Stephen Greenblatt's Will in the Research Proposal

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Greenblatt also provides us with some thought into what be hidden in Shakespeare's strange epitaph. Perspective is also gleaned on many of Shakespeare's works, including the Merchant of Venice, Hamlet, Othello, and King Lear IV. He also goes into how Shakespeare only had one rival, Christopher Marlowe until 1957, when Ben Johnson emerged. The two men were similarly in age and envy. The two men "circled warily, watching with intense attention, imitating, and then attempting to surpass each other" (256). Here we see how healthy competition can spur talent. Additionally, Greenblatt delves into some of the mysterious aspects of Shakespeare's life with a convincing perspective. His marriage to Anne Hathaway is viewed fairly. Shakespeare's early marriage years and why he left for London are still elusive but Greenblatt attempts to ferret out some of the more popular theories regarding these issues. That Shakespeare did, for all intents and purposes, abandon his family is clear but why remains less so. Greenblatt realizes the negative attention that has been paid to this aspect of Shakespeare's life but instead of attempting to unravel the mystery, he acknowledges that the event certainly did occur but moves on to Shakespeare's life after Anne. He does his best to recount historical information in the chapter, "Wooing, Wedding, and Repenting." Here he attempts to find answers from Shakespeare's play, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, the Tempest, and even Hamlet to solve the mystery that surrounds Shakespeare's ill-begotten marriage.

The final chapter in the book is tastefully written without being syrupy or critical of Shakespeare. We are afforded a look into the man's life and perhaps a glimpse into his heart regarding personal issues that must have been difficult for him. Greenblatt weaves aspects of Shakespeare's literature with these significant moments in his life. When it was discovered that Thomas Quiney, Shakespeare's son-in-law had impregnated a woman other than his wife, Greenblatt pulls from the works of Shakespeare's past including the Tempest and a Winter's Tale, noting the Shakespeare was hardly a "rigid Victorian moralist" (385).

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In the end, Greenblatt notes, the "magician adjures his astonishing, visionary gift; retires to his provincial domain; and submits himself to the crushing, glacial weight of the everyday" (387). The man famous for conjuring up the most interesting characters in literature would "embrace ordinariness" (387). This is nothing for which he should be ashamed, writes Greenblatt. Within thse most exotic tales and around the most extravagant characters, Shakespeare "loved to revel the presence ordinariness in the midst of the extraordinary" (388). Greenblatt concludes the book with Shakespeare living an ordinarily content life with his daughter, Susanna and her family.

William Shakespeare is one of the most fascinating personalities in literature because his memory seems too large for us to fathom. We often see him in a superstar status, much the way superstars are seen today but it was much different world in Shakespeare's Britain. Greenblatt's rendering of Shakespeare allows us to see him as he evolved into the man that would soon have a reputation larger than life. The humble start of his life followed by an ill-formed marriage might have proven to be enough for any man but somehow Shakespeare's talent emerged from these circumstances. There is mystery and some indication of a less than perfect man but Greenblatt does well to present the man as he likely was in his time, warts and all. Will in the World is a book to read by all interested in literature and Shakespeare. The writing style does not lend itself to intellectual types but rather the common man that Shakespeare himself would have written for….....

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