The question of who was Will Shakespeare has been argued by academics and theater nerds for years. Could the man who was born to a local merchant, with a basic Elizabethan education and relatively meager prospects really be the man who wrote 36 timeless plays, invented new words and phrases, and whose work has endured nearly 500 years? Or is it possible that man from Stratford was just a pseudonym for someone else of more noble birth and higher education?
Throughout our series, we’ll explore the Man from Stratford’s life, history, and explore textual clues that will prove who owns Shakespeare’s words, relevance, and most importantly his legacy.
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The question of who was Will Shakespeare has been argued by academics and theater nerds for years. Could the man who was born to a local merchant, with a basic Elizabethan education and relatively meager prospects really be the man who wrote 36 timeless plays, invented new words and phrases, and whose work has endured nearly 500 years? Or is it possible that man from Stratford was just a pseudonym for someone else of more noble birth and higher education?
Throughout our series, we’ll explore the Man from Stratford’s life, history, and explore textual clues that will prove who owns Shakespeare’s words, relevance, and most importantly his legacy.
On this season of Will: What is He Good For?, we will explore Shakespeare’s marriage to Anne Hathaway and explore his general attitude towards marriage through his personal history and textual clues. There is an academic discussion that because he was pushed into marriage after Anne Hathaway became pregnant and that he gave her the "second best bed" in his will that he had a negative view of marriage. And that this negative view is why he often portrays domineering and destructive marriages. But we say, baloney.
While we don’t know what went on behind Mr. and Mrs. Shakespeare's bedroom doors, we believe there is a common theme in Shakespeare's plays when it comes to marriage and the story is more positive, loving, and modern than one might think.
In Episode 1 - we explore William Shakespeare's final will and testament and discuss what clues the man from Stratford left behind that might give us insight into his perspective on marriage and what his final gift to his wife truly meant.
Additional Links and Helpful Resources
Shakespeare Documented - Shakespeare's Last Will and Testament
Shakespeare Birthplace Trust - The Second Best Bed
No Sweat Shakespeare - An Analysis of William Shakespeare's Will & Testament
Learn more about Will, Victoria, Sharon and their theater company Classics on the Rocks here.
Will: What Is He Good For?
The question of who was Will Shakespeare has been argued by academics and theater nerds for years. Could the man who was born to a local merchant, with a basic Elizabethan education and relatively meager prospects really be the man who wrote 36 timeless plays, invented new words and phrases, and whose work has endured nearly 500 years? Or is it possible that man from Stratford was just a pseudonym for someone else of more noble birth and higher education?
Throughout our series, we’ll explore the Man from Stratford’s life, history, and explore textual clues that will prove who owns Shakespeare’s words, relevance, and most importantly his legacy.
