The Written Word

The Globe Theatre - the original London home for Shakespeare's plays - was rebuilt by the side of the river Thames in 1997 based on remains of the original theatre discovered close to the current site.

"All that glisters [=glitters] is not gold" (visible on the banners hanging in front of the building) is a quote from William Shakespeare's 'Merchant of Venice'. The meaning is smart packaging doesn't mean the contents are necessarily all that great.

Writing was invented at about the same time as the wheel - around 5000 years ago. The written word represents one of the key steps in human development, created by persons whose names are also long forgotten - but their legacy has become a fundamental part of our being.

Digital pinhole photograph on Lumix GX1 superimposed on title page of a 1967 Japanese version of The Merchant of Venice, pigment print on Hahnemuehle Baryta.

Text and images Copyright Geoff Chaplin 2002 -