Lance Brett Hall

Stories Make Meaning. How Do We Make Stories?

Month: April 2018

Happy 454th Birthday, Bill.

Published

Today is the traditional date of Shakespeare’s birthday. I almost did a double take when I saw this news item from the BBC last week:

Kyrgyz mayor dons fake beard to tour city in disguise

The mayor of Kyrgyzstan’s capital Bishkek says that he sometimes tours the city in disguise so that he can see people’s problems first-hand.

This is a plot device used by Shakespeare in Henry V, Act IV, Scene 1, when he asks Sir Thomas Erpingham, Lend me thy cloak, Sir Thomas. He then goes around in his own camp to find out what’s really going through his soldiers’ minds.

And people say Will doesn’t have anything to teach us anymore.