‘This is Shakespeare’ by Emma Smith

A swerve away from recent posts, but I wanted to share this review of an absolutely excellent book on Shakespeare. This one has definitely given me food for thought as an English teacher.

Professor Emma Smith is a Shakespeare expert and Oxford University lecturer who I had only encountered previously as a result of her 'Approaching Shakespeare' podcasts.  She really knows her subject inside out, but the refreshing thing about this book is the lightness of touch.  I've read a lot of books on Shakespeare (it comes with the English graduate and teacher territory), but few are as engaging and readable as this one without skimping on the academics.

In this book, Professor Smith takes the plays one at a time and presents a shortish essay/chapter on each.  These essays are ordered roughly chronologically, although obviously we can never be entirely sure of the exact order in which the plays were produced.  Each chapter addresses a play from a different or unusual perspective, so opens out some interesting thoughts about Shakespeare's biography, sources, intentions, themes, characters...the list goes on and Professor Smith takes the essay wherever is interesting rather than having any particular set formula for her writing.  This means she moves between topics fluidly and avoids labouring points.  Her approach is always rigorously academic and scrupulously referenced, yet full of humour and surprising elements - I loved her defence of Keanu Reeves' acting in 'Much Ado about Nothing' on the basis that it is his character rather than Keanu who is as wooden as a wardrobe!  She never shies away from more controversial ideas either, such as the idea that if 'The Tempest' was Shakespeare's swansong and the character of Prospero intended as parallel to Shakespeare himself (as is a commonly accepted idea), then perhaps we wouldn't have liked Shakespeare (as a man) much.  In other essays, she identifies plot holes, discusses source texts  and how reactions to plays have changed over the 400 years or so since they were written.  The idea isn't that this is a definitive guide, but that the plays cannot be pinned down and explained as they continue to develop different meanings to different audiences.

I feel that I've written a lot about this book without really grappling with even a fraction of the fascinating ideas put forward.  It certainly gave me a lot to think about in relation to the Shakespeare plays I know and love, but also a way into the ones I don't know so well.  It even made me reconsider the plays I know and really don't love!  

This is a fantastic book about Shakespeare for everyone from the casual reader to Shakespeare fans, from those who want to know a bit more about their favourite play to those engaged in academic study.  It is entertaining, surprising in places and entirely readable - not a given for books in this field usually.

I received a free e-copy of this book from NetGalley in return for an honest review but – Shakespeare geek alert! – I also bought my own for future reference!