William Shakespeare is the ultimate writer of our century. It is not only the theatrical performances, his books, his poems, the endless literary studies and the countless cinematic metaphors for his works and personality, that overwhelm us on an almost daily basis. Shakespeare has become the bard not only of the 21st but also of the 20th century. It has been at the spearhead for many decades. Comedy and drama, the game of power and death, fierce love, but also the power of madness or the depth of hatred, greed and cunning can run from one end to the other of his speech, but that which has made him the leader of all time and all nations, something that much Harold Bloom would not have difficulty signing with both hands, is his ability to transform immediately, more than 400 years after the somewhat glorious end of, in a symbol of everything.
This is exactly what the dense shows book by Bill Bryson (Bill Bryson) “Shakespeare: The whole truth about his life”, which has just been translated by Eleni Vahlioti from Metaichmio publications. It is a kind of biography which is read as a novel, but also as a thriller with great research ambitions.
Towing traveler, high-level humorist and narrator ready to convey to the general public difficult scientific topics, Bryson, who has written the widely read and much-discussed “Short Story of Everything” [σχεδόν](Translated by Andreas Michailidis, Metaichmio 2020), and has dusted off everything that has been written about Shakespeare from the period of his great theatrical fame and prosperity to the present day, he wants to talk about the major playwright without being trapped in heavy or narcissistic interpretations figures, but also without succumbing to the teratologies (even conspiracy theories) that his biographies sometimes contain. So, the author’s principle, as he prepares to unfold the rug for Shakespeare’s life and work, is demystifying agnosticism: we know far less about his case than has been the case at times. of.
What exactly was the bond with his wife, which has always remained invisible? What happened to his two daughters? Why, although we call him “Elizabethan”, did his most important plays take place during the reign of James, Elizabeth’s successor? Exactly what roles in his works did he choose to play as an actor? Where was the “Globe”, its famous theater, and how similar is it to its current eponymous space? How did the audience of his time start to love the theater and pay dearly for the performances when there were not yet good theaters and performance halls? How similar was Shakespeare to other famous writers of his day, such as John Webster or Christopher Marlowe? Why did he write such extensive and versatile works? What did he have to do with homosexuality or the black beauties that his sonnets praise? Why was he not as rich as he once thought but now? How much did he love Stratford where he was born in 1564 and died in 1616? What English did he write, why did he prefer their older versions, and how did he translate them into the language of a glorious homeland? How did he compose on the one hand “Romeo and Juliet”, “King Lear”, “Hamlet” and “Coriolanus” and on the other “Very bad for nothing” and “Strigla who became a lamb”? What are the handwritten forms that represent his tragedies and comedies? What happened to his inheritance and the disposition of his property? And yet, what was it that led to the questioning of his existence as a writer?
Bryson does not ask questions to answer them comprehensively, but to open up a series of critical questions, summarizing the centuries-old debates, quests, and controversies surrounding Shakespeare. And Bryson is by no means asking for definitive conclusions, to round out unresolved questions or to close gaps and gaps by force. It is enough for him to enliven the theatrical, the urban, the class and the health (see the plague pandemics) of 16th century London, to give some brilliant spots of the beginning history of the theater, but also to create an atmosphere suitable for learning ( more to feel) what Shakespeare was, offering us a guide that will help us realize the magnitude of his work, as well as decipher the mystery of his art without the slightest seriousness.
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