Existing comment:
World War I:
1916 marked the 300th anniversary of Shakespeare's death. Britain was in the midst of the "Great War," fighting Germany and its allies. American came late to this conflict, not joining the British until 1917.
Across the country, people remembered Shakespeare in 1916 with local events in theaters, schools, museums, and libraries. They could purchase a calendar for the year that matched quotations from Shakespeare with those from the Bible. The New York Times ran a series of commemorative inserts on Shakespeare, featuring articles on his reception in America as well as in Germany, France, and England.
Percy MacKaye's musical pageant involving over 2500 performers, featured Shakespeare's character Caliban from The Tempest, moving through the stages of civilization to art and enlightenment. It was presented in New York City in 1916, then after America entered the war, it was used as a fundraiser for the Red Cross.
After the United States entered the war, the American Library Association raised $5 million from the public to help purchase and distribute thousands of books to our military, including copies of Shakespeare.
By the time the war ended in 1918, more than 9 million servicemen on all sides had died. One speaker at the Tercentenary celebration in New York City predicted that after the devastation in Europe, it would be up to America to keep Shakespeare alive. |