Is USC’s ‘Shakespear’ statue an ode to the past—or a misspelling?

“To E, or not to E?”

That was the question University of Southern California asked after students at rival UCLA put it on blast after USC unveiled a statue at the center of its $700 million campus improvement project.

The statue depicts Queen Hecuba.

Associated Press reported:

Hecuba was commissioned as a female counterpart to Tommy Trojan, the popular life-size bronze of a Trojan warrior that stands in the center of campus. Unveiled in 1930, Tommy Trojan has become a mascot of sorts to a school whose sports teams are the Trojans.

“This is our commitment to all of the women of the Trojan family,” USC President C. L. Max Nikias said at Hecuba’s unveiling.

It also features a quote from Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”—but it’s missing something.

UCLA official student section, The Den, tweeted:

USC. The only place in America that can unveil a statue as the centerpiece of a $700 million project and manage to misspell Shakespeare http://pic.twitter.com/FGsJUyF3Di

— The Den (@uclatheden) August 21, 2017

Sculptor Christopher Slatoff left off the “e” from the end of Shakespeare’s name. USC claimed Slatoff did it on purpose, and issued the following statement:

To E, or not to E, that is the question. Over the centuries his surname has been spelled 20 different ways. USC chose an older spelling because of the ancient feel of the statue, even though it is not the most common form.

[RELATED: Rekindle your love of the written word by attending the Great Writing and Editing Virtual Summit.]

USC might have a point. Even in his last will and testament, Shakespeare spelled his name two ways (though both with an “e”): the current spelling and “Shakspeare.”

Some Twitter users pointed out the history of different spellings:

Check Wikipedia, this is not an unusual spelling of his name. https://t.co/2tM20xJzZ6 http://pic.twitter.com/QAIJEOnzmc

— SocialNet Works, LLC (@Gear4Growth) August 22, 2017

http://pic.twitter.com/Eme2W7GQZG

— Dena Burroughs (@DenaVidaSalsera) August 22, 2017

http://pic.twitter.com/LNNDuEEBRV

— shae (@carrollshaelyn) August 21, 2017

However, the sculptor’s effort to be authentic might be lost on visitors who think it’s a simple misspelling.

The Washington Post wrote:

Visitors to the University of Southern California might be muttering, “What fools these mortals be,” as they stroll past a statue of the legendary queen of Troy and notice William Shakespeare’s name seemingly misspelled at the base.

What do you think, PR Daily readers? Do you consider this an error, clever media relations or just much ado about nothing?

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