It was in those days when I read and was interested and entertained more than a good, but also useful book Shakespeare The world is a stage thanks to Bill Bryson, appeared in a Romanian translation, unfortunately not quite worthy of praise in publishing Polisher (how to praise something inside which you find a language monster contributed?), in No. 9/2023 journal Literary Romania the respected Iesian professor Alexandru Kelinescu publishes an article A critic thirsty for paradoxes. Which discussed the critical work of a Frenchman named Pierre Bayard, to whom we owe, among other things, the introduction into the field of literary studies of the concept eclipse. The purpose of which would be to identify and explain the fact that “an over-present work overshadows other works to such an extent that it sometimes makes them disappear and, at the same time, imposes a certain type of sensibility that looks like natural”.

There would be many examples in this sense. They are mentioned by Bayard and quoted by Alexandra Kelinescu. A university professor from Iasi recalls that what would have been called case school ethis is ben jonson. An author who was overshadowed by William Shakespeare during his lifetime. It was roughly the same with the work of Christopher Marlowe.

But this is what Bill Bryson reminds us in the penultimate chapter of his book called chapter Death, that after Shakespeare died, probably in April, 1616, and that after he had made some considerable changes in his will, changes which were somewhat prejudicial to Anne, his famous wife, the great English writer himself entered into eclipse period. Not at all popular during the Restoration, his works were heavily adapted on the rare occasions they were performed.

For years, the world did not remember who Shakespeare was, a century passed after the writer’s death, until the first attempts to reproduce his biography appeared. An important role in the return to the stage of Shakespeare’s works was played by the famous actor Garrick, who today is called great will he had to wait a long time before he began the exegesis of his writings. Which debuts, according to Bryson, with an Irishman named Edmond Malone. Lawyer by profession. Who was not completely sinless and blameless. Nor were there others who invented evidence to support their approximations under the guise of exegesis.

Over time, Shakespeare’s work has become what the author of the book referred to in this review calls it. obsession of university students.Which, however, does not mean that all studies of his life and activities were really serious.

Given the countless mysteries surrounding the life, work, personality, and death of the man whom today everyone has agreed to call Shakespeare (there are also problems with the correct spelling of the author’s name Hamletbecause the writer himself turned out to be a creator of ambiguities, signing almost as God gave, hence a whole series of riddles and misunderstandinguri) appeared on the market and claimed research that turned out to be complete nonsense. Bill Bryson lists several of them, insisting in particular on one signed by a certain Delia Bacon, who went out of her way to prove that what was attributed to the great Will was actually Francis Bacon. The coincidence of names is not accidental and completely innocent. There were others who were entrusted with Shakespeare’s work, or at least parts of it, as detailed by Bill Bryson in the chapter entitled Candidates.

Bill Bryson tells us in the first pages of his book how he wrote it, and that he is far from a certified Shakespeare scholar. What he composed Shakespeare The world is a stage as a result of some contractual obligations, but taking advantage of the fact that, fortunately, “Britain is full of such experts, so I prudently summoned them.” And even from the first pages we learn that none of the three portraits or, I beg you, cult incarnations of Shakespeare would have a strict guarantee of authenticity.

Life, work of the author storm, also cautiously referred to in the book as “one of Shakespeare’s last works,” stands for a long line of unknowns. And look, that’s the name of a volume of just over 200 pages Shakespeare The world is a stage it is rather a list of all that we do not know, or do not know with certainty, about the greatest English dramatist, and perhaps even of the world, rather than that which is beyond all doubt. – Read the entire article and comment on Contributors.ro