Lincoln and Shakespeare

Lincoln & Shakespeare - Dramatic Readings & Cocktail Reception Co-sponsored by The Shakespeare Society of New York and the New-York Historical Society

Reservations Required, Tickets $100, $75, $40, $25

This event literally sets the stage for future programs examining how our historical leaders’ invoked literary works by the Bard to inspire the American public.  Like Lincoln, John Jay was a devoted reader of Shakespeare most famously evidenced by his reference in Federalist Paper No. 2, under the pseudonym of Publius, to Shakespeare’s Henry 8th.  Rallying the nation in 1788 to oppose forces jeopardizing our nation’s solidarity Jay warned, “I sincerely wish that it may be as clearly foreseen by every good citizen, that whenever the dissolution of the Union arrives, America will have reason to exclaim, in the words of the poet: “FAREWELL! A LONG FAREWELL TO ALL MY GREATNESS.” 

In this 150th anniversary year of the Civil war, guests will learn about the simple language of Abraham Lincoln as it is steeped in the rhythms of Shakespeare. Beyond rhetorical echoes and linguistic similarities, Lincoln and Shakespeare shared a view of civil war as the great human catastrophe. Essayist and author Adam Gopnik (Angels and Ages: A Short Book About Darwin, Lincoln and Modern Life) examines the words of these two great writers. With readings from Macbeth, Henry IV, Henry VIII, and Hamlet as well as Lincoln's writings. Featuring Tony and Drama Desk Award winner Jefferson Mays (Measure for Measure, I Am My Own Wife), and Obie and Lortel Award winner John Douglas Thompson (Othello, Emperor Jones). Discounted tickets for JHC,  Shakespeare Society and NYHS members.