Admit it: at some point Shakespeare has made you blush. The trigger may have been an editor’s explicit footnote or an actor’s naughty gesture; whatever the case, you went all pink and flustered. So tell me, where is the bawdiness bred – in the author’s pen or in your head?

That’s the intriguing question of Stanley Wells’s Looking for Sex in
Shakespeare, a slim volume – and perfect stocking stuffer for your favorite bardolator – that collects three essays Wells delivered as lectures at the Globe Theatre in 2002. Which risqué situations and saucy puns did Shakespeare intend, and how many are the result of lusty and imaginative interpreters? Wells follows the history of performance and adaptation of Shakespeare’s plays through the centuries and finds marked changes in how much sexiness finds its way onto stage and page.

In the following essay, he gives the sonnets a thorough frisking to see how the poems’ sensual and impassioned themes compare to those written by Shakespeare’s contemporaries. The third and final essay addresses male love relationships in the plays, investigating how Renaissance ideas of romance and friendship may be interpreted by present-day audiences and how the work of gay actors like Ian McKellan can give roles novel inflections.

A second exciting new book on the Bard is Stephen Greenblatt’s
much-anticipated biography Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became
Shakespeare. Greenblatt is the general editor of the Norton Shakespeare,
and his knowledge is delightfully immense. Whereas Wells follows a specific thread in his essays, Greenblatt zooms out to give a broad view of the rich tapestry of Shakespeare’s life and works.

Any Shakespeare biography necessarily involves a good deal of conjecture, and Greenblatt is a master of the art. He marshals the legal records, close readings, and other historical clues to build a convincing life for a most elusive subject. When he occasionally ventures into the undocumented wilds of Shakespeare’s lost years, one feels safe joining him the hunt because his leaps are supported by sound scholarship and research. The result is a deeply enjoyable exploration of the personal and historical context for one the great writers of the English language.

Greenblatt and Wells are two of today’s great Shakespearean critics. Their works reach out to a broad audience and seek to enhance the reading and viewing experience for Shakespeare fans both casual and impassioned. Plus, they’ll help you know exactly when to blush.

Reviews by Mark Bradshaw, November 4, 2004

Read a review of a fantastic investigation of Shakespeare’s use of language here: http://www.watermarkbooks.com/review0704-004.html

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