CBS News reports on the Falstaff (aka Henry Neville) theory. The only reason I’m linking to this one, since it’s actually an old theory that we’ve already discussed, is that the article seems to be making fun of the Falstaff argument and provides more evidence against than for it.

“Shakespeare had never been to Venice. So how could he write Merchant of Venice?”

I mean, honestly, is that a real question? Ray Bradbury’s never been to Mars but I liked his “Martian Chronicles.”

I like the rebuttal: “Shakespeare never once mentioned that there were any canals in Venice. That suggests to me that it was written by someone who had read books about Venice, but had never actually been there.”

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ABC News: Elvis still tops dead celebrities, Shakespeare hot

What they mean, in case you don’t feel like reading, is that if Shakespeare’s works were still under copyright and thus making his estate money, he would be generating an estimated $15million a year, which would put him #5 on the “dead celebrities” list – behind Elvis, Charles Schultz, John Lennon and Andy Warhol.

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The South End Newspaper – Shakespeare makes me feel smart! – A&E – News

I like this article for the upbeat tone that it brings to taking Shakespeare classes in college. “Shakespeare’s plays are actually very interesting and hilarious. In fact, they’re among the most interesting and hilarious plays I’ve ever read.”

And also: “Believe it or not, knowing that you’re able to converse with someone about Shakespeare is very fulfilling…much more fulfilling than talking about how many shots of Tequila I can drink before I vomit or how the OC makes me cry.”

Where was she when I was in college? 🙂

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NewsFromRussia.Com Disputed Elizabethan portrait not Shakespeare, National Gallery says.

I’m not up to date on all the various images of Shakespeare out there. But apparently this “Grafton” one has been deemed a fake. Or, rather, not really a fake in the sense that it was ever passed off as Shakespeare, but rather that people incorrectly assumed it was him. One of the arguments is that for the time of his life that this would have been painted in, Shakespeare was almost certainly too poor to afford that sort of costume.

These are the same people who also found that the “Flower portrait” was a fake from the 19th century.

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Podcasting News: No Time to Read Hamlet? Put a Study Guide on Your iPod!
I am NOT a fan of just giving kids the Cliff’s Notes (or Spark Notes, or whatever) for Shakespeare. I would much prefer to see Shakespeare on the iPod be people performing it (as the ShakespeareCast does), or at least discussing it and trying to put a more fun, personal spin on it. Moving the SparkNotes to an audio form will hopefully get the kids into it more as they actually get to hear portions of the play performed. But I wonder if their ears will glaze over the same way their eyes do when they get bored, and they’ll just try to mindlessly copy down what they hear?