View source for Shakespeare's Birthday Lecture: "How Shakespeare Made History"

''This article is about the annual Shakespeare Birthday lecture. For other articles about Shakespeare's Birthday, see [[Shakespeare's Birthday (disambiguation)]].''

For more past programming from the [[Folger Institute]], please see the article [[Folger Institute scholarly programs archive]].

This was a lecture given by Alan Stewart on April 21, 2008. 

British history is unthinkable without Shakespeare. His series of kings—[[Cymbeline]], [[King Lear|Lear]], [[Macbeth]], [[Richard II]], [[Henry IV, Part 1|Henry IV]], [[Henry V]], [[Henry VI, Part 1|Henry VI]], [[Richard III|Edward IV]], [[Richard III]], [[Henry VIII|Henry VIII]]—are more familiar and more compelling than the mythical and historical figures on whom they are based. But when Shakespeare created his kings, he was entering into a crucial Renaissance debate: how to re-make British history to meet the new demands of the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras.

'''Lecturer''': [[Alan Stewart]] is Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University. He is the author of biographies of Francis Bacon, Philip Sidney, and most recently ''The Cradle King: The Life of James VI and I'' (2003). His next book is a study of Shakespeare’s Letters.

[[Category: Folger Institute]]
[[Category: Program archive]]
[[Category: Public programs]]
[[Category: Lecture]]
[[Category: Talks and Screenings]]
[[Category: Shakespeare's Birthday Lecture]]
[[Category: William Shakespeare's works]]
[[Category: Plays]]
[[Category: Comedies]]
[[Category: Histories]]
[[Category: Tragedies]]
[[Category: Cymbeline]]
[[Category: King Lear]]
[[Category: Macbeth]]
[[Category: Richard II]]
[[Category: Henry IV, Part 1]] 
[[Category: Henry IV, Part 2]]
[[Category: Henry V]]
[[Category: Henry VI, Part 1]]
[[Category: Henry VI, Part 2]]
[[Category: Henry VI, Part 3]]
[[Category: Richard III]]
[[Category: Henry VIII]]
[[Category: 16th century]]
[[Category: 17th century]]
[[Category:2007-2008]]