Shakespeare's Freedom

by Stephen Greenblatt

Shakespeare lived in a world of absolutes—of claims for the absolute authority of scripture, monarch, and God, and the authority of fathers over wives and children, the old over the young, and the gentle over the baseborn. With the elegance and verve for which he is well known, Stephen Greenblatt, author of the best-selling Will in the World , shows that Shakespeare was strikingly averse to such absolutes and constantly probed the possibility of freedom from them. Again and again, Shakespeare confounds the designs and pretensions of kings, generals, and churchmen. His aversion to absolutes even leads him to probe the exalted and seemingly limitless passions of his lovers.

Greenblatt explores this rich theme by addressing four of Shakespeare’s preoccupations across all the genres in which he worked. He first considers the idea of beauty in Shakespeare’s works, specifically his challenge to the cult of featureless perfection and his interest in distinguishing marks. He then turns to Shakespeare’s interest in murderous hatred, most famously embodied in Shylock but seen also in the character Bernardine in Measure for Measure . Next Greenblatt considers the idea of Shakespearean authority—that is, Shakespeare’s deep sense of the ethical ambiguity of power, including his own. Ultimately, Greenblatt takes up Shakespearean autonomy, in particular the freedom of artists, guided by distinctive forms of perception, to live by their own laws and to claim that their creations are singularly unconstrained.

A book that could only have been written by Stephen Greenblatt, Shakespeare’s Freedom is a wholly original and eloquent meditation by the most acclaimed and influential Shakespearean of our time.

Genres: Shakespeare, Nonfiction, Literary Criticism, History, Literature, Criticism, Theatre

168 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Stephen Greenblatt (Ph.D. Yale) is Cogan University Professor of English and American Literature and Language at Harvard University. Also General Editor of The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Eighth Edition, he is the author of nine books, including Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare; Hamlet in Purgatory; Practicing New Historicism; Marvelous Possessions: The Wonder of the New World; Learning to Curse: Essays in Early Modern Culture; and The Swerve: How the World Became Modern. He has edited six collections of criticism, is the co-author (with Charles Mee) of a play, Cardenio, and is a founding coeditor of the journal Representations. He honors include the MLA's James Russell Lowell Prize, for Shakespearean Negotiations: The Circulation of Social Energy in Renaissance England, the Distinguished Humanist Award from the Mellon Foundation, the Distinguished Teaching Award from the University of California, Berkeley. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Philosophical Society. He lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and in Vermont.

Stephen Jay Greenblatt is a Pulitzer Prize winning American literary critic, theorist and scholar.

Greenblatt is regarded by many as one of the founders of New Historicism, a set of critical practices that he often refers to as "cultural poetics"; his works have been influential since the early 1980s when he introduced the term. Greenblatt has written and edited numerous books and articles relevant to new historicism, the study of culture, Renaissance studies and Shakespeare studies and is considered to be an expert in these fields. He is also co-founder of the literary-cultural journal Representations, which often publishes articles by new historicists. His most popular work is Will in the World, a biography of Shakespeare that was on the New York Times Best Seller List for nine weeks.

Reviews

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Autonomy in the strict sense is not a state available for any sentient creature.” (3.5 stars)

“Shakespeare’s Freedom” is an academic text put out by the University of Chicago Press. It is not for the casual reader, and I think readers of Mr. Greenblatt’s “Will in the World” are not necessarily the target audience for it. At times, the text suffers under the weight of academic pretentiousness. I hate it when academics write for other academics and this text occasionally falls into that trap.
The book explores the idea of autonomy through the themes of monarchy/absolute power, physical attributes, hatred and the act of artistic impulse/creation as it relates to Shakespeare. It usually makes for interesting reading, if you already have an interest in the subject matter.
The chapter that focuses on hatred in Shakespeare is probably the best. Greenblatt makes some fascinating observations on Shakespeare’s Venetian plays (“Othello & “Merchant of Venice”) and the role hatred plays in each.
Overall, if already predisposed for the subject matter it is worth the read. If you are not a Shakespeare aficionado, I don’t see you enjoying it.
For reference, I would suggest being familiar with the following Shakespeare plays in order to fully appreciate some of the points Greenblatt makes: “Coriolanus”, “The Merchant of Venice”, “Measure for Measure”, “King Lear”, “Othello”, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, “Comedy of Errors”, “Hamlet”, “Romeo & Juliet”, “Antony & Cleopatra”.
I enjoy Mr. Greenblatt's thoughts. I make it a point to read what he thinks about Shakespeare, as my brain is always pricked.

[Sarah - All The Book Blog Names Are Taken · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely more academic than his other works - don't be fooled by the slimness of the volume. Full review to come

+++++

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Rating: 3 Stars

Do not be fooled by the slimness of this volume. This is by far Greenblatt's more academic work relating to Shakespeare, as compared to Will in the World (also very good though, from what I hear. It's on my to-read list, I hope to get to it soon). This might come as a surprise but there is a ton of information packed into this one, despite only being 160 pages. Greenblatt explores the themes of beauty, hatred, power/authority, and autonomy and he does so well, almost too well.

I think I would have rather heard this as a lecture instead of reading it, as it is a bit dry. However, it is interesting nonetheless due to the content. It is not yet another book about what we *might* know or suppose happened in Shakespeare's life. Instead, Greenblatt looks at his plays and uses them to explore said themes as mentioned above. It might bother some that some of the lesser-known (if there is such a thing) plays are used as opposed to say, numerous obvious examples from Hamlet or Romeo and Juliet, etc. This is a must for any Shakespeare fan, but probably not as enjoyable for the casual reader.

[Kyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

After diving into biographies on Shakespeare, it was refreshing to read more about his works, rather than the unknowable aspects of his life, and I was impressed with how Greenblatt went from one play to the next as fast as lines from the plays were conjured in my mind. Also respect that he didn't select obvious passages from well-discussed plays (Hamlet is mentioned less than Coriolanus, for instance). Setting up his discussion on the limits imposed on Shakespeare, and how he challenged them in various ways is an intriguing approach to understanding why he wrote as he did, but still it is only a guess. I was tipped off about Greenblatt while reading Contested Will, especially how Shapiro points out in one of Greenblatt's earlier books his attempt to speak with the dead, but only hears his own voice (Shapiro, 2010, p. 198). To write so confidently about what Shakespeare thought about beauty, hatred, authority and autonomy is really just an assumption about what someone in a vastly removed society might have felt. Yet even if it is an American professor instead of the English playwright, these thoughts are still relevant to anyone who can still find new ideas in the 400-year old words. His final conclusion, similar to Nick Hornby's 'he wrote for money' is that the plays and poems were "brought into the literary marketplace under the sign not of obligation, duty, self-improvement, academic prestige or aesthetic seriousness but of pleasure." (Greenblatt, 2010, p. 99)

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this book Greenblatt explores how Shakespeare dealt with four different topics - female beauty, hatred, power, and self-autonomy - in his works in regard to the norms and ideas of the time. Greenblatt's argument is that Shakespeare lived in a world of absolutes, but through his work explored the boundaries of these ideas, and often rejected the absolutist ideas of the time. I don't think that Shakespeare was by any means unique in questioning and exploring the norms of the time, but it was interesting to see the ways he did play with these ideas. Short book (about 150 pages), but dense especially if you aren't familiar with the plays mentioned. The book felt slightly unfinished to me, there was no conclusion of the arguments at the end of of section or the end of the book.

[Brian]

The different sections of the book are nominally linked by discussions of freedom and autonomy in various forms, but (unlike other Greenblatt books) the overarching argument in this one matters less than insights into each play that you get along the way. The last chapter in particular begins by introducing Adorno's concept of "aesthetic autonomy" and proceeds to investigate the degree to which Shakespeare qualifies as a precursor, a pursuit that strikes me as a merely academic structure, a somewhat empty form, whose primary value is simply to organize a series of individually very useful observations about various poems and plays. Greenblatt's formidable intellect here shines in bright gleams, more memorable to me as individual gems than as steps to a new overall understanding of Shakespeare. That does not make the book any less valuable. It's a short easy read, and everywhere Greenblatt focuses his attention he shows me something I would make use of if I were ever a dramaturg for that play.

I'm guessing these chapters are each separate essays derived from Greenblatt's Harvard lectures. If so the students are certainly getting great material. Greenblatt's always a good read.

[John Fredrickson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a difficult book to follow. There were numerous spots in the book that I had to read more than once to try to stay with the logic of his text, which means either that the book is a sequence of subtle arguments, or that the text wanders a bit. Not sure, ultimately, although I have marked the book as a candidate for a future re-read.

The book is essentially a collection of five very short essays on Shakespeare and the context in which he lived and worked. There are lots of times in the essays where Greenblatt raises points that I personally felt were enlightening.

One example of the difficulty I had with some of the book is within the essay on Hatred. In this section, Greenblatt goes into a somewhat extended discussion of hatred of Jews over time, but much of this discussion seemed divorced from the Elizabethan aspects of this, though the section does obviously discuss Shylock. I had difficulty as well with the essay on the "Ethics of Authority".

[Dong Luo · Rating 4 out of 5]

四悲四喜和R&J外加几首全诗背诵的十四行诗构成了我对莎士比亚著作的全部认知，因此整本书对我来说有些难，我无法做到对莎翁每部戏剧如数家珍般知晓剧情和文字内容。但作者在探讨十四行诗的黑夫人和艺术家创作理念的自由和更高的艺术价值追求方面还是挺有价值的。夏洛克那部分因为早已在文学课上同老师讨论过许久莎翁是“反犹太主义”还是“反-反犹太主义”所以观感程度一般。整本书我大概需要再把莎翁大部分作品全看完后才能更投入地阅读这个类文学理论批评又类散文书评的作品。

[Tom Mulroy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The depths of the Bard

A very interesting take on the structures used by Shakespeare and the values they imply. Greenblatt is a prodigious genius and his expertise is on full display.

[Joe Isler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Insightful essays on several plays and their take on the human condition. Poetic freedom is unbounded, but Shakespeare portrayed his most sympathetic characters as recognizing the societal limits of their freedom and, conversely, his most unsympathetic characters as trampling over those limits.

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Greenblatt explores several themes in Shakespeare's works. Whilst interesting, it's also very much an academic piece.

[Carl Holmes · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pure, unadulterated boredom. He could make reading a milk carton seem more exciting. If you love Shakespeare, avoid this one.

[Ilia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quite a rambling and discursive essay collection, where the point is often difficult to assertain.

[Paige · Rating 3 out of 5]

maybe if i knew what the fuck this guy was talking about i probably would’ve enjoyed it a lot more. and this is coming from someone who knows way too much about the plays already

[Yulia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stephen Greenblatt is one of the deepest and lucrative interpreters of Shakespeare's art, his language, form and sense. Out of all criticism of Shakespearean works, Greenblatt's scores higher than any other in analyzing and structuring the workings of Shakespeare's inexhaustible imagination and its drive - freedom to create his literary world of the real-world material of his time and challenging its foundational pillars: expanding the limits of art and language, offering an alternative view of beauty with an ironical commentary on the standards of his time, 'humanizing' those endowed with the divine authority. And, making theater more powerful, independent of social constraints and rich in artistic devices realm for creating art in freedom with 'absolute limits'. Language becomes the key tool, allowing for the freedom of expression (no wonder he is credited with adding 2000 new words - for telling more about more).

[Cam Mannino · Rating 3 out of 5]

In a book that's a bit more academic than his eminently readable bestseller, Will in the World, Stephen Greenblatt explores arenas in which Shakespeare tested the boundaries set on his freedom. Clearly steeped in Shakespeare's work and world, Greenblatt shares examples of Shakespeare's unconventional attitudes toward beauty, hatred, the power of monarchs and artistic license and at the same time demonstrates the Bard's realistic assessment of the limits on his freedom that his time and place required. What emerges is a nuanced picture of a man who rejected the absolutist regimes of his time finding beauty where others found ugliness, who dared to show both the necessity of authority and its pitiful limitations, who relished his own artistic freedom while being wary of where it might lead. If you love Shakespeare and know his work reasonably well, this is one of those slightly tough books that makes you work a little so the rewards are that much sweeter.

[T. Tokunaga]

This is the first time I read Greenblats' work, and I enjoyed his profound analysis of each works, especially Othello a lot. The 2nd chapter was also very enlightening for me, but I felt a kind of awkwardness while reading it. I attributed it to my limited language skill as a non-native speaker of English, but it's not that simple, judging from the top review saying it was a bit of job to read it through.

The essence of the uncomfortableness is probably owing to his acclaim for Shakespeare as a modern man, which can be called a central dogma of this collected treatises. I don't fully agree with the viewpoint to have an image of the titan as an independent colossus. I can't prove it scientifically for my limited ability as a freshman of university, but I personally presume he was more like a playwright who was really dependent on others and tried to make a portrait in a convex mirror of 'freedom,' which was rather a desperate aspiration of a pusillanimous man.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lucid and insightful, this is a brief but rich examination of the limits and freedoms, both external and internal, that governed and generated Shakespeare's art and professional life. Greenblatt's readings of the plays and poems are always illuminating and occasionally inspiring, and his analysis of contemporary thinking on issues such as ideals of beauty, artistic autonomy, and political absolutism, is informative if not (inevitably, no doubt) exhaustive. As one might expect from a book that has its origins in a series of lectures, the individual chapters are not quite as closely interwoven as perhaps they could be - and the third and fourth ("The Limits of Hatred" and "Shakespeare and the Ethics of Authority") do not seem to fit the main theme quite as well - but everything that Greenblatt writes convinces, and sends us back to Shakespeare with enhanced knowledge and vision.

[Mac · Rating 2 out of 5]

Knowing nothing about the history of this book, I wouldn’t be surprised if it started out as a paper presented at an academic conference. It has the tone of an academic writing specifically for other academics. I know my Shakespeare and have enjoyed other of Greenblatt’s work, but this book was utterly opaque to me. I couldn’t quite grasp the central theme and the points he made seemed at times only tangentially related to whatever that central theme was. I read this a few years ago though, so it’s not super fresh in my memory.

[The American Conservative]

'Shakespeare’s Freedom is Greenblatt’s best book and a tribute to Shakespeare’s power. If we read his plays long enough with care and intelligence, he will free us from the critical blinders we impose upon ourselves and open our eyes to the deepest truths about human nature. That is the way in which Shakespeare’s freedom can become our own.'

Read the full review, "Shakespeare At Liberty," on our website:
http://www.theamericanconservative.co...

[Colin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recommend you bring your A-game to this one. It's not long, but it is dense. This is in a sense a celebration of Shakespeare. He's analyzed as an author both part of and separate from the culture in which he wrote. Though I've read biographies of The Bard, part of me thinks this little book gets to who he may have been more than anything else.

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the greatest works of scholarship on WS's use of language and his underlying vision of the universe -- striking out against abstract ideals and bent on seeing the details of particular cases -- ultimately a work of political philosophy and a powerful attempt to make the case for humanism. Excellent preface to Greenblatt's later work on tyranny.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent look at themes in Shakespeare's work. The book consisted off four distinct chapters and my only complaint is that there could have been a better attempt to tie the four topics into the author's overarching thesis.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://peaseblossom.typepad.com/drown...

[Cora · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book really helped me develop my thesis for my final paper. Greenblatt does a great job making sense of how Shakespeare saw beauty, power, and his society.

[Tom Wascoe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Intellectually interesting and well written. Reads like what it is-a lecture. Author has a point to defend and gathers the evidence from Shakespeare and other sources to defend it.

[Pete · Rating 4 out of 5]

makes me want to read coriolanus; good insight on shakespeare's idea of autonomy, the boundaries of the early modern self. slightly too much adorno but whatever, live and let live.

[Cynthia Egbert · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think that I would prefer to actually hear this lecture or at least listen to this as an audiobook. It was a lot of material to absorb in a small volume.

[Milo D]

A short book, but there are a few gems, most notably Greenblatt's reading of Coriolanus in the final chapter.

[bookinglibrarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four fascinating essays exploring Shakespeare's characters in relation to notions of freedom and related topics.