Greenwood Guides to Shakespeare – serie

Henry V is a complex and challenging Shakespearean play that rewards detailed study. While few critics count it among Shakespeare's greatest works, the play is almost always successful in the theater. Compared to some of Shakespeare's more critically esteemed works, Henry V is more accessible to students, who find it easier to grasp as a text inviting lively discussion. In the early 1990's its popularity surged with the release of Kenneth Branagh's film version (1989), a hit with audiences on both sides of the Atlantic. This reference book is a comprehensive introductory guide to virtually all aspects of the play.The volume begins with a full overview of the textual history of the play and its historical and cultural contexts, with special emphasis on how it contributed to the debate on kingship and authority in the late sixteenth century. The book then concentrates extensively on the play's dramatic structure, its plots, its patterns of language, and its development of characters. Central to this discussion is the ambiguous presentation of Henry V, a public figure who may be interpreted as both a heroic king and a Machiavellian leader. The next chapter examines the play's significant themes: order and chaos, war, and kingship. The volume then evaluates different critical approaches to the play, so that the reader may understand how critics have responded to it over time. The final chapter carefully analyzes several theatrical, film, and video productions of Henry V. A closing bibliographical essay outlines the most important critical works on this enduring and provocative drama.

Often regarded as Shakespeare's most complex and difficult play Hamlet is also one of his most popular. It has been performed countless times on the stage and has been produced in many film and television versions. Even those who have never read the complete play or seen a performance know a few lines of To be or not to be and the image of a young man contemplating the skull of his dead friend Yorick. The play continues to attract the attention of high school students and scholars alike and has generated a tremendous amount of criticism. Because Hamlet exists as text, performance, and cultural icon, only through a study of the play in these three different dimensions can Shakespeare's complex work be appreciated.The purpose of this reference book is to introduce students and others first approaching Hamlet to the traditions of scholarship, criticism, and performance that it has inspired in four centuries. The volume gives close attention to the textual history of the play and to the historical, cultural, and intellectual contexts in which it emerged. Special attention is given to the religious, philosophical, and psychological aspects of the text. The book also treats Shakespeare's language, imagery, themes, and dramatic art, and it offers a summary of the play's critical reception. Throughout an attempt is made to visualize the play in performance, and constant reference is made to the conventions of staging in Shakespeare's Globe Theatre.

Since its first performances around 1596 and its earliest editions (1597, 1599), Romeo and Juliet has remained one of Shakespeare's most popular plays. The reasons are not far to seek, as the play centers on a subject of perennial interest: romantic love. A mixed genre, the play begins as a comedy and ends as a tragedy. Romeo and Juliet are among Shakespeare's most memorable characters, for he has endowed them with some of his greatest lyric poetry. Students and scholars continue to debate whether the death of the two lovers is a tragedy of fate, or whether Romeo and Juliet are responsible for what happens to them, like so many of Shakespeare's later protagonists. The lovers do all they can to escape the violence in Verona, and Friar Lawrence hopes that their marriage will end the feud between their families. But events prove beyond their means of control, and rather than submit to Verona's traditions of hatred and violence, Romeo and Juliet choose to end their lives. Ironically, their deaths bring the Capulets and Montagues to recognize their children's sacrifice and finally make peace.Taught at the high school level and studied extensively by Shakespeareans, Romeo and Juliet has attracted an enormous amount of both popular and scholarly interest. This reference book examines every aspect of Shakespeare's creation: the transformation of the story from its sources, the use of the arts of language in both prose and verse, the dramatic structure and its significance, and the most significant themes and their development. In addition, a chapter on the textual history of Romeo and Juliet reviews past and current theories, and a chapter on performances from Shakespeare's time to ours analyzes important productions both on stage and on film. Psychoanalytical, feminist, and gender criticism are also considered as alternative critical approaches along with myth and archetypal criticism. Finally, the volume contains a current selected, annotated bibliography. Thus the book is the fullest and most comprehensive account of Romeo and Juliet to appear in years and is of value both to students approaching the play for the first time and to scholars seeking a lucid synthesis of recent information.

One of Shakespeare's four major tragedies, Othello has captivated audiences for centuries. In its treatment of jealousy and racial tension, it offers an enduring study of universal themes. Part of the Greenwood Guides to Shakespeare, this reference book provides students with a comprehensive overview of the play. The early chapters discuss significant differences between Quarto and Folio texts of Othello and explore the play's sources and historical contexts—in particular, how Othello contributes to early seventeenth century discourses on racial otherness and the role of women. The book then analyzes the dramatic structure of the play, including its settings, action, and patterns of language.The play hinges on Shakespeare's characters, and the volume discusses his complex presentation of Desdemona, Iago, and Othello. It then examines the tragedy's significant themes: the outsider in society, the gap between empirical evidence and intuitive faith, and the monsters and demons of sexual jealousy and the human imagination. This discussion is followed by a review of the critical response to Othello from the early seventeenth century to the present. A final chapter covers the play in performance, with special attention to versions available on film and videotape. Included are photographs from several major productions. The volume concludes with a bibliographical essay.

Perhaps more than any other single work, Shakespeare's Julius Caesar has popularized the image of Brutus as a ruthless and cowardly traitor, Caesar as a noble ruler and sympathetic victim, and the Ides of March as a time of danger and duplicity. On the surface, the play is comparatively simple and straightforward, and thus it has served to introduce generations of students to Shakespeare's works. But the play is deceptive in its apparent simplicity. While Brutus joins the conspirators in assassinating Caesar, his possibly selfless motives may make him the noblest Roman of them all. And while Caesar emerges as a beneficent leader in Antony's funeral oration, other traditions with which Shakespeare's audience would have been familiar paint him as a tyrannical despot. The play, then, is laden with ambiguity, and it raises more questions about human nature than it answers about Roman history. And while some scholars have criticized the play's language for being relatively unpoetic and inferior to some of Shakespeare's later tragedies, Julius Caesar has given us some of the most memorable passages in English literature.This addition to the Greenwood Guides to Shakespeare series offers a comprehensive overview of Julius Caesar and the issues central to an understanding and appreciation of the tragedy. Written at a level accessible to readers of all backgrounds, from secondary school students to scholars, the volume gives full attention to textual, contextual, dramatic, thematic, critical, and performance aspects of the play. The book begins with a look at the history of the text and a consideration of some modern editions. It then examines the historical and cultural contexts of Shakespeare's England and shows how they shaped his work. The book discusses Shakespeare's likely sources and how he adapted them, and it analyzes his dramatic art, including his characterizations, language, and imagery. The guide then turns to the themes treated throughout the play, and it surveys the tragedy's critical reception. Finally, the book charts the drama's lengthy stage history and looks closely at representative productions, including some film versions. An annotated bibliography and comprehensive index conclude the work.

The Merchant of Venice is one of Shakespeare's most frequently performed plays. Though written more than 400 years ago, the play's concerns—anti-Semitism, homosexuality, materialism, usury, the law, and the sincerity of love—continue to resonate in contemporary culture. Shylock, one of the most memorable characters in literature, has been discussed at length and continues to fascinate readers and scholars, yet relatively few works have been published on the play as a whole. This reference is a comprehensive introduction to the play, its themes and contexts, its critical reception, and its performance history.The volume begins with a discussion of the play's creation and textual history. It then examines Shakespeare's sources and analogues, considering how he drew upon and modified available material. A plot summary follows, along with an analysis of the play's characters and language. The book then examines the play's themes and overviews its critical reception and performance history. An annotated bibliography concludes the volume.

In Antony and Cleopatra, Shakespeare dramatizes the classical love story of the Roman general and the Egyptian queen, their fatal romance, and the power struggle that leads to the triumph of Octavius Caesar. While the play has much to offer, it is also one of Shakespeare's least accessible tragedies. It can baffle readers with its difuseness and multiple perspectives, or intimidate directors eager to do justice to its huge canvass without overwhelming the audience. This reference provides a thorough overview of the play, its background, and its critical and dramatic legacy.The early chapters examine the original text of Antony and Cleopatra and the play's contexts and sources. In particular, the book considers how Shakespeare's dramatic presentation of a powerful female ruler might reflect political attitudes in Renaissance England, and how he drew from North's Plutarch. The volume then analyzes the dramatic structure of the play--its settings, patterns of language, genre, and characters. Later chapters explore the tragedy's major themes and critical reception and discuss its performance history. A bibliographical essay then reviews the most important general works for further reading.

This comprehensive guide includes a discussion of the play's textual history, analyses of its various contexts and sources of influence, an examination of its dramatic structure, a detailed plot summary, a discussion of major themes and critical approaches, and a look at major productions from the 16th through the 20th century.Shakespeare's As You Like It continues to captivate audiences some 400 years after it was written. This reference is a comprehensive guide to the play. Beginning with a discussion of the play's textual history, the guide analyzes its various contexts and sources of influence. The play's dramatic structure is examined, a detailed plot summary is offered, and the play's major themes—along with an overview of major critical approaches to the work—are discussed. The volume also covers major productions of As You Like It from the 16th through the 20th century.

The Tempest was first published in 1623 and is probably the last play Shakespeare wrote by himself. The product of his artistic maturity, it has inspired a variety of modern adaptations and remains one of his most popular plays. While its plot is fairly straightforward, The Tempest addresses numerous issues and topics current in the 17th century, such as magic and colonialism. Scholars, in turn, have responded by generating a vast body of criticism. This reference is a comprehensive guide to the play.The volume begins with a brief consideration of the play's textual history, followed by an evaluation of the merits of various modern editions. It then looks at some of Shakespeare's likely sources and influences, from classical literature to accounts of a 17th-century shipwreck. A chapter on the play's dramatic structure moves through the text and touches on issues raised in greater detail later in the book. The volume then studies some of the play's themes and summarizes how critics have responded to them. Finally, the book comments on the play's performance history and analyzes major productions.

Love's Labour's Lost has had a puzzling history. Until the 1950s it was generally considered one of Shakespeare's earliest plays, and it was one of his most vilified until the 20th century. Perhaps more than any other Shakespearean play, it explores the power and limitations of language, and this blatant concern for language led many early critics to believe that it was the work of a playwright just learning his art. Because of its linguistic density, it is one of Shakespeare's most demanding plays, and this difficulty helps account for its initial unpopularity. But modern critics have begun to study the play in earnest and it is now one of Shakespeare's most popular works. This reference is a thorough introduction to the play's origins and legacy.The volume provides a full overview of all aspects of the play, from its genesis to modern productions, and scholarship. The book begins with a summary of the play's textual history, including the problems of dating it accurately. It then discusses the cultural, social, and ideological contexts that inform the drama and considers some of Shakespeare's plausible sources. The play's dramatic structure, including its language, is examined at length, along with its various themes. The reference then recounts its critical and scholarly reception, and a final chapter surveys the play's performance history. Chapters cite works for further reading, and the volume concludes with a selected bibliography of major studies.

In its timeless exploration of familial and political dissolution, and in its relentless questioning of the apparent moral indifference of the universe, King Lear is Shakespeare's darkest tragedy. It is also one of his most timely, for many of the issues it raises resonate loudly within our own era. Perhaps because of its contemporary relevance, it is one of Shakespeare's most frequently produced, taught, and studied works. And the amount of scholarship on King Lear is exceeded only be the complexity which that scholarship reveals. This book is a lucid and thorough guide to the play's roots and legacy.The volume begins with a discussion of the play's textual history, which is complicated by the different quarto and folio versions. It also addresses the merits of several recent editions. The book then looks at the literary, historical, and cultural contexts that inform the play. This is followed by an examination of Shakespeare's dramatic art, an analysis of the play's themes, and a summary of the different approaches critics have used to elucidate its meaning. A final chapter explores the play's rich production history, and a selected bibliography concludes the volume. As a guide, this reference successfully navigates the tremendous body of available scholarship and is a ready aid for a wide range of readers.

Twelfth Night is one of the most accessible and yet elusive of Shakespeare's plays. It has enjoyed enormous popularity in performance, but it continues to challenge students. This guide provides a thorough introduction to the play. Included are chapters on the play's background, contexts, themes, dramatic art, critical reception, and performance history. The volume cites current scholarship and closes with a bibliography.Twelfth Night is one of the most accessible yet elusive of Shakespeare's plays. It has enjoyed enormous popularity in performance, but it continues to challenge students. It has experienced numerous revivals and has provoked some of the most brilliant critical responses from Shakespeare's critics. Written for students and general readers, this guide is a comprehensive introduction to Shakespeare's play.The volume begins with a look at the play's textual history. This is followed by an exploration of its historical and cultural contexts and its sources and analogues. The book next turns to Shakespeare's dramatic art and then examines his themes of identity, sexuality, and madness. The final chapters look at the critical response to the play and give special attention to the play's performance history. The guide closes with a bibliography.

With a raging bear, the figure of Time, and a statue that turns out to be a living woman, The Winter's Tale is one of Shakespeare's most unusual dramas. This book conveniently overviews the play and its contexts. The guide begins with a discussion of the play's textual history and its relation to early 17th-century political, social, and agrarian developments. It then examines Shakespeare's dramatic art, characters, and themes. The final chapters review the critical and scholarly response to Shakespeare's work and its performance history.

Whether written for Renaissance law students or the popular crowds at the Globe Theatre, Shakespeare's Coriolanus appeals to a wide audience. With thematic consistency, the play presents the class conflict between Roman patricians and plebeians in terms of metaphors, images, and symbols of the human body and its basic needs for nourishment, love, and security. The play considers the compromises individuals must make if they are to thrive in a social order, and its exploration of the responsibility of individuals to others has never been more timely. This book is a comprehensive introduction to the play.The volume discusses the genesis and textual history of Coriolanus and the merits of available modern editions. Also included is a plot summary. The book gives special attention to the historical, cultural, and intellectual contexts that shaped Shakespeare's work, and it analyzes his language and dramatic art. A chapter analyzes the play's themes and ideas, while another surveys the play's critical and scholarly reception. Of special interest is a chapter on the play's performance history. The guide cites current scholarship throughout and offers suggestions for further reading.