Shakes - The Life And Legacy Of William Shakespeare

Ggreg Snyder
  • 0.0 (0)
  • PERFORMING ARTS
  • UPDATED BIWEEKLY

Shakes – The Life and Legacy of William Shakespeare explores the man behind the world’s greatest plays. Join host Ggreg Snyder for a journey through Shakespeare’s life, works, and afterlife — from Stratford-upon-Avon to the London stage, from the first quill scratch of Henry VI to the immortal words that still shape English today. Each episode blends biography, history, and performance — bringing the Bard’s world to life in roughly chronological order. Once we reach the final act of his life, the story continues with his legacy: the rediscovery, the reverence, and the revival that made Shakespeare the voice of every age.

Episodes

  1. 12/17/2025

    Taming Of The Shrew

    With The Taming of the Shrew, we officially begin Shakespeare’s plays using the Royal Shakespeare Company’s chronological ordering of the canon. This episode follows the action of the play act by act, offering a guided plot summary alongside close discussion of key moments, including the Induction, the infamous wooing scene, and several of Shakespeare’s most debated speeches. Along the way, we look at the major characters — Katherina, Petruchio, Bianca, and the lovers and servants who surround them — using selected monologues and scenes to show how Shakespeare’s early comic style, language, and theatrical instincts were already taking shape on the Elizabethan stage. The podcast is anchored by Ggreg Snyder, actor and presenter of the Ggreg's List You Tube channel, accessible at www.ggregslist.com If you want to know more about me and my work, please visit ggregsnyder.com. You can also find one of my other projects at ggregslist.com, in which I attempt to itemize every item on the planet.

    23 min

  2. 11/18/2025

    The Silence of the Sonnets

    A quick summary of Shakespeare's sonnets, used as a predecessor to his career as a playwright. It's not known when he wrote them, but I'm following a tradition of placing them in the years that London's theatres were closed. This is strictly out of convenience, enabling the podcast to jump directly into Shakespeare's plays in the next episode. If you want to know more about me and my work, please visit ggregsnyder.com. You can also find one of my other projects at ggregslist.com, in which I attempt to itemize every item on the planet.

    14 min

  3. 10/31/2025

    The Upstart Crow Rises

    Five chapters that cover Shakespeare's life in London, beginning with his appearance on the theatre scene, and his mention by Robert Greene, who called him the "Upstart Crow." If then follows Shakespeare's emergence as a player, the closing of the theatres due to plague, and the publication of his Sonnets. If you want to know more about me and my work, please visit ggregsnyder.com. You can also find one of my other projects at ggregslist.com, in which I attempt to itemize every item on the planet.

    12 min

  4. 10/17/2025

    The Lost London Years

    After an intro to the London Theatre scene, Part 1 will cover the existing figures in London during the early years Shakespeare's stay. Specifically, the presence of various other playwrights and dramatists, like James Burbage and "The Theatre". The 2nd part will feature of cabal of successful playwrights called the University Wits, including Christopher Marlowe, Thomas Kyd and a few others. Part 3 will cover the life that typical theatrical players lived in Elizabethan London, and what society thought of them. In the final chapter, Shakespeare is finally mentioned in the public record, by a jealous, dying playwright who called him the "Upstart Crow". It concludes with a performance of a bit of one of the monologues from Christopher Marlowe's Tamburlaine The Great.  If you want to know more about me and my work, please visit ggregsnyder.com. You can also find one of my other projects at ggregslist.com, in which I attempt to itemize every item on the planet.

    10 min

  5. 10/17/2025

    Young William Shakespeare

    After the intro, we'll have a look at Shakespeare's grammar school years. Though no records have been kept, it is known that he lived near Stratford's grammar school, and as the son of a middle-class merchant, it is likely he attended it. Part 2 will hypothesize on the missing years and cover his marriage to Anne Hathaway. The 3rd part will discuss the allure of London, and have an overview of the scene before Shakespeare went there. Part 4 will be an preview of the theatre world in London leading up to Shakespeare's arrival. It concludes with a performance of the Seven Ages Of Man monologue from As You Like It. If you want to know more about me and my work, please visit ggregsnyder.com. You can also find one of my other projects at ggregslist.com, in which I attempt to itemize every item on the planet.

    11 min

  6. 10/17/2025

    Shakespeare Begins

    After an intro, life in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, in the years before and during William Shakespeare's youth. The 2nd part will cover the life of John Shakespeare, William's father, a glover and later, a politician. Part 3 will feature Mary Shakespeare nee Arden, William's mother, a well-connected lady from Wilmcote. Next, the life William may have lived in his youth will get an overview. Few records survive about Shakespeare's family, but an overview of the typical life of a family in Stratford might give the listener some idea of what his life was like as a child. Finally, the podcast will review what William might have learned from his early years. If you want to know more about me and my work, please visit ggregsnyder.com. You can also find one of my other projects at ggregslist.com, in which I attempt to itemize every item on the planet.

    11 min

  7. 10/17/2025

    intro

    This introductory episode will start with the goals of the podcast. Afterwords, the host will introduce himself and discuss his theatrical background, as well as his experience with Shakespeare. If you want to know more about me and my work, please visit ggregsnyder.com. You can also find one of my other projects at ggregslist.com, in which I attempt to itemize every item on the planet.

    3 min

Trailer

About

Shakes – The Life and Legacy of William Shakespeare explores the man behind the world’s greatest plays. Join host Ggreg Snyder for a journey through Shakespeare’s life, works, and afterlife — from Stratford-upon-Avon to the London stage, from the first quill scratch of Henry VI to the immortal words that still shape English today. Each episode blends biography, history, and performance — bringing the Bard’s world to life in roughly chronological order. Once we reach the final act of his life, the story continues with his legacy: the rediscovery, the reverence, and the revival that made Shakespeare the voice of every age.

Information