Shakespeare biography

The only non-fiction book I’ve read this year, not including Playboy and The Bible, is a biography of William Shakespeare by one of my favourite writers, Bill Bryson. It was given to me as a present a few years ago more of the strength that I am a Bryson fan rather than being an avid devotee of ‘the baird’. I studied Romeo and Juliet at high school, and to be honest I found it rather difficult to get my head around Shakespeare’s use of language. It is gospel that Shakespeare had a wonderful grasp of the English language. I do not refute this, but for some reason I struggle with his work. We went to see Hamlet at the King’s Theatre and I did not have a clue what was going on. I laughed when everybody else laughed, etc, and I enjoyed the bloody ending but most of it was lost on me. I am a late developer in most areas of life so maybe I’ll come to appreciate and enjoy his work in my fast approaching middle age. I liked Baz Lurman’s version of Romeo and Juliet, but this was more to do with Lurman’s vivid and quirky direction. I quite enjoyed Kenneth Branagh’s cinematic take on Hamlet and Much Ado About Nothing but maybe they should provide subtitles for idiots like me so that we can keep abreast with the plot and character development, etc. Anyway, back to Bryson’s biography of Shakespeare. It’s succinct, well researched and insightful. He does the best he can with the limited evidence and knowledge of Shakespeare. Of course we would love to know more about this much celebrated and enigmatic genius but I was actually quite content learning about the different aspects of Elizabethan culture. Bryson does a good job of bringing it all to life. It is anything but dry and academic. Bryson’s last four books have not been travel books. The memoir of his childhood was a journey of sorts but not a physical one. Maybe he is tired of travelling and being away from his home and family. Or maybe he just wants to widen his literary scope. He certainly has the talent and skill to write about anything. He could write about the mating habits of salamanders and turn it into a best seller.
Shakespeare by Bill Bryson 8/10