Reading Shakespeare Reading Me

Princeton literature professor Barkan (The Hungry Eye) reveals in this enchanting collection the various ways Shakespeare has shaped his life. In reflecting on scenes from King Lear, Macbeth, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and several of the sonnets, he asks: “Where does this brilliantly contrived fiction actually touch me in my life? Where is Shakespeare in effect telling the story of my life?” In “Athens Scrambled,” Barkan tells of playing Bottom in a performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and discovering that the play requires its audience to make great leaps of faith: “If we do behave ourselves, as the onstage audience does not, then and only then will we experience the blessings that... we have all shared in a dream.” In “Faith Awakened,” he recalls being pressed by his students about his favorite Shakespeare play and concludes that it’s The Winter’s Tale because by the time it was written, Shakespeare had “done his time” trying to imitate the “Real.” Barkan’s luminous prose, his prodigious humor, and his generous readings of the plays and sonnets are a real joy. This brings tons of fun to the Bard’s oeuvre. (Apr.)