Reading Shakespeare Reading Me

Can we read Shakespeare without reading ourselves? Can we as critics write or teach Shakespeare without sensing that Shakespeare had pre-written versions of our own lives or that our intellectual and emotional itinerary wasn't already traced in the plays and sonnets? We didn't see this, we never do, which is why we need to 'Barkanize' our Shakespeare, because Shakespeare always, always matters. The humanity, candor, humility of this book is disarming and reminds us that nothing exalts us more than to hear our most personal difficulties echoed by the great bard himself. ---Andre Aciman, author of Call Me By Your Name, Leonard Barkan's Reading Shakespeare Reading Me is a triumphant vindication of critical self-absorption. This remarkable, exuberantly written book proves what many would scarcely think possible: that details unique to one individual (and a highly unusual one at that) can lead to fresh insights into some of Shakespeare's most famous plays, and at the same time that a sustained reflection on plays written four hundred years ago can lead to intimate and absorbing self-revelations. ---Stephen Greenblatt, author of Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare,