Death By Shakespeare: Snakebites, Stabbings and Broken Hearts

William Shakespeare used dozens of different ways to kill off his characters, and audiences today still enjoy the same reactions – shock, sadness, fear – that they did more than 400 years ago. Shakespeare kept pace with anatomical and medical advances, and he included the latest scientific discoveries in his work. Kathryn Harkup investigates what actual events may have inspired Shakespeare, what the accepted scientific knowledge of the time was, and how Elizabethan audiences would have responded to these death scenes.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 368 pages
Publication date: 03 February 2022
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

William Shakespeare, the renowned playwright, employed a diverse range of methods to eliminate his characters, and audiences continue to experience the same emotional responses – shock, sadness, and fear – that they did over 400 years ago when these plays were first performed. However, the realism of these deaths and Shakespeare's knowledge in supporting them warrant exploration. In Shakespeare's era, death was an everyday occurrence, with plagues, pestilences, and public executions being prevalent. The likelihood of encountering a dead or dying body on the way home from the theatre was quite high. Simultaneously, significant scientific advancements were made, and Shakespeare remained abreast of these developments. He incorporated the latest scientific discoveries into his work, encompassing topics such as blood circulation and treatments for syphilis. Shakespeare did not hesitate to portray the reality of death on stage, encompassing a spectrum of experiences, from brutal to mundane, spectacular to silly.

Elizabethan London serves as the backdrop for Death by Shakespeare, as Kathryn Harkup, a discerning scientific eye, delves into the relationship between Shakespeare and the varied and creative ways his characters meet their demise. Was death by snakebite as serene as Shakespeare portrays? Could lack of sleep have contributed to Lady Macbeth's demise? Can one truly murder someone by pouring poison into their ear? Harkup investigates the potential events that may have inspired Shakespeare, the prevailing scientific knowledge of the time, and the reactions of Elizabethan audiences to these death scenes.

Death by Shakespeare presents a captivating journey through Elizabethan carnage, poison, swordplay, and bloodshed, occasionally featuring a death by bear-mauling for added excitement. It unravels the science behind Shakespeare's character deaths, offering insights into the playwright.

Weight: 256g
Dimension: 128 x 197 x 27 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781472958204