Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare
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| Length: | 15 hours, 15 minutes | ||||||||||
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Overview
A young man from the provinces—a man without wealth, connections, or university education—moves to London. In a remarkably short time he becomes the greatest playwright not just of his age but of all time. His works appeal to urban sophisticates and first-time theatergoers; he turns politics into poetry; he recklessly mingles vulgar clowning and philosophical subtlety. How is such an achievement to be explained?
Will in the World interweaves a searching account of Elizabethan England with a vivid narrative of the playwright's life. We see Shakespeare learning his craft, starting a family, and forging a career for himself in the wildly competitive London theater world, while at the same time grappling with dangerous religious and political forces that took less-agile figures to the scaffold. Above all, we never lose sight of the great works—A Midsummer Night's Dream, Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Macbeth, and more—that continue after four hundred years to delight and haunt audiences everywhere. The basic biographical facts of Shakespeare's life have been known for over a century, but now Stephen Greenblatt shows how this particular life history gave rise to the world's greatest writer. 16 pages of color illustrations.
Will in the World interweaves a searching account of Elizabethan England with a vivid narrative of the playwright's life. We see Shakespeare learning his craft, starting a family, and forging a career for himself in the wildly competitive London theater world, while at the same time grappling with dangerous religious and political forces that took less-agile figures to the scaffold. Above all, we never lose sight of the great works—A Midsummer Night's Dream, Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Macbeth, and more—that continue after four hundred years to delight and haunt audiences everywhere. The basic biographical facts of Shakespeare's life have been known for over a century, but now Stephen Greenblatt shows how this particular life history gave rise to the world's greatest writer. 16 pages of color illustrations.
Reviews (12)
couldnt bear it
Written by diaphanous on November 5th, 2007
- Book Rating: 1/5
One of the first books I have had to return. I was interested in a biography, and had not read much of his work. The author refers extensively to his books and if one has not read them, the book is not of much use.
Will - Well Done
Written by Anonymous on August 22nd, 2007
- Book Rating: 4/5
The author did an excellent job of weaving William Shakespeare's personal life into his professional playwriting. Interesting, informative, entertaining, and enlightening. Excellent audio book.
A lot of words
Written by Anonymous from Sterling, VA on December 4th, 2006
- Book Rating: 1/5
I thought this might have been new research about Shakespeare. It's not really. The author infers a lot about Shakespeare's life through history and his writings. All of it is guesswork, which might be interesting for a college text book, but as someone who as studied Shakespeare and literary criticism for a couple of decades, the claims in this book stand on shaky ground. I do not recommend it.
Will in the World
Written by Anonymous from Raleigh, NC on April 4th, 2006
- Book Rating: 5/5
Good stuff - interesting suppositions about Shakespeare's personal relationships and interesting insights into backgrounds and personalities of various characters. Particularly well read.
Interesting and well summarized
Written by Emma Tsai on January 11th, 2006
- Book Rating: 3/5
Thought this was a very interesting peak into William Shakespeare. The author does a good job of explaining Will's influences in his work, mixing history with factoids about his life.
Not "Shakespeare in Love," thank goodness
Written by C Curran from Dillard, GA on November 11th, 2005
- Book Rating: 5/5
This book is a great introduction to Shakespeare's life and works. The writing is both imaginative and thoughtful. Moreover, the author is careful to be clear when he is speculating about a part of Shakespear's life that he does not really know anything for sure. The book may be too academic for some, but I found it to be a joy to listen to.
Alas, poor Yorik, there is no abridged version.
Written by Deneb on October 25th, 2005
- Book Rating: 2/5
Unless you are avid fan of Shakespeare, this unabridged audio book will likely be a struggle to get through. Renting it with the desire to learn more about Shakespeare's life so as to better appreciate his work, it became clear while listening the reverse was true: Those well versed in Shakespeare's work will appreciate Greenblatt's attempts to piece together Shakespeare's life.
Yawn.
Written by Lisa Murray from Milford, CT on July 10th, 2005
- Book Rating: 1/5
I tried to get into this, but just couldn't. By the fourth disc I gave up.
Will in the World: How Shakespeare became Shakespeare
Written by Peggy Turrill on June 25th, 2005
- Book Rating: 5/5
An outstanding book that tells of England during the life of Shakespeare. Tremendous insight into the man, the country and the religious factions at work. Compelling listening and reading.
Loved it!
Written by Anonymous from Davis, CA on June 7th, 2005
- Book Rating: 5/5
This was a wonderfully enjoyable book packed with information. The authors did a masterful job of keeping me intrigued about how they were going to either debunk or confirm myths about Shakespeare. Waiting for the next CDs ....