Who Was William Shakespeare?: An Introduction to the Life and Works

What kind of world made the man who was capable of producing so many of the world’s literary masterpieces, and what kind of life did he live? In this fascinating new book, Dympna Callaghan explores the question of Shakespeare’s life in order to throw new light on his works. Organized as a series of juxtapositions between his life and writing, Who Was William Shakespeare? provides a clear guide to selected plays and sonnets, while deepening our knowledge about the writer’s literary achievement and his historical moment. Shakespeare’s life cannot explain his works, but it can help us to understand them.

Note on the Text ix Acknowledgments xi Part I The Life 1 1 Who was William Shakespeare? 3 2 Writing 23 3 Religion 47 4 Status 61 5 Theatre 79 Part II The Plays 97 6 Comedies: Shakespeare’s Social Life 99 The Comedy of Errors 99 The Taming of the Shrew 108 Love’s Labour’s Lost 119 A Midsummer Night’s Dream 125 The Merchant of Venice 132 Much Ado About Nothing 138 As You Like It 146 Twelfth Night, Or What You Will 153 Measure for Measure 159 7 English and Roman Histories: Shakespeare’s Politics 177 Richard II 177 1 Henry IV 182 Henry V 192 Richard III 198 Julius Caesar 204 Coriolanus 210 8 Tragedies: Shakespeare in Love and Loss 223 Romeo and Juliet 223 Hamlet 232 Othello 241 King Lear 252 Macbeth 260 Antony and Cleopatra 266 9 Romances: Shakespeare and Theatrical Magic 277 The Winter’s Tale 277 The Tempest 284 Index 295

Dympna Callaghan is William L. Safire Professor of Modern Letters at Syracuse University and President of the Shakespeare Association of America, 2012–13. She is the editor of the Arden Shakespeare Language and Writing Series and coeditor, with Michael Dobson, of the Palgrave Shakespeare Studies series. Her publications include Shakespeare Without Women (2000), The Taming of the Shrew: A Norton Critical Edition (2009), Shakespeare’s Sonnets (2007), The Impact of Feminism in English Renaissance Culture (2006), and Romeo and Juliet: Texts and Contexts (2003).

"Dympna Callaghan′s lucid and well–structured textbook allows students to see the plays in their context." ( Times Literary Supplement , 25 October 2013) "The book should interest readers who are curious about Shakespeare′s life and the social and political history of England. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower–division undergraduates through faculty; general readers." ( Choice ,  1 August 2013)