Monday, 1/7 - Welcome to Shakespeare and . . .

William Manley Maxwell Reno (7 lbs. 10 oz. 20 1/2 in.)

It is with great joy that Mr. and Mrs. Reno announce the birth of our new son: William Manley Maxwell Reno was born on December 28 (his due date), a day historically known as Childermas or Feast of the Innocents, the day the church remembers Herod's slaughtering of the first "martyrs": all the sons in Bethlehem two and under.

William ("Great Protector") - after his late cousin Will Reno, father-in-law's middle name, and Shakespeare, of course.

Manley ("Man's Meadow") - after Gerard Manley Hopkins, Victorian poet extraordinaire, one of Reno's favorite poets of all time (and one of Beniam's favorites, too). Don't worry, you'll be memorizing a "Manley" sonnet during 4th quarter.

Maxwell ("Great Spring") - after my grandfather Max Reno, whom I never met but whom I wanted to honor. Max passed away when my father was nine years old.

Now . . . welcome to the Shakespeare portion of Classy-Shakey. With that said, we are going to begin by reading a Greek tragedy, Oedipus Rex (the King). But before we begin that, let's discuss what we know about Classical Athens and its theater (or theatre if British).