A review by bookishvicky
Supernatural Shakespeare: Magic and Ritual in Merry Old England by J. Snodgrass

informative slow-paced

4.0

Thank you to City of Light Publishing for a digital copy of this book for a fair and honest review!

Supernatural Shakespeare is a detailed exploration on the supernatural properties and references in Shakespeare’s work, both references a modern reader would understand, like witches, and ones J. Snodgrass gives us context for, such as Lupercalia. Shakespeare’s use of magical creatures and references to old rites has always interested me, and this was a fun albeit slow read. 

Like with Shakespeare’s Goddess, I admired how Snodgrass gave plenty of context and background to readers who may know next to nothing of the historical and political influences on Shakespeare’s work, which helped me appreciate the supernatural analysis all the more. 

However, I feel like this text is much more dry than Goddess, and doesn’t have any witty asides or breaks from heavy analysis or history lessons. If you’re interested in the otherworldly elements of Shakespeare or want to learn more about his work in a lens outside of scholarly analysis, I do think it’s worth the read; maybe to take it section by section as you’re interested in.