Episode 7: Stories about Shakespeare

(apologies, I prepared this but failed to actually post it when the episode went live two weeks ago!)

Shakespeare is one of the most famous writers, in English, of all time. Stories abound about who he was and what he achieved, but what is the truth of them? What do these stories tell us about the time he lived in, and the things which have happened since then? This episode explores the stories about Shakespeare, and how they affect how we think about literature and language. 

Get in touch on OurStoriesAndOurSelves@gmail.com or @ourstories.bsky.social

Music from: https://pixabay.com/users/good_b_music-22836301/

Image by: <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/samueles-1246195/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=2984316">Samuele Schirò</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=2984316">Pixabay</a>

Sources:

10 Words Shakespeare Never Invented. (n.d.). Retrieved 2 May 2025, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/wordplay/words-shakespeare-didnt-invent

Cole, H. C. (1983). Shakespeare’s Comedies and their Sources: Some Biographical and Artistic Inferences. Shakespeare Quarterly, 34(4), 405–419. https://doi.org/10.2307/286985

Elizabethan Cost of Living, Salary, Costs. (n.d.). Elizabethan Era. Retrieved 3 May 2025, from https://elizabethanenglandlife.com/elizabethan-cost-of-living.html

Fox, A. (2000). Oral and Literate Culture in England 1500-1700. Clarendon Press.

Grady, C. (2016, April 22).

Why some people think Shakespeare didn’t write Shakespeare, explained. Vox. https://www.vox.com/2016/4/22/11480192/shakepeare-400-anti-stratfordian-authorship-controversy

Greene’s Groats-Worth of Wit. (2024). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Greene%27s_Groats-Worth_of_Wit&oldid=1212687471

Historical city travel guide: London, late 16th century | British Museum. (n.d.). Retrieved 2 May 2025, from https://www.britishmuseum.org/blog/historical-city-travel-guide-london-late-16th-century

Keenan, S. (2002). Travelling Players in Shakespeare’s England. Palgrave Macmillan.

Leveen, L. (2014, October 28). The Balcony Scene in ‘Romeo and Juliet’ Is a Lie. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/10/romeo-and-juliets-balcony-scene-doesnt-exist/381969/

McDaniel, S. (2018, January 3). Debunking Common Myths and Misconceptions about William Shakespeare. Tales of Times Forgotten. https://talesoftimesforgotten.com/2018/01/03/the-bard-you-know-common-myths-and-misconceptions-about-william-shakespeare/

Mowat, B., & Werstine, P. (n.d.). Shakespeare’s Life: From the Folger Shakespeare Editions | Folger Shakespeare Library. Retrieved 2 May 2025, from https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/shakespeares-life-from-the-folger-shakespeare-editions/

Printing press. (2025). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Printing_press&oldid=1284911507

Shakespeare Myths… Exposed & Debunked! (2015, June 5). No Sweat Shakespeare. https://nosweatshakespeare.com/shakespeare-myths/

Shakespeare’s Collaborations. (n.d.). Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Retrieved 3 May 2025, from https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/explore-shakespeare/podcasts/60-minutes-shakespeare/shakespeares-collaborations/

Shakespeare’s life | Folger Shakespeare Library. (n.d.). Retrieved 2 May 2025, from https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-life/

Shakespeare’s Manipulation of His Sources in As You Like It on JSTOR. (n.d.). Retrieved 2 May 2025, from https://www.jstor.org/stable/2915010?searchText=shakespeare+sources&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3Dshakespeare%2Bsources%26so%3Drel&ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_search_gsv2%2Fcontrol&refreqid=fastly-default%3Aecd4a33965e2d30a072783152dfbf93b&seq=1

Shakespeare’s Words. (n.d.). Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Retrieved 3 May 2025, from https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/explore-shakespeare/shakespedia/shakespeares-words/

Stone, P. (2014, September 19). The Port of London in the Tudor period | The History of London—Page 3. https://www.thehistoryoflondon.co.uk/the-port-of-london-in-the-tudor-period/

Taylor, G. (1995). Shakespeare and Others: The Authorship of ‘Henry the Sixth, Part One’. Medieval & Renaissance Drama in England, 7, 145–205.

Taylor, G. (2014). Why Did Shakespeare Collaborate? In P. Holland (Ed.), Shakespeare Survey (1st ed., pp. 1–17). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/SSO9781107775572.001

The pen is mightier than the sword. (2025). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_pen_is_mightier_than_the_sword&oldid=1281944726

Upstart Crow. (2025). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Upstart_Crow&oldid=1283565691

Why Were Plays Banned in London in 1642? (n.d.). History Hit. Retrieved 2 May 2025, from https://www.historyhit.com/culture/1642-banning-londons-plays/