Death by Shakespeare: Snakebites, Stabbings and Broken Hearts - Kathryn Harkup

Published in 2020 by Bloomsbury Sigma, London, UK

ISBN: 978-1-4729-5822-8 (hardcover)

In the English language, Shakespeare haunts our everyday speech. Second only to the Bible, Shakespeare’s impressive volume of work are some of the most widely sold, read, and translated pieces of literature ever written. His plays and sonnets contributed to the standardization of the English language in the late 17th and 18th centuries, as he is credited with adding over 1,700 words to the English language. In addition to revolutionizing theater, many of our common colloquial expressions also derive from Shakespeare (“heart of gold,” “break the ice,” “wild goose chase,” “seen better days,” etc). While Shakespeare often haunts our common modes of speaking whether we are aware of it or not, one thing that almost anyone who has read him knows for certain is this: Shakespeare’s work is filled with death. 

Shakespeare’s characters are well-known to often suffer grisly, tragic, and colorful deaths. Romeo poisons himself while Juliet stabs herself in grief and horror. Macbeth is beheaded, ending his tyrannic rule, while Hamlet, after dodging death for the entirety of the play, is finally killed by a poison-tipped sword. His work is filled with a wide variety of deadly ends for his characters, including snakebites (Cleopatra), syphilis (Pandarus), swallowing hot coals (Portia), mauling by a bear (Antigonus), and even having their throats cut and then baked into a pie (Chiron and Demetrius). It's clear that Shakespeare was fairly intimate with death, and his knowledge of medicine and anatomy is quite surprising for a playwright. Accordingly, in her 2020 book, Death by Shakespeare: Snakebites, Stabbings and Broken Hearts, chemist, author, and science communicator Kathryn Harkup investigates the various ways in which Shakespeare’s characters meet their grisly deaths and how they offer us a window into 16th century Elizabethan and Jacobean English life (and death).  

Overview: 

Before diving into the grisly details of Shakespeare’s treatment of death, Harkup begins her book by giving us a brief, yet thorough biography of Shakespeare. More than a simple bog-standard biography, Harkup also discusses the ways that death would have been ever-present in Elizabethan society. This was an era when public executions were a site of popular entertainment and mass plague was an ever-present source of anxiety and illness. Unlike our own Western world, in which death is tightly regulated by medical professionals and only talked about in soft whispers, the world in which Shakespeare lived was drenched in death. It affected Shakespeare's profession (during times of plague in London, the Globe Theater would shut down and Shakespeare retreated to the rural countryside to write sonnets) as well as his personal life (his own son died of the plague at 11 years old.) In recounting Shakespeare’s biography, Harkup puts the concept and act of death within the context of Elizabethan society, and how it was often practically enacted within the theater. 

Harkup then proceeds to divide the book chapters according to the types of death that Shakespeare’s characters suffer, including disease, poison, stabbing, execution, war, suicide, grief, and yes, even bears. Along the way, Harkup explains the contexts of these deaths, situating them within the broader culture and history of 16th century England. Harkup notes how Shakespeare’s histories differ from the actual events he’s writing about, and how audiences would have reacted to these deaths being performed on stage. By setting Shakespeare within his historical context, Harkup provides insight into why many of Shakespeare’s characters are killed in battle or other forms of swordsmanship, and why his audience might have had such a proclivity to enjoy violence (though not much has changed in that regard over the years). 

Furthermore, drawing on her background in science, Harkup also investigates the accuracy of Shakespeare’s various ways of killing off his characters. She does so by describing the process of dying by various means (poisoning, blood loss through stabbing, organ failure, etc), as well as offering potential explanations for the stranger forms of death (such as the conjecture that Portia’s death by “swallowing hot coals” could actually be carbon monoxide poisoning). By vividly describing the science of dying and comparing it to Shakespear’s literary descriptions, Harkup notes that Shakespeare often references the new discoveries in medical science of his time, such as the circulation of blood through the body and the degenerative effects of syphilis (and its failed treatments such as topically applying mercury). In the end, Harkup gives us a table of deaths in the appendix, which lists every reference or cause of death in every work by Shakespeare. By focusing on the prevalence of death, Harkup gives us a new lens through which to examine Shakespeare's life, work, and the world in which he lived.  

Commendations: 

First of all, I must commend Harkup’s unique and interesting approach to analyze the work of Shakespeare and to put his work in the context of the early 17th century. She deftly moves from examining historical events to detailing the science of death and human anatomy with equal command and. She is an incredibly versatile and descriptive writer, which helps make this an easily accessible and quick read. Harkup has done an immense amount of research for this book, and she gives the reader a great entry point into Shakespeare’s life and work, even if one is not intimately familiar with it beforehand. 

Also, by investigating the multifaceted and creative ways in which Shakespeare killed off his characters, Harkup’s analysis often feels like a forensic investigation as she questions how these characters died and whether science supports their symptoms and their final words as they describe their deaths. Harkup is remarkably successful in striking a difficult balance of keeping the tone relatively light through witty storytelling and sardonic, dark humor, while also maintaining a level of respect when describing the process of dying (especially in her chapters on suicide, madness, and grief). She is an engaging writer who does a commendable job in maintaining the reader’s interest and intrigue while also giving them ample information and context for Shakespeare’s work. 

Finally, by organizing the method of death in such a manner, as well as adding a comprehensive appendix, Harkup gives us a phenomenal resource for study and reference. While the footnotes do not contain any academic references (rather, they are collected in a standard, though comprehensive, bibliography at the end), they still contain useful information. Most researchers and scholars who are interested in learning more about the history of medicine and its relation to literature will find these resources particularly useful. As such, Harkup’s central strength lies within the field of science, and while her descriptions are full of gory, vivid detail, this aspect is probably one of my main critiques of the work. 

Critique: 

While this is no doubt a fascinating read, the curious reader must be warned: this book is not for the faint of heart. Harkup’s descriptions are no doubt accurate and vivid, yet there’s a certain amount of reveling in gore. She describes the process of hanging, drawing, and quartering in vivid detail (similar to Charles Spencer’s Killers of the King), as well as the deleterious effects of various poisons, such as cyanide. For those who are a bit squeamish or suffer from acute death anxiety (as I did during my time reading this book), this might be a difficult book to get through, as she very vividly describes the physical process of dying in many grisly ways. 

Furthermore, in regards to the book’s organization, the categorization of deaths are not always clear cut and can get a bit messy (though, to her credit, she readily admits this shortcoming). There are times throughout the book that can get a bit repetitive, almost as if it’s meant to be read as a reference guide, rather than all the way through. She tends to repeat herself often throughout different chapters, which while tedious at times, doesn’t often get in the way of the larger themes of the book. 

Conclusion:

Overall, Death by Shakespeare serves as a vividly gory and informative insight into the grisly world of Shakespeare. Again, if vivid descriptions of death and dying give you acute anxiety and disturb you, then this might be a book to pass by. However, if you are fascinated by the science of death and the history of Elizabethan literature and theater, you’ll find much to enjoy in this brisk little volume. While it’s often macabre, Harkup’s work is undeniably captivating and engaging to read and would appeal not only to Shakespeare enthusiasts but also to true crime aficionados. As long as you have the stomach and mental fortitude for it, this book is more likely than not to be well worth your time.