Does Ian know?

| Readers 3

According to author Clare Asquith, in her book Shadowplay, William Shakespeare was a political rebel who wrote in code – his “plays and poems are a network of crossword puzzle-like clues to his strong Catholic beliefs and his fears for England’s future.”.. or as this Washington Post review puts it “Papish Plots”.. although, personally, I agree with Kiernan Ryan in The Guardian –

Embedding the plays in the culture that cradled them can teach us all sorts of invaluable things that enhance our understanding of them. But it’s hopeless at explaining why the glovemaker’s lad from Stratford still captivates audiences on every continent, while the other dazzling dramatists of his day do not.

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