# Shakespeare — The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. character guide

> Shakespeare in The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. by Washington Irving.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** sweet Shakespeare, the recreant Shakespeare

**First appearance:** 0029-stratford-on-avon

## Snapshot

The Bard himself, invoked as a presiding spirit at Stratford-on-Avon, where pilgrims kiss his chair and relics multiply like miracles.

## Who they are

Shakespeare is less a man than a shrine in Irving's Stratford pilgrimage: his birthplace is a 'nestling-place of genius' whose walls are covered with the graffiti of devotees from every nation. The garrulous old guide shows off the matchlock, the tobacco-box, and the mulberry tree, while the chair must be re-bottomed every three years from fervent sitting. Irving's affectionate credulity—he would rather be pleasantly deceived than skeptically correct—makes the poet a living presence in the sketch.

## Relationships

### [Geoffrey Crayon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sketchbook_of_geoffrey_crayon_gent_se/characters/geoffrey_crayon)

_psychological_

Geoffrey has a deep, almost reverent obsession with Shakespeare, frequently referencing and visiting his haunts.

## In the story

### [The Art of Book-Making](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sketchbook_of_geoffrey_crayon_gent_se/chapters/the-art-of-book-making)

Referenced in the dream as one of the old authors whose works are plundered.

### [A Royal Poet](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sketchbook_of_geoffrey_crayon_gent_se/chapters/a-royal-poet)

Mentioned implicitly as part of the literary tradition; the narrator compares James to Chaucer and Gower.

### [The Boar’s Head Tavern, Eastcheap](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sketchbook_of_geoffrey_crayon_gent_se/chapters/the-boar-s-head-tavern-eastcheap)

The immortal bard whose comic scenes inspired Crayon's pilgrimage.

### [The Mutability of Literature](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sketchbook_of_geoffrey_crayon_gent_se/chapters/the-mutability-of-literature)

Discussed as a poet whose works endure due to their foundation in human nature, despite the quarto's dismissive remarks.

### [Rural Funerals](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sketchbook_of_geoffrey_crayon_gent_se/chapters/rural-funerals)

Quoted for his passage from Cymbeline about strewing flowers on a grave.

### [Stratford-on-Avon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sketchbook_of_geoffrey_crayon_gent_se/chapters/stratford-on-avon)

The bard whose life and works are the focus of the chapter.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sketchbook_of_geoffrey_crayon_gent_se/characters/shakespeare
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sketchbook_of_geoffrey_crayon_gent_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sketchbook_of_geoffrey_crayon_gent_se/characters