I've always been curious about Shakespeare —from his last name, “Shake-speare,” which sounds like a war cry, “Shake your spear, you idiot! The enemy is about to attack!”— to the secrets of his wonderful works. Those works, by the way, have come down to us thanks to two of his friends, who took the trouble to collect them in the First Folio. Otherwise, a big part of what is considered masterpieces wouldn't exist, including the famous "To be, or not to be."

I've also found out his talent wasn't innate. He wasn't that good in his beginnings, and was even accused of being a bit of a copycat. I don't blame him. Writers copy other writers. It's just that some are better at it than others.

He wrote his way for years, and probably soaked up the ancient Greeks, like Aristotle, who was a smart dude and knew all about the power of rhetoric and how to make your speech attractive and persuasive.