"Will in the World"

When I was in high school, I dreamed of spending a semester at Oxford, studying C.S. Lewis and William Shakespeare. That dream never happened, but I still wish it had. Maybe it still will. I recently completed Stephen Greenblatt’s acclaimed book “Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare,” and it made me want to study Shakespeare even more. Greenblatt clearly knows the entire Shakespearean canon, and excels at blending the life with the works. In some ways, the book is challenging simply because there is so little that is verifiably known about Shakespeare. Greenblatt tries to patch together some theories (and is clear that some things he writes simply may not be what actually occurred) while drawing from Shakespeare’s works to gain additional insights. As I read, I kept wishing that I knew more about the works, knew more of the characters and settings, and was familiar with the many quotes from the plays. But I did the best I could and decided to add some Shakespeare works to my ever-growing reading list. And after I do that, perhaps I’ll head to Oxford for some extra study.