Book review of "1599"

Book #11 for 2020

James Shapiro argues that 1599 was the most productive year of Shakespeare's life in which he wrote 4 plays: "Henry the Fifth," "Julius Caesar," "As You Like It," and the innovative "Hamlet." It is a remarkably detailed sketch of the political and cultural context of the time. Politically, Queen Elizabeth is being tested by the rumors of the Spanish Armada attacking English shores, the Irish Rebellion is depleting soldiers and resources from the country, and the maneuvers of various individuals further heighten the political reality.

More compelling, however, is the cultural context (Shapiro is known as a cultural historian): the theatre is truly the most impressive form of entertainment, the construction of the Globe theatre, Shakespeare's role as entrepreneur (he becomes a shareholder of the Globe theater), book banning, censorship, and the unique aural culture of the Elizabethan era. We see the death of honor culture and the rise of a modern sensibility that would come to define the time and many of Shakespeare's plays.

This book is a stout 400 pages, and many sections dug too deeply for a popular audience. I imagine Shapiro was straddling between the desire to write a popular press book and the fear of the critical academic eye in the background. The chapter on holidays bore me, frankly. The most captivating chapter is called "Essays and Soliloquies" because it leaves aside the political history for the moment and delves further into the literary inspiration for "Hamlet." I found it fascinating how the invention of the personal essay (attributed to Montaigne) inspired some of the most novel soliloquies. It’s from these soliloquies that we see the complex interplay of the human mind that was present in the play and much of literature afterward.

One final note. Consuming this book during such an unprecedented time reminded me of the power of reading. As we manage the disruption of our work, our families, and our lives with the coronavirus, we must remind ourselves that perspective matters. It is not what happens to us but rather the way in which we perceive the event. As Hamlet astutely remarks, "there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so."

Happy Reading!