Understanding Shakespeare's Plays: A Candid Companion to all the Drama
Autor Kent Lehnhofen Limba Engleză Hardback – 11 dec 2026
Are you curious about why Shakespeare's plays remain so popular four centuries since they were written? Do you need a companion to plays that you'll see on stage or will be studying? This guide will accelerate your comprehension, sharpen your insight, expand your vision and improve your experience of Shakespeare's plays.
Understanding Shakespeare is an easy-to-use reference book that gives you a way into every play in the canon through a combination of enriching information, eye-opening analysis and frank discussion.
Whereas other guidebooks present the plays neutrally, or offer commentary on a small selection of favourites, this one provides an accessible introduction to every play and acknowledges that not all of Shakespeare's plays are perfect gems. Understanding Shakespeare is unique - and uniquely helpful - in offering not only a sophisticated understanding of each play but also a candid review of its accomplishments and challenges, enabling you to make informed decisions about what to read or see and what to look for when you do. This is the book to get if you want to get Shakespeare.
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Specificații
ISBN-13: 9781350543263
ISBN-10: 1350543268
Pagini: 464
Dimensiuni: 169 x 244 mm
Editura: Bloomsbury Publishing
Colecția The Arden Shakespeare
Locul publicării:London, United Kingdom
ISBN-10: 1350543268
Pagini: 464
Dimensiuni: 169 x 244 mm
Editura: Bloomsbury Publishing
Colecția The Arden Shakespeare
Locul publicării:London, United Kingdom
Cuprins
INTRODUCTORY MATERIAL
1.UNDERSTANDING SHAKESPEARE
2.THE BIRTH OF THE BARD
THE PLAYS
3.ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL
4.ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA
5.AS YOU LIKE IT
6.THE COMEDY OF ERRORS
7.CORIOLANUS
8.CYMBELINE, KING OF BRITAIN
9.HAMLET
10.HENRY IV, PART 1
11.HENRY IV, PART 2
12.HENRY V
13.HENRY VI, PARTS 1-3
14.HENRY VIII (ALL IS TRUE)
15.JULIUS CAESAR
16.KING JOHN
17.KING LEAR
18.LOVE'S LABOUR'S LOST
19.MACBETH
20.MEASURE FOR MEASURE
21.THE MERCHANT OF VENICE
22.THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR
23.A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM
24.MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING
25.OTHELLO, THE MOOR OF VENICE
26.PERICLES, PRINCE OF TYRE
27.RICHARD II
28.RICHARD III
29.ROMEO AND JULIET
30.THE TAMING OF THE SHREW
31.THE TEMPEST
32.TIMON OF ATHENS
33.TITUS ANDRONICUS
34.TROILUS AND CRESSIDA
35.TWELFTH NIGHT, OR WHAT YOU WILL
36.THE TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA
37.THE TWO NOBLE KINSMEN
38.THE WINTER'S TALE
APPENDICES
39.DATING SHAKESPEARE'S PLAYS
Index
1.UNDERSTANDING SHAKESPEARE
2.THE BIRTH OF THE BARD
THE PLAYS
3.ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL
4.ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA
5.AS YOU LIKE IT
6.THE COMEDY OF ERRORS
7.CORIOLANUS
8.CYMBELINE, KING OF BRITAIN
9.HAMLET
10.HENRY IV, PART 1
11.HENRY IV, PART 2
12.HENRY V
13.HENRY VI, PARTS 1-3
14.HENRY VIII (ALL IS TRUE)
15.JULIUS CAESAR
16.KING JOHN
17.KING LEAR
18.LOVE'S LABOUR'S LOST
19.MACBETH
20.MEASURE FOR MEASURE
21.THE MERCHANT OF VENICE
22.THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR
23.A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM
24.MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING
25.OTHELLO, THE MOOR OF VENICE
26.PERICLES, PRINCE OF TYRE
27.RICHARD II
28.RICHARD III
29.ROMEO AND JULIET
30.THE TAMING OF THE SHREW
31.THE TEMPEST
32.TIMON OF ATHENS
33.TITUS ANDRONICUS
34.TROILUS AND CRESSIDA
35.TWELFTH NIGHT, OR WHAT YOU WILL
36.THE TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA
37.THE TWO NOBLE KINSMEN
38.THE WINTER'S TALE
APPENDICES
39.DATING SHAKESPEARE'S PLAYS
Index
Recenzii
The book offers an entirely comprehensive coverage of WS' output and the author's scholarly credentials and experience make it look as though he is ideally positioned to write this book. There seems to be a deliberate and consistent effort in the proposal (and, in reality, in the sample chapters) to ensure that the book is accessible, chatty, fun and one which wouldn't gather dust. Emphatically not an encyclopedia, it takes each of the Bard's plays and holds them under a microscope. I enjoyed the sample chapters a lot.
I think this is the sort of book that schools would buy so that every library, English classroom and Drama office had one. Additionally, it would be a great addition to theatre bookshops and a wonderful gift. Big international appeal also with a pleasing eye (based on the chapters available) on non-Western productions.
I can imagine this book being read, enjoyed, and used by individual students who discover a passion for Shakespeare or who are curious about the plays and why they are so popular. I can also see particular sections being useful for assigned readings in high school or college-level introductions to particular plays.
This is an extraordinarily ambitious project making for a heavyweight tome (however lighthearted the tone). The author manages to convey a good deal of factual information among areas of open-ended discussion. Referencing is very light touch - in general a paragraph at the end of a chapter to flag up where further information can be found about specific topics. As a contribution to Shakespeare textbooks, it's undoubtedly the only work of this kind to address this quantity of material in a determinedly non-academic fashion. The two introductory chapters effectively signal ways of reading the book and introduce the open-endedness of reading Shakespeare - one of the author's real strengths is his insistence on 'ambiguity . and plurality'.
The writing is charismatic and an broad introduction to plays written accessibly might well appeal to a range of readers. The proposal is thorough (it includes all plays, including those of contested authorship) and has a clear internal structure followed in each chapter. Rather than presenting new research per se (though there are some unique perspectives offered), it is intended to offer a way into the plays for people new to Shakespeare.
I think this is the sort of book that schools would buy so that every library, English classroom and Drama office had one. Additionally, it would be a great addition to theatre bookshops and a wonderful gift. Big international appeal also with a pleasing eye (based on the chapters available) on non-Western productions.
I can imagine this book being read, enjoyed, and used by individual students who discover a passion for Shakespeare or who are curious about the plays and why they are so popular. I can also see particular sections being useful for assigned readings in high school or college-level introductions to particular plays.
This is an extraordinarily ambitious project making for a heavyweight tome (however lighthearted the tone). The author manages to convey a good deal of factual information among areas of open-ended discussion. Referencing is very light touch - in general a paragraph at the end of a chapter to flag up where further information can be found about specific topics. As a contribution to Shakespeare textbooks, it's undoubtedly the only work of this kind to address this quantity of material in a determinedly non-academic fashion. The two introductory chapters effectively signal ways of reading the book and introduce the open-endedness of reading Shakespeare - one of the author's real strengths is his insistence on 'ambiguity . and plurality'.
The writing is charismatic and an broad introduction to plays written accessibly might well appeal to a range of readers. The proposal is thorough (it includes all plays, including those of contested authorship) and has a clear internal structure followed in each chapter. Rather than presenting new research per se (though there are some unique perspectives offered), it is intended to offer a way into the plays for people new to Shakespeare.