By general consensus the English poet/playwright named William Shakespeare who wrote during the Elizabethan (1558-1603) and Jacobean (1603-1625) periods is the single greatest genius and the most influential figure ever in the history of English — some would say world — literature. Though this website already has a general Literature Blog, Shakespeare merits a separate blog of his own, the purpose of which is fourfold:
1) to examine the cultural and historical milieu in which Shakespeare produced his works, as providing an interpretive context for their meaning and message;
2) to study all the plays and poems he wrote, in the order in which he is generally supposed to have written them (insofar as that is broadly ascertainable), in order to trace the development of his thought and agenda;
3) to tackle the perennially fascinating yet controversial question as to whether these works were indeed written by the actor William Shakespeare, or perhaps by some other person or persons using his name (candidates include Francis Bacon, Edward de Vere the 17th Earl of Oxford, and others); and
4) to assess the many ways Shakespeare has profoundly shaped our culture and the modern mind.