SOURCE: Jones, John Bush. “Shakespeare as Myth and the Structure of Winterset.” Educational Theatre Journal 25, no. 1 (March 1973): 34-45.

In the following essay, Jones examines Anderson's allusions to Shakespeare in light of his theory of drama as myth.

“I speak from a high place, far off, long ago, looking down.”¹ Spoken by Mio early in the third act of Winterset, these words could as easily be the personal voice of Maxwell Anderson attempting to define the function—even the mission—of the dramatist. The aspect of Anderson's dramatic theory which sees drama as myth and the dramatist as myth-maker or prophet has been occasionally observed but never discussed in detail. On the other hand, frequently discussed at length but never accounted for fully is the appearance of numerous but seemingly unrelated echoes of Shakespeare in Winterset.² The individual allusions and parallels to Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, and King...