Despite their settings, William Shakespeare’s works bear a profound, often overlooked connection to Wales. From his Welsh heritage to the influence of Welsh culture and language, Rhiannon Farr reveals how Shakespeare’s ties to the country shaped his characters and storytelling, providing a unique platform for Welsh identity in an era where it was frequently marginalised.

With plays set in Ancient Rome, medieval Scotland, Renaissance Italy, and the Ottoman Empire, it can be difficult to imagine that any of Shakespeare’s works have anything to do with Wales. Despite being an integral part of school curriculums, Shakespeare’s relationship with Wales frequently goes unnoticed, but the poet’s life and works were heavily influenced by Welsh language, history and culture.

Having grown up in Stratford-upon-Avon, 60 miles from the Wales-England border, it’s certainly plausible that Shakespeare would have encountered Welsh culture in childhood. His maternal grandmother, a woman named Alys Griffin, was believed to have come from a line of Welsh nobility. Furthermore, his Latin teacher at school was a Welshman named Thomas Jenkins: Shakespeare’s adoration for Latin texts indicates the influence Jenkins had on the young playwright.

As for the plays themselves, we must consider the contexts in which Shakespeare was writing. The Lord Chamberlain’s Men was a company of actors commissioned by Queen Elizabeth I to perform at her court; Shakespeare was a writer and patron for the company, so many of his plays in the late 16th century were written for the favour of the Tudor queen. Elizabeth’s grandfather, Henry VII, was born at Pembroke Castle from a line of Welsh nobility, so it was in the Bard’s best interest to portray his Welsh characters with high favour.

Included in Henry IV Part 1 is Shakespeare’s own version of Owain Glyndŵr, whose name is anglicised to Owen Glendower in the play. Glendower doesn’t appear in the play until the third act, but his influence as a soldier and rebel is evident from the very first scene in the play where he is described as “irregular and wild”; in Act 1, Scene 3, King Henry refers to him as “that great magician, damned Glendower”. It seems that Shakespeare – or at least, the Plantagenet royal court – perceived Glyndŵr as a sorcerer, and this is exemplified in Glendower’s first onstage appearance in Act 3, Scene 1.

The character’s almost divine presence is highlighted as he describes the scene of his birth, where he claims, “The front of heaven was full of fiery shapes, / The goats ran from the mountains, and the herds / Were strangely clamorous to the frighted fields” – suggestive of a literal shift in nature upon his arrival. The reasoning for King Henry’s earlier frustration at his powers is also revealed in this scene, as Glendower tells his guests that Henry had attempted to fight him three times in battle at the banks of the rivers Wye and Severn, and every time Glendower sent him “bootless home and weather-beaten back” – which is to say, Glendower was able to control the weather and sent a ruthless storm to defeat Henry’s army. 

In this scene, we are introduced to Glendower’s daughter, who is married to Mortimer. Lady Mortimer’s lines have been replaced by stage directions – a strikingly unique feature of this scene. She is introduced with the stage direction “Glendower speaks to her in Welsh, and she answers him in the same” shortly after Mortimer informs the audience of his predicament: “This is the deadly spite that angers me: / My wife can speak no English, I no Welsh.” Mortimer expresses his adoration for the Welsh language and wishes to learn her language: “… for thy tongue / Makes Welsh as sweet as ditties highly penned.” As Lady Mortimer’s lines are not written out, it is up to the discretion of the actors playing her and Glendower to converse in Welsh how they see fit.

Henry V is notable for the title character’s rousing speeches, but the character with the second greatest number of lines is fictional Welsh captain Fluellen. A friend to the king and a successful soldier, the most notable trait of Fluellen is his rambling manner of speech: to Shakespeare, it seems, the Welsh are a people who love to talk everyone’s ears off. Towards the end of the play, the character Pistol mocks Fluellen for wearing a leek in his cap on St David’s Day; Fluellen subsequently beats Pistol with the leek and orders him to eat it.

Despite the glaring stereotypes utilised by Shakespeare, Fluellen is incredibly proud of his Welsh nationality and ensures everyone around him knows it, even on a French battlefield. Arguably, many of the Welsh stereotypes we experience today were created by Shakespeare – Glendower and Fluellen seem to have been written with an air of mockery – but their inclusion in these plays does indicate how integral the Welsh were in early modern Britain. (Furthermore, the two characters were likely played by the same actor.)

Even after the death of Elizabeth I, Shakespeare continued to include Wales in his works: Cymbeline, which mostly takes place in Milford Haven, was written when James I was on the throne. Shakespeare may never have set foot in Wales – but his portrayal of Glyndŵr as a powerful, magical rebel, and Fluellen as a patriotic, faithful military captain, distracts from the Elizabethan stereotypes. Arguably, Shakespeare’s inclusion of these characters provided a platform for Welsh history and culture in an era where it was ignored.

See Shakespeare’s works performed around Wales…

Everyman Youth Theatre: Romeo & Juliet, Cardiff Open Air Theatre Festival, Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, Sun 7-Sun 21 July; Willow Globe, Llandrindod Wells, Sun 28.

Tickets: £6-£15. Info: Cardiff / Llandrindod Wells

Illyria: Romeo & Juliet, Nantclwyd Y Dre, Ruthin, Sun 7 July; The Kymin, Penarth, Thurs 11; Pembroke Castle, Sun 7 Aug; Oystermouth Castle, Swansea, Mon 8.

Tickets: £18/£50 family. Info: here

440 Theatre: A Midsummer Night’s Dream & Twelfth Night, Theatr Clwyd, Mold, Sun 14 July.

Tickets: £8-£16. Info: here

The Duke’s Theatre Company: As You Like It, Conwy Castle, Wed 17 + Thurs 18 July; Caernarfon Castle, Fri 19 + Sat 20; Denbigh Castle, Sun 21; Kidwelly Castle, Wed 24 + Thurs 25; Raglan Castle, Fri 26; Chepstow Castle, Sat 27; Caldicot Castle, Sun 28.

Tickets: £16.50-£18.50/£45 group ticket. Info: thedukestheatrecompany.co.uk

Sun & Moon Theatre: The Winter’s Tale, Willow Globe, Llandrindod Wells, Sat 20 + Sun 21 July.

Tickets: £14/£7 under-16s/£35 family. Info: here

Folksy Theatre: As You Like It, Willow Globe, Llandrindod Wells, Sat 17 Aug.

Tickets: £12/£6 under-16s/£30 family. Info: here

The Willow Globe Theatre Company: Twelfth Night, Hay Castle, Sun 18 Aug.

Tickets: £15/£7.50 under-16s/£37.50 family. Info: here

The Lord Chamberlain’s Men: Hamlet, Conwy Castle, Fri 30 Aug-Sun 1 Sept.

Tickets: £18/£10 kids. Info: here

words RHIANNON FARR