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alexandramilne's review against another edition
dark
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
ahomelibrary's review against another edition
Today’s review is for Death by Shakespeare: Snakebites, Stabbings and Broken Hearts by Kathryn Harkup, published by Bloomsbury Publishing in 2020. This book is nonfiction/popular science, and the author is a scientist. As I stated in my review on Instagram, readers do not need a strong background in Shakespearean works or science to get value from this book. So, don’t get scared off just yet!
The premise of this book is to explore the numerous (and sometimes creative) ways in which William Shakespeare killed off his characters or wrote of death in his works. Death is a major theme in Shakespearean works, as well as other plays at the time. As the blurb states: “…plague, pestilence, and public executions were a common occurrence, and the chances of seeing a dead or dying body on the way home from the theater was a fairly likely scenario.”
As a result of this consistent and constant theme, this book’s aim to explore the ways characters died is separated into themes. Scientific, historical, and literary context provides insight on various themes. Many times, I found the historical context to be very interesting and informative! The scientific information adds insight on both the logic and legitimacy of methods of killing or dying, as well as shedding light on technology or medical capacities of Shakespearean time. The blurb on Goodreads says: “Shakespeare found 74 different ways to kill off his characters, and audiences today still enjoy the same reactions–shock, sadness, fear–that they did over 400 years ago when these plays were first performed. But how realistic are these deaths, and did Shakespeare have the science to back them up?”
Review
I am the first to admit that even as an ardent Anglophile, I am not a hardcore Shakespeare fan. I know most of the popular plays and poems, but I am not up-to-date on the Bard facts. Yet, I found great value in reading this book because you don’t have to be! Harkup did an excellent job of combining science, history, and literary interpretation. The straightforward writing style was appropriate for readers from a variety of backgrounds. Some chapters included some morbid details that made me a bit queasy, and I will admit I found some passages too heavy to read. Yet, on the whole, I took some value from reading this exploration and want to further my knowledge of medical advancements in Britain.
One key takeaway that I gained from reading this book: life imitates art, art imitates life. It is interesting to hear academic research connecting the dots on how Shakespeare or theatre-goers may have been influenced by their daily lives. It’s interesting to hear what entertained them, what they were scared of… what they did that would scare us!
All in all, I think this is a pretty decent 4 star read. I am a fan of this author’s writing style, which is a great balance between informative and entertaining. I highly suggest this book even to those without a background in Shakespeare or medical science; in fact, it would be a good primer for these subjects if one had a casual interest.
The premise of this book is to explore the numerous (and sometimes creative) ways in which William Shakespeare killed off his characters or wrote of death in his works. Death is a major theme in Shakespearean works, as well as other plays at the time. As the blurb states: “…plague, pestilence, and public executions were a common occurrence, and the chances of seeing a dead or dying body on the way home from the theater was a fairly likely scenario.”
As a result of this consistent and constant theme, this book’s aim to explore the ways characters died is separated into themes. Scientific, historical, and literary context provides insight on various themes. Many times, I found the historical context to be very interesting and informative! The scientific information adds insight on both the logic and legitimacy of methods of killing or dying, as well as shedding light on technology or medical capacities of Shakespearean time. The blurb on Goodreads says: “Shakespeare found 74 different ways to kill off his characters, and audiences today still enjoy the same reactions–shock, sadness, fear–that they did over 400 years ago when these plays were first performed. But how realistic are these deaths, and did Shakespeare have the science to back them up?”
Review
I am the first to admit that even as an ardent Anglophile, I am not a hardcore Shakespeare fan. I know most of the popular plays and poems, but I am not up-to-date on the Bard facts. Yet, I found great value in reading this book because you don’t have to be! Harkup did an excellent job of combining science, history, and literary interpretation. The straightforward writing style was appropriate for readers from a variety of backgrounds. Some chapters included some morbid details that made me a bit queasy, and I will admit I found some passages too heavy to read. Yet, on the whole, I took some value from reading this exploration and want to further my knowledge of medical advancements in Britain.
One key takeaway that I gained from reading this book: life imitates art, art imitates life. It is interesting to hear academic research connecting the dots on how Shakespeare or theatre-goers may have been influenced by their daily lives. It’s interesting to hear what entertained them, what they were scared of… what they did that would scare us!
All in all, I think this is a pretty decent 4 star read. I am a fan of this author’s writing style, which is a great balance between informative and entertaining. I highly suggest this book even to those without a background in Shakespeare or medical science; in fact, it would be a good primer for these subjects if one had a casual interest.
carmenx9's review against another edition
4.0
Very good! I could have done with it being even more explicit with the textual connections but it's so well researched and enjoyable for Shakespeare fans. Very much not for the squeamish, people can die in so many horrible ways
veecaswell's review against another edition
5.0
In Death By Shakespeare, Kathryn Harkup,an expert on the more gruesome side of science, turns her expertise to William Shakespeare and the creative methods he used to kill off his characters. Is death by snakebite really as serene as Cleopatra made it seem? How did Juliet appear dead for 72 hours only to be revived in perfect health? Can you really kill someone by pouring poison in their ear? How long would it take before Lady Macbeth died from lack of sleep? Harkup investigates what actual events may have inspired Shakespeare, what the accepted scientific knowledge of the time was, and how Elizabethan audiences would have responded to these death scenes.
From the beginning, this book is a well thought out and fascinating read. Packed with morbid curiousities, this book explores many ways in which people do die in these plays and does it in a fun way, I guess you could say. Looking at how different characters died, I truly found the parts around Henry VI in particular quite interesting as we can see the links somewhat between the here and now (not unlike the crime dramas we see today).
What I most enjoyed about this book is how they connected the plots to the everyday life of the people who lived during these times. Thinking about all the death in Shakespeare, you don’t really think about how normal it was to see people being executed in those times when reading his plays now and how they would react to that on stage particularly when they were seeing the real deal off stage. The background and research is just so perfectly done and keeps you curious and intrigued and slightly worried why you are (haha!).
An incredibly intriguing read, if this is kind of thing that fascinates you, I highly recommend.
Now I shall exit (no bear fortunately!).
(I received an arc from Netgalley for honest review).