Episode 27 - Shakespeare’s Sources and Influences

It goes without saying that William Shakespeare, that Sweet Swan of Avon, the upstart crow who turned the English language upside down, was an influential dude. But what many people gloss over in their Bardolatrous zeal is the central question of our show today: Who influenced Shakespeare?

Ancient Bickerings
The gloves come off as Aidan and Lindsay take sides to answer the central question: Since so much of Shakespeare's work was adapted from other source material... was Shakespeare a thief?  

Notes:

- What Inspired Shakespeare?
- Warwickshire and Shakspeare's Plays
- BBC Radio 4: In Our Time - Marlowe
- The Holinshed Project
- The University Wits
- The Comedy of Errors - Shakespeare's Sources
- A Midsummer Night's Dream - British Library
- Romeo and Juliet - Shakespeare's Sources
- The Merchant of Venice - Shakespeare's Sources
- Julius Caesar - Influences of Plutarch
- Hamlet Dates and Sources - Royal Shakespeare Company
- Prince of Jutland (aka Royal Deceit) - a film adaptation of Amleth (and yes, it starred Helen Mirren as Geruth)
- Macbeth - Sources
- King Lear Sources
- Edward Hall's Chronicle (Wikipedia - with references to a book about a possible copy belonging to Shakespeare)
- "The Poet's Hand" - The New Yorker
- James VI and I's Demonology
- Lindsay mentioned a comedian or actor who carries around a notebook that he used to write down ideas that struck him from conversations he was having; it was actually Canadian singer/songwriter and Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie. (Source: this came straight from Gord's brother Mike, but it is also referenced on Gord Downie's official website)