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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
This book was at times engaging and at others painfully disjointed. It was meant to be a book written only about the things we can absolutely know about Shakespeare, but for at least half a chapter it devolves into the most annoying kind of conjecture. This book might be good for those who want to learn more about Shakespeare without plunging into a 350 page biography, but will probably annoy anyone who knows something about Shakespeare already.
I really enjoyed learning how much we don't know about the Bard!
As I've enjoyed other books by Bryson, I figured I would give this one a shot. I'm a big Shakespeare fan, so I wanted to see/hear what he had to say.
Bryson goes through the collected information on Shakespeare, noting that we really don't know much about his life. This book is a collaboration of sorts, of the information that has been published on Shakespeare. He talks about history of the times, information about how they recorded important items, and about some of the theories that Shakespeare wasn't really Shakespeare. One thing that really stood out to me was when Bryson talked about how in a handbook of spelling, there were about 20 different ways to write the letter "d." I know my students would go crazy if they had to memorize something like that.
A good read, overall, with some not so interesting parts.
Bryson goes through the collected information on Shakespeare, noting that we really don't know much about his life. This book is a collaboration of sorts, of the information that has been published on Shakespeare. He talks about history of the times, information about how they recorded important items, and about some of the theories that Shakespeare wasn't really Shakespeare. One thing that really stood out to me was when Bryson talked about how in a handbook of spelling, there were about 20 different ways to write the letter "d." I know my students would go crazy if they had to memorize something like that.
A good read, overall, with some not so interesting parts.
Interesting to read about how little is actually known about Shakespeare. He's almost a mythical figure. I did feel like the book got a bit repetitive towards the end, but overall, an interesting and humorous read.
informative
medium-paced
Good book about the mystery man that was Englisk lit's most enduring author.
Bill Bryson offers a frank look at Shakespeare. He is very honest about how much we don't know about Shakespeare or his times. This is important because so many of the arguments for why Shakespeare could not have written seem to be based on lack of evidence (we don't know how much schooling he had, where he lived most of his life or many details about his family). But record keeping was not a priority back know then, so many of those details are also laking for his contemporaries. It really isn't fair to take credit from Shak4sith so little evidence.
Bryson does also tell the story of what we do know, and make an enjoyable book in the process.
Bryson does also tell the story of what we do know, and make an enjoyable book in the process.
I "read" this slim volume via audiobook. It was a wonderful reminder of how much of our history is inferred, created and purely by happenstance - of what survives and doesn't. In ways big and small, this book reminds you over and over again how very little is actually known about Shakespeare and how some of the truths we hold so dear are based on very little/next to nothing. For instance, both his appearance and the "proper" spelling of his name are unlikely to bear much resemblance to what we take as a "known" given. Of his six surviving signatures, not one was spelled Shakespeare. It also reminds you of the way our use of language creates a literary fingerprint of sorts. For these reasons, this book was successful for me.
This reminding of how history is as much created as it is recorded by historians seems even more salient in today's world. It serves as a cautionary tale when we elevate / privilege certain histories over others. How much of true value has been forgotten and lost to time - particularly the accomplishments, life and times of other cultures or those within a culture who were disadvantaged based on class, race, gender or other variables. And it reminds us that it is not only in our time that folks bring their own slant/perspective and may deem themselves an expert with good intentions and notably bad impact, particularly when they fight for their preferred narrative / theories over and in place of others despite compelling evidence to the contrary.
For these reasons and due to its relative brevity in making this point, I recommend this novel.
This reminding of how history is as much created as it is recorded by historians seems even more salient in today's world. It serves as a cautionary tale when we elevate / privilege certain histories over others. How much of true value has been forgotten and lost to time - particularly the accomplishments, life and times of other cultures or those within a culture who were disadvantaged based on class, race, gender or other variables. And it reminds us that it is not only in our time that folks bring their own slant/perspective and may deem themselves an expert with good intentions and notably bad impact, particularly when they fight for their preferred narrative / theories over and in place of others despite compelling evidence to the contrary.
For these reasons and due to its relative brevity in making this point, I recommend this novel.
At less than 200 pages a very accessible read about William Shakespeare and life in 16th century London. I'm a big fan of Bryson's and while this is a departure for him his style does sneak through in spots. Bryson makes it clear that almost everything we know about Shakespeare is supposition, there just aren't many accepted "facts" that are backed up by evidence. What I found most interesting about the book though was the great description of life in London while the plague ravaged Europe. Bryson also covers the "theories" that Shakespeare was not the true author of his plays. He cuts huges holes in the most popular theories and really makes it clear there is no reason to assume the plays were written by anyone else but WS. Highly recommend for a quick read.
I really enjoyed this short course on Shakespeare by one of the wittiest men ever, Bill Bryson! I've read some of the longer bio's on W. Shakespeare but it's challenging to remember the details when they usually throw in lots of information about each individual play, & lots of pseudo-information that's really speculation - because we know so few concrete facts about WS. I enjoyed this book because Bryson goes out of his way to stick to what we really know & leave out the glamor & glorifications. The things we really do know about WS are pretty interesting anyway, without all that!
Things I learned - anaphora, epistrophe, analepsis and synecdoche! I learned that Shakespeare was possibly the "first gay poet." Or bi, really, I guess. OK, that part was a little speculative but some of his sonnets were definitely written to and for a man. WS was a great coiner of new words - words he used for the first time include abstemious, critical, frugal, dwindle, horrid, vast, excellent, eventful, assassination, lonely, leapfrog, well-read and zany! I learned the interesting story of the crazy Delia Bacon & her compatriots Looney, Battey & Silliman! I was happy to learn that WS almost certainly really was WS & not someone else. I was happy to find that Bryson states the plays of WS were almost certainly not written by Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford, as the de Veres were Lancaster instead of York in the Wars of the Roses & therefore Evil and Naughty.
If you're interested in a quick, fun way to learn something about Shakespeare & his times, this is the book for you!
Things I learned - anaphora, epistrophe, analepsis and synecdoche! I learned that Shakespeare was possibly the "first gay poet." Or bi, really, I guess. OK, that part was a little speculative but some of his sonnets were definitely written to and for a man. WS was a great coiner of new words - words he used for the first time include abstemious, critical, frugal, dwindle, horrid, vast, excellent, eventful, assassination, lonely, leapfrog, well-read and zany! I learned the interesting story of the crazy Delia Bacon & her compatriots Looney, Battey & Silliman! I was happy to learn that WS almost certainly really was WS & not someone else. I was happy to find that Bryson states the plays of WS were almost certainly not written by Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford, as the de Veres were Lancaster instead of York in the Wars of the Roses & therefore Evil and Naughty.
If you're interested in a quick, fun way to learn something about Shakespeare & his times, this is the book for you!