloved
bard, William Shakespeare.
A powerful speech appealing to the humanity of a xenophobic crowd has surfaced as if from beyond the grave
- or rather, the British Library has digitised the handwritten document in
time for this year’s anniversary of Shakespeare’s death.
Scholars believe that the speech was inserted by Shakespeare into a play about Sir Thomas More by less interesting writers, and
commentators were quick to
point out that it has a spooky affinity with today’s refugee crisis.
The scene of the play takes place on 1 May 1517 - a day which later
became known as ‘Evil May Day’ (cf. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evil_May_Day).
French, Belgian and Italian immigrants had travelled to London to escape various
religious and political wars in Europe. Inflamed by an angry speech calling on
‘Englishmen to
cherish and defend themselves,’ a violent mob of working-class apprentices marched through
central London, where many of the foreigners were living.
Sir Thomas More, who at the time was under-sheriff of London, was sent
to calm them. He asks them to imagine the ‘wretched strangers’ with ‘babies at their
backs’, ‘plodding to
the ports and coasts for transportation’. It is a description that could be
taken straight from today’s shores in Europe, which saw hundreds of thousands cross the Mediterranean in search of asylum last year.
More then asks the crowds to put themselves in the strangers’ shoes. He asks: “How
would you like to be treated in their place?” And he finishes with a scornful summary of
the crowd’s ‘mountainish inhumanity’ (i.e. big as a mountain or perhaps
referring to the supposedly backward mentality of people who live in mountainous regions?).
‘It is striking
and sad just how relevant
it seems to us now considering what is happening in Europe,’ said the British
Library’s curator, Zoe Wilcox. ‘At its heart it is really about empathy.’
'Your great trespass'
This a powerful speech, say some, but let’s not get carried away. The circumstances
of 16th-century England were strikingly different to Europe today. There was no European
Union, no Daesh targeting
civilians. There are 50 million more people in England and Wales now
than in 1500. Political decisions should not be dictated by a long-dead writer
from Warwickshire.
This is wilfully
missing the point, argue others. Of course Shakespeare is not directly
addressing Nigel Farage. But his words prove that this is an issue that
returns throughout history. It is easy to fear outsiders, but xenophobia is
always proved wrong as a culture adjusts to its new arrivals. We must remember
our common humanity - and no one is better at reminding us than Shakespeare.
