Shakespeare in History: 1599 and Beyond

In a single year (1599) William Shakespeare presented four of his most famous plays: Henry V, Julius Caesar, As You Like It and Hamlet. Careful historical research by James Shapiro examines the contemporary events and personalities reflected in Shakespeare’s popular plays: In Henry V, Shakespeare portrays patriotic military campaigns on foreign soil while, at the time the play is being written, the Earl of Essex is conscripting Englishmen to fight in bloody battles overseas. To understand this political history, we will also consider Henry IV, Part 1 and Henry IV, Part 2. While Julius Caesar is being staged at the Globe Theater, assassination conspiracies against the English monarch are the talk of Shakespeare’s audiences as well as the Tudor court. As You Like It affords escape from Elizabethans’ difficult daily lives featuring the best stage comics of the day. Hamlet deals with the ever-present fear that Queen Elizabeth might be assassinated. We will then consider Anthony and Cleopatra and The Tempest, in order to explore further Shakespeare’s treatment of love and revenge. In addition to these eight plays, we will read and discuss excerpts from James Shapiro’s 1599: A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare, HarperCollins (2006