MEETING OF MINDS VOLUME IX Conceived and developed by Steve Allen, the award-winning PBS-TV series MEETING OF MINDS brought together the most provocative figures of history for conversation and conflict. WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE is the featured guest on this installment, which breaks the pattern set in the earlier shows by surrounding the famed playwright not with other illustrious historical figures, but with the fruits of his own imagination. Following a brief and only marginally revealing discussion of his early life, Shakespeare is joined by the DARK LADY OF THE SONNETS, HAMLET, ROMEO, OTHELLO and the GHOST OF HAMLET'S FATHER. Expounding on the theme of love, the most enigmatic and compelling of Shakespeare's characters challenge each other and their mutual creator to resolve long-standing controversies about their identities and inner conflicts. As they speak in the eloquent cadences of iambic pentameter, and with little respect for the discomfort of the playwright, the often unruly group continues the Meeting of Minds tradition of lively and entertaining discourse.