Shakespeare in a Divided America
By James Shapiro
Shakespeare in a Divided America. Penguin Books, 2021.
Summary of Shakespeare in a Divided America book by James Shapiro
A wide-ranging account of how Shakespeare’s works became a cultural battleground for America across its history, his plays igniting debates around race, class, and gender while inspiring presidents, activists, and assassins.
Chapters in Shakespeare in a Divided America book summary
What do you get from this book? The story of how an English dramatist became America’s most important writer
Shakespeare’s works were a foundational text for the United States, second only to the Bible in importance
Shakespeare’s work posed an understated challenge to eighteenth-century American gender norms, as Ulysses S. Grant experienced with Othello
The 1849 Astor Place Riot in NYC demonstrated the growing inequality and resentment in America’s apparently “classless” society
The lives of both Abraham Lincoln and his assassin, the accomplished actor John Wilkes Booth, were defined by Shakespeare
Immigration was a hot-button issue in early-20th-century America, as the country’s response to Shakespeare’s The Tempest demonstrates
When The Taming of the Shrew became Kiss Me, Kate it showed America’s anxieties about marriage and women’s rights
Shakespeare in Love was a huge hit, but was rewritten to avoid serious examination of same-sex love and adultery
A Trump-like Caesar in a modern production of Julius Caesar drew lost sponsors, media misrepresentation and popular fury
Summary of the key insights
Selected critiques in brief
Final word
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Shakespeare in a Divided America — Book Summary Snapshot
Who should read Shakespeare in a Divided America book
- Literature nerds
- those interested in politics
- theatergoers
About the author of Shakespeare in a Divided America
James Shapiro
James Shapiro is a Columbia University professor of literature who is also a fellow at the Globe Theater in London. His specialization in Shakespeare is reflected in his other publications, including The Year of Lear and Shakespeare and the Jews.
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