That Shakespeare Life

It is Thanksgiving this week here in the US where we take time to intentionally be grateful for what we’ve been given and count our blessings, but it is also the one time of year where the whole nation remembers an event that began during the life of William Shakespeare: the journey of the Pilgrims on the Mayflower. Not many people realize the story of William Shakespeare overlaps with that of the Pilgrims, due mostly to the fact that the Pilgrims wouldn’t actually set sail from Plymouth until 1620, which is 4 years after the death of William Shakespeare. However, The Puritans were a major part of Shakespeare’s life in England prior to that fateful day in 1620, including Puritans who lived within walking distance of the known residences Shakespeare took up in London. The story of the Mayflower, Pilgrims, and so-called “Strangers” that travelled with them including Miles Standish, William Brewster, and William Bradford, informs our understanding of Shakespeare’s culture and the strong religious tensions that w