Last time we dealt with Shakespeare and cartoons I concentrated on those that were inspired by Hamlet, Yorick and To be or not to be.. This time the cartoonists inspiration will come from Shakespeare's own life and his questionable relationship with his wife, Anne Hathaway, as well as relating to Macbeth and even the Sonnets.
Here for a start, in the eyes of three cartoonists, is a picture of the domestic life of the Bard of Avon.
From here we move on to the royal court where King James I was one of his chief fans. In fact he was so much so, that it is said that Macbeth was written with him in mind. According to tradition, this king who hated witches (and the new habit of smoking) asked our William for a Scottish flavoured play. As part of this play, it was said that the king, who was also King James VI of Scotland (and also son of the unfortunate Mary, Queen of Scots) was the last of the descendants of Banquo as shown by the Witches when Macbeth goes for the last time to seek their help.
Shakespeare wrote 154 Sonnets. The most popular one with cartoonists seems to be #18, Shall I compare thee to a summer's day... For some reason Sonnet 130, "My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun" plus a full glowing description of his mistress and the rest of her anatomy, or Sonnet 73, "That time of year thou mayst in me behold" when he invokes images of old age and death do not merit a single line or squiggle.
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