He is thought to have written King Lear when he was in quarantine as the plague raged in 1606. In Munch’s case, it was the Spanish Flu and he fell ill in early 1919. Yet, within months he was using the experience of his illness in his art, producing Self Portrait with the Spanish Flu, and Self Portrait after the Spanish Flu, in rapid succession. Yes, perhaps some of us didn’t achieve the dizzying heights of Edvard Munch or Shakespeare during lockdown but we did succeed in one big task. As for Shakespeare, well, all I can say is that King Lear is silent on the matter of chocolate icing.

Source: The Irish Times May 17, 2021 18:00 UTC