Books about shakespeare's life

Its a hugely readable book, since bate is happy to speculate drawing on what evidence is available as to many of the great mysteries of shakespeares life. His birth and birthplace, his parents, some facts about his marriage. Very little is known for certain about william shakespeare. I especially enjoyed new information on shakespeare s family, ancestors and descendants. Thousands of books have been written about the playwright, but none has borne. A bestselling, beautifully designed edition of william shakespeares sonnets, complete with valuable tools for educators. This book has more details about william shakespeare than i knew i wanted to know. Just as surely, this must be one of the better ones for the general reader as opposed to the ph. Its sometimes said that one could cram every known fact about william shakespeare on to the back of a postcard. Greenblatts book from 2004 forms a valuable companion to bates.

S even years after shakespeares death his former fellows or colleagues published the first collected edition of his plays, the great folio of 1623, only to keep the memory of so worthy a friend and fellow alive as was our shakespeare. He is also the most famous playwright in the world, with his plays being. Shakespeares wife by germaine greer, an excellent look at domestic life in shakespeares england, and shakespeare and the goddess of complete being, a madly personal, eccentric and intriguing analysis of the complete shakespearean canon by poet ted hughes. This book was a well written and cogent explanation of shakespeares life. It is one of those special books that becomes an instant favorite. Berryman on shakespeare poet john berrymans engaging relationship with the bard in lectures and essays. William shakespeare, his life, works and influence william shakespeare was an english poet and playwright who is considered one of the greatest writers to ever use the english language. This is a guide to important print and electronic sources in for researching william shakespeares life, works, and times.

The core set of these traces, of course, consists of the printing of his name as the author of his plays and poems. Dismissive of other writers who, in his view, have imagined moments and motives in shakespeares life, he tries to rely on documentary and contextualized fact. Shakespeares life and times introduces you to the world shakespeare lived and worked in. Early modern london was an expanding metropolis filled with diverse life, from courtiers, merchants and artisans to prostitutes, beggars and cutpurses. This section of the internet shakespeare editions is like a shelf of books, each of which is listed in the navigational bar beneath the page header. Shakespeares sonnets, and his long narrative poems venus and adonis and the rape of lucrece, show a wide range of influences. Shakespeares sonnets in particular would not have been possible without the work of the fourteenthcentury italian poet petrarch. The search for william shakespeares library has always been marvelously colorful, and devilishly contentious.

The young poets relationships, his early courtship of anne hathaway, their marriage, his attitudes to women such as jennet davenant, marie mountjoy, and his own. Unfortunately, there is very little evidence remaining, so historians have pulled together multiple sources to give a sense of what his school life would have been like. Some of his books might still be out there, just waiting to be found. The best books about shakespeare interesting literature. As before, schoenbaum submits the documentary record of shakespeares life to careful consideration. Books how shakespeares great escape from the plague changed theatre. Considered the greatest writer in the english language, william shakespeare s works are among the worlds most widely read, most intensely studied, and most passionately collected.

Today the literary world is honoring the life, and death, of william shakespeare. What are the key surviving traces, unadorned by local colour, of shakespeares life. From stratford to london and back again, from upstart crow to wonder of our stage, andrew dickson recounts some of the details of william shakespeares life. John sanders also dabbled in oils and did odd bits of. The emphasis is on material available from the university of maryland libraries but some internet open sources are also included. He is widely considered the greatest playwright who ever lived. The central problem for shakespeares many biographers through the years has been the very limited extent of our knowledge of the facts of his life. Shakespeares sonnets by william shakespeare, paperback. Shakespeares life and times from the internet shakespeare editions, this site provides information on shakespeares biography, elizabethan theater, society, history, politics, and religion. It is also curious that the first folio, compiled by his. The authoritative edition of shakespeares sonnets from the folger shakespeare library, the trusted and widely used shakespeare series for students and general readers, includes. Here professor eric rasmussen and ian dejong describe the city that shaped shakespeares imagination.

There surely are thousands of books about william shakespeare. Though more is known about shakespeares life than those of most other elizabethan and jacobean writers, few personal biographical facts survive, which is unsurprising in the light of his social status as a commoner, the low esteem in which his profession was held, and the general lack of interest of the time in the personal lives of writers. This work is an account of just one year in shakespeares life 1599. Its short, light, engaging, humorous, with its distinct approach being to discount as much of the speculation about shakespeares life as possible, and instead focus solely on the facts of his life that we definitely or at least pretty definitely know. The result is a blowbyblow account of shakespeares life from birth to death, with some attention paid to the historical, political, and social world shakespeare inhabited. He was born in the english city of stratforduponavon about 100 miles northwest of london in 1564. William shakespeares life and times royal shakespeare.

And while there are scores of classics inspired by william shakespeares writing, like moby dick, by herman melvill. It is widely thought that the sonnets were a part of a private diary that was never meant to be read publicly but nevertheless were published. Shakespeares private life survive, and there has been considerable speculation about such matters as his physical appearance, sexuality, religious beliefs, and whether the works attributed to him were written by others. William shakespeare, often called englands national poet, is considered the greatest dramatist of all time.

Indeed, it is true that no books were listed in shakespeares will. In the most complete, accurate, and uptodate narrative of shakespeares life ever written, park honan uses a wealth of fresh information to dramatically alter our perceptions of the actor, poet, and playwright. His works have been translated into every major living language, and some others besides the folgers holdings include translations in esperanto and klingon, and nearly 400 years after his death, they. In the most complete, accurate, and uptodate narrative of shakespeare s life ever written, park honan uses a wealth of fresh information to dramatically alter our perceptions of the actor, poet, and playwright. The author and editor of several acclaimed shakespeare books, jonathan bate is one of the foremost authorities today on the bards life and. If you fancy an indepth study of one particular moment in shakespeares life, shapiros book is for you. William shakespeare was the son of john shakespeare, an alderman and a successful glover glovemaker originally from snitterfield, and mary arden, the daughter of an affluent landowning farmer. During his lifetime, eighteen of the plays now attributed to shakespeare were printed in the smallformat editions called quartos. Williams father was a successful leather merchant who once held the public position of alderman.

The phrase, which has reechoed down the centuries, was probably in use before his death in 1616. Learn about william shakespeares early boyhood and path to london to become a playwright and actorthis film recounts the life of shakespeare from his early boyhood through his productive years as a playwright and actor in london. You can also view art and listen to music from the period. Shakespeares life chapter 1 the cambridge companion.

Shakespeares sonnets were a collection of over 150 works that were published late in his life and without any indication of when each of the pieces was composed. What we do know about his life comes from registrar records, court records, wills, marriage certificates and his tombstone in holy trinity church, stratforduponavon. Learn about william shakespeares early boyhood and path to london to become a playwright and actor this film recounts the life of shakespeare from his early boyhood through his productive years as a playwright and actor in london. Although the amount of factual knowledge available about shakespeare is surprisingly large for one of his station in life, many find it a little disappointing, for it is mostly gleaned from documents of an official character. Located 103 miles west of london, during shakespeares time stratforduponavon was a market town bisected with a country road and the river avon. This is another great book about shakespeare that reads like a. In 1769, david garrick threw a party that put stratforduponavon on the map as a tourist destination for shakespeare fans. Early life very little is known about william shakespeares childhood. Why is william shakespeares life considered a mystery. Like a literary detective, he reconstructs as much of the elusive authors life as possible, considering his family history, his economic standing, and his reputation with his peers. He was born in stratforduponavon, where he was baptised on 26 april 1564.

While his exact birthday isnt really known, we observe it on april 23, the date he died at age 52. At age 49 around 16, he appears to have retired to stratford, where he died three years later. April 23, 1616 was an english poet and playwright and is considered a key member of the english literature canon. William shakespeares coat of arms, reproduced in 1787. Find out more about the works of william shakespeare, heralded as the worlds greatest playwright and poet. His works are loved throughout the world, but shakespeares personal life is shrouded. Shakespeare wrote at least 38 plays and over 150 short and long poems, many of which are considered to be the finest ever written in english. In his lifetime, he saw many of his plays published, the reading public drawn to his great feast of language and stories that imagined a world. My seventh and fourth graders couldnt put this book down once theyd started.

James shapiro focuses on one year in shakespeares life 1599. The young poets relationships, his early courtship of anne hathaway, their marriage, his attitudes to women such as jennet davenant, marie mountjoy, and his own daughters, are seen. This weekend marked the 400th anniversary of william shakespeares death, and though. Samuel schoenbaums shakespeares lives was metahistory before anybody used that term. William shakespeare, 15641616, english dramatist and poet, b. The first quarto editions of his early plays appeared in 1594.

Professor pearce reveals littleknown details of shakespeares life, including his catholic education, openly catholic father and daughter, his friendship with jesuit martyr st. For more than two decades, shakespeare had multiple roles in the london theater as an actor, playwright, and, in time, a business partner in a major acting company. Shakespeares work includes 154 sonnets and 38 plays. The next year, in 1593, shakespeare published a long poem, venus and adonis. Jonathan bate, the genius of shakespeare 1997 not a life from 15641616, but a biography.

Though more is known about shakespeare s life than those of most other elizabethan and jacobean writers, few personal biographical facts survive, which is unsurprising in the light of his social status as a commoner, the low esteem in which his profession was held, and the general lack of interest of the time in the personal lives of writers. In shakespeares catholicism, joseph pearce presents biographical and literary evidence proving the bards adherence to the true faith in a time of persecution and upheaval in elizabethan england. The best william shakespeare plays and books five books. The best books on shakespeares life, recommended by james shapiro. John berryman, hailed as an american poet of remarkable insight and talent, sustained a lifelong passion for shakespeare matched by only a few. Shakespeares london was home to a crosssection of early modern english culture. How shakespeares great escape from the plague changed. List of books and articles about william shakespeare online. The plot weaves details of english history and shakespeares life together with the suspenseful search for a missing diamond. An overview of shakespeares life from the folger shakespeare library, including his birth and childhood in stratforduponavon, his marriage to anne hathaway and their children, his work in the london theaters, and his final years before his death in 1616. Books shakespeares life and times eng 8 libguides at. Best shakespeare books for younger children childrens. William was the third child of john shakespeare, a leather merchant, and mary arden, a local landed heiress.