Soul of the Age: A Biography of the Mind of William Shakespeare

“Soul of the Age” is Shakespeare scholar Jonathan Bate’s attempt at “biography of the mind” of the Bard. His take on it is to examine Shakespeare’s life and works through the lenses of his famous “7 Ages of Man” speech from his play “As You Like It”. An intriguing idea, but not one that I am sure comes across as completely successful in this text.First off, this is not a biography for the casual reader of Shakespeare. This book assumes a certain amount of knowledge of Shakespeare’s work, and of the historical period of his life in general. If you are not already inclined to be interested in Shakespeare, this text will not create that interest in you.As someone who usually devours most things Shakespeare related, I have to admit that the first 146 pages of this book just dragged for me. They are tedious at best. Mr. Bate examines what educational and literary influences the young Shakespeare would have encountered and it is a lot of Latin and Greek, and frankly just too much of it for me to care. Interesting thoughts are presented here, but they are at best conjecture, and thus not as important as Bate seems to emphasize. The author states too many times that such and such a book Shakespeare would have no knowledge of, or that he would not have owned a copy of this or that book. Mr. Bate, you (we) don’t know! Period. Which you acknowledge when you point out theories about Shakespeare from others that you don’t agree with. “Physician, heal thyself”.There is a bit of conjecture in this text, which any book about Shakespeare will have. I don’t mind that, usually. In this book, it bothered me. Maybe because the author rarely admitted when he was doing it?When we get to the third age of man (Lover) the text picks up in earnest and I began reading with an eagerness and interest. The book keeps this momentum going (for the most part) from this point in the text to the end.I’m glad I read “Soul of the Age”. Mr. Bate is an intelligent and close reader of Shakespeare. It has earned a place on my bookshelf. I just wish I had enjoyed it a bit more.

Here's the thing. Jonathan Bate holds no punches, and makes no promises. He is a guy interested in exploring the topic at hand. Shakespeare. A man who we know very little about.From the start, and constantly throughout, Bate reminds his readers that we cannot fully know the truth, and we cannot base our claims on the plays as to who or what Shakespeare was or was not (and he backs up why we can't very well - read it!) We can only go on the surviving history of the time, and speculate.This makes it hard to call this a biography, but rather I would say Bate analyzes the plays, the historical period, and what little evidence there actually is about Will himself to allow us to see that not only was Shakespeare a very real man, he also was completely capable of writing these plays because of his voracious appetite for reading, his rural upbringing, and yes - his grade school education (a more extensive and intensive education than most grad students get these days).The format of the book (Jaques seven ages of man) makes it an interesting read that focuses less on a chronological life (though he does do his best to keep it in some sense of order) and more on the periods of his life that we can simply speculate made his plays endure.If you're a scholar of the Bard (like me), or even just interested in trying to speculate on the mystique, this book is a great read and a great discussion. Just be sure you know the basics of his plays and sonnets, and at least a basic background of the historical period. Bate uses all of this to help paint his picture. This is not, NOT an introductory book, it is a book for those wishing to continue a discussion. It is for those already familiar with the works to at least some extent.Otherwise, enjoy! My copy (bought used for 5 bucks) was in great condition. Arrived on time, and will be a hardcover I own and re read for many years to come.

I bought this book for a school assignment, turns out this book is at a college level apparently to my teacher, there's a bit of unnessescary information and facts in the biography about someone else that doesnt realate to William Shakespeare's life but overall the book is going great so far.

Eminently readable ,this book traces Shakespeare's education and places it in context of the age and shows how Shakespeare himself was regarded by his contemporaries.

Thoughtful and original but lit has an odd structure that makes it a slow read.

I am constantly being surprised, engrossed and challenged while reading this. Professor Bate's knowledge of Shakespeare is very deep and wide-ranging, within a historical context and full of fascinating details which are put together in a very exciting read. I literally have to come up for air sometimes and am called to do extra research to keep up with the author. It's as if he's there, inside Shakespeare's life, taking it all in, through all his senses. I am so appreciative and am loving it!

This is a school text and generally well written and easy to understand but there are a lot of Latin and Greek references that could get confusing, not for novice scholars. But for a clear and thorough grasp of the subject and times it's well worth it.

Book was received in great condition and delivered very timely.