William Shakespeare

The First Folio

The stage has a short memory, print a long one: 400 years since its first publication, Shakespeare’s First Folio is the reason we remember him.

How Original Was Shakespeare?

Two fascinating, in-depth studies look, respectively, at representations of the Bard as a historical character and perceptions of his originality and reputation.

Shakespeare: the Bard Beyond Borders

Shakespeare’s approach to history and geography is often regarded as something of a joke. But his skill was in reconstructing the medieval Mediterranean for audiences whose horizons were being expanded.

Henry III, a Shakespearean King

Robert Knecht revisits an article marking 400 years since the assassination of Henry III of France and asks why the last Valois king has attracted so little attention from English-speaking historians.

Garrick’s Shakespeare Jubilee, 1769

When David Garrick, the most distinguished actor of his day, organised a splendid festival in honour of our greatest dramatist, writes Carola Oman, everything favoured him except the weather.

Shakespeare and Richard II

How accurate are Shakespeare’s historical plays? Harold F. Hutchison compares the dramatist’s account of Richard’s downfall with the actual course of events.