Shakespeare’s World

D. L. Johanyak

Average Rating 9/10 (1 Review)

This exciting and approachable text provides colorful, yet simple descriptions of Shakespeare's life, Tudor England, Renaissance Europe, and global colonialism during the 16th and early 17th centuries. Shakespeare's World opens the door to students who are curious about the Bard and his world, providing an easy-to-understand overview of the time period and key events that impacted or were impacted by Shakespeare's writing.

Review by Chrissi (140504) Rating (9/10)

Review by Chrissi
Rating 9/10
Shakespeare's World is an all-encompassing view of the man as well as the history and the environment of the times, containing details on the political, religious and sociological society in which Shakespeare lived. That may sound like a pretty tall order, but it is also more than that, it looks at his upbringing, early education and links all of this with his writings. It takes his experiences and asks if they influenced his writings, for example, asking whether the relationship between Venus and Adonis, an older woman and younger man, was part autobiographical, maybe reflecting his marriage with the older Anne Hathaway.

One of the things that I most admire about this book is the amazing level of structure and obvious labour that has gone into producing it. There are references galore, not only taken from the writings of the bard himself, but also his contemporaries and modern scholars. These are cross referenced with so many sources to best illustrate the world of Shakespeare, from Queen Elizabeth I following her victory over the Spanish, to the description of the tobacco herb / plant introduced by Thomas Hariot upon his return from Virginia. These are placed in context with other observations about the times, allowing the reader to utilise this book as a reference source, as well as reading it from cover to cover.

I have to say that this book would be of great value to any student or teacher of either English Literature or English or European History of this period. It contains what could be described as short answer questions and also constructive far reaching questions designed to make you think about the period. I think that, for students, it could be used probably from GCSE and A level up to an early University Course, as the copious references would make this an invaluable resource.
Chrissi (14th May 2004)