Of course, the books they've... At first glance, Bill Bryson seems an odd choice to write this addition to the Eminent Lives series. He says, “All the world’s a stage,/ And all the men and women merely players.” The meaning of this phrase is that this world is like a stage show, and all human beings are merely actors. "All the world's a stage" is the phrase that begins a monologue from William Shakespeare's pastoral comedy As You Like It, spoken by the melancholy Jaques in Act II Scene VII Line 139. He's like the teacher you always hoped to get – the brilliant, funny, cool one who (to use a real example) sat cross-legged on the table at the front of the room and told the most amazing stories and made you sorry when the class was over, rather than the one who turned the lights off and showed irrelevant slides to a group of uninterested and often napping art students at the deadly time of 3:00 in the afternoon. It also explores the political, social, cultural and economic background to Shakespeare's work. This 200-page biog contains about as much information as we casual readers need on Shakespeare. The author of 'The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid' isn't, after all, a Shakespeare scholar, a playwright, or even a biographer. This audiobook was a perfect companion for a long road trip. 74 Reviews "William Shakespeare, the most celebrated poet in the English language, left behind nearly a million words of text, but his biography has long been a thicket of supposition arranged around scant facts. Print. A kingdom for a stage, princes to act And monarchs to behold the swelling scene! In all of England the population was between 3 and 5 million. Apparently NOBODY knows anything interesting about Shakespeare's life or personality -- all we have are 3 bad portraits (one sketch from memory, one statue that was whitewashed of all detailed features, and one decent portrait that might be of someone else entirely); a few legal documents (with only 6 signatures, 3 of which may have been forged for him since he was too ill to write much then); almost nothing whatsoever about his wife (except her name and date of death); etc, etc... Nobody even interviewed his surviving relatives and friends about him -- the first biography came out a hundred years after his death and has been proved to be mostly wrong anyway. The 199-page book is part of Harper Collins' series of biographies, "Eminent Lives". William Shakespeare, the most celebrated poet in the English language, left behind nearly a million words of text, but his biography has long been a thicket of wild supposition arranged around scant facts. A lot of biographies can be bogged down by completely unnecessary information which causes the page number to rise to the thousands. He genuinely loves his subjects, and it is infectious. There were no standardized spellings for English words, so a lot of what. Shakespeare: The World as Stage. Payne thought that the book was "an accessible, sensible" life of Shakespeare but felt that the author should have discussed his personal feelings about the subject. Mar10 by Jordan. My best memory of learning about Shakespeare was being asked to write an essay on the use of natural symbolism in "A Winters Tale". Some twelve thousand words, a phenomenal number, entered the language between 1500 and 1650, about half of them still in use today, and old words were employed in ways not tried before. Jacques has spoken this famous phrase in Act-II, Scene-VII of the play As You Like It. But why would I want to read a wry Midwesterner on Shakespeare? HarperPress, 2007 - Dramatists, English - 200 pages. So much of what we think we know about him is drawn from scarce fragmentary evidence and a high proportion of assumption and falsehoods on behalf of even the most preeminent Shakespeare scholars. The 199-page book is part of Harper Collins' series of biographies, "Eminent Lives". (I’ve listened to several audiobooks where Bill Bryson reads his own work, so when I read his books, I can hear his voice and imagine his smile while I read.). Thankfully (or regretfully, perhaps), I or anyone else is at little risk of having the Bard's work spoilt by too much biographical information of its creator. Shakespeare: The World as Stage (Eminent Lives) by Bill Bryson available in Hardcover on Powells.com, also read synopsis and reviews. And there are merits to both viewpoints. Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. Buy Shakespeare : The World as Stage at Walmart.com Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Shakespeare: The World as a Stage by Bryson, Bill at AbeBooks.co.uk - ISBN 10: 0007479638 - ISBN 13: 9780007479634 - HarperPress - 2012 - Softcover Bill Bryson is an old friend. Everything we know about him seems to be questionable and when you don't know anything conclusive about someone, that leaves a lot up to discussion. ― Bill Bryson, quote from Shakespeare: The World as Stage “General admission for groundlings—those who stood in the open around the stage—was a penny. Free 2-day shipping. William Shakespeare, the most celebrated poet in … Shakespeare: The World as Stage is a biography of William Shakespeare by author Bill Bryson. Only one man had the circumstances and gifts to give us such incomparable works, and William Shakespeare of Stratford was unquestionably that man- whoever he was. Jacques has spoken this famous phrase in Act-II, Scene-VII of the play As You Like It. Bill Bryson, who has now written books on everything from the history of the universe to the origins of our domesticity to America in the 1920s and, perhaps most endearingly, stories of his various travels around the world, here turns his attention to William Shakespeare. Bill Bryson is one of those authors I keep hearing about, keeping feeling intrigued, and yet I never really read. Origin of All the World’s a Stage. 2016 (5) 2009 (1) 2008 (6) 2007 (15) 2006 (1) Language. Shakespeare: The World as Stage Paperback – April 26 2016 by Bill Bryson (Author) › Visit Amazon's Bill Bryson page. At first glance, Bill Bryson seems an odd choice to write this addition to the Eminent Lives series. [4], "Bryson's Guided Tour of Shakespeare's World – Minus the Man Himself", The Road to Little Dribbling: More Notes from a Small Island, The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Shakespeare:_The_World_as_Stage&oldid=1011931612, Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz work identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 13 March 2021, at 17:30. It was fascinating to learn that most of what has been presented to us as biography is in fact, conjecture. Shakespeare: The World as a Stage (Bill Bryson) I love reading Bill Bryson's work. I would definitely include it on a list as one of my most enjoyable biographies in recent memory. 74 Reviews "William Shakespeare, the most celebrated poet in the English language, left behind nearly a million words of text, but his biography has long been a thicket of supposition arranged around scant facts. At the outset - if you are looking for a scholarly tome on the life and times of William Shakespeare, you are going to be disappointed. This is middlebrow secondary work, not any sort of textual analysis. Welcome back. He also explores Shakespeare's 'lost years'. I knew the author for his humorous side, and I was intrigued by the gender gap, so I bought it for myself. I'm really not a fan of Shakespeare but reading this book really did help explain his popularity, at least in my mind. The speech compares the world to a stage and life to a play and catalogues the seven stages of a man's life, sometimes referred to as the seven ages of man. It also explores the political, social, cultural and economic background to Shakespeare's work. Having being forced to study him for A-Level English and worship at the alter of Shakespeare like a good student I was also suprised how little is known about him. There's nothing wrong with Bryson's writing... but he just doesn't say very much, because there ISN'T anything to say. In 1642, the English playhouses and theaters were closed down (and often dismantled for building materials) as the English Civil War began. The emphasis right from the beginning was how little we actually know about the life of William Shakespeare. The emphasis right from the beginning was how little we actually know about the life of William Shakespeare. Shakespeare's company planned for years to operate its own Apparently NOBODY knows anything interesting about Shakespeare's life or personality -- all we have are 3 bad portraits (one sketch from memory, one statue that was whitewashed of all detailed features, and one decent portrait that might be of someone else entirely); a few legal documents (with only 6 signatures, 3 of which may have been forged for him since he was too ill to wr. Shakespeare: The World as Stage - Ebook written by Bill Bryson. Bryson plays detective after explaining that this is not his field and he is sharing his finds of what he discovers by talking to a lot of experts. After reading this book I have learned loads about Shakespeare - NOT! Through Jaques, Shakespeare takes the audience on a journey of the complete lifecycle of a human being, made particularly vivid by its visual images of the different stages of an Elizabethan’s life. Shakespeare: The World as Stage Bill Bryson Considering the hundreds of thousands of words that have been written about Shakespeare, relatively little is known about the man himself. Free 2-day shipping on qualified orders over $35. Shakespeare: The World as Stage Bill Bryson Considering the hundreds of thousands of words that have been written about Shakespeare, relatively little is known about the man himself. Showing all editions for 'Shakespeare : the world as stage' Sort by: Format; All Formats (28) Book (6) Print book (18) eBook (6) Large print (4) Refine Your Search; Year. We’d love your help. It explains why facts are missing, what we can conjecture and why people still read and love his work today. The focus of the book is to state what little is known conclusively about Shakespeare, and how this information is known, with some discussion of disproved theories, myths, and that which is believed by the public but not provable. He was the right age (just two months older than Shakespeare), had the requisite talent, and would certainly have had ample leisure after 1593, assuming he wasn't too dead to work.”, “And there was never a better time to delve for pleasure in language than the sixteenth century, when novelty blew through English like a spring breeze. William Shakespeare, the most celebrated poet in the English language, left behind nearly a million words of text, but his biography has long been a thicket of wild supposition arranged around scant facts. First Read: Shakespeare: The World As Stage (Think) Tae Kang, Kimie Nagata, Alexis Salazar, Alisa Ajjimanont Period 1 Question 1 For what purpose does the author list sources of media coverage of the authorship controversy at the beginning of the selection? Women had to be played by men on the stage,. The entire book addresses the dearth actually known about the Bard. Alternatively, you could choose a more expedite path. “All the world’s a stage” from As You Like It by William Shakespeare All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts, His acts being seven ages. More By and About This Author. Bill Bryson (Author) 4.4 out of 5 stars 1,599 ratings. William Shakespeare, the most celebrated poet in the English language, left behind nearly a million words of text, but his biography has long been a thicket of wild supposition arranged around scant facts. Also I never really appreciated how he changed the way English is spoken, probably because I don't know enough about the history of spoken English. Read this book using Google Play Books app on your PC, android, iOS devices. They also offer a more intimate setting with the use of artificial light. Being a slightly cocky and beligerent teenager I turned in an essay entitled "Why Shakespeare is literatures greatest plagiarist", obviously this was not well received but having read this book I think some of my points were pretty salient. Well, that was a quick and easy read, very pleasant too thank you Mr Bryson. I just finished reading Turing's Cathedral: The Origins of the Digital Universe by George Dyson. Stage and screen after Shakespeare. Read this excerpt from the prologue of Shakespeare's play Henry V, in which King Henry is referred to as Harry. It was fascinating to learn that most of what has been presented to us as biography is. Shakespeare was both an The result is … OMG! It really isn't a biography,as Shakespeare the man,remains shrouded in mystery.It certainly came as a surprise to me,that practically nothing is known about the man. He lived for many years with his English wife and four children in North Yorkshire. Having being forced to study him for A-Level English and worship at the alter of Shakespeare like a good student I was also suprised how little is known about him. Wodehouse, a soupçon of Sir Osbert Lancaster and a cup of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. At first, it honestly felt like Mr. Bryson was begrudgingly completing a college research paper and, becoming exasperated by the lack of factual information, instead presented a (very interesting) history of Elizabethan London! The Powder Treason was a group who planned to blow up barrels of gunpowder underneath the Palace of What a match: Bill Bryson, expat American with a well-known love of the English language (see The Mother Tongue, 1990), takes on the life of Will Shakespeare (1564-1616), with his exceedingly well known ability to shape that language into works of genius. Those of you who are familiar with his oeuvre would know that he is a "love-him-or-hate-him" author: people either love his snarky humour, or hate it with passion. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted here illegally. One can be firm of purpose and blithe at the same time, it turns out; one can write a seriously entertaining book. Bill Bryson. Citation formats are based on standards as of July 2010. Bryson doesn't go incredibly in-depth with this work but I applaud him on that. ‘ All the world’s a stage ’ is the opening line from a monologue by a character, Jaques, in William Shakespeare’s play, As You Like It. His travel books have delighted me for years and his books on English usage have also been very amusing and fun. In the work he cites scholars such as Stephen Greenblatt, Frank Kermode, Edmond Malone, Samuel Schoenbaum, Caroline Spurgeon and Charles William Wallace. I can't say I know much more about Sweet Will now than I did before reading the book, but Bryson is not to blame. Buy Shakespeare : The World as Stage at Walmart.com The book also addresses the colorful history, characters, and conspiracy theories behind the Shakespeare authorship question. Refresh and try again. I still can’t answer that. At Goodreads have some excellent audiobook recommendations for you books on English usage have also been amusing. 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