Nine Lives of William Shakespeare

Nine Lives of William Shakespeare
Author: Graham Holderness
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 227
Release: 2013-09-12
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1441197451

Acclaimed as the greatest dramatist of all time, William Shakespeare needs little introduction. Or does he? Going beyond Shakespeare the writer and actor, Graham Holderness explores the fact and fiction, tradition and myth, surrounding Shakespeare's life. Combining biography and fictional narrative, Holderness takes a fresh critical approach to the problem of piecing together a definitive account of Shakespeare's life and work from scant historical information. Instead, this study builds upon and examines the many theories that surround the life of this well-known, yet remarkably unknown man. Nine Shakespeares are presented: writer, player, butcher boy, businessman, husband, friend, lover, Catholic and portrait. By carefully critiquing these biographies and reimagining these nine men, Nine Lives of William Shakespeare creates a unique picture of how this playwright became Shakespeare as he is understood today. Shakespeare Now! is a series of short books that engage imaginatively and often provocatively with the possibilities of Shakespeare's plays. It goes back to the source – the most living language imaginable – and recaptures the excitement, audacity and surprise of Shakespeare. It will return you to the plays with opened eyes.

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare
Author: Ari Berk
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Total Pages: 17
Release: 2010
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0763647942

Describes Shakespeare's experiences in London and his retirement to the country in a fictional account that includes excerpts from his works.

Shakespeare

Shakespeare
Author: Bill Bryson
Publisher: HarperCollins
Total Pages: 141
Release: 2016-04-26
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0062565168

Bill Bryson’s bestselling biography of William Shakespeare takes the reader on an enthralling tour through Elizabethan England and the eccentricities of Shakespearean scholarship—updated with a new introduction by the author to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death William Shakespeare, the most celebrated poet in the English language, left behind nearly a million words of text, but his biography has long been a thicket of wild supposition arranged around scant facts. With a steady hand and his trademark wit, Bill Bryson sorts through this colorful muddle to reveal the man himself. His Shakespeare is like no one else's—the beneficiary of Bryson's genial nature, his engaging skepticism, and a gift for storytelling unrivaled in our time.

The Fictional Lives of Shakespeare

The Fictional Lives of Shakespeare
Author: Kevin Gilvary
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 264
Release: 2017-12-12
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1351186051

Modern biographies of William Shakespeare abound; however, close scrutiny of the surviving records clearly show that there is insufficient material for a cradle to grave account of his life, that most of what is written about him cannot be verified from primary sources, and that Shakespearean biography did not attain scholarly or academic respectability until long after Samuel Schoenbaum published William Shakespeare A Documentary Life in 1975. This study begins with a short survey of the history and practice of biography and then surveys the very limited biographical material for Shakespeare. Although Shakespeare gradually attained the status as a national hero during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, there were no serious attempts to reconstruct his life. Any attempt at an account of his life or personality amounts, however, merely to "biografiction". Modern biographers differ sharply on Shakespeare’s apparent relationships with Southampton and with Jonson, which merely underlines the fact that the documentary record has to be greatly expanded through contextual description and speculation in order to appear like a Life of Shakespeare.

Shakespeare: An Ungentle Life

Shakespeare: An Ungentle Life
Author: Katherine Duncan-Jones
Publisher: A&C Black
Total Pages: 397
Release: 2014-09-26
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1408138069

'[A] deeply considered and stimulating book, informed throughout by the author's intimate knowledge of the literature and society of Shakespeare's age... ' Stanley Wells, TLS 'It is unquestionably the best Shakespearean biography of the new century' Jonathan Bate, Sunday Telegraph This major biography of Shakespeare was first published in 2001 to great critical acclaim. It remains highly regarded and much cited by critics and scholars. Its author, Katherine Duncan Jones was an advisor to William Boyd for his film about Shakespeare's life (A Waste of Shame). The book shows Shakespeare as a man among men and a writer among writers. He lives in a congested city, where he encounters disease, debt and cut-throat competition. His brilliance often makes him the object of envy and malice rather than adulation. He is a shrewd purchaser of property and shows no inclination to divert any of his wealth to charitable or altruistic ends. He appears to be more interested in relationships with well-born young men than with women. Duncan Jones takes us through the complexities of life in late Elizabethan and early Jacobean England in a compelling well-told story. For this paperback reissue, the author has written a new Preface, detailing some of the recent debates about Shakespeare's biography and identity.

In Our Own Image: Fictional Representations of William Shakespeare

In Our Own Image: Fictional Representations of William Shakespeare
Author: David Livingstone
Publisher: Univerzita Palackého v Olomouci
Total Pages: 346
Release: 2020
Genre: Art
ISBN: 8024456834

This publication looks at fictional portrayals of William Shakespeare with a focus on novels, short stories, plays, occasional poems, films, television series and even comics. In terms of time span, the analysis covers the entire twentieth century and ends in the present-day. The authors included range from well-known figures (G.B. Shaw, Kipling, Joyce) to more obscure writers. The depictions of Shakespeare are varied to say the least, with even interpretations giving credence to the Oxfordian theory and feminist readings involving a Shakespearian sister of sorts. The main argument is that readings of Shakespeare almost always inform us more about the particular author writing the specific work than about the historical personage.

Shakespeare's Literary Lives

Shakespeare's Literary Lives
Author: Paul Franssen
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 289
Release: 2016-01-21
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1107125618

In this book, Franssen investigates the use of Shakespeare as a fictional character in different literary genres, periods and cultures.

A Reader-Friendly Biography of William Shakespeare

A Reader-Friendly Biography of William Shakespeare
Author: Miranda M. Howarth M.A.
Publisher: AuthorHouse
Total Pages: 221
Release: 2019-06-23
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1728386101

This book is for everyone who wants to discover more about the double life of Will Shakespeare. He was born in the middle of the 16th century, in the middle of England, in the middle of turbulent times. He wasn’t a posh boy, but a provincial parvenu who took the new London theatre-world by storm. Find out how he did it!

Shakespeare and Biography

Shakespeare and Biography
Author: Katherine Scheil
Publisher: Berghahn Books
Total Pages: 142
Release: 2020-09-23
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1789209056

From Shakespeare’s religion to his wife to his competitors in the world of early modern theatre, biographers have approached the question of the Bard’s life from numerous angles. Shakespeare & Biography offers a fresh look at the biographical questions connected with the famous playwright’s life, through essays and reflections written by prominent international scholars and biographers.

The Shakespearean World

The Shakespearean World
Author: Jill L Levenson
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 679
Release: 2017-03-27
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1317696190

The Shakespearean World takes a global view of Shakespeare and his works, especially their afterlives. Constantly changing, the Shakespeare central to this volume has acquired an array of meanings over the past four centuries. "Shakespeare" signifies the historical person, as well as the plays and verse attributed to him. It also signifies the attitudes towards both author and works determined by their receptions. Throughout the book, specialists aim to situate Shakespeare’s world and what the world is because of him. In adopting a global perspective, the volume arranges thirty-six chapters in five parts: Shakespeare on stage internationally since the late seventeenth century; Shakespeare on film throughout the world; Shakespeare in the arts beyond drama and performance; Shakespeare in everyday life; Shakespeare and critical practice. Through its coverage, The Shakespearean World offers a comprehensive transhistorical and international view of the ways this Shakespeare has not only influenced but has also been influenced by diverse cultures during 400 years of performance, adaptation, criticism, and citation. While each chapter is a freshly conceived introduction to a significant topic, all of the chapters move beyond the level of survey, suggesting new directions in Shakespeare studies – such as ecology, tourism, and new media – and making substantial contributions to the field. This volume is an essential resource for all those studying Shakespeare, from beginners to advanced specialists.