An Innovative, Informative Biography of the Bard
As soon as I saw this book, I knew I had to read it. So little is known for certain about William Shakespeare's life that it makes sense to explore his work in tandem with the goings-on of the day. This book is a fair balance of history and conjecture. Shapiro does not make up imaginary dialogues, but paints a thorough picture of what the Bard's life could very well have been like in the crucial year he wrote _Hamlet_. I have taught that play several times, and was thrilled to learn so much more about the process Shakespeare went through in writing it. Shapiro explains many of the ground-breaking features of other plays such as _Julius Caesar_ and _As You Like It_ as well, giving solid support for the vague contention that Shakespeare remains one of the greatest writers of the English language. The only (minor) error I noticed was that he claims introducing scenes with a Chorus is an innovation on Shakespeare's part, when Marlowe had done it in _Doctor Faustus_ a decade previously. A great way to learn more about the writer and his era.