Shakespeare and his works are put into context through exlanations of the history and culture of the period in English history during which he lived and worked.
Critic Reviews
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Favorable
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Booklist Ray Olson
The spine of the book, so to speak, is the life of Shakespeare, from the political and religious context into which he was born, through his professional achievements--and Kermode's analyses of the plays surely constitute what many readers will most prize in the book--to the flourishing scene from which he retired. [1 Feb. 2004, p. 941]
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Favorable
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Daily Telegraph Robert Douglas-Fairhurst
The most surprising thing about Kermode's survey - one that is full of delightful surprises - is just how much he manages to squeeze in. The brief but authoritative attention given to each play produces elegant one-liners that, like the plays themselves, expand in the mind.
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Favorable
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Library Journal Jaime Anderson
This short but concise work will appeal to history and theater buffs as well as Anglophiles. Because of the occasional linguistic analysis, however, it may be too in-depth for general readers. [15 Feb. 2004, p. 126]
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Favorable
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Publishers Weekly
While Ben Jonson declared, "[Shakespeare] was not for an age, but for all time!" Kermode pleasurably shows how he and his works were of their age and also transcended it.
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Favorable
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The Guardian Simon Callow
That the book is neither a thorough nor a profound account of its ostensible subject is really neither here nor there: it is constantly and wittily stimulating, and warmly recommended to anyone who cares about Shakespeare.
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Favorable
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The Nation Terry Eagleton
Kermode writes a supple, lucid prose, with a touch of the English gentleman; he is good-humored, self-effacing, wears his erudition with ease and is too courteous to be polemical.
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Favorable
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The New York Times Book Review Joy Connolly
Kermode's close readings focus with polish and precision on Shakespeare's words, characterization and imagery. In these sections, even in the discussion of Shakespeare's most political themes -- power, identity, recognition and the theatrical quality of social life -- the world recedes, becoming a backdrop to the literary text; vividly introduced in the context of the stage, the plays end up firmly anchored to the page.
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Favorable
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The Spectator Katherine Duncan-Jones
Frank Kermode's The Age of Shakespeare is an astonishing achievement. In fewer than 200 small-format pages he discusses each of Shakespeare's works. No comments are less than telling; most are highly original.
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Mixed
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The Guardian Jane Stevenson
As a brief introduction to Shakespeare's plays, the book succeeds admirably, but a reader who expects a portrait of an age might feel short-changed.
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Mixed
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The Economist
The penetrating insights of his earlier book, "Shakespeare's Language", are reiterated here, but less expansively.
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Mixed
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Chicago Tribune David Kirby
The Age of Shakespeare is part of Random House's Modern Library Chronicles series, short, authoritative books on broad subjects written by experts for an educated lay audience. As such, it's like that comprehensive survey course you took when you were an undergrad, the one where you'd leave the classroom asking a friend, "What was he talking about when he said so-and-so?" For as with all brief works, I sometimes found the author flying over points I wish he'd look into. [1 Feb. 2004, C4]
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Unfavorable
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Daily Telegraph Jonathan Bate
I have found something inspirational in every one of Kermode's previous books and had always assumed that there were only two things of which he was incapable: banality and outdated scholarship. Sadly, this little book is shot through with both.
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