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Summary: Provides factual perspective
Comment: The author has written a slim and cautionary book concerning what is factually known about William Shakespeare, including a critical look at opinions regarding various aspects of his life that have been perpetrated based on either questionable extrapolations or, worse, wishful or agenda-driven thinking. Only church documents, legal proceedings, and a few mentions by contemporaries give small hints as to his affairs. There are not even unambiguous details concerning his appearance. As the author states, Shakespeare left behind no written documents; only his signature appears a few times. One can only speculate from his poems and plays as to his basic thinking and personality. A written record of his plays exists primarily due to the very diligent efforts of two of his fellow troupe members who compiled most of his plays for publication in 1623, seven years after his death. Even they had to rely upon memory and variety of fragmentary remnants of his work, producing approximations in some cases.
The author examines Shakespeare in the context of the late sixteenth century during the reign of Elizabeth, an unusually tolerant monarch for the times, especially considering that England had transformed from being Catholic to Protestant over the last half of the 1500s. Although theaters and the production of plays flowered during the reigns of Elizabeth and James I, the times were harsh. Disease, especially plagues, and filth were rampant. Plagues closed theaters for a year or two most every decade. The openness of theater attendance scarcely concealed a highly stratified society as indicated by sumptuary laws regarding clothing, regulations concerning who could eat what, and the ability to pay fines for avoiding Anglican church attendance. Even general movement was restricted with the locking of London's gates and the forbidding of travel at night. The author sprinkles in a few interesting bits like the desirability of having blackened teeth from massive sugar consumption, the bleaching of skin by rich women, or the fact, in these highly religious times, that forty percent of brides were pregnant at the time of marriage.
This book really makes little effort at evaluating individual works of Shakespeare, be it plays, sonnets, or narrative poems. It's really not even known specifically when and in what order most of his work was produced or, in a few cases, if different titles refer to the same piece. The author notes that of 230 plays that have survived from that era, fifteen percent of those are Shakespeare's, a very fortunate situation. In a time in which printed materials became far more available piquing interest in written words, Shakespeare was quite an innovator in the use of language. He seems to have been the first user of over 2000 words that are now part of the English language, as well as the coiner of numerous phrases that are widely used today. Interestingly, apparently lifting plot ideas and even entire passages from other author's plays was entirely acceptable in that time.
Perhaps this book does fill a needed void. Separation of facts, though certainly few in number, from speculation is not to be sneezed at. Furthermore, it shows Shakespeare was not infallible. He could write totally incomprehensible passages; he did get his geography mixed up; and anachronisms are found in many of his plays. The book gives some factual perspective on one of the greatest writers in English language history, who benefited from living and working in an era of creativity that lasted only a few decades.
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Summary: makes you appreciate Shakespeare more, even if you don't think that's possible.
Comment: Bill Bryson's biography of Shakespeare has the perfect subtitle. Not just because it is so fitting for Shakespeare, but--as Bryson shows--it is a necessity when looking at the greatest genius of all humanity. Bryson cuts through the speculation and goes to what we actually know about Shakespeare the man, which is next to nothing. And yet, Bryson writes a wonderful book filled with his compellingly trademark style that engages and engrosses the reader. He focuses on the world of Shakespeare and what little we know about him, and also how wonderful he was and how lucky we are to have had him. Sure, most of the information isn't really new, but that's not the point. It, like with Shakespeare himself, is how it is done. This is going on the treasured spot on my bookshelf right next to Bryson's Mother Tongue. Grade: A+
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Summary: Bryson never fails to entertain
Comment: Shakespeare:The World as Stage (eminent Lives) by Bill Bryson
I have always found Bill Bryson"s books filled with just the right kind of humor and information. I was surprsed to see this title. This has to be the best bio on Shakespeare I've ever read and I have read alot of them. As Bryson points out, there isn't alot to tell. Somehow he manages to give you just about everything known about the man but conveys it in ways that are just plain funny. But don't think Bryson hasn't done his homework. This must have been quite an endeavor. If you like to learn about Shakespeare, you'll love this book. Long Live Bill Bryson!! gail maizel
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Summary: Crafted, concise, and fun to read
Comment: Bill Bryson's concise biography of Shakespeare is brilliantly written, humorously insightful, and entirely delightful. The prose is a well-crafted and playful presentation of the dozen odd facts known about Shakespeare and many of the suppositions, inferences, and wild speculations about the man and his work. This Shakespeare primer can be easily understood by any high-school level reader and no prior knowledge about Shakespeare is required--Bryson even helpfully informs the reader that "William Shakespeare of Stratford was unquestionably" (p. 196) the author of Shakespeare's plays and poetry, a fact that is apparently not self-evident.
Bryson has written several books including the prize-winning A Short History of Nearly Everything. The book under review is provided as a volume in the "Eminent Lives" series of concise biographies by varying authors and as such conforms to an imposed restriction on length. With a candid honesty that permeates his offering, Bryson notes that the world didn't really need another Shakespeare biography but that the "Eminent Lives" series did. Bryson is straightforward in admitting that no groundbreaking research is presented, but rather the biography gathers the known facts, the supposed facts, and much pithy innuendo into a single engaging and accessible overview. Bryson's strength, then, lies not so much in his Shakespearean expertise but rather in his obvious ability to turn a phrase.
As expected, the book presents facts about Shakespeare's life, work, and environment. The book reads much as one would expect and holds no surprise of construction, methodology, or presentation. The book is divided into chapters that establish what is known and what is generally supposed about several periods in Shakespeare's life and his environment. The book mentions most plays, several long poems, and a few sonnets; it does not present substantive literary criticism on any of the works but does briefly examine some issues of attribution. Bryson makes some attempt to place Shakespeare's materials into a general chronological order but does not tackle the thornier issues. The book's somewhat unbalanced biography is similar to all Shakespearean biography insofar as virtually nothing is actually known about the man whereas very much has been inferred. Bryson carefully notes fine distinctions between the two. For example, Shakespeare's death is presented mostly as an interpretation of his will, as that document has been discovered and can be analyzed objectively. The final chapter of the book examines the occasional academic notion that Shakespeare didn't write Shakespeare's material, and reviews some of the leading alternative theories and their attendant problems.
While nothing in the biography is new or even particularly innovative, it is nevertheless an invigorating review of extant data. Bryson brings a fresh and exciting voice to material that elsewhere often is stale in presentation. A mix of bedrock facts, such as Shakespeare's date of birth--"By tradition it is agreed to be April 23, Saint George's Day" (p. 24) in 1564--stand alongside humorous observations: "The Droeshout engraving [of Shakespeare]...is an arrestingly--we might almost say magnificently-mediocre piece of work" (p. 4). Bryson throws compellingly banal facts into the mix, too--"Shakespeare's works contain 138,198 commas, 26,794 colons, and 15,785 question marks" (p. 19). What emerges is a lovingly rendered biography of an obviously favorite subject. Those familiar with Shakespeare's life and times will find the information recast in an enjoyable way, while those unfamiliar with the topic will find the information intelligible and quite accessible. One of the book's particular strengths is the development of a sense of time and place surrounding Shakespeare as an individual. For example, Shakespeare's multi-year absence from the stage is explained by the closure of all London theaters due to plague.
Bryson's book includes nine named and enumerated chapters and a selected bibliography. It runs to 199 pages and has only a handful of footnotes. Bryson attributes several items within the book and occasionally textually refers to his sources to establish academic authority on some point. In summary, Bryson is an endlessly entertaining writer and Shakespeare - The World as Stage is an outstanding read for anyone who enjoys Shakespearean theater, good writing, or both.
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Summary: Something for everyone
Comment: I really enjoyed this quick read. I knew virtually nothing about Shakespeare; never having read much of his work, nor any explanation of his existence. I learned a good bit, stayed entertained and walked away with a much better appreciation of Shakespeare's impact on the world.
I still can't watch Laurence Olivier's Hamlet however.....
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