Shakespeare - The Greatest Playwright in History Documentary

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#Biography #History #Documentary

[@PeopleProfiles]

For early access to our videos, discounted merch and many other exclusive perks please support us as a Patron or Member... Patreon: www.patreon.com/thepeopleprofiles Buy me a Coffee: www.buymeacoffee.com/peopleprofiles KZbin Membership: kzbin.info/door/D6TPU-PvTMvqgzC_AM7_uAjoin or follow us on Twitter! twitter.com/tpprofiles

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

Love all of your hardwork and dedication!😊😊😊😊

[@veraspinola627]

😊😅😅

[@samsamuel2261]

1😊😊

[@sansalt11]

Now produce one that looks deeply into the authorship question.

[@GoPoundSalt]

Why is it said that WS was a drunk and his scribe wrote a bunch? Why? :)))))

[@terrychambers6726]

Without any doubt, Shakespeare changed the world forever with his plays. A true legend.

[@davidstein1376]

No, he did not.

[@goodlookinouthomie1757]

It really was a crime the way Shakespeare was presented to us at school. I'm in my 40's now but the education system put me off Shakespeare for the last 25 years. It was such a dreary and tedious process of blindly trawling through the texts in a classroom. With some vague understanding that this poor guy was having his eyes poked out (we studied Lear). I wish they would have shown us a movie or played us one of the radio plays first. This is exactly how I started getting into the plays a couple of years ago. I moved to Stratford on Avon and felt obliged to familiarise myself with the Bard and I am so glad I did because it's opened my mind so much.

[@Davidfooterman]

Not really a crime because a lot of teachers are not intellectually up to the task of presenting Shakespeare, or anything, properly. The truth is we undervalue, underpay, and under-supervise teachers at all levels of our educational system, and we under-train them pitifully.

[@Davidfooterman]

So, to put it bluntly, we get what we pay for, BUT we must not allow this institutional reality to obscure our ability to recognize and appreciate the brilliance of individual teachers, among whom are to be found some of the greatest scholars of our time, and of all time!

[@GregBartlesbyProductions]

@@Davidfooterman This has to be the closest summation to my thoughts on modern education. Clear of any partisan lingo, etc. Excellent! Combine your thoughts with the sentiments that (A) some parents simply do not care about their children's education or appreciate educational institutions and (B) at least in the USA bureaucracy and board egotism oftentimes muddies the quality and efficiency of a local education system...

[@badbiker666]

My high school English teacher felt that simply reading Shakespeare was an inadequate way to learn about him. Instead, she assigned everyone a part and we performed several plays in the classroom. I only remember when we did Julius Caesar because I played Caesar himself, the rest are lost to memory because it has been 50 years since I graduated. Imagine my displeasure when I learned that Caesar is the least important character!! I also took a Shakespeare class in college, which was also very well taught and had a huge influence on me. I have a lasting love of the Bard's work ever since.

[@MickyTubbs1985]

" The Immortal Bard" singularly stands ALONE on the pinnacle of creative writing.

[@alix5514]

😄

[@youtoo4971]

He was the OG of English literature. Much Respect

[@barrybarnett9711]

What is OG?

[@alix5514]

@@barrybarnett9711 OG means someone who is extremely talented at what he does. Also means "originator" or "original".

[@alix5514]

@@barrybarnett9711 OG means someone who is extremely talented at what he does. Also means "originator" or "original".

[@michelefoucault918]

I always thought it was Original Gangsta

[@jennifermelton9598]

Don’t forget about Chaucer, who was writing poetry two hundred years before Shakespeare appeared.

[@jenniferhammond632]

None before and none after can compare. Indeed Shakespeare is the G. O. A. T. of English literature period.

[@Jeffhowardmeade]

​@@methods3110Sorry. Not buying that one. You don't get into Harvard without first getting a rock solid secondary education.

[@chumamakasi6682]

@@methods3110 Does NOT take away in ANY manner from the man and his achievements; rather, it's a sad commentary on the decay in our modern culture and society.

[@jennifermelton9598]

Dante and Chaucer have joined the chat

[@LouielamsonTranNguyen]

William Shakespeare, the renowned English poet, playwright, and actor, stands as one of the greatest literary figures in the history of the English language, often referred to as 'the world's pre-eminent dramatist.' Six of his most celebrated works include Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, The Tempest, Julius Caesar, King Lear, and A Midsummer Night's Dream, which have left an indelible mark on global culture. His contributions span both comedic and political theater, captivating audiences for over six centuries, and his influence continues to shape human society today. Thanks for sharing the video.

[@bruceweaver1518]

I was raised on Shakespeare. I listened to the words of Romeo & Juliet while devouring the text when I was a mere boy. I was introduced to the female characters from a play. The Tempest was the first Shakespeare play I read and heard all the way through. My first role as a beginning actor was the father of The Taming of the Shrew. I have studied him off and on for many years, and when I became a writer on my old age, he continues to be an inspiration. My opinion? Sheer genius! He is the greatest Writer in the English Language. He has a particular gift, like Poe, to recycle old material into new creations that outlasted the original material. You cannot get away from him. If you would write, study his techniques-especially for writing plays-he could tell any kind of story, and tell it better than anybody else.

[@farziltheweebo4841]

Thats amazing!!what books have you wrote mr.bruce

[@leebrockbank5813]

Which book did you write. Would love to get one. You seem to have had an amazing life x

[@GoPoundSalt]

Why is it said that WS was a drunk and his scribe wrote a bunch? Why? :)))))

[@mihohobaba]

Because some people are morons who would rather ignore the obvious and follow some ridiculous conspiracy theory.@@GoPoundSalt

[@katashley1031]

I have spent so many years studying Shakespeare; as an appreciative audience member, as an academic, even as a Shakespearean actress, and the breathtaking rabbit hole never ends. The sheer number of levels and layers inherent in the Folio defy logic. When it is read with actual understanding of the meaning of the words at the time they were written, it's ambrosia to my ears. That's sadly rare. Many simply memorize and attribute modern definitions to the dialogue. An etymological dictionary reveals layers that blow your mind and change everything. His work is the most inspiring creation I've ever encountered.

[@Joshua.B.Buzzard]

Can you suggest some dictionaries? I buy the Arden plays but don't have a dictionary.

[@Nullifidian]

@@Joshua.B.Buzzard I'm not the person you responded to, but I swear by _Shakespare's Words: A Glossary & Language Companion_ by David Crystal and Ben Crystal. I'm using it right now because I'm reading the First Folio this year to celebrate its 400th anniversary, and the First Folio was naturally published without notes to aid 21st century readers, so this book is proving invaluable. Highly recommended.

[@americanbrunch3611]

This is amazing. This is one example of what the internet should be used for. Shout out to this channel for making this free for all

[@kjmav10135]

I just watched Julie Taymor’s version of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” It’s amazing how something penned so long ago, and something with such a LONG run time, can completely capture one’s attention in the 21st Century-still sparklingly funny.

[@postrock12]

He understood the human condition & behavior very well. The human stuff in his plays is timeless, he was so brilliant

[@postrock12]

The sad,the love,the existentialism,the comedy. All emotions. Etc.

[@Jeffhowardmeade]

Fun fact: Sophia Lillis made her debut in that production as one of the elementals.

[@celestejohnston6613]

First after dedicating most of my adult life to the study of Shakespeare, both literary and theatrical it is rare that I learn something new about Shakespeare but you have managed to do that! Thank you! Second, I attended the Shakespeare Institute in Stratford in the late 90s and given that the pub, The Windmill, that we as students frequented as our favourite watering hole has been a pub since around 1599 and is stumbling distance from New Place where Shakespeare died and given the English tradition of going out for a Birthday piss-up at our local and given the fact that Shakespeare died just after his birthday it was our favourite theory that Shakespeare went out for his birthday piss-up at the Windmill and then stumbled back to New Place and died of alcohol poison or the like. And now as I am watching your biography you speak of "A Merry Meeting" with Ben Jonson and he dies of a fever just afterwards. Well I love that our favourite theory could be somewhat referenced in this! I am highly entertained!! Third I like your summation of Shakespeare at the end of the video. I think that is very plausible. Much of the authorial debate has very high amounts of class bias. I think the reason many biographical standard of evidence upon which we build biographies, letters, records etc. aren't there because Shakespeare wasn't from the nobility and no thought was given to saving letters from a person from rural areas or even the merchant class. There are very few documentary records because those were simply not saved, as they were in the noble classes. Fourth, Shakespeare's relationship with his wife, Anne can only remain speculative, with no letters and bare mentions we will never know. In such a literary life, this strain shall remain silent. Thank you again for this wonderful biography.

[@craigfowler7098]

That critic calling Shakespeare an upstart - laughable, only went in to become the most popular writer in history. Like the teacher that said Einstein wouldn't amount to much.

[@user-pj1oc3ji6l]

ENGLISH THE LANGUAGE OF SHAKESPEARE! I LOVE IT A LOT!

[@Rodviet]

Ever since i found this channel, I watch it every day. I'm so thankful to you guys! I feel like I've learned so, so much.

[@glennhopkins2643]

Pure genius. One of the greatest persons who ever lived.

[@danielkeboga3516]

Shakespeare was to art what Einstein and Newton were to science to say that he was a genius will be an understatement

[@Fit2021]

Hjalmar Schacht would fit into your Third Reich series. He had an interesting life. During school, he met Reich Chancellor Bismarck (see Schacht, "My First Seventy-Six Years", chapter 5). He stabilized the Reichsmark and solved the problem of mass unemployment. As a suspected collaborator of Stauffenberg, he was interned in Nazi concentration camps. The Allies put him in an internment camp.

[@sarahhearn-vonfoerster7401]

That would be a very interesting program, indeed. Any further illumination on Stauffenburg's family and life would be welcome .

[@githinjiemmanuel6485]

Let me confess that I'm amazed by this man. Outstanding

[@lizzycountry9509]

This narrator can narrate the phone book and I will listen. Does anyone know where else he narrates since I've listened to everything on the people profile ?

[@postrock12]

Indeed.I love falling asleep to these with the calming narrator with a British accent & I also love to watch them while awake too😅

[@Rodviet]

Me too! I've listened to so, so many documentaries cause of him. I would love to know if there's more! Such a soothing voice.

[@MrAliasAyeDee]

Amen 🙏

[@sarahhearn-vonfoerster7401]

​@postrock12 I know what you mean...so calming and positive.

[@Barbara-ty8dj]

His name is Rob Jones

[@glennhopkins2643]

Extremely good presentation. Highest rating.

[@Hyperionid]

Excellent as always. Outstanding job!

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

Love your videos! Cant wait for you guys to tackle Napoleon! Or even Napoleon III!😊😊😊🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@yasirwaleed7453]

Thank you, we need more videos about English writers

[@PeopleProfiles]

Orwell is inbound.

[@postrock12]

Yes!

[@lytnin88]

Very well produced video. The writing and narration are exceptional. I'm sure even the Bard himself would approve.

[@elizabethbrauer1118]

TY so much for this brilliant vid. I learned more about Shakespeare than I expected, especially with re: his wife Anne and their children. 😍

[@virtualdrama]

Very magnificent narrated documentary. ❤️

[@ambujamramiah7142]

Wonderful documentary with details of the life of William Shakespeare along with the historical Royal rulers as well as the expertise of his wonderful plays!

[@lawrieflowers8314]

‘This lack of source material has leads to speculation for the last four centuries…’ Not so. No one in Shakespeare’s lifetime or for more than two hundred years after his death expressed the slightest doubt about his authorship. Could all those sharp enquiring minds, many of whom he had worked alongside for years in moments of great stress and intensity, have been so completely hoodwinked? To think they could stretches belief to breaking-point, and beyond.

[@joeblog2672]

My thinking as well. There is no compelling evidence that suggests Shakespeare fraudulently claimed ownership of anyone else's works. I suspect that his 19th century accusers were bored conspiracy theorists motivated by the chaste Victorian age to criticize Shakespeare's more liberal foundation of some of his works. Some of them may have been frustrated playwrights as well living under repressive times.

[@apollocobain8363]

>No one in Shakespeare’s lifetime...< Except for Kyd, Heywood and all the other writers whose work was printed under the name "Shakespeare." Google "Shakespeare Apocrypha" for a list of all the stuff that was and is contested. "Passionate Pilgrim" (1599) "Taming of A Shrew" Pavier Quartos -- prove there was far more than "doubt". They weren't written by that swan Avon guy.

[@mihohobaba]

Horseshit@@apollocobain8363

[@Shakespearelover1717]

Genius is not ANYTHING one can teach. Those people calling Shakespeare out for not attending a certain level of university are envious of a God-given gift. Mozart wrote prolifically starting when he was six. He produced light operas like The Magic Flute as well as heavy productions like Don Giovanni. Edgar Allan Poe had little schooling, but he wrote gothic horror in a great bundle of short stores and created somberness in his poems. Akiane Kramarik has painted prolifically since she was eight. Shakespeare wrote ALL those plays!! I will never allow naysayers to deny divine gifts from God. Those people are put here for a reason: to uplift and inspire all of us!

[@dirremoire]

Mozart was taught music by his father from the age of 2. Leopold Mozart was a accomplished composer in his own right.

[@Shakespearelover1717]

@@dirremoire Accomplished as you say, but not brilliant.

[@dirremoire]

@@Shakespearelover1717 True, but my point is Mozart was taught music from practically infancy. Shakespeare was basically illiterate until he went to grammar school when he was practically a teenager. Yet we’re to believe in his early 20s he was already turning out masterpieces. I don’t find that argument convincing.

[@Shakespearelover1717]

@@dirremoire You have a right to your point of view. But I believe in divine gifts. How do you explain Mozart’s ability to write flawlessly without mistakes? No father can teach that. One doesn’t have to be literate to dictate what they want under-writers to pen on parchment. Genius is real and these few people are truly touched by the divine. No one taught Akiane Kramarik how to paint. She just did. Have you seen her works??

[@dirremoire]

@@Shakespearelover1717 Mozart made lots of "mistakes". How many times have you heard his symphony #1? Believe, it's nothing special. Don't confuse his early works with his masterpieces later in life.

[@johnmodra9543]

A pleasure to follow in its timely inclusion of events and people .Liked how you left out too much speculation of what was missing in the personal, leaving me with an impression of a man with much humility. Quiet observers, let us all be, as these peeps are often given the gift of being able to see the depths of the human condition that is so clear in his work.

[@elizabethkelly3952]

Very well narrated and orchestrated!

[@blindpew69]

Absolutely brilliant. Learned more from this than any other source.

[@bobbybob3865]

Learn to read.

[@mvradhakrishnan9757]

There's beggary in the love that can be reckoned. There's beggary in every description about this greatest genius. Let the Bard be never explained in full!

[@rebeccagandi5258]

William Shakespeare is indeed Great Writer of all times. Winston Churchill resembles him in some ways, indeed he fought hard to build back all the family finance . I Greet these Two old British Fighters to make such great Good history. Williams Shakespeare And Winston Churchill.. Great Britons!!!!!

[@edmurks236]

There is little comparison between the two.

[@dirremoire]

Shakespeare was a great writer, Churchill was a conceited drunk.

[@shahkhan7565]

wonderful narration

[@davidwilliamson5406]

Thank you for the great content, I learned a lot.

[@cecilecochet6198]

Très bon documentaire. Grandiose ! Merci

[@josetavares9573]

My favorite will always be Romeo and Juliet a true playwright and novel Great Britain's True Love Romance, it never gets old this story.

[@digdowndeep1268]

Absolutely superb😊👍

[@TheTesemeau]

So far and to our great good fortune, no-one says it better than William Shakespeare

[@scotoftheanarchic.7903]

Ive been tuning into your work, its always so very well done. If you're looking for a different profile you should do one for james clerk Maxwell im sure you've heard of him but so many people haven't its an absolute tragedy especially here in Scotland, in fact theres a few you could do robert the Bruce or Andrew Carnegie, Alexander Fleming , john Paul Jones, john muir...etc...

[@barrybarnett9711]

Yes for Maxwell!

[@theresabraddock9310]

I'd enjoy those

[@GroundedThought]

Great work, very informative!

[@rebeccagandi5258]

Thank you Sir but I wish Shakespeare did leave something's for his wife I enjoyed the story so much. I read most of his books but didn't know much about his personal life. Thank you Documentary keepers.

[@Jeffhowardmeade]

By law she was entitled to a third of his estate by "dower right".

[@glennhopkins2643]

Juliius Cesser - my favourite play

[@ozziedylan9903]

Hamlet, MacBeth, The Tempest and Romeo and Juliet are magnificent Thespians are amazing

[@buzexboharsa]

When I get back your documentary, really I get my campus where I learned my first degree at semera University. Thanks and come again please 🙏

[@MsQue2]

Very informative, balanced historically and creatively.

[@user-cp3zj5oc7q]

The man known to history…

[@nakabuyepatricia2267]

The man known to history as ...... Love ur intro 😊

[@HXT_916]

Very interesting and well presented documentary. I’m fairly agnostic on Shakespeare. I do not know if he did or did not write those amazing works. I hope there’s a way to find out either way in the future.

[@stevenhail4977]

Why agnostic? There has never been any evidence produced that he did not write them, and there is a great deal of evidence that he did.

[@apollocobain8363]

@@stevenhail4977 Almost nothing about the Stratford man fits. Illiterate parents, illiterate daughter. His surviving signatures, the only evidence that he ever held a pen, are inconsistent with someone who can write. No evidence that he was educated at the level required to produce the works. The greatest search for hard evidence of authorship ever undertaken failed to produce any evidence that Stratford wrote anything at all, let alone the greatest works in English literature. No one in his lifetime said he was the author and the evidence we do have seems to rule him out as a candidate.

[@Jeffhowardmeade]

​@@apollocobain8363There is no evidence that his father was illiterate. Being a town mayor and justice of the peace would have been difficult without the ability to at least read. His mother used her initials to sign, which was common for the time and not a sign of illiteracy. She was also the executor for her father's will, which would be impossible if she couldn't read it. Shakespeare's younger daughter signed the one extant document with her initial. Again, common thing to do and tells us nothing about her literacy. His older daughter was demonstrably literate, with a lot of evidence to corroborate the fact. Not that literacy is heritable. There isn't a single expert paleographer who thinks Shakespeare's signatures show any sign of illiteracy. He used several different abbreviating conventions. What illiterate does that? We also have three pages of a play manuscript in his handwriting. The works of Shakespeare in fact show NO signs of higher education, and Shakespeare's was in fact described as lacking education by several contemporaries. And lastly, the evidence exists in droves. Who told you it didn't? I can name twenty contemporaries of the top of my head who identified Shakespeare the poet in ways which only apply to William Shakespeare, gentleman and actor, from Stratford Upon Avon. Somebody's been lying to you.

[@sunekoo]

Who cares

[@dirremoire]

@@stevenhail4977 As a Shakespeare skeptic, all it would take is just one letter, one fragment of a manuscript, one contemporary mention that Shakespeare was the author of his plays. But there isn't any. So I'm going to stay a skeptic.

[@battlebauble]

Shakespeare's sonnets deserve more consideration. These are exceptional works too.

[@johnmorris6800]

Truly the greatest!!

[@MrKgbronx12]

The Tempest was my favorite Shakespearian play.

[@oscarjimenez5835]

Gracias desde Durango, México.

[@graemeking7336]

A worthy example of stitching a commentary from random images

[@samssamsung8394]

Please post more videos about - Presocratics - Aristotle - Plato

[@premlatamahale3256]

Ttue portrayal of character of his dramas as the society behaved at his time. Read all and loved his literature always 🙏😍

[@eleni1968]

Thank You for this. I first fell in love with Shakespeare's work when on a HS trip to Stratford, Connecticut for the American Shakespeare Company festival. I don't remember the play it could have been "Hamlet" or "King Lear". The performance was electrifying and stayed with me so long that when I went college I became an English major. I should have minored in Theater as that would have cemented the fantasy. As for his relationship to his wife, that might have begun to its downward spiral following the deaths of the children. Then there could have been the infidelities on both sides but it might have begun with her as he was away living in London and she was essentially a single mother with very young children. Someone comes along as a hired hand to help and her loneliness?? She probably thought he was already cheating on her?? The circumstances of their marriage didn't help much either as she was 8 yrs his senior and then had gotten herself impregnated by him for what ?? to keep him as he came from a prominent family?? Who knows if he was really the father that forced him to marry her. She could have been putting out for someone else but somehow managed to hook Shakespeare and claim him instead of the biological father who was a laborer in society. Perhaps Shakespeare found out he was NOT the biological father of their first child and he was forced to marry under false accusation. I could very well understand why he would leave her nothing. His loyalty was to the children. In this way he rightfully fulfilled his obligations and loyalties to his children.

[@aarondemiri486]

I must make time to read this mans work one day.

[@ravikantsethi3115]

A person of great imagination,turned in to poetry n plays writing.

[@charlesblaicher7589]

Well done.

[@katherinecollins4685]

Enjoyed this

[@ArulPalanisamy]

I have William Shakespeare exam on 5th August 2023.... I am studying MA ENGLISH....

[@user-td1pt3dv9w]

Вам благодарность аккуратный рассказчик 🙃как история повторяется всегда страницы рядом новый этап истории он был политик революционер нет бриллиантовая ручка красиво мягко все нарисовала возможно было жить богато обход политики бриллиантов и перл роспись истории ❤️

[@bw3240]

"Big Willy Shakes", is The Man.

[@katashley1031]

All who love the Bard and have a sense of humor need to see the BBC comedy series, Upstart Crow. It's brilliant! 😂

[@Jeffhowardmeade]

It's futtocking hilarious.

[@ThirzaLynetteClarke-ku9dq]

Thank you. Most informative. Love his works but living in south Africa have seen few and only at festivals years ago.

[@Jeffhowardmeade]

Your best actors all flee abroad. I read that Antony Sher once returned to Joberg, I think to play Iago. He must have been feeling guilty.

[@Nullifidian]

@@Jeffhowardmeade It was _Titus Andronicus_ at the Market Theatre. He wrote about it in his book _Woza Shakespeare!_ .

[@Jeffhowardmeade]

@@Nullifidian Damn you! I have enough Shakespeare books in my to-be-read pile. Now there's gonna be one more. You're a dangerous person to know.

[@tiamatxvxianash9202]

Your profile has left very few stones unturned about the mystery surrounding the life of Shakespeare. I've come to understand this age through the explanations of drama and mythology theorist; Francis Fergusson. His comments on summing up the 9 year span when Shakespeare wrote 11 prominent plays, says it best; "The list looks to succeeding generations like a unique miracle, a Sequoia Forest of the human spirit. No one has succeeded in mapping it satisfactorily, and every reader is free to enjoy and explore it as his own understanding slowly grows". On the tragedies proper, especially Hamlet, King Lear and Macbeth, Fergusson added; "They are mirrors in which Shakespeare could freely reflect the universal meanings he had found in his own and his country's experience". Just as Homer is the name used today in reference to the Cyclic poets of ancient Greece, so too is Shakespeare the name used in reference to the poets, chroniclers, playwrights, dramatists and writers of the Elizabethan age. Enlightened minds who paved the way for an almost unlimited fount of artistic creativity or as Baconians quote it; "From the Wisdom of the Ancients to the Great Instauration". Either way, it was the dawning age of Milton and surely this is a cause for eternal celebration.

[@carenkurdjinian5413]

Thank You ……He -Is A Mystery Mind ….and Love it and In Need To Learn Deep and More -Touching his Way of Seeing and Touching Things ….. Don’t Know Him 😂-But In Some Very Sense Feel and Understand …..🌞

[@DanJamesJames]

A not too inaccurate general introduction to what we know about Shakespeare's life, I would say, and a good starting point for anyone wishing to explore further. Certain details, such as the very specific dates given for certain plays, were perhaps stated with a little too much confidence. However, I recognise that any account of the bard's life is almost bound to generate discussion and disagreement, given the paucity of what we know.

[@user-uo6qs3bv8h]

Shakespeare’s mug always makes me feel better about my receding hairline.

[@venky526]

What a man!Truly a Life Force.

[@charleswarren1901]

I've been looking at his early plays. Tituts A, and the Henry VI plays. So much violence.

[@Jeffhowardmeade]

Shakespeare was trying to be Marlowe during that era. Tamburlaine, The Jew of Malta, The Massacre at Paris, all of them slasher plays. I hate to think how the world would have been different had Marlowe lived.

[@charleswarren1901]

@@Jeffhowardmeade You may know of it, but there's a good book that explores the last 24 hrs. of Marlowe's life, "The Reckoning: The Murder of Christoper Marlowe," by Charles Nicholl. Critics past and present tend to speak of the "mature" Shakespeare, where he makes a break with his early plays to focus less on senseless violence and more on intensely dramatic sketches.

[@Jeffhowardmeade]

@@charleswarren1901 I actually have that book in my TBR stack, but Shakespeare books keep shoving their way to the top. I liked his book The Lodger, so maybe I'll let The Reckoning jump the line. Thanks for the recommendation.

[@charleswarren1901]

Another noteworthy book by Nicholl is "A Cup of News: The Life of Thomas Nashe," which I used as a source for my master's thesis. Nicholl was focused on that era of the 1590s, as was I. Always good to talk to a fan/student of WS.

[@Jeffhowardmeade]

@@charleswarren1901 Now THERE was a man of contradictions. Looks like I'm going to have a lot more Charles Nicholl in my TBR stack.

[@barrybarnett9711]

Thank you for Tolkien! Also Tesla. Excellent.

[@Jeffhowardmeade]

Nobody knows where Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway were married or by whom. Those who think he was a secret Catholic speculate it was Frith who married them.

[@M-ve6hi]

Shakespear is my grandfather.. well many generations ago through my mother's father.

[@Jeffhowardmeade]

No, he isn't. Shakespeare's last surviving descendant, a granddaughter, died childless in 1670.

[@jamiesandell4405]

@@Jeffhowardmeadethere are modern descendants.

[@Jeffhowardmeade]

@@jamiesandell4405 Only of his sister, Joan Hall. William Shakespeare, himself, has no living descendants.

[@jamiesandell4405]

@@Jeffhowardmeade you’re quite right, apologies.

[@wallyp_l_z6329]

I remember during the 1970's, an established Beer company, who's name currently escapes me. Produced a 18% product called Shakes-Beer..🍺

[@Jeffhowardmeade]

Until about 20 years ago, there was a brand of beer named after Sir John Falstaff. Pabst discontinued it when the rumor started circulating that it caused erectile dysfunction.

[@thecrimsondragon9744]

Have you done videos on Mozart, Beethoven and other musical geniuses? Would love to learn about their life stories.

[@skiker4560]

People Profiles is the absolutely best! ❤❤❤

[@colephelps6202]

I believe he wrote his own work, but also wrote for hire. It is certainly plausible that a patron gave ingredients lists on what to write about, such as "Make it scary and with witches." He seemed to understand women. I posit that he had a friend and/or lover, if not his wife, that he could discuss ideas with initially.

[@brandonweaver8176]

He's the greatest literary giant that ever lived.

[@edmurks236]

In the Western world at least.

[@Cadence733]

4:35 I think the Reformation played quite a part in the reforming of Europe too or is the Reformation seen here as a product of the Renaissance because of the Greek new testaments and subsequent teachers of it coming up from Eastern Roman Empire after the fall of Constantinople?

[@johncraig2684]

i have a direct line to the Chief Constable so make sure no more delays...I'm watching

[@paulberry6016]

Look not upon his Face, (as depicted in efforgy) But upon his Book'

[@TrevorduBuisson]

Not of an age, but for all time - Ben Jonson

[@joankain6193]

Thanks!

[@PeopleProfiles]

Thank you!

[@hazeldmello5800]

"To thine own self be true, thou canst not then be false to any man."

[@xKinjax]

Great video as always. Didn't expect a video on Shakespeare to have so many conspiracy nuts in the comments though. Live and learn i guess.😅

[@katashley1031]

And at the end of the day, it matters not one iota who wrote the Folio. Its genius stands on its own merits, regardless of the author.

[@colormetakenaback]

I ❤ Willie!

[@edwardsather6226]

I think he was part of a troupe of writers and edited the great works.

[@Jeffhowardmeade]

Constantly? With rooms full of writers? No way. The voice is too consistent. Try reading Pericles, which he wrote with George Wilkins. You can almost hear the gears grinding when the play switches from one writer to the other.

[@pw_jc]

Surprised to hear so much about legal dealings and wills all the way back then.

[@brendadrew834]

The greatest playwright indeed! Went to Strafford upon Avon and Anne Hathaway's house when I went to England many moons ago. A Midsummer Night's Dream is my favorite play and the 1935 film of it starring 14 year old Mickey Rooney and 19 year old beautiful Olivia de Havilland is a masterpiece in it's own right, magical film with the score by the late great Felix Mendlessohn! Even though it's done in black and white, no remake can touch it! imho

[@sarahhearn-vonfoerster7401]

It is a magnificent play!

[@glennhopkins2643]

Let's not forget his influence on the English language.

[@TueSorensen]

Blooper: You claim that the "wrapped in a woman's hide" quote from H6, Part 3, is a reference to Greene's "wrapped in an actor's hide" - but surely it is the other way around. It is that early play which Greene is referring to. A reference to Greene's slur can be found in Hamlet, when Polonius calls the word "beautified" a vile phrase.

[@sherapontaoe3214]

I don’t understand why his ability is questioned by some. Have we not heard of, for example, a three or four year old child who sits at a piano for the first time and plays (or composes) a beautiful songs? Or an untrained artist creating beautiful works of art? Other similar examples exist. It is highly possible.

[@dirremoire]

No, we don't. Picasso, Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, Da Vinci - all exceptionally talented. All studied their craft intensely from an early age to develop their genius. We have no evidence that Shakespeare had any education beyond basic grammar school.

[@sherapontaoe3214]

Definitely not speaking of the famous & well known artists but merely ordinary individuals. There also exists remarkable, yet untrained singers. Who are we to question others abilities?

[@daniellemcneill1815]

It’s not a matter of questioning a “common persons” ability for genius. That is unquestionable. But beyond that one must judge by the foundations of the time. “Shakes-speare ” or whom ever was writing under that (likely a pen name). Was fluent in Latin, French, Italian, Greek. Had a deep understanding of all matters legal. A comprehensive understanding of anatomy and physiology, astrology, all classical literature and music. Also gentlemanly pursuits such as falconry, jousting, court dynamics etc. Say what you will but in a time with no libraries, and absolutely zero paper trail linking the man in Stratford to any sort of education whatsoever, it casts serious doubt on his credibility as the author. These were not times like now where you could run out and research, the strict caste system of the day made sure of that. In a time that was very well recorded we have proof of literally every one of his contemporaries and their education etc. but not for the most famous man of the age? Genius is one thing but learning is another. I could go on for hours! After years of study I’m quite sure the true author is the 17th earl of Oxford. Edward De Veré.

[@Jeffhowardmeade]

​@@daniellemcneill1815You could go on for hours, but I could go on for days debunking every last thing you just wrote. Go ahead. Pick one of your claims and I'll demolish it.

[@stephenarnold6359]

@@daniellemcneill1815 Absolute BS. Shakespeare's knowledge of French was slight to non-existent (the dialogue in Henry V is almost certainly picked up for the occasion from Madame Mountjoy - there's no evidence for it elsewhere in his works); his quotations from classical authors (all Latin) are overwhelmingly taken from school anthologies such as Flores Poetarum, which would certainly not be the case with genuine classicists like Marlowe or Johson; his geographical knowledge is quite laughable, giving Bohemia a seashore, he has people going from England to Italy via Compostela, has people calculating the tides for internal Italian canal journeys, etc.; his legal knowledge is not "deep" - it's a familiarity with the phraeseology that a clerk picks up. Everything you say is ignorant and relies on the unsupported assertions of loons with an axe to grind.

[@cleverfitz779]

Good evening everyone

[@davidstein1376]

He was not the greatest playwright; that is subjective. He was the greatest dramatic POET.

[@wadejameskennedy4495]

Thankyou

[@ishmaelforester9825]

That time of year thou mayst in me behold When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang Upon those boughs which shake against the cold, Bare ruin'd choirs, where late the sweet birds sang. In me thou see'st the twilight of such day As after sunset fadeth in the west, Which by and by black night doth take away, Death's second self, that seals up all in rest. In me thou see'st the glowing of such fire That on the ashes of his youth doth lie, As the death-bed whereon it must expire, Consum'd with that which it was nourish'd by. This thou perceiv'st, which makes thy love more strong, To love that well which thou must leave ere long.