Reading notes: 'Will in the World'
By Stephen Greenblatt. This is a historical, occasionally speculative biography of Shakespeare, with particular attention to how overlooked features of Elizabethan England can help us understand Shakespeare's work.
- It's excellent.
- Other reviews (e.g., this and this) overstate just how speculative it is.
- Just about anyone who reads this book ought to become a better reader of Shakespeare.
- This reminds me of Abe, David S. Reynolds' biography of Abraham Lincoln centered on American culture of the mid-1800s, which is a favorite of mine. Books not primarily classified as history books make some of the best history books.
- It's pretty hard to even try to wrap my head around the violence and cruelty in everyday Elizabethan life. (The methods of public executions of Catholics remind me of the worst torture threats from the villains in Lonesome Dove.)
- I like to read all prefaces, appendices, and so on, so I read through the whole chapter-by-chapter literature review at the end. It was remarkably pleasant and informative.