BOOK REVIEW: Shakespeare

It has always fascinated me that there is so little information available on the best known playwright in the English language. Therefore finding Bill Bryson’s biography on the man, simply entitled SHAKESPEARE, I knew that I was on to something that would be informative as well as humorous.

The facts on Shakespeare’s life are almost nonexistent. We know that he was born in 1564. These were not good times in England; the previous decade had seen a 6 % drop in the population primarily due to the plague. What we see today as ordinary ailments could be lethal and the treatments were as dangerous. Shakespeare’s greatest achievement may not have been Hamlet, but rather the fact that he lived through infancy.

It is known that his family was fairly prosperous for the time and that his local school was a good one. The masters at the school earned more than was common at the time and were all Oxford men--a rare distinction.

The only recorded glimpses of the man himself are at his baptism, his wedding, and the births of his children. The most important years, 1585 to 1592, are almost a complete blank. We do know that he left Stratford-Upon-Avon, probably leaving his wife and children behind, to establish himself as an actor and playwright in London.

Bryson has put together a history of the mysterious man, William Shakespeare, from a vast assortment of sources. His handling of the controversy of who actually wrote these plays - that are still being performed after 500 years - is well researched. For the record, Bryson feels that all of the theories are “much ado about nothing”.

Most of all, Bryson celebrates Shakespeare’s wonderful use of language, his inventiveness of phrases, and his characters. Most of these have become such a part of our everyday life that we do not realize who originated them. Speaking personally, as one who would be lost without spell check, it boggles my mind that these plays were written without the help of a dictionary.

Bill Bryson’s writings are delightful, full of flashes of wit, entertaining while still being informative. This small book is a must for the Shakespearian fan, no matter how casual the interest.