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How did Bottom''s dream rewrite the Bible? How did Shakespeare''s plays lead to the deaths of an earl and a king? And why was he the one dramatist of his generation never to be imprisoned?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWeaving a dazzling tapestry of Elizabethan beliefs and obsessions, private passions and political intrigues, \u003ci\u003eSoul of the Age\u003c\/i\u003e leads us on an exhilarating tour of the extraordinary, colourful and often violent world that shaped and informed Shakespeare''s thinking. Written by one of the world''s leading experts, it combines almost everything there is to know about the man and his work in one sensational narrative.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e''Bate probably knows as much as any single person can know about Shakespeare ... Surprising, fresh, exhilarating, brilliant'', \u003ci\u003eGuardian\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e''Intensely enjoyable ... you find yourself gasping with pleasure'' John Carey,\u003ci\u003e Sunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJonathan Bate is Professor of Shakespeare and Renaissance Literature at the University of Warwick, chief editor of \u003ci\u003eThe RSC Shakespeare: Complete Works \u003c\/i\u003eand the author of many books, including most recently \u003ci\u003eJohn Clare: A Biography\u003c\/i\u003e, which won the Hawthornden Prize for Literature and the James Tait Black Prize for Biography. A Fellow of the British Academy, he was awarded a CBE in 2006.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'An excellent writer ! he achieves a resonant and complex portrait, constantly alert to new lines of enquiry and unexpected conclusions ... A triumph of precision, learning and intelligent innovation' - Charles Nicholl, Sunday Telegraph, Book of the Week 'Bate probably knows as much as any single person can know about Shakespeare ... Surprising, fresh, exhilarating, brilliant' - Richard Eyre, Guardian 'Wholehearted applause for Bate's portrayal of Shakespeare's world ... it is pure pleasure ... I defy any reader, no matter how saturated in Shakespeare, not to find something new here' Independent on Sunday","brand":"Penguin Books Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48732389933399,"sku":"9780141015866","price":11.69,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780141015866.jpg?v=1719996673"},{"product_id":"shakespeare-and-co-9780141017136","title":"Shakespeare and Co.","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eStanley Wells has devoted most of life to teaching, editing and writing about Shakespeare and his contemporaries. Chairman of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust and Honorary Governor Emeritus of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, he is also Emeritus Professor of Shakespeare Studies of the University of Birmingham. He is General Editor of the Penguin and Oxford editions of Shakespeare and co-editor of the Oxford Companion to Shakespeare. His recent account of Shakespeare and his after-life, Shakespeare For All Time, was described as the best book about Shakespeare for a generation.","brand":"Penguin Books Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48732390523223,"sku":"9780141017136","price":11.69,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780141017136.jpg?v=1719996675"},{"product_id":"nicholl-c-lodger-9780141023748","title":"Nicholl C Lodger","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn 1612 Shakespeare gave evidence at the Court of Requests in Westminster it is the only occasion his spoken words are recorded. The case seems routine a dispute over an unpaid marriage-dowry but it opens up an unexpected window into the dramatist's famously obscure life-story. Charles Nicholl applies a powerful biographical magnifying glass to this fascinating episode in Shakespeare's life. Marshalling evidence from a wide variety of sources, including previously unknown documentary material on the Mountjoys, he conjures up a detailed and compelling description of the circumstances in which Shakespeare lived and worked, and in which he wrote such plays as \u003ci\u003eOthello\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eMeasure for Measure\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eKing\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eLear\u003c\/i\u003e.","brand":"Penguin Books Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48732394488151,"sku":"9780141023748","price":11.69,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780141023748.jpg?v=1719996689"},{"product_id":"shakespeares-sonnets-9780141396224","title":"Shakespeares Sonnets","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e''Shall I compare thee \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eto a summer''s day?\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThou art more lovely\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eand more temperate . . .''\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eShakespeare''s 154 sonnets contain some of the most exquisite and haunting poetry ever written, dealing with eternal themes such as love and infidelity, memory and mortality, and the destruction wreaked by time. This new edition collects them in a pocket-sized volume, perfect for gifting. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWilliam Shakespeare was born some time in late April 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon and died in 1616. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world''s pre-eminent dramatist.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Penguin Books Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48732484796759,"sku":"9780141396224","price":6.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780141396224.jpg?v=1719997086"},{"product_id":"the-marquis-de-sade-9780192804693","title":"The Marquis de Sade","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWere it not for the Marquis de Sade''s explicit use of language and complete disregard for the artificially constructed taboos of a religious morality he despised, the novelty and profundity of his thought, and above all, its fundamental modernity, would have long since secured him a place alongside the greatest authors and thinkers of the European Enlightenment. This Very Short Introduction aims to disentangle the ''real'' Marquis de Sade from his mythical and demonic reputation of the past two hundred years. Phillips examines Sade''s life and work: his libertine novels, his championing of atheism, and his uniqueness in bringing the body and sex back into philosophy. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA brisk and lively introductory book. * John Phillips, Times Literary Supplement *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e1. Beyond the Myth: The real Marquis de Sade ; 2. Man of Letters ; 3. Martyr of Atheism ; 4. Sade and the French Revolution ; 5. Theatres of the Body ; 6. Apostle of Freedom ; References ; Further Reading","brand":"Oxford University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48732589818199,"sku":"9780192804693","price":9.49,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780192804693.jpg?v=1719997554"},{"product_id":"persian-letters-9780192806352","title":"Persian Letters","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e''Oh! Monsieur is Persian? That''s most extraordinary! How can someone be Persian?''Two Persian travellers, Usbek and Rica, arrive in Paris just before the death of Louis XIV and in time to witness the hedonism and financial crash of the Regency. In their letters home they report on visits to the theatre and scientific societies, and observe the manners and flirtations of polite society, the structures of power and the hypocrisy of religion. Irony and bitter satire mark their comparison of East and West and their quest for understanding. Unsettling news from Persia concerning the female world of the harem intrudes on their new identities and provides a suspenseful plot of erotic jealousy and passion.This pioneering epistolary novel and work of travel-writing opened the world of the West to its oriental visitors and the Orient to its Western readers. This is the first English translation based on the original text, revealing this lively work as Montesquieu first intended. ABOUT THE SERI","brand":"Oxford University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48732590276951,"sku":"9780192806352","price":10.79,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780192806352.jpg?v=1719997556"},{"product_id":"the-two-gentlemen-of-verona-9780192831422","title":"The Two Gentlemen of Verona","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Oxford ShakespeareGeneral Editor: Stanley WellsThe Oxford Shakespeare offers authoritative texts from leading scholars in editions designed to interpret and illuminate the plays for modern readers.- A new, modern-spelling text, collated and edited from all existing printings- Wide-ranging introduction explores the lyrical language with which Shakespeare dramatizes competing kinds of love- Detailed performance history designed to meet the needs of theatre professionals- On-page commentary and notes explain language, word-play, and staging- the only edition to provide a setting of the song ''Who is Silvia?'' , taken from an Elizabethan source- Illustrated with production photographs and related art- Full index to introduction and commentary- Durable sewn binding for lasting use''not simply a better text but a new conception of Shakespeare'' ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World''s Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affor\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRoger Warren's edition of the play in the excellent Oxford series is emphatically performance-orientated throughout. * Ruth Morse, Times Literary Supplement *","brand":"Oxford University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48732591227223,"sku":"9780192831422","price":7.59,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780192831422.jpg?v=1719997560"},{"product_id":"the-private-life-of-william-shakespeare-9780192846303","title":"The Private Life of William Shakespeare","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBreathes new life into Shakespeare's story by establishing fresh interpretations of his baptism; evidence pertaining to his father; his wedding; his home; his will; and his monument.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e...Orlin has made the simple point that there will always be novel discoveries to be found within the broader depths of Warwickshire archives. Hers is a methodology that should arm researchers when approaching any historical figure, and any archival record. * Francesca Rhodes, Midland History journal *\u003cbr\u003eLena Cowen Orlin's The Private Life of William Shakespeare sets a new standard for literary biography. Comparing the key documents of Shakespeare's biography to a wide array of similar documents from Shakespeare's contemporaries, Cowen Orlin manages to separate what is fact and what is probable about the life of England's most influential writer from what is mere speculation. Employing the most rigorous archival methodologies, her book challenges the shibboleths that have accumulated around the religion of Shakespeare's parents, his early marriage to the older Anne Hathaway, his life as a property owner, his will, and his death and monument [...] Early modern scholars will likely be reading and re-reading this book decades from now, perhaps arguing over this or that detail, but Cowen Orlin's approach will remain uncontested - a new benchmark for the field. * Brian Lockey, on behalf of the Committee for the Roland Bainton Prize in Literature *\u003cbr\u003eAfter more than three hundred years of research on Shakespeare we are unlikely to find more documents relating to the monument, and the question of authorship may never be fully resolved. What could be done, however, is to conduct a full physical and technical examination, which would certainly help with questions of authenticity and alterations. This would involve dismantling the memorial and removing at least some of the later paintwork which now obscures its history. It would be an expensive process, requiring the services of fully qualified conservators, but it would surely not be beyond the resources of Shakespeare devotees around the world. Professor Orlin's highly valuable book would serve as inspiration for the project. * Adam White, Church Monuments *\u003cbr\u003eLena Cowen Orlin examines a series of seminal moments in the writer's private life … [a] painstakingly detailed recontextualisation of evidence * David McInnis, Australian Book Review *\u003cbr\u003eThe great and lasting result of her labors is how punishingly she demolishes shoddy claims and biased inferences that have distorted our understanding of Shakespeare's life....it reads like a detective story in which a skilled investigator returns to a cold case...detailed and dazzling...[an] impressive and valuable book, a biography that will lead many to revise their classroom lectures. * James Shapiro, New York Times *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIntroduction: 26 April 1564 1: 23 January 1577: Shakespeare's Father 2: 28 November 1582: Shakespeare's Wedding 3: 4 May 1597: Shakespeare's Home 4: 25 March 1616: Shakespeare's Will 5: 25 April 1616: Shakespeare's Monument List of Abbreviations Appendix I. Shakespeare in the West Midlands Appendix II. The Quiney Papers Appendix III. Shakespeare's Last Will Appendix IV. Shakespeare's Earlier Will Appendix V. The 'Shakespeare Type' of Funerary Monuments Appendix VI. Shakespeare Documented","brand":"Oxford University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48732593717591,"sku":"9780192846303","price":32.49,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780192846303.jpg?v=1719997570"},{"product_id":"king-lear-shakespeares-dark-consolations-my-reading-9780192846723","title":"King Lear Shakespeares Dark Consolations My","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA book on the experience of reading Shakespeare's 'dark plays' which 'often begin with lives falling apart: an event--shipwreck, exile, doubt, or unexpected love--derails what had seemed secure. Those who participate in the plays, as players, audience members, or readers, are invited to see in those events the vulnerability of their own lives.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePrologue: A Tale of Two Families Vulnerable Reading The Unravelling The Refuge of Second Selves The Lost, the Mad, and the Image of Horror Reconciliations Living With an Unpromised End How King Lear Helps Tragic Sharing Coda: In Place of the Jig","brand":"Oxford University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48732594143575,"sku":"9780192846723","price":18.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780192846723.jpg?v=1719997574"},{"product_id":"the-rhetoric-of-exemplarity-in-early-modern-england-9780192849335","title":"The Rhetoric of Exemplarity in Early Modern","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn this study, Michael Ullyot makes two new arguments about the rhetoric of exemplarity in late Elizabethan and Jacobean culture: first, that exemplarity is a recursive cycle driven by rhetoricians'' words and readers'' actions; and second, that positive moral examples are not replicable, but rather aspirational models of readers'' posthumous biographies. For example, Alexander the Great envied Achilles less for his exemplary life than for Homer''s account of it. Ullyot defines the three types of decorum on which exemplary rhetoric and imitation rely, and charts their operations through Philip Sidney''s poetics, Edmund Spenser''s poetry, and the dedications, sermons, elegies, biographies, and other occasional texts about Robert Devereux, second earl of Essex, and Henry, Prince of Wales. Ullyot expands the definition of occasional texts to include those that criticize their circumstances to demand better ones, and historicizes moral exemplarity in the contexts of sixteenth-century Prote","brand":"Oxford University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48732595749207,"sku":"9780192849335","price":76.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780192849335.jpg?v=1719997580"},{"product_id":"shakespeares-first-folio-9780192886644","title":"Shakespeares First Folio","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCelebrating the 400th Anniversary of the publication of Shakespeare''s First Folio\u003c\/b\u003eThis is the biography of a book: the first collected edition of Shakespeare''s plays printed in 1623 and known as the First Folio. It begins with the story of its first purchaser in London in December 1623, and goes on to explore the ways people have interacted with this iconic book over the four hundred years of its history. Throughout the stress is on what we can learn from individual copies now spread around the world about their eventful lives. From ink blots to pet paws, from annotations to wineglass rings, First Folios teem with evidence of their place in different contexts with different priorities. This study offers new ways to understand Shakespeare''s reception and the history of the book. Unlike previous scholarly investigations of the First Folio, it is not concerned with the discussions of how the book came into being, the provenance of its texts, or the technicalities of its production. Instead, it reanimates, in narrative style, the histories of this book, paying close attention to the details of individual copies now located around the world - their bindings, marginalia, general condition, sales history, and location - to discuss five major themes: owning, reading, decoding, performing, and perfecting. This is a history of the book that consolidated Shakespeare''s posthumous reputation: a reception history and a study of interactions between owners, readers, forgers, collectors, actors, scholars, booksellers, and the book through which we understand and recognize Shakespeare.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA fascinating and provocative book. * Daniel Swift, Spectator *\u003cbr\u003eDelightful. * Jerry Brotton, The Daily Telegraph *\u003cbr\u003eHer diligence in considering every aspect of the Folio's material existence is commendable. * Brian Vickers, Times Literary Supplement *\u003cbr\u003eThis is a beautifully judged book about books, impeccably researched yet wry and affectionate. * Jerry Brotton, Financial Times *\u003cbr\u003eSmith's account of the Folio's distinguished career is very nicely written and consistently entertaining and informative... It is the modern equivalent of a magic book, and Smith's own book does justice to that magic. * Times Higher Education *\u003cbr\u003eEmma Smith's book comes as a welcome corrective to the fascination with Shakespeare the man ... as it is the \"biography\" of something far more interesting: a book. * Stuart Kelly, Independent *\u003cbr\u003eI've been looking forward to Emma Smith's Shakespeare's First Folio ever since I heard her give a paper that asked, \"can you actually read the First Folio?\" It's that sort of arresting question that wouldn't occur to many other people that makes her scholarship so inventive and absorbing. * Jem Bloomfield, Times Higher Education, Summer Reads 2016 *\u003cbr\u003eA charming, enlightening account, not so much of the origins, as of the fortunes over the years subsequently, of the great edition. * David Sexton, Evening Standard *\u003cbr\u003eSmith is one of the cleverest scholars around, but her academic weight is balanced with an accessible tone and wry humour. * Bristol Magazine *\u003cbr\u003eA marvelous bit of scholarship. Detailed without being dry, playful without being silly, it's a well-researched, thoroughly balanced account of this 'iconic book.' * The Oxford Culture Review *\u003cbr\u003eThe book is well illustrated, and Smith writes with great style. * Ben Higgins, Review of English Studies *\u003cbr\u003e... offers a wealth of important information, fascinating episodes, and sophisticated critical insight. It will, therefore, be of great interest to a variety of scholars in different disciplines, with literary critics, cultural historians, and scholars of book history foremost among them. * José María Pérez Fernández, Bulletin of the Comediantes *\u003cbr\u003e[A] compassionate biography... a wonderful testimony to the 'worlds most expensive book' and the readers who keep it that way. * Charlotte Scott, Shakespeare Survey *\u003cbr\u003eThis book is a very good read, a largely anecdotal but always entertaining account of copies of the Shakespeare First Folio from their production in 1623 to the present ... the pleasure and instruction this book will bring to the casual bibliophile or the Shakespeare enthusiast. * Alan H. Nelson, Renaissance Quarterly *\u003cbr\u003eSmith's second book, Shakespeare's First Folio: Four Centuries of an Iconic Book, picks up where The Making of Shakespeare's First Folio leaves off, tracing different ways of interacting with the Folio owning, reading, forging, acting, collecting, and studying from the seventeenth century to our own time, and from Europe and America to Africa and Asia. * Kevin Curran, Studies in English Literature 1500-1900 *\u003cbr\u003eThoroughly researched, and well-organized. * Anna Faktorovich, Pennsylvania Literary Journal *\u003cbr\u003e[An] excellent companion. * Camille Ralphs, Poetry Foundation *\u003cbr\u003eAuthoritative, lively and accessible. * Rhodri Lewis, Prospect *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIntroduction Sir Edward Dering goes shopping 1: Owning 2: Reading 3: Decoding 4: Performing 5: Perfecting Conclusion Bibliography Index","brand":"Oxford University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48732610298199,"sku":"9780192886644","price":18.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780192886644.jpg?v=1719997639"},{"product_id":"macbeth-before-shakespeare-9780197567531","title":"Macbeth before Shakespeare","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMacbeth before Shakespeare is a history of the medieval King Macbeth and his legend that was the basis for William Shakespeare's Tragedie of Macbeth. It traces the life of the real man and his important innovations, while showing how different legends were created in subsequent eras.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBenjamin Hudson's Macbeth before Shakespeare is a very entertaining and educating read. It succeeds very well in bringing out the man behind the myth, as well as explaining how the man became the myth. Hudson is a master of all the materials and languages required for the job, and he knows the history of Ireland and Britain around the year 1000 intimately. * Dáibhí Ó Cróinín, National University of Ireland, Galway *\u003cbr\u003eHere at last we have a solid and detailed account of the historical Macbeth. Ben Hudson is the historian of Celtic Scotland in the central Middle Ages, and he provides us with a readable narrative of the origins of the kingdom of the Scots and Macbeth's role as one of its most energetic and effective kings prior to Scotland's vassalage to their Anglo-Norman neighbor to the south. We see here the process by which Shakespeare inherited the history and legends surrounding Macbeth and the 'three weird sisters,' how Scots were generally perceived in Tudor England, and whether or not there could have been surviving children of Macbeth and his Lady. This is a meticulously constructed history of Scots, Viking, and English relations in the tumultuous eleventh century and a fascinating glimpse into how this particular Scottish monarch—called by one contemporary poet 'the red king'—made his way onto the Elizabethan stage. * Christopher A. Snyder, author of The Britons *\u003cbr\u003eThis fascinating examination is an important contribution to medieval and early modern Scottish and British history, literature, folklore, and drama. Combining an unrivalled mastery of a complex array of sources with expert use of multiple methodologies, Benjamin Hudson deftly unveils the story of one of Scotland's most enigmatic figures across half a millennium as he explores the evolution of Macbeth from an historical, eleventh-century ruler of Scotland to the infamous Shakespearean literary villain of five-and-a-half centuries later. * R. Andrew McDonald, Brock University *\u003cbr\u003eRecommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty. * Choice *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNote on Methodology List of Abbreviations Acknowledgments Preface Introduction: A Man and a Legend Chapter 1: Macbeth: Place and Past Chapter 2: Macbeth Emerges Chapter 3: King of All the Scots Chapter 4: Fame and Defamation Chapter 5: Not the Beginning of the Legend Chapter 6: Weird Sisters and the Prior of Loch Leven Chapter 7: Macbeth and Renaissance Scotland Chapter 8: The Scot in Tudor England Chapter 9: Macbeth before Shakespeare Conclusion Appendix 1: Children of Macbeth Appendix 2: Andrew of Wyntoun's Macbeth Episode: A Translation Notes Index","brand":"Oxford University Press Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48732651880791,"sku":"9780197567531","price":999.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780197567531.jpg?v=1719997807"},{"product_id":"oxford-student-texts-john-milton-paradise-lost-book-ix-9780198326007","title":"Oxford Student Texts John Milton Paradise Lost","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOne of a series designed to motivate and encourage students who may be working on certain writers for the first time. Each text includes notes to explain literary and historical allusions, tasks to help students explore themes and issues, and suggestions for further reading.","brand":"Oxford University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48732689269079,"sku":"9780198326007","price":999.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}]},{"product_id":"oxford-literature-companions-hamlet-hamlet-get-revision-with-results-oxford-literature-companions-for-a-level-9780198399063","title":"Oxford Literature Companions Hamlet Hamlet Get","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEasy to use in the classroom or as a tool for revision, Oxford Literature Companions provide student-friendly analysis of a range of popular A Level set texts. Each book offers a lively, engaging approach to the text, covering characterisation and role, genre, context, language, themes, structure, performance and critical views, whilst also providing a range of varied and in-depth activities to deepen understanding and encourage close work wtih the text. Each book also includes a comprehensive Skills and Practice section, which provides detailed advice on assessment and a bank of exam-style questions and annotated sample student answers. This guide covers Hamlet by William Shakespeare, is suitable for all exam boards and for the most recent AS\/A level specifications.","brand":"Oxford University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48732720660823,"sku":"9780198399063","price":12.28,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780198399063.jpg?v=1719998119"},{"product_id":"oxford-literature-companions-king-lear-9780198399049","title":"Oxford Literature Companions King Lear","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEasy to use in the classroom or as a tool for revision, Oxford Literature Companions provide student-friendly analysis of a range of popular A Level set texts. Each book offers a lively, engaging approach to the text, covering characterisation and role, genre, context, language, themes, structure, performance and critical views, whilst also providing a range of varied and in-depth activities to deepen understanding and encourage close work wtih the text. Each book also includes a comprehensive Skills and Practice section, which provides detailed advice on assessment and a bank of exam-style questions and annotated sample student answers. This guide covers King Lear by William Shakespeare, is suitable for all exam boards and for the most recent AS\/A level specifications.","brand":"Oxford University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48732720759127,"sku":"9780198399049","price":11.67,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780198399049.jpg?v=1719998119"},{"product_id":"twelfth-night-get-revision-with-results-oxford-literature-companions-for-a-level-9780198419532","title":"Twelfth Night Get Revision with Results Oxford","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEasy to use in the classroom or as a tool for revision, Oxford Literature Companions provide student-friendly analysis of a range of popular A Level set texts. Each book offers a lively, engaging approach to the text, covering characterisation and role, genre, context, language, themes, structure, performance and critical views, whilst also providing a range of varied and in-depth activities to deepen understanding and encourage close work with the text. Each book also includes a comprehensive Skills and Practice section, which provides detailed advice on assessment and a bank of exam-style questions and annotated sample student answers. This guide covers Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare, is suitable for all exam boards and for the most recent AS\/A level specifications.","brand":"Oxford University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48732727804247,"sku":"9780198419532","price":11.67,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780198419532.jpg?v=1719998149"},{"product_id":"the-italian-9780198704430","title":"The Italian","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e''Among his associates no one loved him, many disliked him, and more feared him.'' Father Schedoni is enlisted by the imperious Marchesa di Vivaldi to prevent her son from marrying the beautiful Ellena. Schedoni has no scruples in kidnapping Ellena and in undertaking whatever villainy will further his own ends. His menacing presence dominates a gripping tale of love and betrayal, abduction and assassination, and incarceration in the dreadful dungeons of the Inquisition. Uncertainty and doubt lie everywhere, in Radcliffe''s last and most unnerving novel. Ann Radcliffe defined the ''terror'' genre of writing and helped to establish the Gothic novel, thrilling readers with her mysterious plots and eerie effects. In The Italian she rejects the rational certainties of the Enlightenment for a more ambiguous and unsettling account of what it is to be an individual - particularly a woman - in a culture haunted by history and dominated by institutional power. This new edition includes Radcliffe\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIntroduction Note on the Text Select Bibliography Chronology The Italian Explanatory Notes","brand":"Oxford University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48732766372183,"sku":"9780198704430","price":8.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780198704430.jpg?v=1719998305"},{"product_id":"the-oxford-companion-to-shakespeare-9780198708735","title":"The Oxford Companion to Shakespeare","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Oxford Companion to Shakespeare is the most comprehensive reference work available on Shakespeare''s life, times, works, and his 400-year global legacy. In addition to the authoritative A-Z entries, it includes nearly 100 illustrations, a chronology, a guide to further reading, a thematic contents list, and special feature entries on each of Shakespeare''s works. Tying in with the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare''s death, this much-loved Companion has been revised and updated, reflecting developments and discoveries made in recent years and to cover the performance, interpretation, and the influence of Shakespeare''s works up to the present day. First published in 2001, the online edition was revised in 2011, with updates to over 200 entries plus 16 new entries. These online updates appear in print for the first time in this second edition, along with a further 35,000 new and revised words. These include more than 80 new entries, ranging from important performers, directors, and s\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Companion is a neatly prepared one-stop shop for a wealth of basic information about Shakespeare's works, then, and now. * Kevin Curran, Studies in English Literature 1500-1900 *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eContents ; Foreword ; Preface to the 1st edition ; Preface to the 2nd edition ; Acknowledgements ; Contributors ; Thematic listing of entries ; List of plays ; Note to the reader ; The Oxford Companion to Shakespeare ; Map of British Isles and France in English Histories and Macbeth ; Family tree of the royal family in Shakespeare's English Histories ; Shakespeare's life, works, and reception: a partial chronology, 1564-1999 ; Further reading ; Picture acknowledgements","brand":"Oxford University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48732767453527,"sku":"9780198708735","price":35.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780198708735.jpg?v=1719998309"},{"product_id":"shakespeares-sonnets-and-poems-9780198717577","title":"Shakespeares Sonnets and Poems","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNot for nothing is William Shakespeare considered possibly the most famous writer in history; his works have had a lasting effect on culture, vocabularies, and art. His plays contain some of our most well-known lines (how often have you heard the phrase ''To be or not to be''?), yet whilst his poems may often feel less familiar than his plays they have also seeped into our cultural history (who has not heard of ''''Shall I compare thee to a summer''s day''?).In this Very Short Introduction Jonathan Post introduces all of Shakespeare''s poetry: the Sonnets; the two great narrative poems, Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece; A Lover''s Complaint; and The Phoenix and Turtle. Describing Shakespeare''s double identity as both poet and playwright, in conjunction with several of his contemporaries, Post evaluates the reciprocal advantages as well as the different strategies and strains that came with writing for the stage and the page. Tackling the debates surrounding the disputed authorship of Shakespeare''s poems, he also considers the printing history of Shakespeare''s canon, and the genres favoured by the bard. Exploring their reception, both with contemporary audiences and through the ages until today, Post explores the core themes of love and lust, and analyzes how the sonnets compare with other great love poetry of the English Renaissance.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eExpansive for a volume with so little page space, Johnathan F.S. Post's Shakespeare's Sonnets and Poems: A Very Short Introduction is a valuable addition to the libraries of novices and experts alike. * Hannah Smith-Drelich, The Shakespeare Newsletter *\u003cbr\u003eThis little gem achieves a great deal in very short compass, swiftly capturing the paradox at the sonnet's heart. * Katharine Craik, Times Literary Supplement *\u003cbr\u003eThis elegant little book is more than an introduction to the greatest lyric poems in the English language; it is itself a finely crafted work of English prose, one that any admirer of these poems will want to savour. * James Longenbach *\u003cbr\u003ecover[s] an impressive amount of literary and historical ground, and convey[s] a suitably sizeable serving of Shakespeare knowledge. * Shakespeare Magazine *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFURTHER READING; INDEX","brand":"Oxford University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48732769157463,"sku":"9780198717577","price":9.49,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780198717577.jpg?v=1719998318"},{"product_id":"william-shakespeare-9780198718628","title":"William Shakespeare","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn this new offering from Stanley Wells, the pre-eminent Shakespearian scholar, comes a Very Short Introduction to the life and writings of the world''s greatest and best-known dramatists: William Shakespeare.Looking at his early life and education, Wells explores Shakespeare''s social and intellectual background and the literary traditions on which Shakespeare drew. Examining the theatres and theatrical profession of the time, he also considers how Shakespeare experienced this world, both as an actor and as a writer. Examining Shakespeare''s narrative poems, sonnets, and all of his plays, Wells outlines their sources, style, and originality over the course of Shakespeare''s career, to consider the fundamental impact his work has had for subsequent generations. Written with enthusiasm and flair by a scholar who has devoted a lifetime to the study of Shakespeare and his works, this is an engaging and authoritative introduction. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWells approaches his subject matter with refreshing clarity and potent enthusiasm ... his convivial tone is one of this volume's great strengths. * English *\u003cbr\u003ean engaging and insightful guide which may inspire its readers to explore not only the author's life and works, but the wealth of contemporary Shakespearean manifestations. * English *\u003cbr\u003eSo all in all I enjoyed this little book very much, and it made me want to go back to the plays themselves as well as to delve into some recent secondary works. If you think you might have failed to fully appreciate Shakespeare, whether owing to bad teaching or to less than first-rate performances, this is an excellent place to start exploring the life and work of probably the most celebrated dramatist not only in Britain but also throughout the world. * Shiny New Books, Harriet Devine *\u003cbr\u003ethis is an excellent place to start exploring the life and work of probably the most celebrated dramatist not only in Britain but also throughout the world. * Shiny New Books *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePreface: Why Shakespeare? ; 1. Shakespeare and Stratford-upon-Avon ; 2. Theatre in Shakespeare's time ; 3. Shakespeare in London ; 4. Plays of the 1590s ; 5. Shakespeare and comic form ; 6. Return to tragedy ; 7. The classical plays ; 8. Tragi-comedy ; Epilogue ; Chronology: Shakespeare's works ; Further reading ; Index","brand":"Oxford University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48732769681751,"sku":"9780198718628","price":9.49,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}]},{"product_id":"shakespeares-comedies-9780198723356","title":"Shakespeares Comedies","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFrom The Two Gentlemen of Verona in the early 1590s to The Two Noble Kinsmen at the end of his career around 1614, Shakespeare wrote at least eighteen plays that can be called ''comedies'': a far higher number than that for any other genre in which he wrote. So what is a Shakespearean comedy? We associate these plays with such themes as mistaken identities, happy marriages, and exuberant cross dressing, but how representative are these of the oeuvre as a whole? In this Very Short Introduction, Bart van Es explores the full range of the playwright''s comic writing, from the neat classical plotting of early works like The Comedy of Errors to the corrupt world of the so-called problem plays, written in the middle years of Shakespeare''s life. Examining Shakespeare''s influences and sources, van Es compares his plays to those of his rivals, and looks at the history of the plays in performance, from the biographies of Shakespeare''s original actors to the plays'' endless reinvention in modern stage productions and in films. Identifying the key qualities that make Shakespearean comedy distinctive, van Es traces the changing nature of Shakespeare''s comic writing over the course of a career that spanned nearly a quarter century of theatrical change.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAimed at a general readership, the slim volume is nonetheless carefully researched and full of original ideas and connections. * Kevin Curran, Studies in English Literature 1500-1900 *\u003cbr\u003ecover[s] an impressive amount of literary and historical ground, and convey[s] a suitably sizeable serving of Shakespeare knowledge. * Shakespeare Magazine *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIntroduction ; World ; Wit ; Love ; Time ; Character ; Endings ; Further Reading ; Index","brand":"Oxford University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48732770304343,"sku":"9780198723356","price":9.49,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780198723356.jpg?v=1719998323"},{"product_id":"great-shakespeare-actors-9780198769729","title":"Great Shakespeare Actors","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eGreat Shakespeare Actors provides a series of well-informed, well-written, illuminating, and entertaining accounts of many of the most famous stage performers of Shakespeare in both England and America, offering a concise, actor-centred history of Shakespeare on the stage.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWells's vignette reports will make you wish you had been there... Eye-witness accounts are good, and especially when they are by actors such as Helen Faucit in the 19th century and by such academics as Stanley Wells in the 20th century, are invaluable. * Robert Tanitch, Mature Times *\u003cbr\u003eWells's book is a mentor and companion to the Shakespeare lover. It can be dipped into at leisure as each chapter is complete in itself, but the text is so diverting and compulsive, so utterly knowledgeable and incisive, that it is difficult to find an easy pause. It is a book to cherish, to laugh with and to wonder at. * Sandra Callard, On: Yorkshire Magazine *\u003cbr\u003eAimed at a broad readership, the book offers short biographies of \"great Shakespeare actors\" from Shakespeare's time to our own ... the book will very likely prove a helpful and entertaining resource for many. * Kevin Curran, Studies in English Literature 1500-1900 *\u003cbr\u003eGreat Shakespeare Actors is most impressive when quarrying the more remote past, and, although it is suitable for dipping into, reading it straight through conveys a sense of how acting styles and actors' careers have changed. * Henry Hitchings, Spectator *\u003cbr\u003e[A] fascinating book. * Benedict Nightingale, New Statesman *\u003cbr\u003eStanley Wells has his work cut out in Great Shakespeare Actors as he assesses around forty performers over the past four centuries, from Richard Burbage to Simon Russell Beale, offering brisk career summaries with a dash of scholarship and plenty of anecdote ... There's no shortage of excellent stories. * David Collard, The Times Literary Supplement *\u003cbr\u003e... Wells' passion is infectious. * New Republic, Charles Shafaieh *\u003cbr\u003eThis collection is not only a useful source in itself, but opens up many other routes into theatre commentary, both historical and contemporary. * Heather Neill, Around the Globe *\u003cbr\u003eWhat could easily have been a repetitive book, as a series of actors is connected to a limited number of distinguished roles, is so well written that this never becomes the case. The writing is assured and never flags in an unexpected volume that is well worth dipping into. * British Theatre Guide, Philip Fisher *\u003cbr\u003eThere's so much more in this fascinating book that I haven't been able to cover, so I can only urge you, if this kind of thing interests you, to go out and get a copy soon. You won't regret it. * Shiny New Books, Harriet Devine *\u003cbr\u003eStanley Wells has written a book which is a total delight... unputdownable. * The Journal (Newcastle), Richard Edmonds *\u003cbr\u003eThere is deep research here, lightly worn but nevertheless offering clear pointers for those who wish to study individual performers more closely, and for the great majority of the book there is also an engaging tone * Lisa Hopkins, Sheffield Hallam University, Times Higher Education *\u003cbr\u003ea brisk, fascinating theatrical voyage through more than four centuries * The Independent, Nicholas De Jongh *\u003cbr\u003eThere is deep research here, lightly worn Wells is judicious and restrained and has a dry, crisp style. * Times Higher Education, Lisa Hopkins *\u003cbr\u003eStanley Wells - Shakespeare's brightest and best champion for decades - has produced an absolutely wonderful and wildly readable survey of Shakespearean acting. With tremendous flashes of insight, Wells illuminates not just the staging and the modes of acting that predominated over the centuries, but also the true nature of Shakespeare as a provider of play scripts for actors and audiences. Superbly researched, this is a book that I shall revisit time and time again. * Stephen Fry *\u003cbr\u003eThis astonishing book fills a vital gap on the shelves. Stanley Wells combines the detailed knowledge of a Shakespeare scholar with the sharp eye of a dramatic critic in a book that makes great performances come resonantly alive. If future generations want to know what Olivier or Dench really were like in Shakespeare, it is to this book that they will turn. * Michael Billington *\u003cbr\u003eIn his own day, and ever since, Shakespeare's plays have been staged by some of the worlds most extraordinary actors. Stanley Wells, who knows these plays and their fascinating histories as well as anyone, offers here incisive portraits of exceptional actors who have performed Shakespeare over the past 400 years, from Burbage and Kemp up through Olivier, Dench, McKellen, and Beale. It's a thrilling and captivating account. * James Shapiro, author of 1599: A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare *\u003cbr\u003eStanley Wells's Great Shakespeare Actors is a companionable tour through the encyclopaedic knowledge of our greatest Shakespeare scholar, full of anecdote, erudition, and intimate firsthand observation. It's a tribute to a life of devotion to the theatre, on the page and on stage, informed by a living sense of what actors do, and who they are, and how they work. There are many classic lives here, but also, to me, some enjoyable surprises. * Margaret Drabble *\u003cbr\u003ea highly enjoyable book, clearly and pungently written. ... it will be of great help to the general reader, to Shakespeare students and to theatre historians alike as it allows us to reflect on the very essence of theatre * Sophie Chiari, Cercles *\u003cbr\u003eAs well as drawing effectively on significant written accounts by actors and critics, Wells is particularly persuasive in analyses of visual and aural evidence * Russell Jackson, The Year's Contribution to Shakespeare Studies *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIntroduction Prelude: William Shakespeare 1: Richard Burbage 2: Will Kemp 3: Robert Armin 4: Thomas Betterton 5: Charles Macklin 6: David Garrick Who Was the First Great Shakespeare Actress? 7: Sarah Siddons 8: George Frederick Cooke 9: John Philip Kemble 10: Dora Jordan 11: Edmund Kean 12: William Charles Macready 13: Helen Faucit Who Was the First Great American Shakespeare Actor? 14: Ira Aldridge 15: Charlotte Cushman 16: Edwin Booth 17: Henry Irving 18: Ellen Terry 19: Tommaso Salvini Times of Change 20: Edith Evans 21: Sybil Thorndike 22: Charles Laughton 23: Donald Wolfit 24: Ralph Richardson 25: John Gielgud 26: Laurence Olivier 27: Peggy Ashcroft 28: Michael Redgrave 29: Paul Scofield 30: Donald Sinden 31: Richard Pasco 32: Ian Richardson 33: Judi Dench 34: Derek Jacobi 35: Ian McKellen 36: Janet Suzman 37: Antony Sher 38: Simon Russell Beale 39: Kenneth Branagh","brand":"Oxford University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48732781117783,"sku":"9780198769729","price":12.59,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780198769729.jpg?v=1719998371"},{"product_id":"shakespeares-tragedies-9780198785293","title":"Shakespeares Tragedies","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTragedy, including grief, pain and suffering, is a common theme in Shakespeare''s plays, often leading to the death of at least one character, if not several. Yet such themes can also be found in Shakespearian plays which are classed as comedies, or histories. What is it which makes a Shakespearian tragedy, and what dramatic themes and conventions did the bard draw upon when writing them?In this Very Short Introduction Stanley Wells considers what is meant by the word ''tragedy'', and discusses nine of Shakespeare''s iconic tragic plays. He explores how the early definitions and theoretical discussions of the concept of tragedy in Shakespeare''s time would have influenced these plays, along with the literary influence of Seneca. Wells also considers Shakespeare''s uses of the word ''tragedy'' itself, analysing whether he had any overall concept of the genre in relation to the drama, and looking at the ways in which the theatrical conventions of his time shaped his plays, such as the use of boy players in women''s roles and the physical structures of the playhouses. Offering a critical analysis of each of the nine plays in turn, Wells concludes by discussing why tragedy is regarded as fit subject for entertainment, and what it is about tragic plays that audiences find so enjoyable.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e... probably never - against the backdrop of so much literary, and other noise, today - has there ever been a greater need for short summaries of such works in an attempt to reach new audiences. So, from King Lear, to Antony and Cleopatra to Macbeth and Hamlet, et. al, the rudiments of all ten tragedies are condensed into just half a dozen pocket-sized pages each. Probably not for the connoiseur but much more likely for reluctant newbies still mystified by all the fuss. * Screentrade Magazine *\u003cbr\u003ecover[s] an impressive amount of literary and historical ground, and convey[s] a suitably sizeable serving of Shakespeare knowledge. * Shakespeare Magazine *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eINTRODUCTION; REFERENCES; FURTHER READING; INDEX","brand":"Oxford University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48732782887255,"sku":"9780198785293","price":9.49,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}]},{"product_id":"william-blake-selected-poems-9780198804468","title":"William Blake Selected Poems","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWilliam Blake's strikingly original poetic world of myth and mysticism continues to fascinate. This selection represents the full range of his accomplishments, from his haunting lyrics to his political works.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNew and innovative ... a brilliant chronological timeline ... by combining historical research with literary scholarship, Shrimpton creates a version of Blake's poems which is significantly different to all others ... a fresh view which allows readers to see the development of Blake's thoughts and poems. * Journal of the Blake Society *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAbbreviations Introduction Note on the Text Select Bibliography A Chronology of William Blake LYRICS FROM POETICAL SKETCHES MANUSCRIPT POEMS FROM FLAXMAN'S COPY OF POETICAL SKETCHES SONGS OF INNOCENCE AND OF EXPERIENCE SHEWING THE TWO CONTRARY STATES OF THE HUMAN SOUL POEMS ADDED TO LATER COPIES OF SONGS OF INNOCENCE AND OF EXPERIENCE LYRICS FROM THE MARRIAGE OF HEAVEN AND HELL LYRICS FROM THE NOTEBOOK BALLADS NARRATIVE POEMS DESCRIPTIVE AND DISCURSIVE POETRY COMIC AND SATIRICAL POETRY VERSE EPISTLES and DEDICATIONS BRIEF EPIC DIFFUSE EPIC Explanatory Notes Index of Titles and First Lines","brand":"Oxford University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48732789997911,"sku":"9780198804468","price":10.44,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}]},{"product_id":"shakespeare-without-a-life-oxford-wells-shakespeare-lectures-9780198812548","title":"Shakespeare Without a Life Oxford Wells","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFor almost two centuries, Shakespeare had no biography. Neither did his life have a timeline, and historians and archivists did not have the materials to make one. Does this mean that Shakespeare was not valued or understood until after 1800? This book focuses on a critical absence in the unfolding of Shakespeare's story.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e[A] significant new contribution ...that push[es] the parameters of how we engage with the most revered writer in the English language...timely and erudite. * Lubaaba Al-Azami, History Today *\u003cbr\u003eAs de Grazia's study demonstrates so compellingly, when life writing shifted from the anecdotal to the documentary, we lost something of our appreciation of Shakespeare as critics tried to force square pegs into round holes. * David McInnis, Australian Book Review *\u003cbr\u003eDe Grazia's Shakespeare without a Life is unafraid of taking a bold stance .... Her subtle analyses highlight the differences between modern readers' obsession with biography and the lenses through which Shakespeare's contemporaries and immediate successors viewed him. * Willard Spiegelman, Wall Street Journal *\u003cbr\u003eElegant ... what de Grazia does with familiar material is striking. * Emma Smith, Times Literary Supplement *\u003cbr\u003eThis beautifully written book weaves together a set of absorbing stories which together produce a sharp-edged argument ... The final chapter on the Sonnets ...urges new ways of thinking about Shakespeare and his work... A pleasure to read and a book to rethink often. * Raphael Lyne, Review in English Studies *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e1: Shakespeare Without a Life 2: Shakespeare's Timeline 3: The Archive and its Discontents 4: Shakespeare's Dateless Sonnets","brand":"Oxford University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48732792684887,"sku":"9780198812548","price":23.75,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780198812548.jpg?v=1719998421"},{"product_id":"shakespeare-collaborative-writing-oxford-shakespeare-topics-9780198819646","title":"Shakespeare Collaborative Writing Oxford","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eShakespeare and Collaborative Writing offers a rich account of Shakespeare's artistic development in, against, and beyond collaboration. In undertaking a rigorous appreciation of his co-authored works, it presents them as distinctive works of art that transform our understanding of Shakespeare the poet, dramatist, and enduring cultural icon.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAcknowledgements List of Illustrations Introduction 1: What is Collaboration? 2: Stage 3: Shakespeare: 1590-4 4: Shakespeare: 1599, 1603-6 5: Shakespeare: 1607-8, 1612-13 6: Page 7: Determining Collaboration Appendix 1: Attribution by Play Appendix 2: Canon and Chronology Notes Further Reading Index","brand":"Oxford University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48732795535703,"sku":"9780198819646","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780198819646.jpg?v=1719998434"},{"product_id":"shakespeares-first-folio-9780198819998","title":"Shakespeares First Folio","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis is a biography of a book: the first collected edition of Shakespeare''s plays printed in 1623 and known as the First Folio. It begins with the story of its first purchaser in London in December 1623, and goes on to explore the ways people have interacted with this iconic book over the four hundred years of its history. Throughout the stress is on what we can learn from individual copies now spread around the world about their eventful lives. From ink blots to pet paws, from annotations to wineglass rings, First Folios teem with evidence of their place in different contexts with different priorities. This study offers new ways to understand Shakespeare''s reception and the history of the book. Unlike previous scholarly investigations of the First Folio, it is not concerned with the discussions of how the book came into being, the provenance of its texts, or the technicalities of its production. Instead, it reanimates, in narrative style, the histories of this book, paying close att\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA fascinating and provocative book. * Daniel Swift, Spectator *\u003cbr\u003eDelightful. * Jerry Brotton, The Daily Telegraph *\u003cbr\u003eHer diligence in considering every aspect of the Folio's material existence is commendable. * Brian Vickers, Times Literary Supplement *\u003cbr\u003eThis is a beautifully judged book about books, impeccably researched yet wry and affectionate. * Jerry Brotton, Financial Times *\u003cbr\u003eSmith's account of the Folio's distinguished career is very nicely written and consistently entertaining and informative... It is the modern equivalent of a magic book, and Smith's own book does justice to that magic. * Times Higher Education *\u003cbr\u003eEmma Smith's book comes as a welcome corrective to the fascination with Shakespeare the man ... as it is the \"biography\" of something far more interesting: a book. * Stuart Kelly, Independent *\u003cbr\u003eI've been looking forward to Emma Smith's Shakespeare's First Folio ever since I heard her give a paper that asked, \"can you actually read the First Folio?\" It's that sort of arresting question that wouldn't occur to many other people that makes her scholarship so inventive and absorbing. * Jem Bloomfield, Times Higher Education, Summer Reads 2016 *\u003cbr\u003eA charming, enlightening account, not so much of the origins, as of the fortunes over the years subsequently, of the great edition. * David Sexton, Evening Standard *\u003cbr\u003eSmith is one of the cleverest scholars around, but her academic weight is balanced with an accessible tone and wry humour. * Bristol Magazine *\u003cbr\u003eA marvelous bit of scholarship. Detailed without being dry, playful without being silly, it's a well-researched, thoroughly balanced account of this 'iconic book.' * The Oxford Culture Review *\u003cbr\u003eThe book is well illustrated, and Smith writes with great style. * Ben Higgins, Review of English Studies *\u003cbr\u003e... offers a wealth of important information, fascinating episodes, and sophisticated critical insight. It will, therefore, be of great interest to a variety of scholars in different disciplines, with literary critics, cultural historians, and scholars of book history foremost among them. * José María Pérez Fernández, Bulletin of the Comediantes *\u003cbr\u003e[A] compassionate biography... a wonderful testimony to the 'worlds most expensive book' and the readers who keep it that way. * Charlotte Scott, Shakespeare Survey *\u003cbr\u003eThis book is a very good read, a largely anecdotal but always entertaining account of copies of the Shakespeare First Folio from their production in 1623 to the present ... the pleasure and instruction this book will bring to the casual bibliophile or the Shakespeare enthusiast. * Alan H. Nelson, Renaissance Quarterly *\u003cbr\u003eSmith's second book, Shakespeare's First Folio: Four Centuries of an Iconic Book, picks up where The Making of Shakespeare's First Folio leaves off, tracing different ways of interacting with the Folio owning, reading, forging, acting, collecting, and studying from the seventeenth century to our own time, and from Europe and America to Africa and Asia. * Kevin Curran, Studies in English Literature 1500-1900 *\u003cbr\u003e**** * Dominic Cavendish, The Telegraph *\u003cbr\u003eA handsome tome, self-consciously relishing its book-self, while chronicling the fetishising of another. A fascinating read for any Shakespeare nerd. * Katy Hayes, Irish Independent *\u003cbr\u003eImpressively learned ... [an] excellent book. * Michael Dirda, Washington Post *\u003cbr\u003e[Smith] reanimates, in narrative style, the histories of this book, paying close attention to the details of individual copies now located around the world. * Richard Lofthouse, QUAD *\u003cbr\u003eIn Shakespeare's First Folio, Emma Smith, a little over-cautiously, comments that \"to collect may always be to sacralize\". Yet no other literary book is treated with quite the same religiosity as the First Folio. * Peter Holland, TLS *\u003cbr\u003e[A] magnificent and thoroughly enjoyable account of the changes in the [First Folio's] fortunes. * Peter Holland, Times Literary Supplement *\u003cbr\u003eSmith's study is a trove of such accidents and contingencies, many belonging to the decades-indeed, more than a century-before the First Folio became an importantly old book, when it was simply an aging one. * Catherine Nicholson, New York Review *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIntroduction: Sir Edward Dering goes shopping 1: Owning 2: Reading 3: Decoding 4: Performing 5: Perfecting Conclusion Bibliography Index","brand":"Oxford University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48732796191063,"sku":"9780198819998","price":11.69,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780198819998.jpg?v=1719998435"},{"product_id":"the-oxford-handbook-of-early-modern-womens-writing-in-english-15401700-oxford-handbooks-9780198860631","title":"The Oxford Handbook of Early Modern Womens","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Oxford Handbook of Early Modern Women''s Writing in English, 1540-1700 brings together new work by scholars across the globe, from some of the founding figures in early modern women''s writing to those early in their careers and defining the field now. It investigates how and where women gained access to education, how they developed their literary voice through varied genres including poetry, drama, and letters, and how women cultivated domestic and technical forms of knowledge from recipes and needlework to medicines and secret codes. Chapters investigate the ways in which women''s writing was an integral part of the intellectual culture of the period, engaging with male writers and traditions, while also revealing the ways in which women''s lives and writings were often distinctly different, from women prophetesses to queens, widows, and servants. It explores the intersections of women writing in English with those writing in French, Spanish, Latin, and Greek, in Europe and in New England, and argues for an archipelagic understanding of women''s writing in Scotland, Wales, Ireland, and England. Finally, it reflects on--and challenges--the methodologies which have developed in, and with, the field: book and manuscript history, editing, digital analysis, premodern critical race studies, network theory, queer theory, and feminist theory. The Oxford Handbook of Early Modern Women''s Writing in English, 1540-1700 captures the most innovative work on early modern women''s writing in English at present.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis handbook offers a thorough overview of scholarly work on women's writing from 1540 to 1700. Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty. * Choice *","brand":"Oxford University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48732817686871,"sku":"9780198860631","price":157.5,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780198860631.jpg?v=1719998527"},{"product_id":"the-rhetoric-of-the-page-9780198862109","title":"The Rhetoric of the Page","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis wide-ranging and entertaining book explores blank space from incunabula to Google books. Blanks are a paradox--simultaneously nothing and something, gesturing to what was once there or might be there. They are also a creative opportunity for readers as well as writers: readers respond to what is not there and writers come to anticipate that response. Thus, blank space develops literary and ludic applications. Each chapter focuses on one typographical form of what is not there on the page: physical gaps (Chapter One), marks of incompletion such as \u0026amp;c (Chapter Two), and the asterisk as a stand-in for things that cannot be said (Chapter Three). By looking at the early-modern page as a visual unit as well as a verbal unit, this volume shows how the relationship between textual layout and textual content is as productive for writers as it is for readers. Mise-en-page influences readers in the same way that rhetoric influences readers. It is thus possible to speak of ''the rhetoric of the page''.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIntroduction 1: 'This page intentionally left blank'; or, the apophatic page 2: Et cetera \/ etcetera \/ \u0026amp;c; or, the aposiopetic page 3: The asterisk; or, the gnomic page Epilogue Works Cited","brand":"Oxford University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48732818964823,"sku":"9780198862109","price":35.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780198862109.jpg?v=1719998533"},{"product_id":"shakespeare-on-page-and-stage-9780198884569","title":"Shakespeare on Page and Stage","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis volume presents a winning selection of the very best essays from the long and distinguished career of Stanley Wells, one of the most well-known and respected Shakespeare scholars in the world. Wells''s accomplishments include editing the entire canon of Shakespeare plays for the ground-breaking Oxford Shakespeare, and over his lifetime he has made significant contributions to debates over literary criticism of the works, genre study, textual theory, Shakespeare''s afterlife in the theatre, and contemporary performance. The volume is introduced by Peter Holland, and its thirty chapters are divided into themed sections: ''Shakespearian Influences'', ''Essays on Particular Works'', ''Shakespeare in the Theatre'', and ''Shakespeare''s Text''. An afterword by Margreta de Grazia concludes the volume.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHis breadth and judiciousness are generously on view in an essay \"On Being a General Editor,\" with advice that I have long taken to heart as to whether notes should appear at the foot of the page, how to keep the text as free as possible from algebraic signs, how to persuade individual editors in a series to absorb and act upon the advice they are given, and much more. These are only a few instances of enlightenment afforded by this immensely valuable collection of essays. * David Bevington, Renaissance Quarterly *\u003cbr\u003eAnother collection poised at the intersection of theatrical practice and historical scholarship ... The essays in this collection exhibit Well's extraordinary critical range, as well as his characteristic clarity, wisdom, and wit. * Kevin Curran, Studies in English Literature 1500-1900 *\u003cbr\u003e[An] expansive, insightful essay collection ... [Wells's] engagement with the material is lively enough that [readers will be inspired] to dust off their old editions of the plays from their school days and dive back in. * Publishers Weekly *\u003cbr\u003eAt their best (and they are often at their best), these essays display the tough-minded wit that John Donne might have brought to, as well as found in, Shakespeare: wreathed, ingenious, supple, sophisticated - and delivered with a wink. * Times Literary Supplement *\u003cbr\u003eFor decades, the dean of British Shakespeare studies and Shakespeare's most sedulous ambassador worldwide, Stanley Wells, has been a critic of astonishing range. Here we see what he brought to and learned from his executive roles with the Shakespeare Institute and the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, his editorships of the Oxford Shakespeare Complete Works and Shakespeare Survey, and his engagement with and mentorship of countless scholars. Close reading, contextual reading, textual editing, performance analysis, theatre history, cultural history--all are to be encountered in this astutely curated collection. There are pleasures of discovery and rediscovery: how fresh the work remains, how searching, and how revelatory. * Lena Cowen Orlin, Executive Director, The Shakespeare Association of America. *\u003cbr\u003eStanley Wells's contribution to Shakespeare studies has been profound. This collection of his finest essays--ranging widely from stagecraft to theatre criticism, and from textual studies to explorations of individual works--confirms why he continues to serve as such an incisive and brilliant guide to the plays and poems. * James Shapiro, author of 1599 and 1606 *\u003cbr\u003eStanley Wells is the most Shakespearian of Shakespearians. He epitomizes what makes the humanities humane. Great learning lightly worn; hard work disguised as play. A love of beauty and of truth. A deep commitment to the difficult work of understanding the human past. Curiosity, empathy, generosity, modesty. The clarity and passion of all great teachers. A twinkle in the eye, and in the prose. * Gary Taylor, Apprentice; Collaborator; Beneficiary *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePeter Holland: Introduction I. Shakespearian Influences 1: Shakespeare: Man of the European Renaissance 2: Tales from Shakespeare II. Essays on Particular Works 3: The Failure of The Two Gentlemen of Verona 4: The Taming of the Shrew and King Lear: A Structural Comparison 5: The Integration of Violent Action in Titus Andronicus 6: The Challenges of Romeo and Juliet 7: Juliet's Nurse: The Uses of Inconsequentiality 8: The Lamentable Tale of Richard II 9: A Midsummer Night's Dream Revisited 10: Translations in A Midsummer Night's Dream 11: The Once and Future King Lear 12: Points of Stagecraft in The Tempest 13: 'My Name is Will': Shakespeare's Sonnets and Autobiography 14: Shakespeare Without Sources 15: Shakespeare and Romance III. Shakespeare in the Theatre 16: Boys Should be Girls: Shakespeare s Female Roles and the Boy Players 17: Staging Shakespeare's Ghosts 18: Staging Shakespeare's Apparitions and Dream Visions 19: Shakespeare in Planché's Extravaganzas 20: Shakespeare in Max Beerbohm's Theatre Criticism 21: Shakespeare in Leigh Hunt's Theatre Criticism 22: Shakespeare in Hazlitt's Theatre Criticism 23: Peter Hall's Coriolanus, 1959 IV. Shakespeare's Text 24: On Being a General Editor 25: Editorial Treatment of Foul-Paper Texts: Much Ado About Nothing as Test Case 26: Money in Shakespeare's Comedies 27: To Read a Play: The Problem of Editorial Intervention 28: The First Folio: Where Should We be Without it? 29: The Limitations of the First Folio Margreta de Grazia: Afterword Notes Select List of Publications Acknowledgements Index","brand":"Oxford University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48732827386199,"sku":"9780198884569","price":999.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}]},{"product_id":"foxes-book-of-martyrs-9780199236848","title":"Foxes Book of Martyrs","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e''Be of good comfort, Master Ridley, and play the man: we shall this day light such a candle by God''s grace in England, as, I trust, shall never be put out.''Hugh Latimer''s famous words of consolation to Nicholas Ridley as they are both about to be burnt alive for heresy come from John Foxe''s magisterial Acts and Monuments, popularly known as the Book of Martyrs. This vast collection of unforgettable accounts of religious persecution exerted as great an influence on early modern England and New England as the Bible and the Book of Common Prayer. It contains many stirring stories of the apprehension, interrogation, imprisonment, and execution of alleged heretics. The narratives not only attest to the fortitude of individuals who suffered for their faith not many years before the birth of Shakespeare, but they also constitute exciting tales filled with graphic details and verbal wit.This modernized selection also includes some of the famous woodcuts that illustrated the original text, as well as providing a comprehensive introduction to Foxe''s life and times and the martyrology narrative. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World''s Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford''s commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSELECT NARRATIVES","brand":"Oxford University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48732837478743,"sku":"9780199236848","price":9.49,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780199236848.jpg?v=1719998611"},{"product_id":"anthony-and-cleopatra-the-oxford-shakespeare-9780199535781","title":"Anthony and Cleopatra The Oxford Shakespeare","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn its towering central characters, vast geographical and historical sweep, and its variety of style and mood, Anthony and Cleopatra is perhaps the most ambitious of Shakespeare''s designs. Yet the degree and nature of its success remain surprisingly contentious, and performances of the play have seldom matched the extravagant expectations of its admirers. Michael Neill''s wide-ranging introduction from a number of angles, including those of gender and race. He examines the sources and discusses the theatrical challenge presented by Shakespeare''s technique, with its extraordinary tensions between rhetoric and action. A full stage history further illustrates its theatrical fortunes; both here and in the extensive commentary this edition illuminates the play''s theatrical dimensions as well as the rich complexity of its poetic language. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World''s Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Stanley Wells' OUP Complete Works of Shakespeare is now eight years old and has spawned a new Oxford Shakespeare which appears now in splendidly affordable volumes in that nonpareil of libraries of good reading The World's Classics.' The Oxford Times","brand":"Oxford University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48732844360023,"sku":"9780199535781","price":8.54,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780199535781.jpg?v=1719998640"},{"product_id":"the-complete-sonnets-and-poems-the-oxford-shakespeare-9780199535798","title":"The Complete Sonnets and Poems The Oxford","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Oxford ShakespeareGeneral Editor Stanley WellsThe Oxford Shakespeare offers authoritative texts from leading scholars in editions designed to interpret and illuminate the works for modern readers- a new, modern-spelling text, collated and edited from all existing printings- on-page and facing-page commentary and notes explain language and allusions- detailed introductions consider the sonnets'' biographical and literary background, how the poems relate to the plays, dating and textual matters, and the mysteries of ''Mr W. H.'' and the ''Dark Lady''- includes poems attributed to Shakespeare in the seventeenth century- full index to introductions and commentary- durable sewn binding for lasting use''not simply a better text but a new conception of Shakespeare. This is a major achievement of twentieth-century scholarship.'' Times Literary Supplement ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World''s Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford''s commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA long and detailed critique, which ends with excellent praise 'This Complete Sonnets and Poems is a distinguished addition to a distinguished series. It will repay comtinuing study, and act as a valuable point of reference for readers concerned more generally with Shakespeare's art and language. Colin Burrow's good sense, tact and balance as an editor are deeply impressive.' * H.R.Woudhuysen, TLS *","brand":"Oxford University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48732844392791,"sku":"9780199535798","price":8.54,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780199535798.jpg?v=1719998641"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/collections\/literary-studies-c-1600-to-c-1800.oembed?page=67","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}