[applause] >> host: and as michael witmore just said, it is now your turn.om you. you've heard from this audience for an hour and a half, and it's your turn. 202 is the area code, 748-8200 in the east and central time zones, 748-8201 in the mountain and pacific time zones, and those of you here in the audience, if you have any questions, we have some audience mics set up as well, and we'll be talking those questions. michael witmore, the director of the folger shakespeare library, and ellen mckay of indiana university will be joining us up here to answer all your questions. now, michael witmore, we spent the last hour and a half hearing nice things about william shakespeare. what's the -- [laughter] >> guest: are you going to ask me a hard question? >> host: what's the criticism? you can go right over there. >> guest: what's the criticism of why he's no good? >> host: yeah, is there a criticism? >> guest: well, he used a lot of long words, and he had a hard time stopping himself when he saw a metaphor or an image that he loved. he just had to go. so even peo

. >> host: next call for our two guests, ellen mackay of indiana university and michael witmore, directorespeare library here in washington, is meg in new york. meg, you're on booktv. apologize for that. let's try gary in port washington, new york. >> caller: yes. i was going to ask about shakespeare being catholic and the times, but the gentleman asked the question, so i want to ask about the theory of shake peer's authorship -- shakespeare's authorship which i think has no validity, but i would love to have these scholars on this day debunk the conspiracy theater -- >> host: debunk away, michael witmore. [laughter] >> guest: well, there have been many candidates since the 19th century that have been selected as the secret author of the plays. we have no reason to doubt that he was anyone but the man from stratford, the son of a glover, who moved to london, who learned this fabulous craft of being in the theater, who succeeded and then went back and retired. but i think the interest in shakespeare and our fascination with his abilities and his outsized influence has led us to ask how cou

i'm michael witmore, director of the folger shakespeare library, and today you are joining us on a verycial day. we're broadcasting here from the historic pastor reading room where for the past 80 years scholars from around the globe have come to use the largest shakespeare collection in the world.