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Shakespeare: A Life in Drama
Considering the playwright and his work, the author theorizes that Shakespeare's elusive personality is a result of his supremacy as a dramatist--that he submerged his identity in his characters--and assesses evolving meanings of the plays and poems.
- GenresShakespeare
403 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1959
58 people want to read
About the author
Stanley Wells
189 books47 followersStanley William Wells, CBE, is a Shakespeare scholar and Chairman of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
January 1, 2025
“[W]e know quite a lot [about Shakespeare’s life], but that what we know includes very little of what we should most like to know.”
So begins Well’s life of Shakespeare on page four. Without being extremely brief, it excludes all that is extraneous and includes all that is immediately of interest.
"Oral history is not to be despised, but neither is it to be trusted. In any case, even if we knew for certain that in his youth Shakespeare was a poacher, that he made speeches while butchering animals, that his death may have been accelerated by a bout of drinking, that he was once a schoolmaster, I am not sure that this would have much if any effect on our understanding and appreciation of his works. Admittedly, if, for instance, we knew that he had a strong religious commitment - that he was indeed a committed 'papist' - this might affect our reading of the plays; but the evidence is tenuous and therefore useless. Biography is interesting in its own right, and there is always the possibility that following up a clue might lead to discoveries that would genuinely illuminate the works, but literary interpretation should not be based on biographical speculation." p. 12
So begins Well’s life of Shakespeare on page four. Without being extremely brief, it excludes all that is extraneous and includes all that is immediately of interest.
"Oral history is not to be despised, but neither is it to be trusted. In any case, even if we knew for certain that in his youth Shakespeare was a poacher, that he made speeches while butchering animals, that his death may have been accelerated by a bout of drinking, that he was once a schoolmaster, I am not sure that this would have much if any effect on our understanding and appreciation of his works. Admittedly, if, for instance, we knew that he had a strong religious commitment - that he was indeed a committed 'papist' - this might affect our reading of the plays; but the evidence is tenuous and therefore useless. Biography is interesting in its own right, and there is always the possibility that following up a clue might lead to discoveries that would genuinely illuminate the works, but literary interpretation should not be based on biographical speculation." p. 12
Displaying 1 of 1 review