retired_amaynirvana

Thank you. Shame - you make her sound as captivating a speaker as I imagined her to be. Likewise, I would have loved to have attended UEA whilst Malcolm Bradbury was still around.

retired_rockstar

CÂ*oÂ*ck though he is, he can be fascinating to listen to when he gets going.

retired_mnw_cna

There was a lot of background stuff, about social mores and demographics and so on (that is probably in the book) which is directly relevant to WS/AH but is very interesting nonetheless. She clearly has done research, and uses it. But her problem was that her research didn't really turn up anything to do with the couple directly, however interesting it is.

And you can have a whole other argument as to whether knowing more about WS himself gives us any further insight into the plays. I'd say it does, a little, but my wife would argue strongly that once the play is in the public domain, it effectively becomes a separate entity. Is that Foucault??

retired_princesspouty

I see - well, I'd probably find that quite interesting as well. How ordinary people lived in centuries past has become more interesting to me in recent years.

Very hard to say whether Shakespeare's life is reflected in his plays. We know he was politically conscious in his work (especially the historical ones) and that he was certainly able to write what people wanted to see. But that doesn't mean his personality or beliefs aren't reflected in his work. I'd say all writers reflect themselves to some degree in their work... even Sun journalists.