Date: Sat, 3 Mar 2001 17:42:17 -0500 From: freematt@coil.com (Matthew Gaylor) Subject: Shakespeare a Doper? To: freematt@coil.com (Matthew Gaylor)
Other items follow
http://www.alchemind.org/topclnews.htm Pipes Show Cocaine [and other psychoactive substances] Smoked in Shakespeare's England
By Ed Stoddard 03/01/01
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Was William Shakespeare partial to a good deal more than a pinch of tobacco while composing his sonnets?
While there is no proof the bard delved into narcotics, clay pipe fragments excavated from his Stratford-upon-Avon home and of the 17th century period show conclusively that cocaine and myristic acid -- a hallucinogenic derived from plants, including nutmeg -- were smoked in Shakespeare's England.
The findings, published in the latest issue of the South African Journal of Science, also show hints of residues of cannabis or marijuana, but this has not been proven. Nicotine, unsurprisingly, was one of the compounds firmly identified.
"The cocaine was found in two of the 24 pipe fragments examined, which is really quite remarkable," Dr. Francis Thackeray, a paleontologist at the Transvaal Museum in Pretoria who co-write the article, told Reuters.
"The Spanish had access to it at that time in the Americas, but the fact that it was smoked in England at that time is a first. It is quite a find," said Thackeray, who is a distant relative of the famous 19th century English author.
"Cocaine was recorded in Europe about 200 years ago, but to our knowledge never this early," he said.
"...apparently no chemical analyzes have been undertaken to determine what substances other than tobacco may have been smoked in England during the 17th century," the article said.
It said cannabis sativa, the plant from which marijuana is derived, "was certainly accessible in Elizabethan England for paper, rope, garments and sails."
The fragments, which were lent to Thackeray by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, were examined with the help of Inspector Tommie van der Merwe of the South African Police Service's Forensic Science Laboratory.
DRUG-INDUCED POETRY AND PROSE?
The findings are certain to spark tantalizing speculation that England's favorite writer may have been inspired to write his enduring classics while under the influence of substances associated with bohemian authors of the 20th century.
"There is some suggestive evidence in Shakespeare's own writing," said Thackeray.
"In sonnet 76 he refers to a 'noted weed' which may have been a reference to cannabis," he said.
"In the same sonnet, he refers to 'compounds strange' and the word compounds is a known reference to drugs," he said.
"But I think Shakespeare, who may have experimented with these substances, is saying he would rather turn away from them. I would not read it as an endorsement of drug use," he said.
Pubdate: Fri, 02 Mar 2001 Source: Montreal Gazette (CN QU) Copyright: 2001 The Gazette, a division of Southam Inc. Contact: letters@thegazette.southam.ca Website: http://www.montrealgazette.com/ Forum: http://forums.canada.com/~montreal
ET TU, BARD?: SHAKESPEARE'S PIPES REVEAL SURPRISING RESIDUES OF DRUGS
Shakespeare might have written on drugs, according to new research.
The poet, a married father of three children, was linked to drug use by forensic analysis of pipes found in his home at Stratford-upon-Avon.
Although the evidence was circumstantial, scientists from South Africa's Transvaal Museum in Pretoria said the results were a revelation about drug use in 17th-century England.
Two of the 24 pipes they tested bore traces of cocaine, the first time the drug has been found in Europe before the 19th century. Others had traces of a chemical called myristic acid, a hallucinogenic derived from plants, and traces of cannabis and tobacco.
``The cocaine found is really quite remarkable,'' said Francis Thackeray, a paleontologist who co-wrote an article on the discovery in the South African Journal of Science.
``Cocaine was recorded in Europe about 200 years ago, but to our knowledge never this early,'' he said.
``The Spanish had access to it at that time in the Americas, but the fact that it was smoked in England at that time is a first.''
Thackeray is excited about the discovery of cannabis. Although hemp was widely used for ropes and in printing Shakespeare's early works, there was little evidence that it was smoked.
Thackeray looks to Shakespeare's work to support the theory that he was a dopehead as well as a genius.
He said Shakespeare uses complex imagery of darkness, poison and, as in Sonnet 27, ``a journey in his head,'' with even the dark lady of the sonnets a possible reference to the creative but dangerous forces of drugs.
``In Sonnet 76,'' Thackeray said, ``he refers to the `invention of a noted weed,' which may have been a reference to cannabis. In the same sonnet, he refers to `compounds strange,' and the word compounds is a known reference to drugs.''
The pipe fragments were examined using gas chromatography with the help of Thackeray's co-author, Inspector Tommie van der Merwe of the South African police service's forensic-science laboratory.
They were lent by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, which took issue with the argument.
``People love to come up with reasons for saying Shakespeare was not a genius,'' said Ann Donnelly, the curator.
She said the specimens were not of sufficient quality to prove the point either way.
Pubdate: Thu, 01 Mar 2001 Source: BBC News (UK Web) Copyright: 2001 BBC Feedback: http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/talking_point/ Website: http://news.bbc.co.uk/ Forum: http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/talking_point/forum/BARD 'USED DRUGS FOR INSPIRATION'
Scientists in South Africa have uncovered evidence that Shakespeare might have been a cannabis user who took the drug as a source of inspiration.
Research published in the South African Journal of Science shows that pipes dug up from the garden of Shakespeare's home in Stratford upo Avon contain traces of cannabis.
The study was carried out after a re-reading of the bard's Sonnet number 76 which refers to a "noted weed".
But the conclusions of the scientists have been dismissed by Shakespeare experts who feel suggestions he used drugs as an aid to writing undermine the bard's accepted genius.
'Regrettable'
Dr Francis Thackeray, head of palaeontology, at the Transvaal Museum, said: "This project was initiated in part by a re-reading of Shakespeare's sonnets, in particular, sonnet number 76, where Shakespeare refers to 'invention in a noted weed'.
"'Weed' can refer to cannabis or marijuana, or dagga as it is known in South Africa. And 'invention' refers to writing.
"So we put forward a hypothesis that Shakespeare may have used cannabis as a source of inspiration."
Cannabis was first grown in England in AD400 and in the 16th and 17th Centuries was used to produce hemp for ships' ropes and canvas. But the scientists avoided absolute claims that the playwrigt was a drug user.
"We do not claim that any of the pipes belonged to Shakespeare," said Dr Thackeray.
'Great genius'
He added: "However, some of the pipes come from the area in which he lived, and they date from the 17th Century."
Professor Stanley Wells, from the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in the UK, said the research's conclusions were "regrettable".
He said: "I think it's trying to suggest that Shakespeare was not a great genius, but somebody who produced his writings under an artificial influence.
"There are about eight million cannabis takers in this country at the present time. Are they producing anything comparable to Shakespeare's sonnet, I ask myself? I doubt it." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Pubdate: Thu, 01 Mar 2001 Source: Deseret News (UT) Copyright: 2001 Deseret News Publishing Corp. Contact: letters@desnews.com Address: 30 East 100 South., P.O. Box 1257, Salt Lake City, UT 84110 Website: http://www.desnews.com/ Author: Reuters News Service
DID SHAKESPEARE SMOKE COCAINE?
JOHANNESBURG - Was William Shakespeare partial to a good deal more than a pinch of tobacco while composing his sonnets?
While there is no proof the bard delved into narcotics, clay pipe fragments excavated from his Stratford-upon-Avon home and of the 17th century period show conclusively that cocaine and myristic acid - a hallucinogenic derived from plants, including nutmeg - were smoked in Shakespeare's England. The findings, published in the South African Journal of Science, also show hints of residues of cannabis or marijuana, but this has not been proven. Nicotine, unsurprisingly, was one of the compounds firmly identified. "The cocaine was found in two of the 24 pipe fragments examined, which is really quite remarkable," Francis Thackeray, a palaeontologist at the Transvaal Museum in Pretoria who co-write the article, told Reuters. "The Spanish had access to it at that time in the Americas, but the fact that it was smoked in England at that time is a first. It is quite a find," said Thackeray, who is a distant relative of the the famous 19th century English author.
The fragments, which were lent to Thackeray by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, were examined with the help of Inspector Tommie van der Merwe of the South African Police Service's Forensic Science Laboratory. The findings are certain to spark tantalizing speculation that England's favorite writer may have been inspired to write his enduring classics while under the influence of substances associated with bohemian authors of the 20th century.
"There is some suggestive evidence in Shakespeare's own writing," said Thackeray. "In sonnet 76 he refers to a 'noted weed,' which may have been a reference to cannabis," he said.
"In the same sonnet, he refers to 'compounds strange' and the word compounds is a known reference to drugs," he said.
"But I think Shakespeare, who may have experimented with these substances, is saying he would rather turn away from them. I would not read it as an endorsement of drug use," he said.
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