[Shakespeare belongs to all of us]<http://click.skem1.com/click?anlrh-1v7zgd-1oq8fnk5>
Shakespeare Belongs to All of Us
A message from the Folger director,
Michael Witmore
Shakespeare died 400 years ago this week. Who cares?
Well, millions and millions of people. Shakespeare remains the most produced playwright in America. Over 90% of American high school students study his plays and poetry, not to mention half of all secondary school students around the world.
His reach as a cultural force extends well beyond North America and Europe. There are more Shakespeare movies produced in Bollywood than the US and UK combined. Characters and phrases from Shakespeare’s writings appear now in dystopian novels, Disney cartoons, Broadway musicals, and hip-hop music.
The marvel of this writer’s talents is as great as the fact of his global staying power. Four centuries after his death, people from around the world are still conversing with this glover’s son from Warwickshire. Why does the conversation continue?
With Shakespeare, lightning struck many times in one place. How else are we to explain his canniness about people, his dazzling use of language, his unerring ability to find a human pulse in almost any situation? All of these gifts find their expression in stories, stories that invite us to pass into other people’s lives and experiences.
Through Shakespeare’s plays we learn to empathize with those who are not like ourselves, or to glimpse the communities we might someday become – for better and for worse.
Think of familiar situations found in his plays: troubled relationships of fathers with daughters (King Lear, The Tempest), sibling rivalry (As You Like It, Richard III), familial loss (Hamlet, Pericles), forgiveness (The Winter’s Tale), self-destruction (Macbeth), youthful rebellion (Henry IV, The Two Gentlemen of Verona), falling in love (Romeo and Juliet, Much Ado About Nothing), or standing up for what you believe (Measure for Measure, King John).
Shakespeare was just as alert to experiences that set us apart as the “other”.
What does it feel like to be on the run, forced to hide who you really are? The beginnings of an answer are in Cymbeline and All’s Well That Ends Well.
How does it feel to be an outsider, distrusted because of one’s race, gender, or country of origin? Have a look at The Merchant of Venice, Othello, or The Comedy of Errors.
Shakespeare speaks to us in 2016 because politics, war, and the task of trying to understand one another still matter.
Markets and social media will only teach us so much about what drives us; to learn more, we need the humanities and the arts that inspire them.
Shakespeare’s stories are a touchstone for this kind of reflective thinking.
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[The Wonder of Will Live]<http://click.skem1.com/click?anlrh-1v7zgf-1oq8fnk7>
The Wonder of Will Live
Watch The Wonder of Will Live today at noon EDT, broadcast live by C-SPAN2 and streaming online. The program features compelling performances and personal stories from presenters that include Kal Penn and Justice Stephen Breyer. An archived version will be available later today.
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[Share Your Shakespeare Story]<http://click.skem1.com/click?anlrh-1v7zgh-1oq8fnk9>
#MySHX400
Make a video and share your Shakespeare story. Celebrate the Bard's legacy and tell us about your favorite play, his most interesting character, or his most memorable line.
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[Shakespeare's Birthday]<http://click.skem1.com/click?anlrh-1v7zgj-1oq8fnk1>
Celebrate His Birthday
Our annual Shakespeare's Birthday Celebration and Open House takes place Sunday, April 24, from noon to 4pm. Festive music, Shakespeare performances, swordfighting demonstrations, and free birthday cake!
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[Shakespeare Unlimited]<http://click.skem1.com/click?anlrh-1v7zgl-1oq8fnk3>
Shakespeare Unlimited
What do we know about Shakespeare's life? Which of the stories that we've heard about him are true, and which are myths? Listen to podcast episodes like Recounting Shakespeare's Life<http://click.skem1.com/click?anlrh-1v7zgm-1oq8fnk4> and Myths About Shakespeare<http://click.skem1.com/click?anlrh-1v7zgn-1oq8fnk5> to learn more.
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[The Wonder of Will]<http://click.skem1.com/click?anlrh-1v7zgx-1oq8fnk5>
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