The famous Chandos portrait of Shakespeare. The painter is unknown. James Brydges, Duke of Chandos, was probably the original owner of the painting.

Shakeycool.com is the new home of Gretchen M. Michelfeld’s “Shakespeare is Cool” series. Most everyone knows that William Shakespeare is one of the rarest geniuses ever. But did you know that he was cool? The bard could turn a phrase like nobody’s business, but beyond that groovy talent he had a keen and poetic understanding of human nature, and of the nature of entertainment. For this reason his work is timeless, and, perhaps more than ever, timely.

In recent years, Shakespearean characters like Henry V, Romeo and Juliet, King Lear, Hamlet, Macbeth, and Othello have been re-imagined, modernized, and de-constructed in variously cool and uncool modern stage and film adaptations because they are archetypal embodiments of the most enduring human qualities. Meanwhile, people never do tire of those traditional, Renaissance-styled interpretations of the bard’s beloved plays—and why should they? Looking back is often as intriguing as looking forward.

Here at Shakeycool.com, we celebrate Shakespeare’s Elizabethan era accomplishments both by considering their historical context, and by superimposing them over our modern age. Our goal is to inform and entertain the scholar and non-scholar alike, to provoke discussion, analysis, and further exploration of Shakespeare’s work, and to bring a bit of cool to the culture of erudition, and some erudition to the culture of cool.

Follow our Shakespeare is Cool link below to view Gretchen’s latest column, and you can work your way through her archived columns by following the link at the bottom of each page. We’ve also included a biography of William Shakespeare, and a list of all of his plays. Visit our merchandise page to shop for Shakeycool gear, featuring our logo designed by Jessica Wolk-Stanley. And feel free to contact us with feedback. We really want to hear from you. By the way, take note of the newsletter sign up form at the top right of the page; sign up and we’ll keep you informed of updates to the site about once a month.

Thanks for visiting, and enjoy Shakeycool.com.

On to... Shakespeare is Cool.