Thoughts on EVERYDAY SHAKESPEARE: LINES FOR LIFE
As a Shakespeare lover, I adore the concept of this book. It’s a book I could easily see myself keeping on the side of my desk or on a coffee table, reaching for it during that time of day when I suddenly remember, “Oh! What is today’s Shakespeare quote?” I could also see it working well as a memorization tool for Shakespeare fans; selecting one quote a day to read and focus on is a great way to build up one’s arsenal of Shakespearean references over time. People who love Shakespeare can appreciate this book as a tool for that. It reminded me of a similar book called A YEAR AND A DAY OF EVERYDAY WITCHCRAFT, which assigns a “witchy” element or trivia to each day of the year for a reader to reflect on and apply.
Is quoting Shakespeare pretentious, and if so, why? In season 2 of Succession, the Roy’s (ATN) go visit the Pierce’s (PGM) in a ploy to soften them up—Logan Roy wants to buy PGM. At the dinner table, Nan Pierce says they have given up on Jesus and have started worshipping Shakespeare; instead of prayer, Nan’s daughter recites a quote. The moment is undeniably pretentious, and yet, I found myself completely in love with the idea. Will my family be blessing their crispy tacos with Othellian wisdom anytime soon? Probably not. But why not? Why is a Biblical proverb less cringe than a Shakespearean soliloquy?
The introductory pages felt a bit long-winded, particularly the “discovery on every page” section. I found myself wanting more economy of writing and less extensive explanation regarding how the layout of the book functions, how poetry functions. “We believe the quotes on these pages can speak for themselves.” So let them, no? I also wondered if putting the passages about each month’s themes BEFORE each month might have worked better than lumping them all together in the introduction. But I guess that comes down to one’s preference regarding how a book is organized, how information is organized.
I really liked the little insights and explanations that the writers provided on each page below the quote. They always felt generous and to the point. The only thing I could have done without was the occasional “plug” of another quote(s) inside the interpretation. I felt those other quotes and play references pulled focus from the featured quote. At times, the extended explanations leaned too academic in tone, which I feel might turn off certain readers who just want to absorb the featured quote at face value, to absorb the suggested interpretation and leave the rest up to the reader’s thoughts and imagination. The pages I enjoyed most were the ones that kept it simple: the quote, a brief interpretation, and the context provided at the bottom of the page. I love that the authors left some quotes to speak for themselves with no explanation. That white space held a nice silence, a space to reflect and trigger one’s private interpretations.
If you love Shakespeare—would love to be able to quote Shakespeare on the fly—this might be the book for you.
EVERYDAY SHAKESPEARE: Lines for Life | By Ben Crystal and David Crystal | 400 pgs. | Chambers | $8.99 (digital pre-order)
Publication date: May 25, 3023
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