HE IS arguably the most quoted man in history, but even Shakespeare had trouble dragging a quill across the page on a Monday morning, according to one of his most ardent artistic supporters.

Dominic Dromgoole, the artistic director of Shakespeare’s Globe, believes that although the playwright deserves his place as the world’s greatest dramatist, his plays are littered with turgid lines that he wrote first thing in the morning and never bothered to revise.

In his memoir Will & Me, Dromgoole devoted a chapter to what he calls his “first ten lines of the day” theory, which was first mentioned to him by fellow Shakespearean director, Sir Peter Hall.

He cites passages from The Tempest, King Lear and Macbeth that, he says, contain phrases and narrative leaps that are uncharacteristically awkward and are the product of a sleep-fogged mind.

He writes that “sudden patches” appear of “surprisingly turgid writing”. He said: “Peter’s take was that Shakespeare would wake up, bleary-eyed and hungover, think, ‘Oh f*** do I have to?’, then settle down with quill and paper. ‘Where was I?’ he’d groan, then start scratching uncomfortably away, trying to revive the magic of the day before.”

Dromgoole told The Times that one of the worst lines in Shakespeare is in Act IV, scene 1 of The Tempest, when Prospero offers his daughter’s hand in marriage on condition that she remain a virgin. Ferdinand responds that his heart will overrule his liver. “It is a hard line to say with any passion,” Dromgoole said. The early scenes of King Lear provide another example of lazy writing, he says. Dromgoole believes that actors and academics who try to justify the poor writing are wasting their time. He also raises the mystery of Lady Macbeth’s child, who is mentioned in Act I, scene 7, but never appears.

Dromgoole criticises the clumsy opening scene of Cymbeline. “It’s a glorious example of how there are no rules to great writing. And how close bad art walks to great art,” he says.

Peter Ackroyd, the author of Shakespeare: The Biography, said that he was consistently good. “There are very few turgid passages,” he said. “There are some, but they might be a product of editing or revising.”

BARD TO VERSE

The Tempest
Act IV, scene 1

Ferdinand is promised Miranda’s hand in marriage, on condition that she remains a virgin until after the wedding. He responds: “I warrant you sir;/ The white cold virgin snow upon my heart/ Abates the ardour of my liver.”

King Lear, Act I, scene 2

Edgar declares that he parted on good terms with his father the previous night, but immediately swallows his half-brother’s lie that his father is out to kill him: “Some villain hath done me wrong!”

Macbeth, Act I, scene 7

Lady Macbeth refers to her child, whose disappearance is never explained: “I have given suck, and know/ How tender ‘tis to love the babe that milks me:/ I would, while it was smiling in my face,/ Have pluck’d my nipple from his boneless gums,/ And dash’d the brains out, had I so sworn as you/ Have done to this.”

What was Shakespeare’s worst verse? Give us your feedback

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