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They say you should never meet your heroes, which has been just as well for literature fans who for centuries have been told they would never see an accurate likeness of William Shakespeare.Until recently, there were only two definitive portraits of the playwright widely regarded to be the greatest writer in the Eng...

In an exclusive new poem and essay Margaret Atwood reflects on the passing of time and how to create lasting art in a rapidly changing worldRead Dearly by Margaret AtwoodI can say with a measure of certainty – having consulted my poor excuse for a journal – that my poem “Dearly” was written in the third week of August 2017, on a back street...

Thomas Watson recognised by literary scholars as the Bard’s forgotten 16th-century collaboratorHe was one of the most celebrated English playwrights of the 16th century, yet none of his plays survived, and today the name of Thomas Watson is virtually unknown. Now the writer, poet and pioneer of the English madrigal – who also saved the life of the playwright Christopher Marlowe in a street...

Pestilence was rife in the Bard’s time, closing theatres and ravaging life. Did he write his bleak, desperate drama while self-isolating? We sift the evidence While those of us stuck in self-isolation or working from home watch TikTok videos and refresh liveblogs, a meme has been going around that claims Shakespeare made use of being quarantined during the plague to write King Lear. The...

Media companies linked to institute that also claims Leonardo da Vinci, Cervantes and Columbus were CatalanThe Catalan government had paid €3m (£2.6m) in subsidies to media companies with close links to a body that claims that Shakespeare, Cervantes and Columbus – among others – were Catalan.The figures were revealed in a parliamentary answer given by Pere Aragonès, the Catalan vice-president, who said the money...

Former star baffles audience at the Uefa Champions League draw by quoting from King Lear, before concluding: ‘I love football’Given previous form, perhaps it should be no surprise that Eric Cantona has again prompted bafflement with a philosophical monologue loosely based on football. The player-turned-actor elicited furrowed brows from the audience at the Champions League draw with a brief but wide-ranging speech that alluded...