Shakespeare's Guide to Parenting

By James Andrews

Trust father of three William Shakespeare for all the advice you need for any parenting dilemma, in this witty and erudite guide—a handy collection of wisdom drawn from his most beloved works, from Hamlet to King Lear to Much Ado About Nothing.

With a series of cunningly extracted lines from his best-loved plays and sonnets, hilariously illustrated in a simple, almost child-like style, James Andrews proves once again that Shakespeare—expert on love, death, vanity, ambition, war, deceit, regret—is the font of all wisdom, including raising children.

Your thirsty toddler wakes you up at 3 a.m. Shakespeare describes your thoughts perfectly:

What cursed foot wanders this way tonight? (Romeo and Juliet)

Your child throws a temper tantrum, clinging to your legs. Shakespeare has the perfect response:

Vile thing, let loose, or I will shake thee from me like a serpent. (A Midsummer Night’s Dream)

Your son throws a booze party, crashes the car, or commits some other vaguely humiliating infraction or minor illegal act. Shakespeare feels your pain:

Good wombs have borne bad sons. (The Tempest)

And for your fussy, ungrateful eater? Shakespeare has an answer:

I’ll make you feed on berries and on roots, and feed on curds and whey, and suck the goat! (Titus Andronicus)

Organized by periods of parenting hell—from the newborn nightmares to the teenage trials—Shakespeare’s Guide to Parenting is the perfect gift book for every literary parent or parent to be. If you want the last word with your children, nothing beats a quote from Shakespeare.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Nov 10, 2015
• ISBN: 9780062442512

Book preview

CONTENTS

ACT I

ACT II

ACT III

ACT IV

ACT V

About the Author

Credits

Copyright

About the Publisher

ACT I

New Challenges

As new parents you’ll face fresh challenges on a daily basis:

The Taming of the Shrew: II, i

It’s vital that at least one of you maintains a sense of perspective:

Macbeth: III, iv

Loss of Sleep

Sleep deprivation is one of the few things that new parents can do little to prepare themselves for:

King John: II, i

The Two Gentlemen of Verona: IV, ii

It’s also one of those problems that seldom just goes away:

Titus Andronicus: II, iii

Othello: I, ii

Try calling out to them, they may just need the reassurance of hearing your voice;

The Tempest: I, i

though, ultimately, one of you may need to get up: