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A brilliant reading of Shakespeare's world yields a new understanding
of the man and his genius.
A young man from the provinces-a man
without wealth, connections, or university education-moves to London. In a
remarkably short time he becomes the greatest playwright not just of his
age but of all time. His works appeal to urban sophisticates and
first-time theatergoers; he turns politics into poetry; he recklessly
mingles vulgar clowning and philosophical subtlety. How is such an
achievement to be explained?
Will in the World interweaves a searching account of Elizabethan
England with a vivid narrative of the playwright's life. We see
Shakespeare learning his craft, starting a family, and forging a career
for himself in the wildly competitive London theater world, while at the
same time grappling with dangerous religious and political forces that
took less-agile figures to the scaffold. Above all, we never lose sight of
the great works-A Midsummer Night's Dream, Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet,
Macbeth, and more-that continue after four hundred years to delight and
haunt audiences everywhere. The basic biographical facts of Shakespeare's
life have been known for over a century, but now Stephen Greenblatt shows
how this particular life history gave rise to the world's greatest writer.
16 pages of color illustrations.
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