Scan barcode
Reviews tagging 'Child death'
Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare by Stephen Greenblatt
1 review
jwells's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
I found this really interesting. Greenblatt weaves together the bits of solid information we have about Shakespeare's life with rich contextual background about the historical period, along with insights about the plays and poems, so that his conjectures about what may have happened in Shakespeare's life or inside his head are highly educated guesses.
I especially liked the insight into Macbeth. Why didn't they tell us in high school that this play was written with the intention of pleasing James I (VI of Scotland), who was obsessed with witchcraft and also a descendant of Banquo? How did I go so long without knowing such incredibly relevant background to such a familiar play?
Not recommended if you only want biographical information that is 100% nailed down by primary documents, fact for fact. You could read a much shorter book on Shakespeare if that's all you want. Don't complain about the gaps though. LOL
I especially liked the insight into Macbeth. Why didn't they tell us in high school that this play was written with the intention of pleasing James I (VI of Scotland), who was obsessed with witchcraft and also a descendant of Banquo? How did I go so long without knowing such incredibly relevant background to such a familiar play?
Not recommended if you only want biographical information that is 100% nailed down by primary documents, fact for fact. You could read a much shorter book on Shakespeare if that's all you want. Don't complain about the gaps though. LOL
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Antisemitism, and Infidelity
More...