A Year In The Life Of William Shakespeare

1599

by James Shapiro

James Shapiro demonstrates how pivotal events occurring in 1599 influenced the four important plays Shakespeare wrote during that year: JULIUS CAESAR, AS YOU LIKE IT, HENRY V, and at least one early draft of HAMLET. Some of these events loomed large on the historical stage, including an Irish rebellion, schemes against Elizabeth's reign and questions of the royal succession, a potential fresh attack by the Spanish Armada, and the emergence of the East India Company. Others affected Shakespeare more personally: the construction of the Globe Theatre and comic actor Will Kemp's exit from Shakespeare's theatrical company.

Editions of A Year In The Life Of William Shakespeare

ISBN

9780060088736

Binding/Format

Hardcover

Publisher

Harpercollins

Date

2005

Price

$4.50

Very Good

Publisher Notes

A lavishly detailed portrait of a year in the life of the bard traces his career in 1599, which marked the building of the Globe Theater, the English invasion of Ireland, and the creation of the plays, Henry V, Julius Caesar, As You Like It, and Hamlet.

Media Reviews

"An intriguing addition to Shakespearean studies....Sure to be hated by Harold Bloom and others who view any attempt to locate the Bard in history as blasphemy against the religion of Pure Art, but open-minded readers will be stimulated and enriched by Shapiro's contextual approach." (starred review)

Synopses

An intimate history of Shakespeare, following him through a single year--1599--that changed not only his fortunes but the course of literature. How was Shakespeare transformed from being a talented poet and playwright to become one of the greatest writers who ever lived? In this one exhilarating year we follow what he reads and writes, what he sees, and whom he works with as he invests in the new Globe Theatre and creates four of his most famous plays--Henry the Fifth, Julius Caesar, As You Like It, and, most remarkably, Hamlet. Shapiro illuminates both Shakespeare's staggering achievement and what Elizabethans experienced in the course of 1599: sending off an army to crush an Irish rebellion, weathering an Armada threat from Spain, gambling on the fledgling East India Company, and waiting to see who would succeed their aging and childless queen.--From publisher description.

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