It is not that Shakespeare's art is in technicolor and fancy, and that real life is black and white and tedious. The life that Shakespeare was living was the only life he had, and he had to use it to…

Quote by Stephen Greenblatt

Topics: Stephen Greenblatt Quotes

I believe in broken, fractured, complicated narratives, but I believe in narratives as a vehicle...

$I believe in broken, fractured, complicated narratives, but I believe in narratives as a vehicle...$

I wanted to hold onto and exploit the power of narrative. This is not only...

I wanted to hold onto and exploit the power of narrative. This is not only...

I've been at this for 40 years. And, as an academic, I've been content with...

I've been at this for 40 years. And, as an academic, I've been content with...

No special writing rituals. And my desk is usually cluttered.

No special writing rituals. And my desk is usually cluttered.

What we know is that Shakespeare wrote perhaps the most remarkable body of passionate love...

What we know is that Shakespeare wrote perhaps the most remarkable body of passionate love...

First of all, Shakespeare is about pleasure and interest. He was from the first moment...

First of all, Shakespeare is about pleasure and interest. He was from the first moment...

But I never listen to music while I'm writing.

But I never listen to music while I'm writing.

I think the writing of literature should give pleasure. What else should it be about?...

I think the writing of literature should give pleasure. What else should it be about?...

The Shakespeare that Shakespeare became is the name that's attached to these astonishing objects that...

The Shakespeare that Shakespeare became is the name that's attached to these astonishing objects that...

Well it is certainly the case that the poems - which were in fact published...

Well it is certainly the case that the poems - which were in fact published...

What matters here are the works - finally without them his life would be uninteresting....

What matters here are the works - finally without them his life would be uninteresting....

First of all, there was a volcano of words, an eruption of words that Shakespeare...

First of all, there was a volcano of words, an eruption of words that Shakespeare...

I believe that it is a whole lifetime of work on Shakespeare's part that enabled...

I believe that it is a whole lifetime of work on Shakespeare's part that enabled...

My father who in this case was an obsessive life-long storyteller, and by a very...

My father who in this case was an obsessive life-long storyteller, and by a very...

But if Shakespeare himself is maybe about meaning and truth, I don't know, then he...

But if Shakespeare himself is maybe about meaning and truth, I don't know, then he...

I'm not spitting in my own soup, I love having spent my life thinking about...

I'm not spitting in my own soup, I love having spent my life thinking about...

Now a Protestant confronting a Catholic ghost is exactly Shakespeare's way of grappling with what...

Now a Protestant confronting a Catholic ghost is exactly Shakespeare's way of grappling with what...

What I wanted to do was to get that sense of being in touch with...

What I wanted to do was to get that sense of being in touch with...

I believe that nothing comes of nothing, even in Shakespeare. I wanted to know where...

I believe that nothing comes of nothing, even in Shakespeare. I wanted to know where...