Spring preparations

To the editor:
    It has been a foggy week in Warwickshire. There is a magic to a spring fog that thrills the eye. Day after day of wet soft rain and grayness that seeps into the wood lead to a pleasant surprise on the first Sunny day of the week. Summer is on its way and the trees are raising their leaves to the sky. You can now hear the trees talking to each other and rattling their leaves. A week ago, there were no leaves. Now there are no naked trees.     The city of Stratford is busy gearing up for its largest event of the season. We are going to have a birthday party! But I get ahead of the story. Shakespeare was one of many writers who helped to take English from a colloquial bunch of phrases into a recognized force in communication. There were several writers of skill who together helped to develop our language into a coherent capable means of expression.
    For a 20-year period, 1590-1610, Shakespeare dominated the plays, theatre, and language. We now know that the variety of entertainments available to the people of England at the time were just as varied then as they are today. Other playwrights such as Dekker, Marlowe, and Fletcher all were writers who worked with Shakespeare. While their plays are less well known, they too contributed to the language. But all of them helped to celebrate the culture of the time. Today, we take time to appreciate how far their words have brought us.
    The time Shakespeare was writing was a rich and vibrant period. This area of England was sending colonists to the New World. Ostensibly they were in search of land. Land that could be farmed and where they could worship in their own way. From the Midlands of Tudor England to the early start of the East Coast of the U.S. a large period of history begins. Covering it is a simple writer, Shakespeare and his birthday is about to celebrated in grand style.
    The city has a park called Bancroft park which is in front of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s theatrical complex. The finishing touches are coming along just fine. The ducks, swans, and geese are all enjoying new quarters and the boats are back. The city is getting spiffied up and new weekend the rediscovered portrait of Shakespeare will be unveiled in its new home. Like all birthday celebrations the fun comes with all the preparations. This early spring is a perfect start.