[NEohioPAL]From Garrison Keillor's writer's website on Will Shakespeare

Mon Apr 23 09:23:00 PDT 2007

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And thank you to the great actors and directors who continue to use Shakespeare in productions, workshops and classes like Sue Johnson, Andrew May, Tom Fulton, Elizabeth Townsend (a wonderful interpreter of Will S.), Larry Nehring, Scott Plate, and the whole GLTF and Cleveland Shakespeare crowd.

  And personal thanks to Sue, Andrew and Tom for helping me refine my Shakespeare monolog.  It's time to start another one or two.  This actor/lawyer is indebted to all of you in refining his craft in both of his professions.

  From Garrison Keillor:

  Today is believed to be the birthday of William Shakespeare, (books by this author) born in Stratford-upon-Avon, England (1564). He left behind no personal papers whatsoever—no letters, no diaries, not even any manuscripts. For that reason, most of the details about his life are a mystery. What we do know is that he was born at a time when England was just beginning to calm down after decades of religious civil war between Catholics and Protestants. Historians can't be sure, but it is likely that Shakespeare himself grew up Catholic, even though it was technically illegal to be a practicing Catholic at the time. We know that his mother came from a Catholic family, and his father secretly signed a Roman Catholic "Spiritual Testament" and hid it in the rafters of his home.
  So Shakespeare may have grown up with the idea that his family was secretly attached to an ancient but now forbidden religion. And there's some evidence that when he was about 16, after attending the public school in his town, he may have taken a job as a tutor for two wealthy Catholic families in Lancashire. If he did, then he would have met a famous Catholic dissident named Edmund Campion who was living in secret with those two families at that time, and who was eventually caught and executed.
  If Shakespeare was working as a tutor in his late teens, he must have returned to his home town in 1582, because it was that year that he was forced into a marriage with a woman he'd gotten pregnant: Anne Hathaway. It was apparently not a happy marriage. In 1587, Shakespeare left his family in Stratford and went to live in London by himself, where he began his life as an actor and playwright.
  As a playwright, Shakespeare first made his name as a writer of comedies. His most successful early plays were The Comedy of Errors and The Taming of the Shrew, and within a few years, he was among the most popular writers in England. His plays generally attracted an audience of about 3,000 people, at a time when London had a population of about 200,000. So whenever one of Shakespeare's plays was performed, one out of every 65 people in the city was in the audience.
  His early popularity made him a lot of enemies. The very first person ever to write about Shakespeare was the poet Robert Greene, who accused Shakespeare of plagiarism, calling him, "An upstart Crow, beautified with our feathers." And in fact most of Shakespeare's plays were not original, but based on historical events or old stories. What made them great was his extraordinary ability with language. He used one of the largest vocabularies of any English writer, almost 30,000 words.
  But despite his success, he continued to live in a series of small rented rooms around London, a two-day journey from his family's home in Stratford-upon-Avon. Then, in 1596, Shakespeare learned that his son, Hamnet, died. And even though he hadn't spent much time with the boy, the event apparently had a huge effect on him. It was not long after that news that Shakespeare began writing his first great revenge tragedy, Hamlet, which was first brought to the stage around 1600. Scholars believe that Shakespeare chose to play the role of the ghost.
  He went on to produce a series of tragedies in the next several years that are generally considered his greatest work, including Othello (1604), King Lear (1605), and Macbeth (1605). He planned to retire in 1611, after writing his play The Tempest (1611). But he came out of retirement to write at least one more play: Henry VIII (1613).

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<div class=daily><EM>And thank you to the great actors and directors who continue to use Shakespeare in productions, workshops and classes like Sue Johnson, Andrew May, Tom Fulton, Elizabeth Townsend (a wonderful interpreter of Will S.), Larry Nehring, Scott Plate, and the whole GLTF and Cleveland Shakespeare crowd.</EM></div>  <div class=daily><EM></EM> </div>  <div class=daily><EM>And personal thanks to Sue, Andrew and Tom for helping me refine my Shakespeare monolog.  It's time to start another one or two.  This actor/lawyer is indebted to all of you in refining his craft in both of his professions.</EM></div>  <div class=daily> </div>  <div class=daily><STRONG>From Garrison Keillor:</STRONG></div>  <div class=daily> </div>  <div class=daily>Today is believed to be the birthday of <STRONG><A href="http://www.elabs7.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=fj6,3ag1,dv,lk1n,k7ka,6czu,ht50" target=_blank rel=nofollow><SPAN id=lw_1177344906_6><FONT
 color=#003399>William Shakespeare</FONT></SPAN></A></STRONG>, (<A href="http://www.elabs7.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=fj6,3ag1,dv,9y8o,729e,6czu,ht50" target=_blank rel=nofollow><SPAN id=lw_1177344906_7 style="BACKGROUND: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%"><FONT color=#003399>books by this author</FONT></SPAN></A>) born in <SPAN id=lw_1177344906_8 style="CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #0066cc 1px dashed; HEIGHT: 1em">Stratford-upon-Avon, England</SPAN> (1564). He left behind no personal papers whatsoever—no letters, no diaries, not even any manuscripts. For that reason, most of the details about his life are a mystery. What we do know is that he was born at a time when England was just beginning to calm down after decades of religious civil war between Catholics and Protestants. Historians can't be sure, but it is likely that <SPAN id=lw_1177344906_9 style="CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #0066cc 1px dashed; HEIGHT: 1em">Shakespeare</SPAN> himself grew up Catholic, even though
 it was technically illegal to be a practicing Catholic at the time. We know that his mother came from a Catholic family, and his father secretly signed a Roman Catholic "Spiritual Testament" and hid it in the rafters of his home.</div>  <div class=daily>So <SPAN id=lw_1177344906_10 style="BACKGROUND: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #0066cc 1px dashed; HEIGHT: 1em">Shakespeare</SPAN> may have grown up with the idea that his family was secretly attached to an ancient but now forbidden religion. And there's some evidence that when he was about 16, after attending the public school in his town, he may have taken a job as a tutor for two wealthy Catholic families in <SPAN id=lw_1177344906_11 style="BACKGROUND: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #0066cc 1px dashed; HEIGHT: 1em">Lancashire</SPAN>. If he did, then he would have met a famous Catholic dissident named Edmund Campion who was living in secret with those
 two families at that time, and who was eventually caught and executed.</div>  <div class=daily>If <SPAN id=lw_1177344906_12 style="CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #0066cc 1px dashed; HEIGHT: 1em">Shakespeare</SPAN> was working as a tutor in his late teens, he must have returned to his home town in 1582, because it was that year that he was forced into a marriage with a woman he'd gotten pregnant: <SPAN id=lw_1177344906_13 style="BACKGROUND: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #0066cc 1px dashed; HEIGHT: 1em">Anne Hathaway</SPAN>. It was apparently not a happy marriage. In 1587, <SPAN id=lw_1177344906_14 style="CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #0066cc 1px dashed; HEIGHT: 1em">Shakespeare</SPAN> left his family in <SPAN id=lw_1177344906_15 style="CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #0066cc 1px dashed; HEIGHT: 1em">Stratford</SPAN> and went to live in London by himself, where he began his life as an actor and playwright.</div>  <div class=daily>As a
 playwright, <SPAN id=lw_1177344906_16 style="CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #0066cc 1px dashed; HEIGHT: 1em">Shakespeare</SPAN> first made his name as a writer of comedies. His most successful early plays were <EM>The Comedy of Errors</EM> and <EM>The Taming of the Shrew</EM>, and within a few years, he was among the most popular writers in England. His plays generally attracted an audience of about 3,000 people, at a time when <SPAN id=lw_1177344906_17 style="CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #0066cc 1px dashed; HEIGHT: 1em">London</SPAN> had a population of about 200,000. So whenever one of Shakespeare's plays was performed, one out of every 65 people in the city was in the audience.</div>  <div class=daily>His early popularity made him a lot of enemies. The very first person ever to write about <SPAN id=lw_1177344906_18 style="CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #0066cc 1px dashed; HEIGHT: 1em">Shakespeare</SPAN> was the poet Robert Greene, who accused <SPAN id=lw_1177344906_19
 style="CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #0066cc 1px dashed; HEIGHT: 1em">Shakespeare</SPAN> of plagiarism, calling him, "An upstart Crow, beautified with our feathers." And in fact most of Shakespeare's plays were not original, but based on historical events or old stories. What made them great was his extraordinary ability with language. He used one of the largest vocabularies of any English writer, almost 30,000 words.</div>  <div class=daily>But despite his success, he continued to live in a series of small rented rooms around <SPAN id=lw_1177344906_20 style="CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #0066cc 1px dashed; HEIGHT: 1em">London</SPAN>, a two-day journey from his family's home in Stratford-upon-Avon. Then, in 1596, <SPAN id=lw_1177344906_21 style="CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #0066cc 1px dashed; HEIGHT: 1em">Shakespeare</SPAN> learned that his son, Hamnet, died. And even though he hadn't spent much time with the boy, the event apparently had a huge effect on him. It was not
 long after that news that <SPAN id=lw_1177344906_22 style="CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #0066cc 1px dashed; HEIGHT: 1em">Shakespeare</SPAN> began writing his first great revenge tragedy, <EM>Hamlet</EM>, which was first brought to the stage around 1600. Scholars believe that Shakespeare chose to play the role of the ghost.</div>  <div class=daily>He went on to produce a series of tragedies in the next several years that are generally considered his greatest work, including <EM>Othello</EM> (1604), <EM>King Lear</EM> (1605), and <EM>Macbeth</EM> (1605). He planned to retire in 1611, after writing his play <EM>The Tempest</EM> (1611). But he came out of retirement to write at least one more play: <EM>Henry VIII</EM> (1613).</div><BR><p> 

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