Much has been written about Shakespeare, but we know very little factual information about the playwright himself. We have the plays, of course, but how can we get a better understanding of Shakespeare's experiences and his mindset? Speaking as part of Warwick's Distinguished Lecture Series, Neil MacGregor argues that historical objects are a way of vividly reconstructing the past.

How can we better know and understand the world in which Shakespeare lived? The key, says Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum and honorary graduate of the University of Warwick, lies in historical objects. Objects from the reigns of Queen Elizabeth I and King James I can illuminate the everyday beliefs, hopes and fears of London life in the late 16th and early 17th centuries.

Biographically-speaking, scholars can be frustrated by the lack of information on the playwright himself. "The circumstances of Shakespeare himself are as we know very vague ... we know pretty little about the objects he owned, what he did, where he travelled, what he thought, what he read," says MacGregor. We have a much better chance of reconstructing the past through the everyday and precious goods that have survived until the present day.

MacGregor asks "What was in the minds of the people in London when they went to see those plays for the first time? What was the mental scenery they carried with them? The background in which they heard those words? What did the world look like to somebody in London in the 1590s?"

In this talk, MacGregor presents a series of objects and uses them as a stepping stone to bring Shakespearean history to life. You can watch a video of the whole lecture above.