Chapter 2 - ‘Our English Shakespeare’? The Tercentenary and Britain

Summary

Germany’s wartime engagement with Shakespeare spurred the British to issue their own, aggressive claims to the exclusive ownership of the playwright. These claims aimed to boost the nation’s morale, unity, and steadfastness against external and internal enemies. Many public outlets presented Shakespeare as Britain’s national poet, characterised by muscular patriotism and anti-German sentiment. However, provincial Tercentenary celebrations reveal that this was not the only version of Shakespeare and nationhood in 1916. In places like Burnley and Manchester, Shakespearean enthusiasts presented local versions of patriotism, which encompassed working-class, northern, Catholic, and industrial identities, different from the official, homogenising notion of Britishness, rooted in an idealised vision of the English countryside. Meanwhile, some Welsh and Scottish commentators questioned the notion that Englishness should be seen as the dominant element of British culture. The range of Shakespeare Tercentenary responses from England, Scotland, and Wales demonstrates that British national identity in 1916 was riven with numerous fractures and self-contradictions.