University of Virginia Library

EVIDENCE HEAPED ON EVIDENCE

As an expert craftsman, Shakespeare assuredly took a laudable pride in, his trade, but he was not blind to certain foibles of the profession. For instance, one of his characters thus refers to the barber's well-known penchant for putting the shaving-brush in a patron's mouth:

As for hair-dye, Buckingham remarks:

It was no doubt with full technical knowledge of dyes and restoratives that Henry V declared:

As it is now generally conceded that there is nothing new under the sun, the "lady barber" is of course an old story. Shakespeare mentions several, among them Helen of Troy. Pandarus, happening into the shop one day, noticed that famous damsel scrutinizing the fifty-two hairs in the sparse beard of Troilus, and he "could not choose but laugh to think how she tickled his chin with her marvelous white hand."

The shrewish Kate ranks high as a barberess. Especially is she noted for the introduction of certain novelties in the business, such as combing Hortensio's noddle with a three-legged stool, a proceeding well calculated to make each particular hair stand on end "like quills upon the fretful porpentine." Another, less famous, was Bianca, but the poet throws little light upon the lady's professional qualifications. The only hint to show that she was connected with the trade is her expression in "Othello":

If further evidence should be needed to establish the theory herein advanced, it can be found in Shakespeare's requirements for a first-class shop. "Have napkins about you" is the advice in "Macbeth," and Grumio's command is:

Every barber has an "oily palm," of course, and, like Richard III, is often "at charges for a lookin — glass." Other specifications for the poet's shop are "best water brought by conduits" and "all the perfumes of Arabia," together with unguents with whose sweet smell the air shall be perfumed." Emblazoned upon the walls might be seen Perdita's friendly greeting: