For years, serious scholars of Shakespeare have simply refused to discuss the anti-Stratfordian theories that the plays were actually written by Francis Bacon, Edward DeVere, Christopher Marlowe or other possible candidates. As an academic in another field, I can certainly understand why. "Oh, you study archaeology? What do you think of 'Chariots of the Gods?' Was there an Ancient Apocalypse? Is there a stargate at Giza?" A student once handed me a paper based on Internet sources that argued seriously for that last one. I gave him a D- (for at least wanting to learn something) and a few tart comments about the importance of critical thinking. Unfortunately, however, ignoring these theories only fuels the suspicion that we professional academics are all in on a big conspiracy to conceal the truth.
Shapiro treats the various theorists with respect, reviews the basis for their claims, then demonstrates the flaws in the arguments, but without denigrating the seriousness or intelligence of the people who made them. He also and studies the intellectual climate that allowed these theories to take root: the near-deification of Shakespeare in the 18th century, followed by the rise of autobiographical prose and curiosity about what sort of person the poet "really was." Shakespeare's life is actually pretty well documented, but it doesn't present the kind of portrait people wanted, so they went hunting in the plays and poems for clues, and then for people whose life histories better matched what they wanted to believe about Shakespeare as a well-read, well-traveled, wise philosopher or brooding romantic hero.
Finally, Shapiro presents strong evidence for the authorship of the plays by the actor William Shakespeare from Avon, and offers some remarkable insight into the production and staging of a play in his time. Whoever wrote the Shakespearean plays must have been a theatrical professional, not a gentleman amateur. The playwright had to know which actors were available for the roles he was writing, and what their strengths were. If one actor was going to double in two parts, a fairly common procedure, the playwright had to allow enough time for costume changes between the actor's appearance as, say, Juliet's nurse and then as Friar Lawrence. He also had to know which actors he could hire in addition to the core of the troupe, and one group of those actors had a pretty rapid turnover -- the boys who played the roles of young women, because for obvious reasons, their careers were never more than two or three years long. He had to know what the boy actors available in any given year could and couldn't do. Could a 14 year old kid learn all the lines for a part like Rosalind and handle the pressure of a role like that? Yes? Good! Is there a Welsh boy in the troupe with a terrific singing voice? Great, give him a scene in Henry IV part 1 that will let him do his stuff, singing in Welsh, the audience will love it. Come to think of it, the much-analyzed Sonnet 20 could have been inspired by auditioning boy actors for female parts. "A woman's face with nature's own hand painted . . . " was exactly what they were looking for.
And here I am, doing exactly what Shapiro warned against -- putting myself into Shakespeare's shoes and imagining what he would have thought and done. I suppose the temptation is irresistible, but at least if you're going to do it, know something about the nuts and bolts of the Elizabethan and Jacobean theater. This book is a wonderful source of information on that subject.
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Top reviews from other countries
Susan E. Wood
This entertaining and enlightening book is about a lot more than conspiracy theories.
Reviewed in the United States on 3 July 2023Verified Purchase
djb
Good read. Well written.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 28 December 2023Verified Purchase
William C. Mahaney
The Last Word on Who Wrote Shakespeare
Reviewed in Canada on 5 April 2021Verified Purchase
Francis Benoit
Super ouvrage !
Reviewed in France on 12 November 2017Verified Purchase
Peter Berlin
Shakespeare wrote Shakespeare
Reviewed in Germany on 26 April 2012Verified Purchase
