Literary studies: plays and playwrights Books

Book SynopsisThe locations of Shakespeare’s plays range from Greece, Turkey and Syria to England, and they range in time from 1000 BC to the early Tudor age. He never set a play explicitly in Elizabethan London, which he and his audience inhabited, but always in places remote in space or time. How much did he – and his contemporaries – know about the foreign cities where the plays took place? What expectations did an audience have if the curtain rose on a drama which claimed to take place in Verona, Elsinore, Alexandria or ancient Troy? This fully illustrated book explores these questions, surveying Shakespeare’s world through contemporary maps, geographical texts, paintings and drawings. The results are intriguing and sometimes surprising. Why should Love’s Labour’s Lost be set in the Pyrenean kingdom of Navarre? Was the Forest of Arden really in Warwickshire? Why do two utterly different plays like The Comedy of Errors and Pericles focus strongly on ancient Ephesus? Where was Illyria? Did the Merry Wives have to live in Windsor? Why did Shakespeare sometimes shift the settings of the plays from those he found in his literary sources? It has always been easy to say that wherever the plays are set, Shakespeare was really writing about human psychology and human nature, and that the settings are irrelevant. This book takes a different view, showing that many of his locations may have had resonances which an Elizabethan audience would pick up and understand, and it shows how significant the geographical and historical background of the plays could be.

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Book SynopsisWithin Shakespeare’s lifetime there was already some curiosity about what the writer of such brilliant poems, sonnets and plays looked like. Yet like so much else about him, Shakespeare’s appearance is mysterious. Why is it so difficult to find images of him that were definitely made during his life? Which images are most likely to have been made by those close to Shakespeare, and why do these differ from each other? Also, why do newly ‘discovered’ images claimed as representations of the playwright emerge with such regularity? Shakespeare scholar Katherine Duncan-Jones examines these questions, beginning with an analysis of the tradition of the ‘author portrait’ before, during, and after Shakespeare’s life. She provides a detailed critique of the three images of Shakespeare likeliest to derive from life-time portrayals: the bust in Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon; the ‘Droeshout engraving’ from the First Folio edition of Shakespeare’s plays published in 1623; and the ‘Chandos portrait’, painted in oil on canvas in the early seventeenth century. Through a fresh exploration of the evidence and groundbreaking research, she identifies a plausible new candidate for the painter of ‘Chandos’. This also throws new light on the last years of Shakespeare’s life. This generously illustrated book also examines the afterlife of these three images, as memorials, in advertising and in graphic art, together with their adaptation in later commemorative statues: all evidence of a continuing desire to put a face to one of the most famous names in literature.

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Book SynopsisWhether the fault of tedious teachers or hammy actors, Shakespeare is often seen as dry and impenetrable. In this fast-paced introduction, Ros King sets out to remind us of the sheer beauty and sophistication that can make Shakespeare's works a joy for any audience. Exploring his invention, wit, along with his uncanny characterisation, King argues archaic language should be no barrier to the modern reader. With summaries of The Bard's life and background, explanations of the plays' origins, and instructions on how to read his poetry, Shakespeare: A Beginner's Guide provides all the tools the general reader needs to embrace our greatest writer.

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Book SynopsisPaul Muldoon is one of the most exciting and accomplished poets writing in English. Few authors display such mastery of the language, form and measure of poetry, while at the same time opening poetry up to all the contemporary forces of disorder, contingency and confusion. But for this very reason, Muldoon’s is a complex and demanding body of work. Clair Wills's study, which covers the first 25 years of Muldoon's poetic output, is written both for the general poetry reader as well as those with a professional interest in poetry. In this highly readable book, Clair Wills takes the measure of Muldoon’s poetic gifts. She offers close readings of many of the major poems, while also assessing the general features of his unmistakeable style, and his relation to ] this is a repetitive device beyond anything which an attentive reader of the individual poem could be expected to grasp.?cant predecessors such as Robert Frost and Seamus Heaney. Her book also highlights the major themes in Muldoon’s poetry, such as autobiography and the question of origins, sexuality, Irish myth and legend, history and political violence in Northern Ireland, and the dynamics of cross-cultural encounters. Clair Wills tracks Muldoon’s poetic development, exploring the key concerns of each of his books, from New Weather (1973) to Hay (1998). Concluding with an evaluation of Muldoon’s then most recent collection, Hay, her study will be an essential reference point for discussions of this important poet. Her chapter on Hay was the first critical essay to note that Muldoon's long poem ‘Third Epistle to Timothy’ in Hay not only rhymes with two other long poems in that collection, ‘The Mud Room’ and ‘The Bangle (Slight Return)’, but also that these poems in turn "rhyme" with the two long poems in Muldoon's previous collection, Annals of Chile (1994), ‘Yarrow’ and ‘Incantata’: 'Each poem uses the same ninety rhyme words, and in the same order as they ?rst occur in ‘Yarrow’, but in different verse forms, so that the repetition is undetectable unless you are looking for it. […] this is a repetitive device beyond anything which an attentive reader of the individual poem could be expected to grasp.'

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Book SynopsisPart of the "Writers' Britain" series, first published in the 1940s. This work offers Graham Greene's evaluation of British drama, from its roots in the Mystery and Miracle plays of the market carnival through Shakespeare and the Restoration to the 20th century.

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Book SynopsisPart of the Bristol Classical Press series of Spanish texts, this is Buero Vallejo's play "El Tragaluz". The series is designed to meet the needs of the fast-growing A Level and undergraduate market for texts in the Spanish language. Each text comes with English notes and vocabulary, and with an introduction by an editor with an expert knowledge both of the work and of its literary and cultural context. Set in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, this play occupies an important place in Buero Vallejo's theatre incorporating earlier metaphysical preoccupations with a later historical and political dimension.

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Book Synopsis'Revenge is a kind of wild justice...' (Francis Bacon). Euripides' "Hecuba" is dominated by the vengeance which Hecuba takes on the faithless Polymestor, and explores in a complex and profound manner the potential for revenge as a subject for tragedy. The sacrifice of Polyxena is in counterpoint to the revenge action; the whole is set in the chaotic aftermath of the fall of Troy. The combination of plots creates one of Euripides' most effective dramas, full of pathos, suspense and excitement. This study of the play in English argues that it has been greatly undervalued by critics who have failed to appreciate the power of its rhetoric, the subtlety of its characterisation, and the beauty of its choral odes.

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Book SynopsisDavid Stuttard has directed his own translations and adaptations of Greek drama throughout the UK and in classical theatres in Turkey and Albania. His publications include An Introduction to Trojan Women (2005) and, AD 410, The Year That Shook Rome (2010).

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Book SynopsisA new and controversial biography of Sir Francis Bacon succinctly putting forward the theory that he was one of Elizabeths illegitimate offspring and the writer of Shakespeares plays.

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Book SynopsisThe classic - and most practical - guide to Shakespeare’s major plays, available in separate, pocket-format volumes for use in study or rehearsal room. With a foreword by Richard Eyre. 'I regard Granville Barker not only as the first modern English director but as the most influential' Richard Eyre 'A deep and penetrating intelligence illuminates his observations, and they remain permanently relevant' Peter Brook

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Book SynopsisThe text of a talk given by renowned theatre director Peter Brook in Berlin in 1998, addressing essential questions about performing Shakespeare today. Brook invites us to consider the actual conditions of the Elizabethan theatre and the actual qualities of Shakespeare's language. Published as part of the Dramatic Contexts series: important statements on the theatre by major figures in the theatre.

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Book SynopsisAn authoritative, hands-on guide through the practical challenges involved in performing Shakespeare. Drawing on a lifetime's experience of playing Shakespearean roles, Oliver Ford Davies offers practical advice to actors, directors and drama students on a wide variety of scenes, characters, speeches and individual lines from almost every one of the plays. The three core sections of Performing Shakespeare take us through the whole process of Preparation, Rehearsal and Performance, preceded by discussions of the Elizabethan actor and Shakespeare's language. Also included are revealing interviews with other notable Shakespearean actors including Judi Dench, Ian McKellen, Harriet Walter, Simon Russell Beale and Juliet Stevenson. 'An invaluable guide to those who act and to all those who wish to gain deeper insights into the performance of Shakespeare's plays' Stanley Wells from his ForewordTrade Review'Terrific... should be read by anyone who wants to understand more about the Bard, his players, his times and today's interpretations of his stupendous creations... a great book for anyone who loves the theatre' * Observer *'It is hard to offer enough praise to this book... a tremendous knowledge of the canon... the writing is always practical and never dry or dull... might become definitive guidance for many who wish to follow in the author's footsteps' * British Theatre Guide *

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Book SynopsisThe Nick Hern Books Page to Stage series – highly accessible guides to the world's best-known plays, written by established theatre professionals to show how the plays come to life on the stage. Director Stephen Unwin takes you scene by scene through the action of Ibsen's play A Doll's House, analysing moment by moment what is actually said and done, and how the staging of these moments affects our understanding of them. Also included in this volume: a concise introduction to Ibsen and the historical background of the play; a discussion of the characters and setting; and an exploration of the possibilities for staging, lighting, costumes, props and furniture, and the sound and music. Ideal for anyone studying, teaching or performing A Doll's House, as well as anyone interested in how the play works on stage.

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Book SynopsisAn assessment of the life, work and reputation of Spain's leading Golden Age dramatist A Companion to Lope de Vega brings together essays by leading international scholars on the life and works of Lope de Vega Carpio, the 'fénix de los ingenios', or, as his rival Miguel de Cervantes dubbed him, 'monstruo de la naturaleza'. Spain's foremost Golden Age playwright excelled in all literary genres, including prose and poetry, also covered here. The contributors evaluate current critical debates and issues in Lope de Vega studies, as well as providing new readings of key texts. It has been the aim of the editors to do justice to the variety, profusion and originality of Lope's work, placing the writer and his output firmly in their historical context as well asassessing his reputation in literary history. The wide variety of critical perspectives found in the volume reflects the liveliness of the debate surrounding this enduringly popular figure whose drama is enjoying a renaissance intheatres around the globe. Alexander Samson lectures in Golden Age literature at University College London. Jonathan Thacker is Fellow in Spanish at Merton College, Oxford. Other Contributors: Elaine Canning, Geraldine Coates, Frederick A de Armas, Victor Dixon, Geraint Evans, Tyler Fisher, Edward H. Friedman, Alejandro Garcia Reidy, David Johnston, Arantza Mayo, David McGrath, Barbara Mujica, Ali Rizavi José Maria Ruano de la Haza,Isabel Torres, Xavier Tubau, Duncan Wheeler.Trade Review[U]n acierto de la editorial Tamesis . Con la presente publicación, el estudioso de Lope de Vega cuenta ahora con una sólida referencia no sólo como objeto de estudio sino también como herramienta docente... Samson y Thacker han editado, así, un utilísimo libro que logra lo que muy pocos estudios consiguen hoy en día, a saber, el sentir a un Lope vivo, moderno y relevante, cuya trayectoria palpita con una claridad y una coherencia modélicas. * BULLETIN OF SPANISH STUDIES *A Companion to Lope de Vega es una obra que se mantendrá vigente en el estudio del dramaturgo español por mucho tiempo ya que presenta ideas fundamentales e innovadoras para el conocimiento del teatro en España y la comprensión del mundo, la obra y el hombre que fue Lope Félix de Vega Carpio. * ASSOCIATION OF SPANISH & PORTUGUESE HISTORICAL STUDIES BULLETIN *Those who take or teach a Golden Age literature course should have this book at hand. [.] All contributors offer interesting, up-to-date information and abundant critical analysis of the author's work. Recommended. * CHOICE *Table of ContentsIntroduction: Lope's Life and Work Lope's Knowledge - Victor Dixon Lope de Vega and Theatre in Madrid - José María Ruano de la Haza From Stage to Page: Editorial History and Literary Promotion in Lope de Vega's Partes de Comedias - Alejandro Garcia Reidy Imagining Lope's Lyric Poetry in the 'Soneto primero' of the Rimas - Tyler Fisher 'Quien en virtud emplea su ingenio...': Lope de Vega's Religious Poetry - Arantza Mayo Outside In: The Subject[s] at Play in Las rimas humanas y divinas de Tomé de Burguillos - Isabel Torres The Arte nuevo de hacer comedias: Lope's dramatic statement - Jonathan W. Thacker Three Canonical Plays - Alexander Samson Lope de Vega, the Chronicle-Legend Plays and Collective Memory - Geraldine Hazbun Sacred Souls and Sinners: Abstinence and Adaptation in Lope's Religious Drama - Elaine Canning Lope, the Comedian - Jonathan W. Thacker Lope de Vega's Speaking Pictures: Tantalizing Titians and Forbidden Michelangelos in La quinta de Florencia - Frederick A de Armas Performing Sanctity: Lope's Use of Teresian Iconography in Santa Teresa de Jesús - Barbara Mujica Masculinities and Honour in Los comendadores de Córdoba - Geraint Evans El castigo sin venganza and the Ironies of Rhetoric - Edward H Friedman Life's Pilgrim: El peregrino en su patria - Alexander Samson Novelas a Marcia Leonarda - Ali Rizavi La Dorotea: a Tragicomedy in Prose - Xavier Tubau Lope as Icon - David McGrath A Modern Day Fénix: Lope de Vega's Cinematic Revivals - Duncan Wheeler Lope in Translation: Opening the Closed Book - David Johnston Translations of Titles Guide to Further Reading Bibliography

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Book SynopsisFeted by his contemporaries, Federico García Lorca's status has only grown since his death in 1936. This book shows just why his fame has endured, through an exploration of his most popular works: Romancero Gitano, Poeta en Nueva York and the trilogy of tragic plays - Blood Wedding, Yerma and The House of Bernarda Alba.Trade ReviewFederico García Lorca: The Poetry in All Things provides a well-balanced and critically acute reappraisal of some of Lorca's most important works, reminding us of the enduring relevance of the Spanish poet in speaking into our modern world. * Bulletin of Spanish Studies *Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Acknowledgements Introduction Chapter 1. Lorca, the Gitano Chapter 2. Lorca, the Modern Chapter 3. Lorca, the Feminist Conclusion Suggested Further Reading Bibliography

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Book SynopsisBased on extensive archival research and containing rare and previously unpublished photos, this book provides the most detailed reconstruction ever of one of the most important events in Spanish theatrical history. Winner of the 2019-20 AHGBI-Spanish Embassy Publication Prize On 18 June 1933, one of the most important events in Spanish theatrical history took place before an audience of 3,000 spectators in the ruins of the Roman Theatre in Mérida. Translated into Spanish by philosopher Miguel de Unamuno, staged by the renowned Xirgu-Borràs Company and funded by the government, the performance of Seneca's Medea was a triumph of republican culture and widely hailed for its new dramatic and scenic languages. This book provides the most detailed reconstruction of this pivotal production to date, setting it in context and analysing its origin and legacy. Early twentieth-century intellectuals considered Seneca, 'the philosopher from Córdoba', the epitome of Spanishness and the first in an illustrious line of playwrights stretching from Spain's Roman Antiquity to its Silver Age. His play was seen as the ideal vehicle to showcase the Second Spanish Republic's cultural, social and educational agenda but provoked a furious backlash from opponents to the government's progressive programme. The book shows how the performance became a cultural ritual which stood at the centre of critical discussions on national identity, politics, secularism, women's rights and new European aesthetics of theatre-making. Based on extensive archival research and containing rare and previously unpublished photos, it will be of interest to theatre historians, scholars of Classical Reception and historians of the Second Spanish Republic.Table of ContentsList of illustrations Acknowledgements List of abbreviations Introduction: A Spanish Medea in Republican Spain I. Seneca's Medea in Mérida: A reconstruction II. Seneca and Hispania III. Republica nunc sum: Building a Republic IV. Medea and the social revolution V. Hispano-Roman tragedy on a reformed stage Conclusion: The Republican Medea that was in Mérida Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisDrawing comparisons between consultancy and the classical tragedy King Lear, the author explores the core theme of responsibility. Arguing that King Lear is vital in gaining an understanding of consulting, leadership and management, the author explores in detail the positive lessons to be learnt from this tragedy for the manager and the management consultant. An intriguing premise that uncovers key strategies for managers.'This book gives a summary of key issue in management consulting, in a step-by-step chronological way. However, it is directed mainly at those consultants who know from experience that consulting does not work as smoothly as the manuals suggest, and who have learned through trials and tribulations to take a tragic outlook on the art of consulting.'- From the PrologueTrade Review'I have never read such an elegantly literate exposition of the nuances of the consulting process. Dr. De Haan presents a robust model of the issues and choices that arise for the consultant, and brilliantly interweaves well-chosen passages from King Lear to exemplify the model. Not only is this a book to delight the philosophically inclined among us, but it also beautifully illustrates De Haan's down-to-earth approach to consulting. After forth years of consulting practice, I found insights into consultant-client relationships that had previously escaped me. De Haan's approach is highly practical; if we were to follow more closely, we and our clients would both profit thereby.'- Roger Harrison, Organisation Development Consultant and Writer, from the ForewordTable of ContentsPrologue -- Introduction -- Exposition -- Development -- Crisis and peripeteia -- Denouement -- Catastrophe and exodus -- Conclusion -- Epilogue

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Book Synopsis'Like so much of Renaissance Art, Shakespeare's work bears an open secret. The esoteric spiritual content is undisguised, though it may be unexpected and not always immediately recognized. And, like all the great artistic achievements...this work remains incomplete until we recognize and respond to its open invitation that we become active participants.' - from the IntroductionThe perennial universal appeal of Shakespeare's work is well established. His core themes explore the challenges of the human condition whilst celebrating the potential of human beings to achieve and develop in earthly life. But what is it that enables Shakespeare's characters to live and breathe beyond the confines of their written roles, some 400 years after the plays were first performed? In these collected lectures, edited with an extensive introduction by Andrew Wolpert, Rudolf Steiner throws new light on the Bard's work, describing the on-going life that flows from it, and the profound spiritual origins of Shakespeare's inspirations. He shows how Shakespeare can enliven us in our longing for contemporary ideals and truths; indeed, in our goal of becoming fully human. Our engagement with the plays, not just as actors and directors, but also as students and members of an audience, can thus become a co-creative participation in the redemptive potential of Shakespeare's enduring legacy. Steiner speaks about Shakespeare in connection with the evolution of the arts of poetry and drama, and the transitions between cultural epochs. He reminds us of the sources and characteristics of classical Greek drama, recalling Aristotle's definition of drama as catharsis, and pointing to Shakespeare's connection to these cultural and historical wellsprings.

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Book SynopsisThe philosopher and educationalist Rudolf Steiner was also a radical dramatist who wrote four lengthy and complex plays. The first of these, The Portal of Initiation, is rich in content and artistically presented, but leaves us with questions: Why is the first scene so long and many speeches so lengthy? Why are our usual expectations of drama not met? Was Steiner really a competent dramatist? In this essential guide, Trevor Dance suggests that the first step to appreciating The Portal of Initiation is to understand Steiner's methods. The play belongs to the tradition of Mystery Dramas from ancient times - artistic works intended as vehicles for inner development. Steiner thus combines aspects of Goethe's alchemical fable The Green Snake and the Beautiful Lily with the spiritual growth of contemporary individuals - all in the broader context of reincarnation and karma. With accessibility in mind, the author provides a clear synopsis of each scene and introduces us to the characters - a collection of rustics, sophisticates, hierophants and spiritual entities. Their dilemmas and challenges take place on many layers of reality: from a room in Sophia's house to the exalted Sun Temple. Revealing the enigmas behind the creation and content of The Portal of Initiation, Dance enables us not only to enjoy the play, but also to love it. His lucid guide - the first of its kind - is an ideal introduction for both individual readers and study groups.

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Book SynopsisCompleting the 8 volume Everyman Signet Shakespeare contains Shakespeare series, this final volume contains Shakespeare's four Last Plays - THE TEMPEST, PERICLES, THE WINTER'S TALE AND CYMBELINE. The beautifully produced, single-column text of the plays, with the Signet footnotes, is supplemented with bibliographies, a detailed chronology of Shakespear's life and times, and a substantial introduction in which Professor Tony Tanner discusses each play individually while setting each in context.

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Book SynopsisThe Play of Daniel from Beauvais was the first medieval music-drama to be staged in a popular modern production by the legendary Noah Greenberg's New York Pro Musica. This book provides for the first time a critical introduction to the staging and production, music, and setting of the play in its architectural and historical context. It also reproduces the pages in the manuscript which contain the play in facsimile, and it provides a new and faithful transcription of the music as well as a fresh translation of the text by A. Marcel J. Zijlstra of the Schola Cantorum "Quem Quaeritis" of the Netherlands, a group which performs regularly at the Utrecht Festival.Table of ContentsIntroduction by Dunbar H. Ogden The Staging of The Play of Daniel in the Twelfth Century by Dunbar H. Ogden Divine Judgment and Local Ideology in the Beauvais Ludus Danielis by Richard K. Emmerson The Play of Daniel in Modern Performance by Fletcher Collins Jr. Music in the Beauvais Ludus Danielis by Audrey Ekdahl Davidson The Play of Daniel (Ludus Danielis) Transcribed by A. Marcel J. Zijlstra Translation Index

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Book SynopsisHarold Pinter was fascinated by film long before the theatre, but the importance of his screenplays, based on the work of other writers, has been overlooked. Renton shows him working from manuscript to final text to engage the spectator in a relationship of desire, or anxiety, with what is unseen. A newly discovered poem links Pinter to the Surrealists, and through the Surrealists to their contemporary, the psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan (1901-81). The present study shows Pinter working differently from mainstream cinema, places him at the forefront of film theory, and offers a fresh insight into his entire output.Table of ContentsAcknowledgements, Note on Manuscripts, Abbreviations, 1 Vision and the Object of Desire, 2 The Object of Desire in the Screenplay Adaptations, 3 The Remains of the Day: The Lost Object of Desire, 4 The Handmaid's Tale: The Object Almost Achieved, 5 Victory: The Object of Anxiety, 6 The Object of Desire in the Plays and Other Works, Conclusion, Bibliography, Index

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Book SynopsisJohn Millington Synge, controversial in his own time and long established as a major figure of world theatre, has nonetheless suffered relative critical neglect. Where his great contemporaries Yeats and Joyce and his outstanding successor Beckett have attracted whole industries of scholarly attention, Synge, by reason of his short life and limited output, has been relegated to the unconsidered category of minor classic. This volume of essays, arising from lectures given at the Synge Summer School by some of the most distinguished writers and scholars of Irish literature, sets about the necessary task of interpreting Synge: his relation to cultural and theatrical contexts; the significance of his plays; the distinctive quality of his language and the thematic matrices of his work. Four original poems, specially commissioned for the book, provide an imaginative counterpoint to the critical interpretation of the essays.Table of ContentsIntroduction: Nicholas Grene, on the margins: Synge and Wicklow; R.F.Foster, good behaviour: Yeats, Synge and Anglo-Irish etiquette; Frank McGuinness, John Millington Synge and the King of Norway; Angela Bourke, Keening as theatre; Tom Pualin, riders to the sea: a revisionist tragedy; Antionette Quinn, staging the Irish peasant woman: Maud Gonne v. Synge; Christopher Morash, all playboys now: the audience and the riot; Martin Hilsky, re-imagining Synge's language: the Czech experience; Declan Kiberd, the making and unmaking of myth: Synge as anthropologist; Anthony Roche, Synge: the woman and the tramp; Ann Saddlemyer, Synge's soundscape

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Book SynopsisFocusing on dramatic works by contemporary British and American playwrights, in conjunction with feminist political and theoretical texts, this book discusses feminist constructions of the category "Woman".Trade Review"With a shrewd grasp of theory and a comprehensive knowledge of British and American plays, Mary Brewer homes in on controversial issues among women - pornography, rape, mothering, domesticity and work, and debates about the butch/fem model and gender-bending among lesbians." -- From the Foreword by Alan Sinfield, Professor of Literature, University of Sussex.Table of ContentsContents: Foreword by Alan Sinfield; Introduction: Women and Representation; Contemporary Women's Theatre: The Plays; Feminist Constructions of Difference; Defining Race Organisation; Representations of Motherhood; And Who Would Call Her Mother?: Carers Without Control; Courts of Flaw: Representations of Lesbians and the Rights of Lesbian Mothers; Fortunes at Low Tide; The Politics of Lesbian Motherhood: Strategies for Resistance; Conformity or Rebellion: Lesbian Families at Risk; OtherMothers; The Sexgender/Racegender System; Survival as Resistance: Black Women and the Family; Black Women and the Race: Lifting as We Climb'; Re-constructing the Chitlin-Circuit': Race, Representation, and OtherMothers; Friedan's Daughters: Representations of Woman' at Work; The Return of the Happy Housewife: Feminists Re-forming Woman'; Resurrecting the Cult of Domesticity; Who's On Top? White Women, Work, and the Family; Power Feminism: The Genderquake; Working Across the Racial Divide: Imitating Anita; Woman' as Object; Universal Woman': The Trojan Horse of Feminism; Colourising Joan of Arc: Radicalised Femininity and the Politics of Appearance; The Pornography of Representation: Sex, Gender, Race, and Rape; Erotophobes; Black Women and the Sexual Politics of Rape; Woman' as Subject: Negotiating Multiple Identities; A Movement Out of Step With Itself; Women on the Borders of Womanhood': Negotiating Race, Sex, and Gender(s); Difference: What Makes a House a Home; Learning to Dance as Sisters; Infiltrating Woman': Butch/Fem Lesbian Subjectivity; Woman as Discursive Subject; The Butch/Fem Debate; Signs and Seduction; Butch, Fem, and the Mask of Womanliness; Performing Gender(s); Conclusion: Toward a Progressive Feminist Politics; A House of Difference; Index.

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Book SynopsisSamuel Beckett's Self-Referential Drama - The Sensitive Chaos, 2nd EditionTrade Review"... the book's principal value lies in Levy's penetrating observations about the ontology of the plays in performance, the reflexive, prism-like conundrums in them that fascinate and frustrate intelligent and attentive spectators and theater practitioners alike... Among the main virtues of this revised and enlarged edition is the addition of production anecdotes and performer-interviews that set Levy's critical ideas in newly illuminating practical context..." -- Journal of Beckett Studies."An intelligent, often fascinating analysis of Beckett's work." -- Choice."This current collection of essays is divided almost equally between theory and performance, but as often Shimon Levy treats the two as a single field as he explores the possibilities of chaos theory as a model for the theatrical experience, where 'even the tiniest detail may influence the presentation,' and moves on to explore the implications of Logical Positivism and Existentialism, all under the umbrella of the Cartesian Cogito. The essay on 'The Poetics of Offstage' is exemplary and should be required reading for theater directors." -- S. E. Gontarski, Sarah Herndon Professor of English, Florida State University; Editor, Journal of Beckett Studies.Table of ContentsContents: Preface; Introduction: Self-Organisation in the Middle of Chaos; Philosophical Notions; The Message of the Medium -- Theatrical Techniques; The Poetics of Offstage; The Radioplays; "Spirit Made Light" -- Film and TV Plays; Godot -- Resolution or Revolution?; I's and Eyes: A Hermeneutical Circle; Epilogue: Six She's and other Not I Proxies; Index.

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Book SynopsisSamuel Beckett's Self-Referential Drama - The Sensitive Chaos, 2nd EditionTrade Review"... the book's principal value lies in Levy's penetrating observations about the ontology of the plays in performance, the reflexive, prism-like conundrums in them that fascinate and frustrate intelligent and attentive spectators and theater practitioners alike... Among the main virtues of this revised and enlarged edition is the addition of production anecdotes and performer-interviews that set Levy's critical ideas in newly illuminating practical context..." -- Journal of Beckett Studies."An intelligent, often fascinating analysis of Beckett's work." -- Choice."This current collection of essays is divided almost equally between theory and performance, but as often Shimon Levy treats the two as a single field as he explores the possibilities of chaos theory as a model for the theatrical experience, where 'even the tiniest detail may influence the presentation,' and moves on to explore the implications of Logical Positivism and Existentialism, all under the umbrella of the Cartesian Cogito. The essay on 'The Poetics of Offstage' is exemplary and should be required reading for theater directors." -- S. E. Gontarski, Sarah Herndon Professor of English, Florida State University; Editor, Journal of Beckett Studies.Table of ContentsContents: Preface; Introduction: Self-Organisation in the Middle of Chaos; Philosophical Notions; The Message of the Medium -- Theatrical Techniques; The Poetics of Offstage; The Radioplays; "Spirit Made Light" -- Film and TV Plays; Godot -- Resolution or Revolution?; I's and Eyes: A Hermeneutical Circle; Epilogue: Six She's and other Not I Proxies; Index.

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Book SynopsisThis work takes gender as its point of entry into the comedies of Carlo Goldoni (1707-93). The dramatization of femininity and masculinity is explored in conjunction with that of other social categories (class, the family, and age). The plays reinforce the patriarchal association of femininity with the body, with spectacle, and with theatricality, while the dramatic backdrop of Venice and carnival provides a context for the staging of issues relating to identity, disguise and fashion. In the plays, pretence and theatricality vie with bourgeois Enlightenment values of morality, honesty and respectability to produce dramatic tension with distinct gender implications.Table of ContentsIntroduction; I: Honest Women: Morality and Idealized Femininity; II: Off Limits: Femininity and the Stage; III: A Woman's Place: The Angel in the House; IV: Artful Women: Staging Subversion; V: Surface Mobilities: Identity, Disguise and Fashion; VI: Masculinity and Materialism: Money, Sex and Power; VII: Class Acts: The Drama of Difference; VIII: Fear of Fiction: Theatricality, Pretence and Femininity

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Book SynopsisShakespeare, like many of his contemporaries, was concerned with the question of the succession and the legitimacy of the monarch. From the early plays through the histories to Hamlet, Shakespeare's work is haunted by the problem of political legitimacy. Shakespeare and Reniassance Politics examines his works as political events and interventions, and explores the literature of the Renaissance and its relation to fundamental political issues.

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Book SynopsisKing Henry VIII has one of the fullest theatrical histories of any play in the Shakespeare canon, yet has been consistently misrepresented, both in performance and in criticism. This edition offers a new perspective on this ironic, multi-layered, collaborative play, revealing it as a complex meditation on the progress of Reformation which sees English life since Henry VIII's day as a series of bewildering changes in national and personal allegiance and represents 'history' as the product of varied and contradictory testimony. McMullan makes a powerful claim for the rehabilitation of Henry VIII, providing the fullest performance history of any edition to date and reading the work not as a marginal 'late' Shakespeare play but as a play which is paradigmatic of the achievement of Renaissance drama as a whole.'This is a staggeringly brilliant, captivating edition that will undoubtedly occasion a huge surge of critical interest in this neglected play. For those of use who have never taken Henry VIII very seriously ' perhaps dismissing it as a late collaborative play of no consequence or as conservative propaganda ' McMullan's introduction is genuinely revelatory.' Eric Rasmussen, University of Nevada at Reno, Shakespeare Survey

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Book SynopsisThis accessible and interdisciplinary volume addresses a fundamental need in current education in language, literature and drama. Many of today's students lack the grammatical and linguistic skills to enable them to study Shakespearean and other Renaissance texts as closely as their courses require. This practical guide will help them to understand and use the structures and strategies of written and dramatic language. Eleven short essays on aspects of literary criticism and performance by an eminent team of contributors are followed by a more detailed exploration of the history of language use, grammar and spelling, plus a glossary of terms offering definitions, contexts and examples. Together these provide an informed and engaging historical understanding of dramatic language in the early modern period.

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Book SynopsisIn their lively and engaging edition of this sometimes neglected early play, Cox and Rasmussen make a strong claim for it as a remarkable work, revealing a confidence and sureness that very few earlier plays can rival. They show how the young Shakespeare, working closely from his chronicle sources, nevertheless freely shaped his complex material to make it both theatrically effective and poetically innovative. The resulting work creates, in Queen Margaret, one of Shakespeare's strongest female roles and is the source of the popular view of Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick as 'kingmaker'. Focusing on the history of the play both in terms of both performance and criticism, the editors open it to a wide and challenging variety of interpretative and editorial paradigms.

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Book SynopsisThis richly annotated edition takes a fresh look at the first part of Shakespeare's second tetralogy of history plays, showing how it relates to the other plays in the sequence. Forker places the play in its political context, discussing its relation to competing theories of monarchy, looking at how it faced censorship because of possible comparisons between Richard II and Elizabeth I, and how Bolingbroke's rebellion could be compared to the Essex rising of the time. This edition also reconsiders Shakespeare's use of sources, asking why he chose to emphasise one approach over another. Forker also looks at the play's rich afterlife, and the many interpretations that actors and directors have taken. Finally, the edition looks closely at the aesthetic relationship between language, character, structure and political import.

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Book SynopsisA fresh look at a play usually regarded as the first component of a three-part historical epic, this edition argues that Henry VI Part 1 is a 'prequel', a freestanding piece that returns for ironic and dramatic effect to a story already familiar to its audience. The play's ingenious use of stage space is closely analysed, as is its manipulation of a series of setpiece combats to give a coherent syntax of action. Discussion of the dramatic structure created by the opposing figures of Talbot and Jeanne la Pucelle, and exploration of the critical controversies surrounding the figure of Jeanne, lead to a reflection on the nature of the history play as genre in the 1590s.

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Book Synopsis'By far the best edition of King Lear - in respect of both textual and other matters - that we now have.'John Lyon, English Language Notes'This volume is a treasure-trove of precise information and stimulating comments on practically every aspect of the Lear-universe. I know of no other edition which I would recommend with such confidence: to students, professional colleagues and also the 'educated public'.'Dieter Mehl, Shakespeare Jahrbuch, vol 134Trade Review'Lear is trapped into a position of anger, having embarked on a game of vanity with his daughters: who loves me most?' * Michael Coveney, The Independent, 8.12.10 *'Of all the Shakespeare roles, King Lear is the actor's Everest... To play this you need to have lived long enough to know or see suffering, madness, and human folly.' * Libby Purves, The Times, 8.12.10 *'King Lear is perhaps the greatest of all Shakespeare's dramas, but it is so harrowing, so despairing, so graphic in its cruelty, that it is also a test of endurance.' * Charles Spencer, The Daily Telagraph, 8.12.10 *'If Shakespeare's plays were mountains, King Lear would be the entire Himalayas.' * Paul Callan, Daily Express, 8.12.10 *'The play - arguably the Bard's greatest' * Paul Callan, Daily Express, 8.12.10 *''Lear' is an undeniably majestic work; * Matt Wolf, The International Herald Tribune, 14.12.10 *

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Book SynopsisThis edition celebrates King Henry VI Part 2 as one of the most exciting and dynamic plays of the English renaissance theatre, with its exploration of power politics and social revolution and its focus on the relationship between divine justice and sin. An extensive discussion of performance history traces the play's progress on stage from abridgement and adaptation to full historical epic. A survey of criticism discusses the wide range of responses provoked by the play's handling of its historical theme, and concludes by focusing on the element of burlesque in the attempted social revolution portrayed.

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Book SynopsisSuzanne Gossett offers a full and critical performance history, with an introduction showing how the play's performance history has paralled the criticism. It then gives an interpretation of this two-generation romance, with its successive male and female central characters, based on a reading 'through the family', and influenced by the feminist and new historicist criticism of the last two decades.The edition integrates cumulative research on Shakespeare's collaborative authorship and the transmission of the text without rewriting the play or ignoring years of emendations.

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Book SynopsisSuzanne Gossett offers a full and critical performance history, with an introduction showing how the play's performance history has paralled the criticism. It then gives an interpretation of this two-generation romance, with its successive male and female central characters, based on a reading 'through the family', and influenced by the feminist and new historicist criticism of the last two decades. The edition integrates cumulative research on Shakespeare's collaborative authorship and the transmission of the text without rewriting the play or ignoring years of emendations.

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Book SynopsisThis major new edition of Shakespeare's greatest tragedy of love argues that that play is ultimately Juliet's. The play text is expertly edited and the on-page commentary notes discuss issues of staging, theme, meaning and Shakespeare's use of his sources to give the reader deep and engaging insights into the play. The richly illustrated introduction looks at the play's exceptionally beautiful and complex language and focuses on the figure of Juliet as being at its centre. René Weis discusses the play's critical, stage and film history, including West Side Story and Baz Luhrmann's seminal film Romeo + Juliet. This is an authoritative edition from a leading scholar, giving the reader a penetrating and wide-ranging insight into this ever popular play.Trade ReviewRomeo and Juliet continues to be a perennial favourite in the English classroom. As well as offering students a clear and spacious text to read and annotate, the latest Arden edition provides a wealth of critical and contextual material - so crucial to today's study of Shakespeare. Ideal for teachers looking to refresh and update their reading of the text, René Weis's introduction combines close attention to dramatic language with a comprehensive overview of the history of the play in performance. However familiar a reader might be with Romeo and Juliet, this new edition will bring a range of fresh perspectives, dispelling some oft-repeated myths along the way. * Dr Jenny Stevens, Teacher and Lecturer in English *... this new Arden is a thoroughly usable edition... Both introduction and commentary are sensitive, sharp-eyed and clear. Weis's account of the play's performance history brings out the excitement of modern productions by Michael Bogdanov and Tim Carroll, and the innovations of Baz Luhrmann's film... this Romeo and Juliet will serve well. -- Duncan Salkeld * Times Literary Supplement *If you are looking for something for your A-level students, particularly to start off study for Edexcel's unit four for A level, this is the perfect edition. The notes are detailed and scholarly, and there are many essays and appendices which students would find useful, including a look at playing the love scenes through the ages and some reflection on the various adaptations and original setting for Romeo and Juliet over the centuries. * Teaching Drama *Rene Weis’s Romeo and Juliet lives up to the high standards of the Arden Shakespeare, with an extensive introduction, expansive editorial glosses, and even a facsimile reproduction of Q1 in an appendix. -- Garrett A. Sullivan, Jr., Rice University * Studies in English Literature, Vol. 53, No. 2 *Prof. Weis' edition of Romeo and Juliet implements a number of important updates from the second Arden edition of the test. With a comprehensive introduction, and in-depth textual notations, it has easily become the definitive edition of the play. * Jarrod DePrado, Sacred Heart University, USA *

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