Shakespeare in a Divided America

No chapter in the history of Shakespeare in America proved more consequential than the one in which the Shakespearean actor, John Wilkes Booth, shot to death Abraham Lincoln, who was as devoted to Shakespeare as his assassin was, and as president regularly attended performances of the plays and recited Shakespeare to anyone who would listen. At the heart of their fatal encounter — and its aftermath — was the darkest of Shakespeare’s tragedies: Macbeth.

James Shapiro is professor of English at Columbia University, where he has taught since 1985. His books include 1599: A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare (2005) which won the Samuel Johnson Prize, Contested Will (2010), The Year of Lear (2015) winner of the James Tait Black Prize for Biography, and most recently Shakespeare in a Divided America (2020), selected one of the ten best books of the year by the New York Times. He has been awarded Guggenheim, Cullman, and NEH fellowships, and in 2011 was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is currently serving as one of the judges for the Booker Prize.