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Shakespearean: On Life and Language in Times of Disruption
"A remarkable book that takes us to the heart of Shakespeare's art and influence."—James Shapiro
When Robert McCrum began his recovery from a life-changing stroke, he discovered that the only words that made sense to him were snatches of Shakespeare. Unable to travel or move as he used to, the First Folio became his "book of life"—an endless source of inspiration through which he could embark on "journeys of the mind" and see a reflection of our own disrupted times.
An acclaimed writer and journalist, McCrum has spent the last twenty-five years immersed in Shakespeare's work, on stage and on the page. During this prolonged exploration, Shakespeare’s poetry and plays, so vivid and contemporary, have become his guide and consolation. In Shakespearean he asks: why is it that we always return to Shakespeare, particularly in times of acute crisis and dislocation? What is the key to his hold on our imagination? And why do the collected works of an Elizabethan writer continue to speak to us as if they were written yesterday?
Shakespearean is a rich, brilliant and superbly drawn portrait of an extraordinary artist, one of the greatest writers who ever lived. Through an enthralling narrative, ranging widely in time and space, McCrum seeks to understand Shakespeare within his historical context while also exploring the secrets of literary inspiration, and examining the nature of creativity itself. Witty and insightful, he makes a passionate and deeply personal case that Shakespeare’s words and ideas are not just enduring in their relevance – they are nothing less than the eternal key to our shared humanity.
When Robert McCrum began his recovery from a life-changing stroke, he discovered that the only words that made sense to him were snatches of Shakespeare. Unable to travel or move as he used to, the First Folio became his "book of life"—an endless source of inspiration through which he could embark on "journeys of the mind" and see a reflection of our own disrupted times.
An acclaimed writer and journalist, McCrum has spent the last twenty-five years immersed in Shakespeare's work, on stage and on the page. During this prolonged exploration, Shakespeare’s poetry and plays, so vivid and contemporary, have become his guide and consolation. In Shakespearean he asks: why is it that we always return to Shakespeare, particularly in times of acute crisis and dislocation? What is the key to his hold on our imagination? And why do the collected works of an Elizabethan writer continue to speak to us as if they were written yesterday?
Shakespearean is a rich, brilliant and superbly drawn portrait of an extraordinary artist, one of the greatest writers who ever lived. Through an enthralling narrative, ranging widely in time and space, McCrum seeks to understand Shakespeare within his historical context while also exploring the secrets of literary inspiration, and examining the nature of creativity itself. Witty and insightful, he makes a passionate and deeply personal case that Shakespeare’s words and ideas are not just enduring in their relevance – they are nothing less than the eternal key to our shared humanity.
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First published September 3, 2020
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About the author
Robert McCrum
65 books41 followersRobert McCrum is an associate editor of the Observer. He was born and educated in Cambridge. For nearly 20 years he was editor-in-chief of the publishers Faber & Faber. He is the co-author of The Story of English (1986), and has written six novels. He was the literary editor of the Observer from 1996 to 2008, and has been a regular contributor to the Guardian since 1990
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
May 8, 2022
It’s unusual to see a book about Shakespeare on your local library’s in-house display of new and notable reads (though the American edition was published a full year after the original UK one appeared) and as a devotee of the Bard, I had to pick this up. I am likely to enjoy or at least appreciate anything engaging with Shakespeare, and this hews to the trend.
This is less a scholarly treatise or a literary (or literature-inspired) memoir, and more a series of extended musings on Shakespeare’s work and life intertwined with the author’s own personal experiences as a human and with Shakespeare’s oeuvre. The chapters (some short, some long) keep to the chronology of Shakespeare but read to me as unfocused at times and hop back and forth between the author’s memories and Tudor history in sometimes disjointed ways. Some of the author’s observations and historical anecdotes are new or particularly insightful for me, but the use of endnotes rather than footnotes obscures some of the scholarly work that must be in evidence and leaves these claims feeling unsubstantiated. He is also prone to inserting quotes from the plays and poems without clear connection to his own prose; it seems evident that he believes the link to be clear, but I found them obvious about half the time, and rather more like non sequiturs for the remainder.
The book blurb also made it sound as though the volume would really engage with the author’s story of stroke and aphasia, where Shakespeare’s works were one of the only sources of meaning that weren’t garbled, but this was only a background anecdote to the larger story, which centered more on the author’s observations about how Shakespeare’s oeuvre is timely in the 21st century, with numerous references to the 2016 US election, Brexit, and COVID-19.
Does this book add anything to the canon of Shakespearean criticism or derivatives? It’s hard to say, but my largest takeaway is that while Shakespeare remains universally accessible and relevant (though often requiring initiation or guidance at first), the true magic of Shakespeare is his uncanny ability to speak to everyone so individually. The author’s experiences are clearly unique and his alone, but the fact that Shakespeare resonates so deeply with him, with me, and millions of others now and throughout history, is the true hallmark of his genius.
This is less a scholarly treatise or a literary (or literature-inspired) memoir, and more a series of extended musings on Shakespeare’s work and life intertwined with the author’s own personal experiences as a human and with Shakespeare’s oeuvre. The chapters (some short, some long) keep to the chronology of Shakespeare but read to me as unfocused at times and hop back and forth between the author’s memories and Tudor history in sometimes disjointed ways. Some of the author’s observations and historical anecdotes are new or particularly insightful for me, but the use of endnotes rather than footnotes obscures some of the scholarly work that must be in evidence and leaves these claims feeling unsubstantiated. He is also prone to inserting quotes from the plays and poems without clear connection to his own prose; it seems evident that he believes the link to be clear, but I found them obvious about half the time, and rather more like non sequiturs for the remainder.
The book blurb also made it sound as though the volume would really engage with the author’s story of stroke and aphasia, where Shakespeare’s works were one of the only sources of meaning that weren’t garbled, but this was only a background anecdote to the larger story, which centered more on the author’s observations about how Shakespeare’s oeuvre is timely in the 21st century, with numerous references to the 2016 US election, Brexit, and COVID-19.
Does this book add anything to the canon of Shakespearean criticism or derivatives? It’s hard to say, but my largest takeaway is that while Shakespeare remains universally accessible and relevant (though often requiring initiation or guidance at first), the true magic of Shakespeare is his uncanny ability to speak to everyone so individually. The author’s experiences are clearly unique and his alone, but the fact that Shakespeare resonates so deeply with him, with me, and millions of others now and throughout history, is the true hallmark of his genius.
September 29, 2020
Not a fan of the description of the sole female member of his 'Shakespeare Club' as being a 'nanny' and 'fairy' who organised them, or his use of the phrase 'Anglo-Saxon' to mean white European. Other than that, some interesting productions and historical moments mentioned that I'd like to know more about, but too much conjecture and opinion stated as fact to be anything but a mildly entertaining read for people with a casual interest in Shakespeare
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 27, 2023
A fantastic homage to the relevance of Shakespeare in contemporary life.
books-abandoned
March 25, 2022McCrum does not know Shakespeare as well as he thinks. He presents the discredited belief that Shakespeare and Marlowe were rivals with Shakespeare answering one of Marlowe's plays with one of his own, even when the plays are written three years apart. He credits Shakespeare with being the first or the best at several things but is apparently underread in the other writers of the era. Shakespeare may have been the first or best now and then, but not for everything with which McCrum credits him. I gave up when he gives an old-fashioned reading of the sonnets, little realizing these contain multiple sonnet sequences, instead reading them as a unity. I got to page 128 and decided to stop wasting my time.
May 2, 2022
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I can’t get enough Shakespeare history and comparison to modern day!!!
Highly recommend!!!
I can’t get enough Shakespeare history and comparison to modern day!!!
Highly recommend!!!
May 22, 2023
I would highly recommend this book to high school students that are reading Shakespeare for the first time. It gives historical context as well as what was going on in Shakespeare's life when he was writing his plays and other works. The analysis of passages is very insightful and helped me to understand it all better.
October 23, 2022
A personal account of Shakespeare's literary history and its relevance to the modern world, I nonetheless found Robert McCrum's 'Shakespearean: On Life and Language in Times of Disruption' purposeless and uninformative. Don't get me wrong, McCrum is a great writer, and I can see the idea behind this book on paper. Having just finished it, however, I'm not sure what McCrum's central argument is. He loosely follows a chronology of Shakespeare's plays, often repeating points until the end. I can see how, as a beginner student of Shakespeare, this book would be informative. I did not get anything new from it, though. Overall, I was disappointed by 'Shakespearean: On Life and Language in Times of Disruption'. I would recommend it to anyone studying Shakespeare, but not as a general read.
August 27, 2021
Not what I expected it to be. Sometimes a bit too long winded in explanations, but still an interesting read into our relatability to Shakespeare in the modern world; it definitely gave me something to think about, but I'm not sure if I'll ever revisit it.
February 16, 2022
This is a truly fascinating book that helps explain and educate the reader about the written works of William Shakespeare in a way that, at least this non-highly educated reader of the Bard, was able to understand and enjoy. While there is just little documented facts about Shakespeare’s day-to-day living the author brings alive the time and era in which he worked. The Elizabethan and Jacobean ages spring to life and it becomes amazing to discover how the French writer Alphonse Karr’s adage “the more things change the more they stay the same”, written in 1849, still ring true today. You want pandemic; you want government upheaval; you want streets that are too often too dangerous to trod upon - you got it!
But the book is about Shakespeare and his works and Robert McCrum does a terrific job sharing words from the plays and sonnets that bolster the subtitle of his book “On Life and Language in Times of Disruption”. He is not at all shy or unsure of where he places Shakespeare in the gallery of authors - “Shakespeare is the greatest writer in the English language, possibly in any language – to most a genius; to some a god”. And while the vast majority of people who’ve had any schooling will have heard that or similar statements before this treatise provides all the proof one needs to fully embrace it as fact.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I think you will also. Just as an aside, I couldn’t resist, but the author provides a footnote at one point where he shares an observation by the journalist Bernard Levin who cobbled together a paragraph of the cliches of Shakespearean dialogue that are still in use in our daily lives which I found mesmerizing -
“If you cannot understand my argument, and declare ‘It’s Greek to me,’ you are quoting Shakespeare; if you claim to be more sinned against than sinning, you are quoting Shakespeare; if you recall your salad days, you are quoting Shakespeare; if you act more in sorrow than in anger, if your wish is father to the thought, if your lost property has vanished into thin air, you are quoting Shakespeare; if you have ever refused to budge an inch or suffered from green-eyed jealousy, if you have played fast and loose, if you have been tongue-tied, a tower of strength, hoodwinked or in a pickle; if you have knitted your brows, made a virtue of necessity, insisted on fair play, slept not one wink, stood on ceremony, danced attendance (on your lord and master), laughed yourself into stitches, had short shrift, cold comfort or too much of a good thing, if you have seen better days, or lived in a fool’s paradise – why, be that as it may, the more fool you, for it is a foregone conclusion that you are (as luck would have it) quoting Shakespeare; if you think it is early days and clear out bag and baggage, if you think it is high time, and that that is the long and short of it, if you believe that the game is up and that truth will out, even if it involves your own flesh and blood; if you lie low till the crack of doom because you suspect foul play, if you have your teeth set on edge (at one fell swoop) without rhyme or reason, then – to give the devil his due – if the truth were known (for surely you have a tongue in your head) you are quoting Shakespeare; even if you bid me good riddance and send me packing, if you wish I was as dead as a door-nail, if you think I am an eyesore, a laughing-stock, the devil incarnate, a stony-hearted villain, bloody-minded or a blinking idiot, then – by Jove! O Lord! Tut tut! For goodness’ sake! What the dickens! But me no buts – it is all one to me, for you are quoting Shakespeare.”
But the book is about Shakespeare and his works and Robert McCrum does a terrific job sharing words from the plays and sonnets that bolster the subtitle of his book “On Life and Language in Times of Disruption”. He is not at all shy or unsure of where he places Shakespeare in the gallery of authors - “Shakespeare is the greatest writer in the English language, possibly in any language – to most a genius; to some a god”. And while the vast majority of people who’ve had any schooling will have heard that or similar statements before this treatise provides all the proof one needs to fully embrace it as fact.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I think you will also. Just as an aside, I couldn’t resist, but the author provides a footnote at one point where he shares an observation by the journalist Bernard Levin who cobbled together a paragraph of the cliches of Shakespearean dialogue that are still in use in our daily lives which I found mesmerizing -
“If you cannot understand my argument, and declare ‘It’s Greek to me,’ you are quoting Shakespeare; if you claim to be more sinned against than sinning, you are quoting Shakespeare; if you recall your salad days, you are quoting Shakespeare; if you act more in sorrow than in anger, if your wish is father to the thought, if your lost property has vanished into thin air, you are quoting Shakespeare; if you have ever refused to budge an inch or suffered from green-eyed jealousy, if you have played fast and loose, if you have been tongue-tied, a tower of strength, hoodwinked or in a pickle; if you have knitted your brows, made a virtue of necessity, insisted on fair play, slept not one wink, stood on ceremony, danced attendance (on your lord and master), laughed yourself into stitches, had short shrift, cold comfort or too much of a good thing, if you have seen better days, or lived in a fool’s paradise – why, be that as it may, the more fool you, for it is a foregone conclusion that you are (as luck would have it) quoting Shakespeare; if you think it is early days and clear out bag and baggage, if you think it is high time, and that that is the long and short of it, if you believe that the game is up and that truth will out, even if it involves your own flesh and blood; if you lie low till the crack of doom because you suspect foul play, if you have your teeth set on edge (at one fell swoop) without rhyme or reason, then – to give the devil his due – if the truth were known (for surely you have a tongue in your head) you are quoting Shakespeare; even if you bid me good riddance and send me packing, if you wish I was as dead as a door-nail, if you think I am an eyesore, a laughing-stock, the devil incarnate, a stony-hearted villain, bloody-minded or a blinking idiot, then – by Jove! O Lord! Tut tut! For goodness’ sake! What the dickens! But me no buts – it is all one to me, for you are quoting Shakespeare.”
May 8, 2022
As a high school English teacher and Bard obsessive, I had to give this one a go. You don’t have to be either one to enjoy this book, though of course it helps. If you’re like me, you won’t learn much brand new here, but it’s nice to have some thoughts reinforced. This book does that. It seeks to show what it means to be Shakespearean, and it uses the American political landscape—just a little—to do so. It isn’t hard to see which side of the fence McCrum is on, either, but it’ll be okay no matter where you sit on the political fence.
The nicest part about this is how McCrum uses Shakespeare to get by. Reading and studying the Bard got him through his stroke, and through another perhaps-related illness, and he shows how Shakespeare himself was, in some ways, a regular person, like you and I—and he had to survive five or six rounds of the actual Plague, too.
I like the daily, matter-of-fact approach to Shakespearean studies. I like the extreme esoteric studies of every word and thought in the sonnets and plays as well, but it’s also nice to just see and imagine Shakespeare writing, walking, eating and talking, too. This book is more the latter than the former. There’s a lot more of the happenings at court—something Shakespeare had to be very aware of, every day. There’s also a lot of daily common sense in here. For example, was Shakespeare really ready to retire in 1613? Well, McCrum says, let’s look at his real estate deals. Shakespeare bought quite a bit of property, in and out of London, in 1613. It’s known he bought a guardhouse near the Blackfriars Theatre, in Blackfriars, so clearly he wasn’t ready to fully retire. Some property were investments, but he signed long leases for them, leases that lasted, as it turns out, much later than he did…
Stuff like that.
I read a few reviews that poo-poo some of McCrum’s remarks. Nothing he says is a lightning strike, but it seems okay to say that Shakespeare and Marlowe were maybe friendly competitors. They were the two leading dramatists at the time, and Marlowe clearly influenced Shakespeare’s early work. As much as in Shakespeare In Love? Probably not. But they were both fighting for the same entertainment dollar. A few reviewers had a problem with this. I don’t, and you won’t, either.
There may be an emphasis or two that you can learn from here. McCrum emphasizes here that Shakespeare was much more of a risk-taker in his plays than he’s normally given credit for. The author uses Macbeth to support this. Macbeth is certainly Shakespeare’s most politically daring play, but McCrum still makes the case for this a little more heavily than I’m used to. Food for thought.
So if you’re a lover of the Bard, or just curious for the first time, this one is a go for you. If you’re new to the game, McCrum mentions tons of other books you can read for more serious enrichment. His notes at the back are also good reading, by the way. Read them all at once at the end, or after every chapter. He clearly favors some sources over others, but then that’s what these guys do. Enjoy!
The nicest part about this is how McCrum uses Shakespeare to get by. Reading and studying the Bard got him through his stroke, and through another perhaps-related illness, and he shows how Shakespeare himself was, in some ways, a regular person, like you and I—and he had to survive five or six rounds of the actual Plague, too.
I like the daily, matter-of-fact approach to Shakespearean studies. I like the extreme esoteric studies of every word and thought in the sonnets and plays as well, but it’s also nice to just see and imagine Shakespeare writing, walking, eating and talking, too. This book is more the latter than the former. There’s a lot more of the happenings at court—something Shakespeare had to be very aware of, every day. There’s also a lot of daily common sense in here. For example, was Shakespeare really ready to retire in 1613? Well, McCrum says, let’s look at his real estate deals. Shakespeare bought quite a bit of property, in and out of London, in 1613. It’s known he bought a guardhouse near the Blackfriars Theatre, in Blackfriars, so clearly he wasn’t ready to fully retire. Some property were investments, but he signed long leases for them, leases that lasted, as it turns out, much later than he did…
Stuff like that.
I read a few reviews that poo-poo some of McCrum’s remarks. Nothing he says is a lightning strike, but it seems okay to say that Shakespeare and Marlowe were maybe friendly competitors. They were the two leading dramatists at the time, and Marlowe clearly influenced Shakespeare’s early work. As much as in Shakespeare In Love? Probably not. But they were both fighting for the same entertainment dollar. A few reviewers had a problem with this. I don’t, and you won’t, either.
There may be an emphasis or two that you can learn from here. McCrum emphasizes here that Shakespeare was much more of a risk-taker in his plays than he’s normally given credit for. The author uses Macbeth to support this. Macbeth is certainly Shakespeare’s most politically daring play, but McCrum still makes the case for this a little more heavily than I’m used to. Food for thought.
So if you’re a lover of the Bard, or just curious for the first time, this one is a go for you. If you’re new to the game, McCrum mentions tons of other books you can read for more serious enrichment. His notes at the back are also good reading, by the way. Read them all at once at the end, or after every chapter. He clearly favors some sources over others, but then that’s what these guys do. Enjoy!
November 7, 2021
I don’t regard myself as an expert in Shakespeare or, even, an avid reader, I have a shelf in my library of books I have read containing the plays I have enjoyed reading or seeing. I have also read a number of books about the great bard, his life and influences, including, most recently, the brilliant ‘Hamnet’ by Maggie O’Farrell, less directly about the man himself, nevertheless giving hints about his London life away from his family in rural Warwickshire. Yet, I wholly relate to the concept of ‘Shakespearean’ as described in this book by Robert McCrum, who ably connects what it is to be ‘Shakespearean’ with ‘disruption’ of 400 years later.
‘Shakespearean’ is a fascinating book, part history, part play analysis, part lexicography, how Shakespearean works become words and phrases common in modern life: showing how the word: ‘Shakespearean’ describes a time, a work and a cultural influence. Liberally sprinkled with quotations to illustrate a ‘Shakespearean’ point, makes this ever more interesting; the book is at its best, for me, when it is linked to the political scenarios since the four hundred years anniversary of his death: Obama, Clinton, Trump, Brexit and Covid among them as parallels with Elizabethan, Stuart, Essex and the Gunpowder Treason, the plague.
I listened to this on Audible, read by Ben Allen, over the space of two days on relatively long journey; I felt immersed in the book, the time being brought to life in the words written and read, quotations snippets of works encouraging further reading.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book which paints an extraordinary portrait of the man, his times and his worldwide legacy, as relevant now in our ever-changing times, as in his. I have great admiration for the knowledge and insights shared by Robert and might even check out his Shakespeare club’s blog!
‘Shakespearean’ is a fascinating book, part history, part play analysis, part lexicography, how Shakespearean works become words and phrases common in modern life: showing how the word: ‘Shakespearean’ describes a time, a work and a cultural influence. Liberally sprinkled with quotations to illustrate a ‘Shakespearean’ point, makes this ever more interesting; the book is at its best, for me, when it is linked to the political scenarios since the four hundred years anniversary of his death: Obama, Clinton, Trump, Brexit and Covid among them as parallels with Elizabethan, Stuart, Essex and the Gunpowder Treason, the plague.
I listened to this on Audible, read by Ben Allen, over the space of two days on relatively long journey; I felt immersed in the book, the time being brought to life in the words written and read, quotations snippets of works encouraging further reading.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book which paints an extraordinary portrait of the man, his times and his worldwide legacy, as relevant now in our ever-changing times, as in his. I have great admiration for the knowledge and insights shared by Robert and might even check out his Shakespeare club’s blog!
September 5, 2020
I'm an English teacher and Shakespeare obsessive so I was very pleased to receive a free copy of this book pre-publication from NetGalley in return for an honest review. I was particularly intrigued about this book as I had read about Robert McCrum's stroke and the part that he had credited Shakespeare with in his recovery (being the fragments of language that made sense to him in the aftermath of his medical crisis).
McCrum is a very knowledgeable and interesting guide to Shakespeare and - possibly more engagingly - what 'Shakespearean' has come to mean in the centuries following the death of the bard. This book is part memoir of McCrum's own experiences with Shakespeare as part of his own Shakespeare Club who attend various performances. However, it also contains so much more than this - snippets of Shakespeare's biography, historical context, information about the reception of the plays in different places and times, bits of critical analysis and commentary - the book is packed with information and supported with extensive endnotes and a bibliography.
Personally, I particularly enjoyed the bits about the plays I know best - which tended to be the tragedies and comedies. I appreciated the fact that the book was comprehensive, but found the history play sections a bit more of a challenge. I also found the structure of the book a little difficult in places - when it worked, it was like a fascinating chat with someone really interesting as it went off on interesting tangents and picked up related thoughts well. However, when it was less successful it came across as a little unstructured and random.
Having just read Emma Smith's excellent 'This is Shakespeare', I found it really thought-provoking to compare and contrast the different takes on the same material. In particular, the ideas around the end of Shakespeare's career were striking and the extent to which he reflected this in Prospero in 'The Tempest'. I also really enjoyed the way that McCrum wrote about the way that Shakespeare's plays transferred to - and became highly significant in - America, mainly because this was an area I hadn't really read about before.
Despite the little niggles, I did enjoy this and did learn some interesting new things. I would recommend this to people who are already fairly familiar with Shakespeare's plays as McCrum does anticipate that you share his passion and have a working knowledge of the texts. This is an engaging stroll through Shakespeare's works with an entertaining and lively guide.
McCrum is a very knowledgeable and interesting guide to Shakespeare and - possibly more engagingly - what 'Shakespearean' has come to mean in the centuries following the death of the bard. This book is part memoir of McCrum's own experiences with Shakespeare as part of his own Shakespeare Club who attend various performances. However, it also contains so much more than this - snippets of Shakespeare's biography, historical context, information about the reception of the plays in different places and times, bits of critical analysis and commentary - the book is packed with information and supported with extensive endnotes and a bibliography.
Personally, I particularly enjoyed the bits about the plays I know best - which tended to be the tragedies and comedies. I appreciated the fact that the book was comprehensive, but found the history play sections a bit more of a challenge. I also found the structure of the book a little difficult in places - when it worked, it was like a fascinating chat with someone really interesting as it went off on interesting tangents and picked up related thoughts well. However, when it was less successful it came across as a little unstructured and random.
Having just read Emma Smith's excellent 'This is Shakespeare', I found it really thought-provoking to compare and contrast the different takes on the same material. In particular, the ideas around the end of Shakespeare's career were striking and the extent to which he reflected this in Prospero in 'The Tempest'. I also really enjoyed the way that McCrum wrote about the way that Shakespeare's plays transferred to - and became highly significant in - America, mainly because this was an area I hadn't really read about before.
Despite the little niggles, I did enjoy this and did learn some interesting new things. I would recommend this to people who are already fairly familiar with Shakespeare's plays as McCrum does anticipate that you share his passion and have a working knowledge of the texts. This is an engaging stroll through Shakespeare's works with an entertaining and lively guide.
July 21, 2020
A very knowledgeable and well written look into what transformed Shakespeare and his works into the phenomenon of Shakespearean.
This isn’t an academic text or for beginners but sits somewhere in the middle as a gentle stroll through the subject for those who already have an interest in it.
The book takes us through the key aspects of Shakespeare’s life and his inspiration at the time while also reflecting on what has made his influence so long-standing and relevant to today. McCrum takes a conversational approach rather than sticking to a rigid structure, diverting and covering points of interest to him as they arose. Once you settle into this approach this personal style makes it very readable and adds another layer of interest.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This isn’t an academic text or for beginners but sits somewhere in the middle as a gentle stroll through the subject for those who already have an interest in it.
The book takes us through the key aspects of Shakespeare’s life and his inspiration at the time while also reflecting on what has made his influence so long-standing and relevant to today. McCrum takes a conversational approach rather than sticking to a rigid structure, diverting and covering points of interest to him as they arose. Once you settle into this approach this personal style makes it very readable and adds another layer of interest.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
May 26, 2021
I really enjoyed this! It isn't - and doesn't claim to be - a work of rigorous academic scholarship, but is nonetheless a thorough and entertaining chronicle of Shakespeare's life, work, and the life of his work. McCrum writes in a wonderfully conversational style; though at times his line of argument meanders somewhat frustratingly, the book as a whole is cohesive and reaches its conclusions in a brilliantly roundabout way. This would be a fabulous introduction to Shakespeare scholarship, and was just generally fantastically enjoyable.
February 27, 2022
“Shakespearean” is Robert McCrum's eloquent attempt to explain what it means to be Shakespearean. Exploring how the Bard went beyond just having a gift for pithy phrases of majestic quotability, McCrumb explains how he unites his language with history to become the soul of the age beyond, with writing of his own time but also all time. Most interestingly, however, is when, as part of his discussion of Shakespeare as a national playwright (and poet), McCrum takes readers through the condition of England and its audience at the time. It is interesting and eloquently written in and of itself.
January 14, 2023
The book keep oscillating between actually interesting insight into Shakespeare's writing and pedantic blithering. It's like getting trapped by an overexcited and drunk academic who just wants to infodump on you about their favorite obsession. If your Shakespeare also happens to be your favorite obsession, this is not so terrible. But if it is anything less, then this book often becomes tedious self-indulgence.
And yet the insightful parts actually are interesting, whenever McCrum manages to calm down a bit.
It's not a bad book, certainly.
And yet the insightful parts actually are interesting, whenever McCrum manages to calm down a bit.
It's not a bad book, certainly.
July 14, 2020
This author is a prolific writer who posses a vast knowledge of his subjects. Thae book provides exceptional detail about Shakespeare, his contemporaries and the social mores of his time. McCrum knows his stuff and his writing style is easy going and friendly while at the same time, highly intelligent. For anyone interested in the Bard I recommend this book and thank Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.
August 5, 2020
You can tell Robert McCrum is an expert in his field, but his expertise comes across in such a lovely way - reading this is like having a conversation with a friend rather than a professor. It's such a unique take on Shakespeare too - part memoir, part study. I enjoyed this book immensely and feel richer for having read it.
Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley who provided me with a free advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley who provided me with a free advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
October 14, 2020
A most excellent book. As a no fiction reader not an author I knew to my shame. As a would be writer, a great take on language. As a sufferer from Shakespeare overload from my youth, a very pleasant walk through all the plays in order, complete with excellent research into the social and political background. The third in a trilogy of reflections following a bad stroke. Such humanity, fascinating and redeemed the bard for me at this terribly late stage!
January 23, 2022
I was fascinated by this elaborate book which wraps a biographical portrait of Shakespeare together with a chronological analysis of his works. I was glad to find that the book is geared towards the average, general reader, meaning you don’t have to be a serious William Shakespeare scholar in order to enjoy it. Also very interesting to see the parallels drawn between Bubonic plague, rampant when Shakespeare was writing in the early 1600s, and the coronavirus pandemic of today.
January 10, 2021
This book is a grower. It took till I was about halfway through to really engage in this book. This book is basically Robert McCrum's relationship with from childhood to becoming part of a Shakespeare club. He also looks at the impact of Shakespeare on society. Really interesting but could maybe have done with being a bit shorter.
March 5, 2022
Some interesting stuff about the plays’ links to contemporary events, but there is no attempt to address the fact that a fair amount (especially, I would say, the “funny” bits) is partly or fully incomprehensible to us now in performance. And the unbalanced statement “Ireland’s capacity to enrage and perplex the English state is a long-standing feature of our history” is lazy and insulting.
November 30, 2022
For a book about language... Its really good and easy to understand, the bridges between Shakespeare's time and the world we live in today makes the playwright a lot more human.
Written in an entertaining way, would recommend to people who would like to know more of the Shakespearerean language and the poet himself!
Written in an entertaining way, would recommend to people who would like to know more of the Shakespearerean language and the poet himself!
January 9, 2025
More dense than I expected and not nearly as exciting (sorry). Maybe it’s my short attention span, but I found a lot of it forgettable. I do relate, however, to the tendency to lean on WS in times of despondency. I can’t imagine facing the task of rehabilitating one’s facilities as I consistently take them for granted.
February 2, 2021
I still don't really get Shakespeare and probably never will, but this is a very interesting and wide ranging history and analysis. I now at least know more about him, and why some people are obsessed.
September 26, 2021
Another self diagnosed intellectual who left reason some time around the first day of college and has to deal with being emotionally at the level of a normal 6 year old. And yea, any text, if massaged enough can describe anything: Shakespeare, the Bible, even Gargantua and Pantagruel.
May 5, 2022
I enjoy books about writer’s relationships with their favorite writers. A good read, with some great insights into Macbeth and Lear in particular. Not nearly as fun as Rosenbaum’s THE SHAKESPEARE WARS, though, which is always my standards for this type of book.
October 27, 2024
I don't have words for this experience. I am a very left-brain engineer who thoroughly enjoyed this trip into the world of theater and poetry. Quite a journey into the mind of a brilliant writer and poet.
Want to read
October 4, 2021FRANKLIN 822.33. READ1 AUDIO?
November 26, 2021
Maybe not the best book about Shakespeare, but one of the most personal.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews