How Shakespeare Changed Everything (2011) - Plot & Excerpts
So, I've read "How Shakespeare changed everything" by Stephen Marche...Although, I have thought that this reading was a little complicated to me (I'm Brazilian, my mother tongue is Portuguese) with all these sentences in ancient English (circa 1500 English) the book shows us a Shakespeare that we don't see everyday, like:- birds that are overflowing New York city or;- the name Jessica (that was used for the first time in "The Merchant of Venice") and became an epidemy in Brazil in the 90's;- certain idioms that we use daily and that were created by Shakespeare, like "The lady doth protest too much, me thinks" (I love this one!)- and the list goes on with very interesting facts...For those who love the bard, or for those who, simply, love English, the book is charming and show us how much the queen's tongue owns to this wonderful, mysterious and genius man! Rather a bold statement. "Changed," no; influenced, yes. And, hardly "Everything." Marche views Shakespeare with seeming idolatry which gets a bit heavy-handed at times. Then counter-balanced this with "the stupidity of Shakespeare" who is "a messy writer." Despite this, the selected topics cover a wide range from racism to sexuality to environmentalism. Over all, a readable work with an interesting scope.
What do You think about How Shakespeare Changed Everything (2011)?
I found he was stretching at some points to make connections.
—Carol
It was interesting, but wasn't quite as funny as I expected.
—LaylaS
Very interesting read. Shakespeare is definitely everywhere.
—ash
(Copy received from Amazon Vine)Lots of factoids.
—amaru21
