That Shakespeare Life

The bard has his own bobble head figurines and his likeness has even been made into emojis and memes here in the 21st century, but how much of this likeness is real and what has posterity simple made up? From the famous Chandos Portrait that was the founding acquisition of England's National Portrait Gallery, to the Droeshout portrait that graced the front cover of the First Folio in 1623, how many portraits do we have of William Shakespeare and can we really tell what he looked like? Here to help us get a fresh glimpse into what William Shakespeare looked like is our guest Rachel Dankert.

The bard has his own bobble head figurines and his likeness has even been made into emojis and memes here in the 21st century, but how much of this likeness is real and what has posterity simple made up? From the famous Chandos Portrait that was the founding acquisition of England’s National Portrait Gallery, to the Droeshout portrait that graced the front cover of the First Folio in 1623, how many portraits do we have of William Shakespeare and can we really tell what he looked like?

Here to help us get a fresh glimpse into what William Shakespeare looked like is our guest Rachel Dankert.

During William Shakespeare's lifetime, the central spot for gathering news of the day, purchasing the latest books, or catching up on what's new from your favorite author, poet, or playwright, was the churchyard outside St. Paul's Cathedral in London. Frequenter's to this spot were known as "paul's walkers" and it was a huge number of walkers indeed that crossed the yard to search the various stalls for literature. There are at least 8 references to St. Paul's cathedral and it's reputation for promoting the works of authors like William Shakespeare, to be found inside the plays of the bard and today we have our special guest Amy Lidster, a research fellow at King's College London here with us to share some of what she has discovered during her work into the Shakespearean history of St. Paul's Cathedral, and to walk us through how Shakespeare would have been impacted by this remarkable place.

During William Shakespeare’s lifetime, the central spot for gathering news of the day, purchasing the latest books, or catching up on what’s new from your favorite author, poet, or playwright, was the churchyard outside St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. Frequenter’s to this spot were known as “paul’s walkers” and it was a huge number of walkers indeed that crossed the yard to search the various stalls for literature. There are at least 8 references to St. Paul’s cathedral and it’s reputation for promoting the works of authors like William Shakespeare, to be found inside the plays of the bard and today we have our special guest Amy Lidster, a research fellow at King’s College London here with us to share some of what she has discovered during her work into the Shakespearean history of St. Paul’s Cathedral, and to walk us through how Shakespeare would have been impacted by this remarkable place.

There are close to 200 plant references in Shakespeare's plays, with the bard mentioning herbs, spcices, as well as the iconic roses that was such a plague to Juliet in Romeo and Juliet. With the massive amount of exploration and import of foreign goods that was exploding in Egland dudirng Shakespeare's lifetime, many of the plants mentioned by the bard were being seen in england for the very first time.

Motivated to explore exactly how many Shakespeare did mention across 37 plays and hundreds of sonnets, our guest this week, Gerit Quealy is the author of Botanical Shakespeare, a very detailed compilation text featuring illustrated versions of the plants from Shakespeare's plays and she joins us this week to explain some of the history of plants in England, which ones were native to England, and how the bard knew about some of the more exotic herbs and plants mentioned in his plays.

There are close to 200 plant references in Shakespeare’s plays, with the bard mentioning herbs, spcices, as well as the iconic roses that was such a plague to Juliet in Romeo and Juliet. With the massive amount of exploration and import of foreign goods that was exploding in Egland dudirng Shakespeare’s lifetime, many of the plants mentioned by the bard were being seen in england for the very first time.

Motivated to explore exactly how many Shakespeare did mention across 37 plays and hundreds of sonnets, our guest this week, Gerit Quealy is the author of Botanical Shakespeare, a very detailed compilation text featuring illustrated versions of the plants from Shakespeare’s plays and she joins us this week to explain some of the history of plants in England, which ones were native to England, and how the bard knew about some of the more exotic herbs and plants mentioned in his plays.

William Shakespeare uses Tudor Knot Gardens in his plays, most notably in Love's Labour's Lost, but also with a mention in Richard II. These iconic symbols of Tudor history are as intricate in design as they are in their history and folklore.

Here to help us explore exactly why Shakespeare would have invoked the reputation of a Tudor Knot Garden for his plays, as well as the history of the design, purpose, and flowers inside these specialty gardens is our guest, returning to visit with us for the second time here at That Shakespeare Life, the delightful Brigitte Webster.

William Shakespeare uses Tudor Knot Gardens in his plays, most notably in Love’s Labour’s Lost, but also with a mention in Richard II. These iconic symbols of Tudor history are as intricate in design as they are in their history and folklore.

Here to help us explore exactly why Shakespeare would have invoked the reputation of a Tudor Knot Garden for his plays, as well as the history of the design, purpose, and flowers inside these specialty gardens is our guest, returning to visit with us for the second time here at That Shakespeare Life, the delightful Brigitte Webster.

After William Shakespeare made his name in London, established himself as a gentleman at home, he returned to Stratford Upon Avon to seek his status as a gentleman, acquiring not only a coat of arms, but the second largest house in town. New Place was brought with considerable legal wrangling, however, and the story of how Shakespeare came to own his famous house is filled with fights, suspicion, murder, and even a few ghosts. It's a tale fit for a playwright and here to share this story with us is the man who wrote the book on the Shakespeare history of Stratford Upon Avon, the author of Shakespeare's Country Families, Mr. John Taplin.

John's book represents over a decade worth of what he calls "sifting through many a quiet archive shelf" combing over documents, records, and legal language to piece together the story of Shakespeare's life from the little details a shrewd historical investigator like John can uncover with enough patience to sort it out.

John began working Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in 2002, where his inspiration for this project first began. Now also a successful author about Shakespeare, John regularly contributes articles and scholarly research to the Shakespeare history community. We are delighted he has agreed to share some of his time with us today.