The Year of Lear

Shakespeare in 1606

De: James Shapiro

Narrado por: Robert Fass

In the years leading up to 1606, since the death of Queen Elizabeth and the arrival in England of her successor, King James of Scotland, Shakespeare's great productivity had ebbed, and it may have seemed to some that his prolific genius was a thing of the past. But that year, at age 42, he found his footing again, finishing a play he had begun the previous autumn - King Lear - then writing two other great tragedies, Macbeth and Antony and Cleopatra.

The Year of Lear sheds light on these three great tragedies by placing them in the context of their times while also allowing us greater insight into how Shakespeare was personally touched by such events as a terrible outbreak of plague and growing religious divisions. For anyone interested in Shakespeare, this is an indispensable book.

©2015 James Shapiro (P)2016 Tantor

Reseñas de la Crítica

"[Shapiro's] well-written, scholarly exploration will stand as an influential work that is a joy to read." ( Kirkus Starred Review)

"With a voice of gentle authority and a good command of historic detail and literary deconstruction, Audie-winning narrator Robert Fass takes the listener on a fascinating tour of a pivotal time in William Shakespeare's life and career.... The American-accented Fass leaves aside classic theatrical rhythms and delivers the many passages of the Bard with a conversational clarity that is much appreciated." ( AudioFile)

Very enjoyable slice of history

This is a very enjoyable audiobook, well read, interesting set of facts. What is odd about it is the light connection with the play King Lear. It is certainly connected with Shakespeare, and Shakespeare's writings (including Macbeth). It provides a quite useful context for Shakespeare's life in 1606, but I am not quite sure that it provides a useful context for his play King Lear. As long as you understand that, that the volume does not tease out answers to the mysteries of Lear, but rather to the time & to Shakespeare's life & times, you can find the story very enjoyable.

As an answer to your questions about the play, let me recommend, recommend highly, another book available on Audible -- It is "King Lear, Shakespeare Appreciated."

Lear's Context

I must admit that only as I studied King Lear did I begin to realize how relevant it is to my life. What to tell a parent considering reducing the responsibility for her living---well how did that play out for Lear? Are we living in a world with clashing world views--well so was Lear. Working under the pressure of administrative turnover--so was Shakespeare as he wrote and performed Lear. Learning a bit more about life during the creation of King Leaf promotes understanding of this play and as a result our lives. Dr. T.

Very Interesting and Perfectly Narrated

The Year of Lear was continuously interesting to me. It is exquisitely well researched but written in a very accessible way. I taught King Lear for many years and have considerable knowledge of the history of Shakespeare’s time. That said, by reading Shapiro I learned many historical facts and gained some fascinating perspectives. Regarding his description of Shakespeare’s life in 1600, the author makes innumerable conjectures. This is also true of how he surmises that contemporary history may have entered into the composition of Lear, Macbeth, and Antony and Cleopatra. Nevertheless, the conjectures seemed reasonable and were not misrepresented as factual. I would also add that the narration was terrific.

Most thoughtful and fascinating account of 1606 England.

Stunning collection of events during the reign of James I&VI - plague, witch burning, treason - and their effects on the writings of Shakespeare

jacobean, not Elizabethan

Shapiro made clear to me how Jacobean England had a different feel than Elizabethan England did. His description of the Gunpowder Plot is the clearest that I have read, and also does a commendable job of explaining how the English public responded to it both immediately and after. Shapiro demonstrates how events in this time affected Shakespeare's writing and choice of subjects. Of course there is not a lot of data from the period, but Shapiro does find evidence that is usually ignored by most writers on this period. By definition, Shapiro's writing is somewhat speculative, but I found it quite convincing, and enlightening on subjects that I knew about. For me, a fun read.

REBELLION

As a Shakesperean scholar, James Shapiro addresses the times of Shakespeare’s plays during King James I’s reign. His history reveals the times in which Shakespeare is producing his most memorable plays. The three most relevant to this review are King Lear, Hamlet, and Macbeth.

Part of Shapiro’s theme is the use of the word equivocation. The word first appears in Shakespeare’s Macbeth. It is a common technique used in Shakespeare’s plays to avoid giving definitive answers to questions. Shakespeare is purposefully obscuring some unclearly expressed truth. It is a way of misleading without flatly lying. Shakespeare conceals the evil nature of the witches. Their predictions of Macbeth’s existence are true, but they obscure the precise truth of events that unfold.

Though Shapiro’s book is about Shakespeare’s plays, it is also about the history of an era in which the gunpowder plot of 1605, the plague, and the reign of James I occur. The events of that time offer precedent for today's makers of history. James Spiro offers an insightful history of the greatest playwright of all time. For today’s events, Shakespearean plays are as relevant today as in the 1600s.

Detailed and satisfying

Shapiro takes another journey through a year in Shakespeare's life, this time documenting the world surrounding the creation of the plays "King Lear," "Macbeth," and "Antony and Cleopatra." Elizabeth is dead, James is on the throne, and the Lord Chamberlain's Men are now the King's Men, complete with the scarlet livery they're required to wear on ceremonial occasions.

Shapiro is good at describing the political and religious currents: James wants to unite England and Scotland. A group of Catholics plot to blow up the king and Parliament and place the king's daughter on the throne. James takes up the "popish" practice of curing the King's Evil. King Christian of Denmark visits and drinks everyone under the table. Fellow playwrights are imprisoned for making fun of the Scots. A distant relative of Shakespeare's is hanged, drawn, and quartered; and his own daughter Susanna is fined for avoiding Anglican services.

It would be nice if somehow a more intimate picture of Shakespeare himself came into focus from this mass of detail, but he remains elusive. Shapiro insists he's not trying to recover Shakespeare's private life; at this point no one can. What we CAN recover is some of the zeitgeist, the issues that caused people sleepless nights, the bits and pieces of daily life, news from home and abroad; and see how these bits show up in the plays. Conclusions can at times be made about Shakespeare's artistic goals and methods: Shapiro provides an excellent guide to the differences between the two versions of "Lear" and what they may signify. But we still don't know whether Shakepeare loved his wife, or whether he preferred his beef medium rare or well done.

The narrative is detailed and at times - during the description of the Gunpowder Plot, for example - it moves forward at breakneck speed. There are many small surprises, such as the fact that Samuel Harsnett - source of the litany of devil's names in "King Lear" - is also the source of the unusual adjective "corky" (as in "bind fast his corky arms").

Fass is an excellent narrator. I was mainly familiar with him for his work on the Oxford History of the United States. He does an impeccable job here, maintaining a clear and consistent pace through the historical events and reciting the many speeches from Shakespeare's plays with genuine passion. (And, thankfully, with no attempt to assume a British accent. I'm not saying Fass himself would have been bad at this, but I've heard other North American narrators try this, with uniformly dismal results.)

It's an interesting excursion, and I recommend it.

Plague

Life goes on. Masterworks wwriten and most survive.Lear and Macbeth. Are legacy of 1606. Life continues