[ELO]∎ Libro Shakespeare Restless World by MacGregor Neil Hardcover Neil MacGregor 9781846146756 Books

Shakespeare Restless World by MacGregor Neil Hardcover Neil MacGregor 9781846146756 Books

Download As PDF : Shakespeare Restless World by MacGregor Neil Hardcover Neil MacGregor 9781846146756 Books

Shakespeare Restless World by MacGregor Neil Hardcover Neil MacGregor 9781846146756 Books

When you go to a museum and you look an old object, you can read a brief label about it. But in an ideal museum you would be able to read an entire essay about how an object was used and what it meant in the context of the culture of its time.

You cannot do this in a museum, because you cannot read an essay while standing in front of a glass case. But the author of this book, Neil MacGregor, lets you know what it would be like if museums had armchairs. In a previous volume, "A History of the World in 100 Objects", he takes an object, say, a Korean roof tile 1,300 years old, and explains how a person of that period would have regarded it, what it meant in the context of its time.

He has done the same thing in "Shakespeare's World" with 20 objects from Shakespeare's time. An example is a silver medallion about 2½ inches in diameter, made in commemoration of Drake's circumnavigation of the earth in 1577-80, when Shakespeare was a teenager. In order to truly under this object, you have to know that Shakespeare lived when Europeans first began to understand the world in an entirely new way, a great round globe (one of his theaters was named "The Globe"), full of brave new worlds with strange and wondrous people in them. His plays are full of references to maps (Comedy of Errors), strange lands (The Tempest) and exotic foreigners (Othello, Shylock). To have lived in Shakespeare's time was to have begun to see the world in an entirely new way, just like for us the world changed when we saw images of the earth taken from space.

Another object is a communion cup. In order to understand this object you have to know that everyone was forced to drink from such cups in church and everyone had, by law, to go the church. It helps to know this when Claudius orders Hamlet to drink from a goblet, and when Gertrude refuses to obey him when he tells her not to.

Another object is a fork, an elegant and rare object lost by some rich person in the audience while watching a play. This signifies luxury, which is associated with Italy. This chapter contains information on Elizabethan foods, and explains what Falstaff's meal would have meant to the audience: "potatoes", rare and exotic, "kissing comfits", breath mints in a land of primitive dentistry, and "sea holly", an aphrodisiac.

The book helped me to better understand Shakespeare's world and his plays. I kept wondering, however, how the author had time to both run the British Museum, and also write such fascinating books.


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Shakespeare Restless World by MacGregor Neil Hardcover Neil MacGregor 9781846146756 Books Reviews

Interesting factual data of everyday articles in the works of Shakespeare. Gave a good picture of common day life in the working class of England during the time of Shakespeare.
As a lover of Shakespeare and someone fascinated by the "trivia" of history, this was the required book. MacGregor takes 20 unrelated objects and weaves a tale that opens a window on Shakespeare and his times. This is a fine addition to Shakespeare' world. The pictures are wonderful!
good
Fascinating look at a gone world through objects. It opens up a window on Shakespeare's life and environment. Memorable.
Dr Macgregor has a unique way of teaching history. Looking at the late 16th/early 17th century in England through the eyes of Shakespeare gives us a novel way of seeing both the social and poltical aspects of the time, but also throws new (to me!) light on the great plays too. Like, who knows why there are so many sword duels in the plays? Or what happened to the theatre when the plague hit London?
I loved this book - an easy and delightful read.
This amazing history puts Shakespeare and his plays into the context of the life and times of the Elizabethan and Jacobean age. By taking simple objects, MacGregor expands the story of the object into its meaning and posistion in the lifestyle of the people. It also puts some of the quotes and references in Shakespeare's plays into context, making them so much more understandable and relevant.
I ordered this book because I enjoyed the BBC's eponymous podcast series. This book is pretty much a word-for-word transcription of the series, but its lovely design and lavish illustrations make it worth the splurge. If you liked the podcast series, you'll treasure this book.
When you go to a museum and you look an old object, you can read a brief label about it. But in an ideal museum you would be able to read an entire essay about how an object was used and what it meant in the context of the culture of its time.

You cannot do this in a museum, because you cannot read an essay while standing in front of a glass case. But the author of this book, Neil MacGregor, lets you know what it would be like if museums had armchairs. In a previous volume, "A History of the World in 100 Objects", he takes an object, say, a Korean roof tile 1,300 years old, and explains how a person of that period would have regarded it, what it meant in the context of its time.

He has done the same thing in "Shakespeare's World" with 20 objects from Shakespeare's time. An example is a silver medallion about 2½ inches in diameter, made in commemoration of Drake's circumnavigation of the earth in 1577-80, when Shakespeare was a teenager. In order to truly under this object, you have to know that Shakespeare lived when Europeans first began to understand the world in an entirely new way, a great round globe (one of his theaters was named "The Globe"), full of brave new worlds with strange and wondrous people in them. His plays are full of references to maps (Comedy of Errors), strange lands (The Tempest) and exotic foreigners (Othello, Shylock). To have lived in Shakespeare's time was to have begun to see the world in an entirely new way, just like for us the world changed when we saw images of the earth taken from space.

Another object is a communion cup. In order to understand this object you have to know that everyone was forced to drink from such cups in church and everyone had, by law, to go the church. It helps to know this when Claudius orders Hamlet to drink from a goblet, and when Gertrude refuses to obey him when he tells her not to.

Another object is a fork, an elegant and rare object lost by some rich person in the audience while watching a play. This signifies luxury, which is associated with Italy. This chapter contains information on Elizabethan foods, and explains what Falstaff's meal would have meant to the audience "potatoes", rare and exotic, "kissing comfits", breath mints in a land of primitive dentistry, and "sea holly", an aphrodisiac.

The book helped me to better understand Shakespeare's world and his plays. I kept wondering, however, how the author had time to both run the British Museum, and also write such fascinating books.