1599 a year in the life of william shakespeare

The historical context of the plays and the many topical comments in them is very interesting – although the reader would enjoy the book more with an exiting familiarity with the plays (in particular the section on Hamlet becomes too detailed and hard to follow without knowing the play – this is probably the only area where the book lapses into the usual non-fiction trap of too much detail for a casual reader). Shapiro also sets Shakespeare’s year in a historical context – not least Essex’s ill fated expedition to Ireland, his subsequent and equally ill fated flirtations with some form of military coup, the ever present sense of a Spanish military threat with an accompanied Catholic uprising and (resulting from these) the growing censorship on writing which led to the playhouse becoming the only source of political comment and satire (although even that had to be carefully done). To Shapiro a crucial symbol of this was Shakespeare’s break with the company’s clown Will Kemp who until then had often dominated the plays with his post play jigs and heavily influenced Shakespeare’s writing. Shapiro argues that these plays were a turning point in his career – as he moved away from popular and formulaic plays to a more demanding spectacle. This has just been awarded Baillie Gifford Winner of Winners in a special announcement to mark the 25th anniversary of the prestigious nonfiction prize.Ī biography of the year in Shakespeare’s life in which Globe was established with Shakespeare as one of the partners and in which he completed “Henry V”, wrote “Julius Caesar” and “As You like It” and drafted “Hamlet”. Shakespeare's Sonnets and a Lover's Complaint Venus and Adonis, the Rape of Lucrece and Other Poems Tyrant: Shakespeare on Politics by Stephen Greenblattġ599: A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare by James Shapiro Shakespearean Criticism 1919-1935 compiled by Anne Ridler Shakespeare's Roman Plays and Their Background by M W MacCallum A must read for fans of theatre and history.įino's Reviews of Shakespeare and Shakespearean Criticism Painted with an even hand between history and textual analysis, Shapiro does an outstanding job of getting behind the curtains and trying to reveal to us a Shakespeare firmly rooted in his own times of turmoil and censorship. The Queen’s lover Essex makes an ill-fated invasion of rebellious Ireland as the old modes of chivalry and codes of honor begin to crumble. We see the Bard working on Henry V, Julius Caesar, As You Like It and Hamlet as the Globe Theater rises from the ground. Truly an excellent, in-depth look at the year 1599 in Elizabethan England.

1599 a year in the life of william shakespeare