Will in the World

How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare

By: Stephen Greenblatt

Narrated by: Peter Jay Fernandez

Length: 15 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

Award-winning author Stephen Greenblatt is one of the most influential literary thinkers in the world. An acclaimed interpreter of Shakespeare's works, his ideas have changed the way countless people approach the classics. Now Greenblatt's uniquely brilliant voice delivers a magnificent biography of the Bard himself.

It is impossible to have any understanding of literature and not be familiar with William Shakepeare. He has influenced Western culture more than any other author. But how were Shakespeare's remarkable accomplishments even possible? How could a man without wealth, connections, or a university education move to London and quickly become the greatest playwright of all time? In this emerging narrative, Elizabethan England is reawakened, and we at last understand how Shakespeare became a legendary figure.

Don't miss Stephen Greenblatt talking about his book at the 2005 New York Times TimesTalk event, The Enigma of Shakespeare.

©2004 Stephen Greenblatt (P)2004 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic reviews

"This wonderful study, built on a lifetime's scholarship and a profound ability to perceive the life within the texts, creates as vivid and full portrait of Shakespeare as we are likely ever to have." (Publishers Weekly)

One of the Best Biographies of the Bard

As a conectural biography this is really pretty good. The author summarizes what is known about Shakespeare and then uses lines from the plays to speculate about what he may have been like socially, religously and politcally. The author also gives a detailed snapshot of the Elizabethian era. This book makes me want to explore Elizabethian and Jacobean drama and biography in more depth.

For Fans of History and Language

I took a chance on this book because, in spite of studying three or four of his plays in high school, I knew almost nothing about Shakespeare or his world. The author's depiction of the social, political and cultural landscape of Elizabethan England may be highly speculative as other reviewers have noted, but I found it interesting and credible. The notion that 15th century political elites were paranoid about the entertaiment industry shows that some things never change. It's easy to picture Shakespeare walking the fine line between political correctness and wicked satire.
The book is beautifully written and read. It's a little deep in places but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Good reading and good Shakespeare insights

Even though I found some of the author's reasoning a push, and, although some of his conclusions smack of wishful thinking (we would all like the world's greatest author to be the world's greatest dad), the information was useful and well presented. The book never lapses into acedemic rhetoric. Greenblatt doesn't hit you over the head with his vocabulary or assume that you are a scholar before you read this book. If you are interested in Shakespeare, you will be interested in this story. If the hero hadn't written Hamlet, no one would care if his wife was illiterate.

So insightful!

Excellent and thought-provoking, would recommend to literary scholars and anyone who appreciates a good storyteller

Just as good the third time

I've heard this three time now. The last time was after Anonymous came out because I couldn't see how anyone could think that Shakespeare wasn't Shakespeare. I still can't.

This may be may favorite book on Shakespeare. This book covers how young Shakespeare became the Barb. The detail is amazing and the narration is outstanding.

Interesting conjectures

As other reviewers have said, this work is full of “ could have… might have… may have “. The author does weave together many fascinating possibilities and observations about Shakespeare’s life from the threads of his plays and the relatively sparse primary sources.

Absolutely wonderful!

Greenblatt makes Shakespeare’s world come alive. He uses events and quotes from the plays to illustrate that world and in the process highlights the plays themselves. I plan to listen again - it was that enjoyable.

Good background information

You have to like reading about the historical environment surrounding creative works to enjoy this book. If you've ever wondered about Wm Shakespeare as a person you will like the detailed information in this book about his family, education and personal life. I don't understand how anyone could complain that this book is warped by political correctness. It simply pursues theories and possibilities about the poet and author. Of course some judgment was applied. The author admits frequently that the record is incomplete. It is well worth the read if you enjoy history.

Will in the World

Although this is a "high dive" in that the paucity of information makes speculation inevitable, Greenblatt does an excellent job in bringing together what is known about Shakespeare and Elizabethan society to deepen our understanding of the political, religious, social and economic factors that must have influenced him. While "must have" and "might" reoccur often, on the whole the interpretion is sensible and practical. The PC charge is off the wall. This fellow must have been reading another book.

Loved reading Greenblatt's New Historicism angle

This book came out in 2004 and I am delinquent about reading books - but better with audiobooks. The New York Times at the time said this is of Greenblatt who is the father of New Historicism in Literature: He attempts to look at the context in which a book or play was written to draw insights into the author's thinking.

Not much was left of Shakespeare's personal letters (probably none) or personal effects. This new approach is surely speculative. For example Shakespeare meeting Edmund Campion who was a Catholic martyr at Stratford (Shakespeare's parents were hidden Catholics in the times of Elizabeth I). No one knows if this happened. But the fact that there were multiple beheadings, dismemberments and public displays of beheaded people surely would have had an effect on Shakespeare and his contemporaries and could explain why he deliberately obfuscated his true self and why he did not leave traces of himself. Shakespeare's troupe was also called the King's Men during King James's reign. Some of the plays were written as compliments to the King which isn't surprising but they were nuanced and sophisticated like all of Shakespeare's plays and sonnets.

So I enjoyed this book a lot. It is written in elegant prose and the narrator was great. I would recommend it to anyone.,