Critic Reviews
Good
Based on 14 reviews on
A timely exploration of what Shakespeare's plays reveal about our divided land.
"In this sprightly and enthralling book . . . Shapiro amply demonstrates [that] for Americans the politics of Shakespeare are not confined to the public realm, but have enormous relevance in the sphere of private life." --The Guardian (London)
The plays of William Shakespeare are rare common ground in the United States. For well over two centuries, Americans of all stripes--presidents and activists, soldiers and writers, conservatives and liberals alike--have turned to Shakespeare's works to explore the nation's fault lines. In a narrative arching from Revolutionary times to the present day, leading scholar James Shapiro traces the unparalleled role of Shakespeare's four-hundred-year-old tragedies and comedies in illuminating the many concerns on which American identity has turned.
From Abraham Lincoln's and his assassin, John Wilkes Booth's, competing Shakespeare obsessions to the 2017 controversy over the staging of Julius Caesar in Central Park, in which a Trump-like leader is assassinated, Shakespeare in a Divided America reveals how no writer has been more embraced, more weaponized, or has shed more light on the hot-button issues in our history.
Isaac Butler is a writer.
ASPECTS— John M Ford THE JUST CITY— Jo Walton BETRAYED BY RITA HAYWORTH— Manuel Puig A RED DEATH— Walter Mosley DIRTY EDDIE— Ludwig bemelmans SHAKESPEARE IN A DIVIDED AMERICA— James Shapiro https://t.co/3GZ12l20EL
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'Shakespeare in a Divided America: What His Plays Tell Us About Our Past and Future' by James Shapiro reveals the lessons that Bard's plays can teach about the political turbulence of today. #BookOfTheDay: https://t.co/BfTpwfm2cv https://t.co/UW5ZdSj5lW
"Elegant, engaging, and enlightening, Shakespeare in a Divided America is a not-at-all guilty pleasure in this winter of our discontent." --Psychology Today
"Entertaining and accessible . . . Shapiro makes the case that arguments about the Bard's plays have long reflected our conflicted beliefs as a nation about hot-button issues like immigration, adultery, homosexuality and interracial love." --Associated Press
"Shapiro presents eight cases of Shakespeare's impact in a perpetually culture-clashing U.S. . . . Filling out each chapter with vivid context, Shapiro could hardly be more engaging." --Booklist
"Impeccably researched, [Shakespeare in a Divided America] focuses on how key figures in American history have experienced Shakespeare . . . A thought-provoking, captivating lesson in how literature and history intermingle." --Kirkus
"Fascinating . . . Chock-full of approachable and engaging critical analyses, this work will pique the curiosity of both Shakespeareans and anyone interested in American culture." --Library Journal
"Shapiro's wit and well-sourced anecdotes enliven his incisive analysis of more than a century's worth of American history. Written with broad appeal and expert insight, this sparkling account deserves to be widely read." --Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"In two landmark books, James Shapiro explored the depth of Shakespeare's engagement in the contested issues of his own time. Now, in the brilliantly conceived Shakespeare in a Divided America, Shapiro deftly demonstrates the playwright's intimate presence in the culture and politics of the New World. From the racist anxieties focused on Othello in the 1830s to the bitter left-right divide focused on Julius Caesar in our own time, Shakespeare's works have been uncannily central to our national imagination. This richly researched book is a continual revelation both about Shakespeare and about ourselves." --Stephen Greenblatt, author of Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare
"James Shapiro excels at bringing Shakespeare's works and worlds to life for our time. Now, in this fascinating book, he ingeniously explores how unending disagreements over the plays illuminate our national past as well as the present. Selecting powerful stories where history and literature meet, he spares his readers none of America's violent passions--or Shakespeare's." --Sean Wilentz, George Henry Davis 1886 Professor of American History at Princeton University and author of The Rise of American Democracy: Jefferson to Lincoln
"With the lightest touch and the most formidable scholarship, James Shapiro, once again, proves himself to be an irresistible storyteller. And what an exhilarating and disturbing tale he has to tell. Here is proof that Shakespeare's power remains undiminished in our divided and unhappy world." --Simon Russell Beale