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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
Quite interesting, it contains everything known about Shakespeare with some background information about Elizabethan and Jacobian times. Since there is not overly much proven evidence about Shakespeare, a lot of musings and guessing has been left out.
The anti-Stratfordian movement was included in the last chapter, which I found quite fun. People will claim anything to prove themselves right.
The anti-Stratfordian movement was included in the last chapter, which I found quite fun. People will claim anything to prove themselves right.
I prefer Bryson's autobiographical travel books as they tend to be outrageously funny, but this was a solid biography about the written record that Shakespeare left behind.
It was unexpectedly easy to read and very interesting. The author gives a very good brief overview of the important things and does this without complicating things too much. I liked it!
In Shakespeare:The World as a Stage, Bill Bryson takes on the challenge of writing a biography on "The Great Bard", William Shakespeare. I say challenge, because there is very little historical proof of Shakespeare's life, family friends or even his plays. The book almost reads as an anti-biography, that is, a biography that spends a lot of time focusing on what we know is not true or verifiable from Shakespeare's life. An interesting and effective strategy when chronicling someones life where few facts are known.[return][return]If you are looking for a quick, enjoyable and educational trip through the late 16th Century to learn a bit about Shakespeare, but mainly the world he lived in, pick up a copy of this book and dig in.
A nice summary of all we know, and do not know, about Shakespeare. Also looks at some of the myths around Shakespeare, and shows how they came to be. Very clear, and a nice read. As if a good friend were explaining it all to you in an easy manner, not bombastic.
Having recently listened to (and enjoyed) Bryson's A Walk in the Woods, I looked for other Bryson audio books at the library. Shakespeare was a good choice. This book is read by Bryson and I liked hearing his own voice, though I was somewhat surprised by his British accent. There is a lot of history and a lot of commentary included which added to my enjoyment. Also included at the end is a short interview with Bryson. (Note: the edition I listened to was "Recorded Books", not Audio Audible as listed here.) Listening to this renews my ambition to read the complete works of Shakespeare, to see some of the plays and to visit the Folger Shakespeare library in Washington, D.C. (perhaps in retirement...)
One thing that Bryson says that I could relate to my genealogy hobby was that at this time, unless one married, owned or sold property or was in the criminal justice system, documentation of a life can be difficult to find.
One thing that Bryson says that I could relate to my genealogy hobby was that at this time, unless one married, owned or sold property or was in the criminal justice system, documentation of a life can be difficult to find.
An easy, yet knowledgeable, read about Shakespeare and his time.
This is a great introduction to the mysterious identity of William Shakespeare. Bill Bryson doesn't make the mistake most biographers make--i.e., twisting facts to suit theories instead of theories to suit facts, as Sherlock Holmes might put it. He tells it like it is, and manages to cover what we know for sure of Shakespeare's life in a pretty economic fashion. Of course, we really don't know much, and Bryson is the first to admit it:
And Bryson's volume is exactly that: slender. At a mere 196 pages, it seems impossible that even such a seasoned biographer as Bryson could do the world's most famous writer justice. But somehow, Bryson manages not only to cover everything we really do know about Shakespeare, but also to explore (and often to debunk) the speculations, suggestions, and wild conspiracy theories that have been previously provided by other scholars--and sometimes crackpots, and sometimes evidently both at once.
Bryson gives us the bare bones not because he isn't up to a greater challenge, but because when it comes to Shakespeare, the bare bones are all we have. He admirably resists the temptation to provide his own half-baked theories and instead offers the few knowable details of Shakespeare's life with the curious combination of wit and sobriety that has made him one of non-fiction's favorite authors.
All in all, this is an excellent 'introductory course' for a curious reader, and would serve as an excellent foundation for someone who's not quite ready for the more in-depth examinations of James Shapiro or Stephen Greenblatt.
To answer the obvious question, this book was written not so much because the world needs another book on Shakespeare as because this series [Eminent Lives] does. The idea is a simple one: to see how much of Shakespeare we can know, really know, from the record. Which is one reason, of course, it's so slender.
And Bryson's volume is exactly that: slender. At a mere 196 pages, it seems impossible that even such a seasoned biographer as Bryson could do the world's most famous writer justice. But somehow, Bryson manages not only to cover everything we really do know about Shakespeare, but also to explore (and often to debunk) the speculations, suggestions, and wild conspiracy theories that have been previously provided by other scholars--and sometimes crackpots, and sometimes evidently both at once.
Bryson gives us the bare bones not because he isn't up to a greater challenge, but because when it comes to Shakespeare, the bare bones are all we have. He admirably resists the temptation to provide his own half-baked theories and instead offers the few knowable details of Shakespeare's life with the curious combination of wit and sobriety that has made him one of non-fiction's favorite authors.
All in all, this is an excellent 'introductory course' for a curious reader, and would serve as an excellent foundation for someone who's not quite ready for the more in-depth examinations of James Shapiro or Stephen Greenblatt.