30 Great Myths about Shakespeare [Hardcover]

Was a real skull used in the first performance of Hamlet? Were Shakespeare's plays Elizabethan blockbusters? How much do we really know about the playwright's life? And what of his notorious relationship with his wife? Exploring and exploding 30 popular myths about the great playwright, this illuminating new book evaluates all the evidence to show how historical material—or its absence—can be interpreted and misinterpreted, and what this reveals about our own personal investment in the stories we tell.

Myth 1 Shakespeare was the most popular writer of his time 6

Myth 2 Shakespeare was not well educated 11

Myth 3 Shakespeare’s plays should be performed in Elizabethan dress 18

Myth 4 Shakespeare was not interested in having his plays printed 26

Myth 5 Shakespeare never traveled 34

Myth 6 Shakespeare’s plays are politically incorrect 40

Myth 7 Shakespeare was a Catholic 47

Myth 8 Shakespeare’s plays had no scenery 54

Myth 9 Shakespeare’s tragedies are more serious than his comedies 60

Myth 10 Shakespeare hated his wife 66

Myth 11 Shakespeare wrote in the rhythms of everyday speech 72

Myth 12 Hamlet was named after Shakespeare’s son 80

Myth 13 The coarse bits of Shakespeare are for the groundlings; the philosophy is for the upper classes 86

Myth 14 Shakespeare was a Stratford playwright 94

Myth 15 Shakespeare was a plagiarist 99

Myth 16 We don’t know much about Shakespeare’s life 106

Myth 17 Shakespeare wrote alone 113

Myth 18 Shakespeare’s sonnetslC×