Customer Reviews

Shakespeare the Man

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1 star:		(2)

 

 

A highly readable study of Shakespeare, his plays, and his times. Rowse brings together what is known of Shakespeare and the Elizabethan era while referencing where he can some of his plays and poetry - and, I believe, he does it brilliantly. He is neither dry nor boring but thoroughly enjoyable. Purists might not care for his style, but he is entirely plausible and entertaining without being outrageous. His knowledge and respect for Shakespeare is evident. For those hungering to peel away the mystery of the great playwright, this is any excellent read. If art reflects life, we can certainly find some of Shakespeare in his own work. A favorite.

This book was one of the most confusing books I'll probably ever read. It wasn't entertaining at all.

The reviews written about the book go on about how Shakespeare was a genius. Yes, his work was brilliant, but I believe the readers who wrote the book reviews went a little overboard with their descriptions. There are many pieces of evidence showing how the author is biased and stereotyping constantly: "William Shakespeare was a man who was skeptical of all human pretensions, and saw through everything and everyone." Throughout the entire book statements like that were written, making no sense.

In my opinion, the influence that the author is trying to have on the reader is neither good nor bad. His descriptions of Shakespeare were great, but not entirely realistic. He's writing about a man who lived many years ago, and is making accusations and statements he is not sure of or able to verify; the author can only go by the writer's work and the tones of them: "Shakespeare was exceptional in his fidelity to his birthplace." I'm sure this sentence would be true in a way, but it can't be proven.

All I can say is if you ever are required to write a paper on or research William Shakespeare, don't check this book out. The sentences and words the book has aren't exactly accurate and won't give you exact information. The book isn't even all about Shakespeare; it mentions other people who were supposedly important in his life. My advice would be to not waste precious reading time reading this book.

Senior English Student 2010

Its has plenty of informations that are hard to find about Shakespeare and its pretty good book too but kinda complex of vocabularies to understand. Its help me instantly on my project. I'm average student and that book just gave me everythin what i need to know for project well I just wanna thank that author for helps

this Book is not for the newbies of shakespare. It wanders off into the land of the unknown fast.