Shakespeare

With Shakespeare Michael Wood has provided a wide-ranging summary of contemporary historical research regarding the most celebrated author in the English language. Beginning with an analysis of the roiling religious and political conflicts in Shakespeare’s boyhood England, Wood observes that, if "great writers are made by their times, then to be born in 1564 was to be born in very interesting times indeed." For Wood, the tensions of the times generated the modern era and formed Shakespeare, one of the first modern men.

In addition to the investigation of the political context for Shakespeare’s work, Wood also explores Shakespeare’s erotic life and the genesis of his theater career. Readers learn early on that Shakespeare’s marriage to Anne Hathaway was likely a "shotgun wedding" due to her impending pregnancy. From there, Wood speculates about the "lost years" of Shakespeare’s life: the ten year period for which virtually no documentary evidence is extant and, unfortunately, the period that marked Shakespeare’s departure from Avon and entry into London theatrical circles. Later, in the requisite investigation of the identity of the "Dark Lady" of the Sonnets, Wood revitalizes a theory dismissed by some scholars: that the woman was none other than Emilia Lanier, mistress of Shakespeare’s patron.

A companion to the PBS documentary series, the book is not comprehensive of Shakespeare studies--probably no book could be. Beyond some early investigations of Shakespeare’s Midlands dialect and some short examinations of the plays and poems, Wood provides far less close reading of the poetry and the plays than one would expect. But the book does provide a broad historical understanding of Shakespeare’s world and a flavor for his daily life. The volume is also complemented by lavish illustrations, detailed maps, and period artwork. --Patrick O’Kelley