“Whereas, on his 445th birthday this April 23, Shakespeare still speaks to the people of Chicago through timeless words and works,” Mayor Daley proclaimed Thursday “to be Talk Like Shakespeare Day in Chicago”—much to the manifest delight of pun-loving reporters and headline writers across the country.
But while the linguistic dexterity that gives us Da Bard is praiseworthy, it’s even more impressive to be able to pronounce Shakespeare’s lexicon correctly. That’s where Shakespearean voice and text coach Gary Logan comes in.
In a book that was destined to have been published by a press whose hometown would eventually beget Talk Like Shakespeare Day, Logan aims to untie tongues and help anyone speak Shakespeare’s language with ease. The Eloquent Shakespeare includes more than 17,500 entries, making it the most comprehensive pronunciation guide to Shakespeare’s words—and the best possible preparation for this Thursday in Chicago.