Dragan kapicic biography of william shakespeare book

We thought it was time we offered our pick of the best books about William Shakespeare: the best introductions to his life and his work. The following is not designed to be an exhaustive list, but many of these books were written by leading Shakespeare scholars and each contains something which every fan of the Bard should know.

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What happened on this day in 1978

Jonathan Bate, The Genius of Shakespeare. Another must-read. Greenblatt is the founder of the school of criticism known as New Historicism, which, put crudely and simply, examines literary works in their original context through particular focus on the network of writings that were being produced at the time the literary text was produced.

New Historicism also uses specific events — including anecdotes — from the period to shed light on the social and political background out of which the literature was written. Greenblatt is especially interested in the idea of Shakespeare as a careful and cautious man, a businessman shoring up his earnings from his share in the theatres he worked for, and his property investments, for his retirement.

It is a good study of what makes Shakespeare so peculiar alongside his fellow Elizabethan and Jacobean writers. Kermode was often a superb close-reader of poetry and a very clear-headed critic, and this shines through here. Highly readable. His forthcoming book on will doubtless prove similarly compelling. This is our choice for a popular book on Shakespeare written by a non-Shakespearean.

Written by one of the greatest living critics, this book is perhaps the best one on the Sonnets. If you enjoyed this list, check out our pick of the 10 best books about literature and our interesting facts about the Bard. You might also enjoy our interesting Macbeth facts and our facts about Romeo and Juliet.