darla78's review
informative
slow-paced
2.75
In some ways, very informative of Shakespeare's time, the cultural/societal norms and political motivations during his life. That said, most of what is shared is firmly stated conjecture in an attempt to piece together Shakespeare's life, of which in reality we know very little.
rogerjpatterson's review against another edition
4.0
Filled with open speculation, Greenblatt creates plausible realities for key themes in Shakespeare's plays. Best parts are the discussions of individual plays: the factors that influenced them, how they demonstrate Shakespeare's development, and elucidation of the themes they contain.
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
gmpipicella's review
informative
slow-paced
4.5
Incredible storytelling for non fiction, really paints the scenes
kayman17's review
4.0
A weird, but very fascinating bio on some very educated guesses on Shakespeare's biography. Very illuminating on the intellectual and literary history in these days. Sometimes borders on near conspiracy on details of people in his life. If you just hear out Greenblatt (and maybe not take everything as Gospel), and see that he has fascinating insight on this great author, this is a highly enlightening work! My only issue was with the nature of the author's speculation. Would absolutely recommend this biography to others!
cjdawn236's review
3.0
Parts of this were an interesting read, but overall I did not love it. The author attempts to use historical documentation of the time, and Shakespeare's own plays to draw conclusions about his life, but at times it felt like he was stretching things a bit far. Of course, given the lack of historical documentation and evidence that exists, this is basically the story for any biography about Shakespeare.