In a time of domestic terrorism and political turmoil, William Shakespeare gave birth to some of the greatest dramatic works in the English language.

In November of 1605 a plot to blow of London’s House of Lords, housing the English Parliament, was foiled. Many of the Gunpowder Plotters had ties to Shakespeare’s friends and family.

“This was really the first great terrorist threat,” says James Shapiro. “It was traumatic for England. It turned out to be very good grist for the mill of England’s dramatists but it was something that shook this culture to the core.”

A preeminent Shakespeare scholar, James Shapiro tells Steve Fast that the turmoil of the times most certainly affected the writer’s work.

“In our post 9-11 days I think we can be especially conscious of what this meant for Shakespeare,” Shapiro says. “How does a society wrestle with larger questions of evil? Especially when they’re tinged with religious and political questions. That’s just the stuff Shakespeare would take on.”

In his book “The Year of Lear,” Shapiro writes about the momentous year of 1606, during which the Bard wrote three of his great tragedies: King Lear, Antony and Cleopatra and MacBeth.

Listen to the interview: James Shapiro on the Steve Fast Show

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