Literary studies: plays and playwrights Books
Oxford University Press Anthony and Cleopatra The Oxford Shakespeare
Book SynopsisIn 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 Trade Review'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
£8.99
Oxford University Press Much Ado About Nothing The Oxford Shakespeare
Book SynopsisSparkling with the witty dialogue between Beatrice and Benedicts, Much Ado About Nothing is one of Shakespeare''s most enjoyable and theatrically successful comedies.This edition offers a newly edited text and an exceptionally helpful and critically aware introduction. Paying particular attention to analysis of the play''s minor characters, Sheldon P Zitner discusses Shakespeare''s transformation of his source material. He rethinks the attitudes to gender relations that underlie the comedy and determine its view of marriage.Allowing for the play''s openness to reinterpretation by successive generations of readers and peformers, Zitner provides a socially analytic stage history, advancing new views for the actor as much as for the critic. 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 o
£7.59
Oxford University Press Loves Labours Lost The Oxford Shakespeare
Book SynopsisLove''s Labour''s Lost, now recognized as one of the most delightful and stageworthy of Shakespeare''s comedies, came into its own both on the stage and in critical esteem only during the 1930s and 1940s, after three hundred years of neglect by the theatre and undervaluation and misuse by critics. The Introduction to this new edition pays particular attention to this process of rehabilitation. The text, based on the quarto of 1598 and taking full account of the extensive scholarly study that text has received over recent years, rests on the hypothesis that the quarto goes back, probably by way of `lost'' quarto, to an authorial manuscript representing the play in a state prior to `fair copy''. If this is so, the quarto takes on a special significance because through it we can watch Shakespeare in the act of composition, improvising, changing his mind, and revising as his play develops under his hand. The editor offers a number of new readings of difficult and disputed passages, togetheTrade Review`Hibbard lucidly expounds the intricately patterned structure of his play ... and he dispatches the largely distracting question of its 'topicality' with heartening promptness.' English Studies, Volume 72, Number 6, December 1991`This Oxford text of Love's Labour's Lost is lucidly informative, scrupulous but concise,. and in general a model of restrained and level-headed editing.' Cedric Watts, University of Sussex, Review of English Studies, Vol. 43, 8/92'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 TimesTable of ContentsList of illustrations; Introduction; The Play; The Date and `Sources'; The Text; Editorial Procedures; Abbreviations and references; Love's Labour's Lost; Appendix A: Two `False Starts'; Appendix B: Alterations to lineation; Appendix C: The music for `The Hit It'; Appendix D: The name of Armado's page; Index
£7.59
Oxford University Press Pericles
Book SynopsisThe 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- The only single-volume, modern-spelling edition both to offer a reconstruction of the original play and to reproduce the corrupt Quarto text of 1609 exactly as first printed- On-page commentary and notes explains meaning, staging, language, and allusions- Detailed introduction explains the complex textual situation and Shakespeare''s probable collaboration with George Wilkins- 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. This is a major achievement of twentieth-century scholarship'' 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 volu
£7.59
Oxford University Press King John The Oxford Shakespeare
Book SynopsisKing John, a play that offers at least three fine acting roles and was once popular in the theatre, has been neglected in recent years. Its treatment of the death of Arthur, claimant to the throne, and the wit of the Bastard, son of Richard Coeur de Lion, make it particularly worthy of reconsideration. The wide-ranging introduction makes original claims for the play''s relevance to Elizabethan political issues and for its aesthetic importance in Shakespeare''s early career as a dramatist. This edition also offers a comprehensive stage history, a thorough bibliographical study of the Folio (1623) text, and a reconsideration of its disputed relationship with the anonymous Troublesome Reign of King John (1591). A.R. Braunmuller provides new information concerning King John''s early stage history, consideration of legal concepts and practices in the play, and a critical study of its presentation of women and of families.Trade Review`The Oxford Shakespeare is an admirably scholarly edition, immaculately presented, offering close attention to possibilities of staging as well as meaning.' Dr D. Sedge, Exeter University`This edition offers the most substantial & one of the most penetrating discussions of the play to date. A remarkable scholarly achievement.' Dr René J.A. Weis, Department of English, University College, London`a most impressive and illuminating edition' R. N. Alexander, Queen Mary Westfield, London`The major strength of Professor Braunmuller's edition is its introduction. He offers a sane review of such difficult questions as the date of the play, and such controversial ones as its relation to "The Troublesome Reign". The evidence is marshalled in a lucid manner and sensible conclusions drawn ... This is a significant contribution to the (now quickly developing) debate on "King John", and a good demonstration that investigations of Shakespeare as a political dramatist (as opposed to a moral sage) need not be critically reductive.' The Review of English Studies`By its 'conventionally ordered introduction' (p.1), A.R. Braunmuller's Oxford King John signals that it is, indeed what the dustjacket claims, 'the most thorough scholarly edition now available' ... his edition foregrounds technical material important to scholars over more general interests ... Braunmuller's approach to editing is as fair-minded and scholarly as his introduction ... the King John that sets out the issues most fully and fairly, the edition I want in my study, is Braunmuller's 'conventionally ordered', scholarly text.' Virginia Mason Vaughan, Clark University, Worcester, Massachusetts, Yearbook of English Studies, 1992'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
£8.54
Oxford University Press Plutarch Caesar
Book SynopsisPlutarch''s Life of Caesar deals with the best known Roman of them all, Julius Caesar, and his vivid narrative covers most of the major events of the last generation of the Republic, as well as painting an insightful picture of this man who sacrificed everything for power. Pelling''s volume gives a new translation of the Life together with a full introduction and running commentary on the events it describes. Culminating in the crossing of the Rubicon, Caesar''s victory in the Civil War, and finally his assassination on the Ides of March, 44 BC, it goes on to trace the first stages of the new phase of civil war which followed and, in its turn, led to the establishment of the principate. The volume also discusses both the historical and the literary aspects of the Life, relating it both to the broader history of the Republic and to Plutarch''s other works, especially the Life of Alexander with which it forms a pair of Parallel Lives. A separate section of the Introduction also discussTrade Review[an] awe-filling, exemplar of how decades of excellent scholarship have produced a book that will be in use for many decades, and generations, to come. * Brad L. Cook, Bryn Mawr Classical Review *Table of ContentsLIST OF MAPS ; ABBREVIATIONS ; INTRODUCTION ; 1. Plutarch and the Caesars ; 2. TheLife of Caesar ; a) Biography and History ; b) Alexander and Caesar: Pair and Series ; 3. Sources and Methods ; a) Gathering the Material ; b) The Sources ; c) Remoulding the Material ; 4. Plutarch and Roman Politics ; 5. Caesar and Julius Caesar: Plutarch and Shakespeare ; TRANSLATION ; COMMENTARY ; INDEXES ; Names ; General Index
£56.70
Oxford University Press Tis Pity Shes a Whore and Other Plays
Book SynopsisFord wrote darkly about sexual and political passion, thwarted ambition, and incest. This selection also shows his ability to portray the poignancy of love as well as write entertaining comedy and create convincing roles for women. Setting Ford's earliest surviving independently-written play, The Lover's Melancholy; alongside his three best-known works, this edition includes an introduction with sections on each play, addressing gender issues, modernrelevance, and staging possibilities. Includes: The Lover's Melancholy; The Broken Heart; `Tis Pity She's a Whore; Perkin Warbeck.Table of ContentsThe Lover's Melancholy ; The Broken Heart ; 'Tis Pity She's a Whore ; Perkin Warbeck
£9.49
Oxford University Press She Stoops to Conquer and Other Comedies
Book SynopsisThe Modern Husband * The Clandestine Marriage * She Stoops to Conquer * Wild OatsThis edition brings together four eighteenth-century comedies that illustrate the full variety of the century''s drama. Fielding''s The Modern Husband , written before the 1737 Licensing Act that restricted political and social comment, depicts wife-pandering and widespread social corruption. In Garrick and Colman''s The Clandestine Marriage two lovers marry in defiance of parental wishes and rue the consequences. She Stoops to Conquer explores the comic and not-so-comic consequences of mistaken identity, and in Wild Oats, the ''strolling player'' Rover is a beacon of hope at a time of unrest.Part of the Oxford English Drama series, this edition has modern-spelling texts, critical introduction, wide-ranging annotation and an informative bibliography. 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.Table of ContentsIntroduction ; Select Bibliography ; THE MODERN HUSBAND ; THE CLANDESTINE MARRIAGE ; SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER ; WILD OATS ; Explanatory Notes ; Glossary
£10.44
Penguin Books Ltd The Misanthrope and Other Plays
Book SynopsisMolière (1622-73) combined all the traditional elements of comedy—wit, slapstick, spectacle and satire—with a deep understanding of character to create richly sophisticated dramas which have always delighted audiences. Most are built around dangerously deluded and obsessive heroes such as The Would-Be Gentleman and The Misanthrope who threaten to blight the lives of those around them. Such Foolish Affected Ladies and Those Learned Ladies (both newly translated for this edition) expose the extravagant, fashionable fads and snobbery of the Parisian smart set, while the story of the falsely devout Tartuffe and his devoted disciple Orgon attracted huge controversy for its attack on religious hypocrisy. Finally, The Doctor Despite Himself forms a hilarious chapter in Molière's long-standing vendetta against the medical profession. Like Shakespeare, Molière was a true man of the theatre whose comedies blend sharp insight into human nature with Table of Contents"Such Foolish Affected Ladies"; "Tartuffe"; "The Misanthrope"; "The Doctor Despite Himself"; "The Would-Be Gentleman"; "Those Learned Ladies".
£10.39
Penguin Putnam Inc Antony and Cleopatra
Book SynopsisThe acclaimed Pelican Shakespeare series, now repackaged in award-winning modern covers to inspire Shakespearians of all ages.
£8.54
Greenwich Exchange Ltd Student Guide to Shakepeare's Othello
Book Synopsis
£11.99
British Library Publishing Shakespeares Original Pronunciation Speeches and
Book SynopsisHow did Shakespeare sound to the audiences of his day? For the first time this disc offers listeners the chance to hear England's greatest playwright performed by a company of actors using the pronunciation of his time.Trade ReviewAn enthusiastic bunch of actors demonstrate how the Bard s sonnets, songs and various famous scenes from his plays would have sounded to Elizabethan audiences. Pronounce hour as a 16th-century actor would have, that is, to rhyme with whore, and listen to the double entendres multiply. Eng lit aficionados will love it. --Sue Arnold "Guardian "" "An enthusiastic bunch of actors demonstrate how the Bard's sonnets, songs and various famous scenes from his plays would have sounded to Elizabethan audiences. Pronounce 'hour' as a 16th-century actor would have, that is, to rhyme with 'whore, ' and listen to the double entendres multiply. Eng lit aficionados will love it." --Sue Arnold "Guardian "
£10.71
Manchester University Press Tamburlaine the Great Christopher Marlowe The
Book SynopsisThis fully annotated version, with parts one and two in a single volume, takes account of the recent work on Marlowe. This text is related to contemporary theatrical conventions and conditions, and offers a critical account of the play closely attuned to a sense of theatre.Table of ContentsIntroduction1. Christopher Marlowe2. Authorship3. Sources4. From performance to publication5. From notoriety to criticism6. The play7. Stage revivals8. The textTamburlaine the GreatPart OnePart Two
£18.99
Manchester University Press Masques of Difference Four Court Masques Revels
Book SynopsisMasques of difference' presents an annotated edition of four seventeenth-century entertainments written by Ben Jonson, which reflect the royal court’s self-representation as moral and just, in contrast to stylised images of chaotically (and exotically) 'othered' groups: Africans, the Irish, witches, and the homoeroticised figure of the Gypsy.Table of ContentsIntroductionThe Masque of BlacknessThe Masque of QueensThe Irish Masque at CourtThe Masque of the Gypsies MetamorphosedAppendix 1: Masquers in BlacknessAppendix 2: Masquers in QueensAppendix 3: Irish Masque Translation
£10.44
Penguin Books Ltd Shakespeares Restless World
Book SynopsisThe Elizabethan age was a tumultuous time, when long-cherished certainties were crumbling and life was exhilaratingly uncertain. Shakespeare''s Restless World uncovers the extraordinary stories behind twenty objects from the period to re-create an age at once distant and yet surprisingly familiar. From knife crime to belief in witches, religious battles to the horizons of the New World, Neil MacGregor brings the past to life in a fresh, unexpected portrait of a dangerous and dynamic era.''Fascinating ... filled with anecdotes and insights, eerie, funny, poignant and grotesque ... another brilliant vindication of MacGregor''s understanding of physical objects to enter deep into our forefathers'' mental and spiritual world'' Christopher Hart, Sunday Times''Enjoyable and intriguing, an absorbing evocation ... he draws us into the minds of the Elizabethan and Jacobean audience. Next time you see one of the plays reading this book will make th
£13.49
Faber & Faber Attempts on Her Life Faber Drama
Book SynopsisAttempts on her Life 17 scenarios for the theatre by Martin Crimp Attempts to describe her? Attempts to destroy her? Or attempts to destroy herself? Is Anne the object of violence? Or its terrifying practitioner? Martin Crimps 17 scenarios for the theatre, shocking and hilarious by turn, are a rollercoaster of late 20th-century obsessions. From pornography and ethnic violence, to terrorism and unprotected sex, its strange array of nameless characters attempt to invent the perfect story to encapsulate our time. Since its premiere 10 years ago, Attempts on her Life has been translated into more than 20 languages. This is its first major UK revival. Attempts on her Life 17 scenarios for the theatre by Martin Crimp
£10.44
Faber & Faber Plays 1 The Birthday Party The Room The Dumb
Book SynopsisThis volume contains Harold Pinter''s first six plays, including The Birthday Party.The Birthday PartyStanley Webber is visited in his boarding house by two strangers, Goldberg and McCann. An innocent-seeming birthday party for Stanley turns into a nightmare.''Mr Pinter''s terrifying blend of pathos and hatred fuses unforgettably into the stuff of art.'' Sunday TimesThe Room and The Dumb WaiterIn these two early one-act plays, Harold Pinter reveals himself as already in full control of his unique ability to make dramatic poetry of the banalities of everyday speech and the precision with which it defines character.''Harold Pinter is the most original writer to have emerged from the new wave of dramatists who gave fresh life to the British theatre in the fifties and early sixties.'' The TimesThe HothouseThe Hothouse was first produced in 1980, though Harold Pinter wrote the play
£17.09
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Master Class
Book SynopsisThe world can and will go on without us but I have to think that we have made this world a better place. That we have left it richer, wiser than had we not chosen the way of art.The 1996 Tony Award winner for Best Play.Terrence McNally''s Master Class presents the legendary opera diva, Maria Callas, as she puts aspiring young singers through their paces in a series of master classes. Both moving and entertaining, this theatrical tour de force dramatizes the Callas phenomenon and is an unembarrassed, involving meditation on Callas''s life and the nature of her art. Such subjects are not easily dramatized, certainly not with this brio. (New York Times)After opening on Broadway in 1995 with Zoe Caldwell and Audra McDonald, the play premiered in London in 1997 with Patti LuPone. It was last revived on Broadway and in the West End in 2011-12 starring Tyne Daly.Trade ReviewMcNally's well-crafted, quip-filled drama — which depicts Callas teaching at Juilliard, circa 1971 (her voice was virtually destroyed by then) — is less a biography and more a love letter to La Divina. * Entertainment Weekly *Terrence McNally's brusque and brilliant rendering of Callas is the sort of meaty role actresses love to sink teeth and claws into * New York Daily News *
£10.44
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Springboard Shakespeare A Midsummer Nights Dream
Book Synopsis A Midsummer Night''s Dream is one of Shakespeare''s most popular comedies. This accessible introduction offers a springboard into the play, taking a hands-on, performance-based approach, exploring the challenges and the rewards it presents to actors, audiences and students. Springboard Shakespeare: A Midsummer Night''s Dream has a three-part structure: whether you''re watching or reading, Ben Crystal takes you through exactly what you need to know Before, During and After the play. He combines a genuine passion and understanding of Shakespeare with his experience as an actor, giving the reader a clear route to thinking about, understanding and enjoying A Midsummer Night''s Dream.Trade ReviewHaving Crystal as a companion through the stickier parts of Hamlet and Macbeth is like going to the theatre with an intelligent friend. * The Independent *How different it might have been if we’d had Ben Crystal’s sparky little books to introduce us. My Shakespearean epiphany would have come much sooner...[the books] lead newcomers into the play in question in a gentle, upbeat, unpretentious way. Fresh and slim, they’re about as far as could be from dusty, dry study guides relating to school exams...much better than the average theatre programme...I’d like to see them on sale in theatre bookshops, and/or wherever there’s a production of one of these plays...I’d also recommend them for classroom use. -- Susan Elkin * The Independent on Sunday *A highly worthwhile series, which should prove to be valuable for directors, actors and students…This formula really works. As an experiment, your dedicated reviewer tried out Macbeth in preparation for and following on from the Eve Best production of the Globe. The experience was definitely improved, with some of the tips on words and language proving especially helpful and enlightening… These really are excellent little guides that will prove informative to almost anybody with an interest in the subject. -- Philip Fisher * British Theatre Guide *
£10.44
Spark No Fear Shakespeare A Companion
Book SynopsisNo Fear Shakespeare: A Companion gives you the straight scoop on everything you really need to know about Shakespeare, including:
£7.59
Arizona Center for Medieval & Renaissance Studies,US Hamlet
Book SynopsisTo thine own text be trueLisa Peterson's translation ofHamletinto contemporary American English makes the play accessible to new audiences while keeping the soul of Shakespeare's writing intact. Lovers of Shakespeare's language take heart: Lisa Peterson's translation ofHamletinto contemporary American English was guided by the principle of First, do no harm. Leaving the most famous parts ofHamletuntouched, Peterson untied the language knots that can make the rest of the play difficult to understand in a single theatrical viewing. Peterson's translation makesHamletaccessible to new audiences, drawing out its timeless themes while helping to contextualize To be, or not tobe:that is the question, and Something is rotten in the state of Denmark, so that contemporary audiences can feel their full weight. This translation ofHamletwas written as part of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival's Play On! project, which commissioned new translations of thirty-nine Shakespeare plays. These translati
£9.46
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Christopher Marlowe Four Plays
Book SynopsisChristopher Marlowe (1564-93) was an English playwright and poet, who through his establishment of blank verse as a medium for drama did much to free the Elizabethan theatre from the constraints of the medieval and Tudor dramatic tradition. His first play Tamburlaine the Great, was performed that same year, probably by the Admiral's Men with Edward Alleyn in the lead. With its swaggering power-hungry title character and gorgeous verse the play proved to be enormously popular; Marlowe quickly wrote a second part, which may have been produced later that year. Marlowe's most famous play, The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus, based on the medieval German legend of the scholar who sold his soul to the devil, was probably written and produced by 1590, although it was not published until 1604. Historically the play is important for utilizing the soliloquy as an aid to character analysis and development. The Jew of Malta (c. 1590) has another unscrupulous aspiring
£9.99
West Margin Press Romeo and Juliet
Book SynopsisRomeo and Juliet (1597) is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. Inspired by an Italian tale adapted for an English audience in 1562 by Arthur Brooke and in 1567 by William Painter, Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet sometime between 1591 and 1595. Alongside Hamlet, it is one of Shakespeare’s most performed plays and has served as source material for countless film and television adaptations. “Two households, both alike in dignity, / In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, / From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, / Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.” For his wit and wordplay alone, William Shakespeare is often considered the greatest writer to ever work in the English language. Where he truly triumphs, however, is in his ability to portray complex human emotions, how these emotions contribute to relationships, and how these relationships interact with politics, culture, and religion. In Romeo and Juliet, a “pair of star-cross’d lovers” risk their lives for one another. Because Romeo is a Montague, he cannot love Juliet, a Capulet, the sworn enemies of his family and their major rival in the city of Verona. As is often the case, their hearts refuse the limits of history, leading them to their tragic, unforgettable end. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is a classic of English literature reimagined for modern readers.
£9.49
Simon & Schuster The Tempest
Book SynopsisPutting romance onstage, The Tempest gives us a magician, Prospero, a former duke of Milan who was displaced by his treacherous brother, Antonio. Prospero is exiled on an island, where his only companions are his daughter, Miranda, the spirit Ariel, and the monster Caliban. When his enemies are among those caught in a storm near the island, Prospero turns his power upon them through Ariel and other spirits. The characters exceed the roles of villains and heroes. Prospero seems heroic, yet he enslaves Caliban and has an appetite for revenge. Caliban seems to be a monster for attacking Miranda, but appears heroic in resisting Prospero, evoking the period of colonialism during which the play was written. Miranda’s engagement to Ferdinand, the Prince of Naples and a member of the shipwrecked party, helps resolve the drama. The authoritative edition of The Tempest from The Folger Shakespeare Library, the trusted and widely used Shakespeare series for stud
£9.49
Simon & Schuster Macbeth
Book SynopsisThe authoritative edition of Macbeth from The Folger Shakespeare Library, the trusted and widely used Shakespeare series for students and general readers.In 1603, James VI of Scotland ascended the English throne, becoming James I of England. London was alive with an interest in all things Scottish, and Shakespeare turned to Scottish history for material. He found a spectacle of violence and stories of traitors advised by witches and wizards, echoing James’s belief in a connection between treason and witchcraft. In depicting a man who murders to become king, Macbeth teases us with huge questions. Is Macbeth tempted by fate, or by his or his wife’s ambition? Why does their success turn to ashes? Like other plays, Macbeth speaks to each generation. Its story was once seen as that of a hero who commits an evil act and pays an enormous price. Recently, it has been applied to nations that overreach themselves and to modern alien
£9.49
John Wiley and Sons Ltd The Life of William Shakespeare
Book SynopsisThe Life of William Shakespeare is a fascinating and wide-ranging exploration of Shakespeare's life and works focusing on oftern neglected literary and historical contexts: what Shakespeare read, who he worked with as an author and an actor, and how these various collaborations may have affected his writing.Trade Review“Two of the Mighty dead have been brought back to life in exemplary fashion: Shakespeare in Lois Potter’s The Life of William Shakespeare: A Critical Biography, which very cleverly uses expert theatre-knowledge as a way of making her enigmatic subject seem plausibly substantial; and Keats in Nicholas Roe’s John Keats: A New Life, which puts the poet properly in his place.” (The Guardian, 24 November 2012) “This study will have wide appeal to readers who wish to expand their appreciation of the works of William Shakespeare. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty; general readers.” (Choice, 1 November 2012) “A richly suggestive, undogmatic book in which Lois Potter ranges across the entire canon and the period that helped produce it.” (Around the Globe, 1 October 2012) “Lois Potter’s Life of William Shakespeare, ranks with the most distinguished examples of its kind … Her achievement lies in her catholicity, her simultaneous commitment to matters personal, historical, theatrical, literary, cultural. She exhibits an absolute command of the available facts, a lifetime’s acquaintance with the works gained in teaching and playgoing, an unparalleled familiarity with theatrical history from 1567 to the present, and a talent for connecting the fictional and the actual.” (Times Literary Supplement, 10 August 2012)Table of ContentsList of Illustrations vi Preface and Acknowledgments vii List of Abbreviations x The Shakespeare Family Tree xii 1 “Born into the World”: 1564–1571 1 2 “Nemo SibiNascitur”: 1571–1578 21 3 “Hic et Ubique”: 1578–1588 40 4 “This Man’s Art and That Man’s Scope”: 1588–1592 64 5 “Tigers’ Hearts”: 1592–1593 86 6 “The Dangerous Year”: 1593–1594 106 7 “Our Usual Manager of Mirth”: 1594–1595 134 8 “The Strong’st and Surest Way to Get”: Histories, 1595–1596 162 9 “When Love Speaks”: Tragedy and Comedy, 1595–1596 181 10 “You Had a Father; Let Your Son Say So”: 1596–1598 201 11 “Unworthy Scaffold”: 1598–1599 231 12 “These Words Are Not Mine”: 1599–1601 258 13 “Looking Before and After”: 1600–1603 277 14 “This Most Balmy Time”: 1603–1605 300 15 “Past the Size of Dreaming”: 1606–1609 330 16 “Like an Old Tale”: 1609–1611 360 17 “The Second Burden”: 1612–1616 384 18 “In the Mouths of Men”: 1616 and After 414 Bibliography 443 Index 475
£24.65
Yale University Press Richard III
Book SynopsisTreacherous, power-hungry, untempered by moral restraint, and embittered by physical deformity, Richard, the younger brother of King Edward IV, is ablaze with ambition to take England's throne. This title is a chronicle of Richard's machinations to be king - a tale of murder upon murder.Trade Review“Besides the scholarly texts, these include lists of suggested further reading, essays, and more. Fab for the price.”—Library JournalSelected by the Association of American University Presses as an Outstanding Book for Public and Secondary School Libraries, 2007“Each volume of the Annotated Shakespeare proves to be a splendid addition to the series.”—Tita French Baumlin, Southwest Missouri State University“The volumes in this series will enrich any library that stocks editions of individual Shakespearean plays. . . . Especially helpful are definitions of common words that have changed meanings over the past four hundred years.”—Judith McGowan, American Association of School Librarians
£9.93
Oxford University Press The Importance of Being Earnest and Other Plays
Book SynopsisTrade Review'the man had style and wit and was a great influence on the theatre of his time' Hamish Coghill, Evening NewsTable of ContentsLady Windermere's Fan ; Salome ; A Woman of No Importance ; An Ideal Husband ; The Importance of Being Earnest
£9.49
Oxford University Press Twelfth Night or What You Will The Oxford
Book SynopsisTwelfth Night is one of the most popular of Shakespeare's plays in performance, and this edition emphasizes its theatrical qualities in both the introduction and the full and detailed commentary. Where the original music has not survived, James Walker has composed settings compatible with the surviving originals, freshly edited, so that this edition, uniquely, offers all the music required to perform the play.Trade ReviewThe commentary on Twelfth Night is alive with the editors' feeling for the play in performance. * M.M. Mahoud, University of Kent, YES, 27, 1996 *
£7.59
Penguin Books Ltd Four Tragedies Hamlet Othello King Lear Macbeth
Book SynopsisThe theme of the great Shakespearean tragedies is the fall from grace of a great man due to a flaw in his nature. Whether it is the ruthless ambition of Macbeth or the folly of Lear, the irresolution of Hamlet or the suspicion of Othello, the cause of the tragedy - even when it is the murder of a king - is trifling compared to the calamity that it unleashes. Despite his flawed nature, however, the tragic hero has a nobility that emphasizes the greatness of man. From this paradox the audience is brought to a greater understanding of - and sympathy with - suffering. The four tragedies in this collection are accompanied by notes and an introduction to each text, making this edition of particular value to students and theatre-goers.
£13.49
Flying Chipmunk Publishing Tales from Shakespeare
£16.99
Penguin Books Ltd The Taming of the Shrew
Book SynopsisWilliam Shakespeare was born 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. Stanley Wells is Emeritus Professor of the University of Birmingham and Honorary President of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.Margaret Jane Kidnie is Professor of English at the University of Western Ontario.
£7.59
Spark Hamlet (No Fear Shakespeare): Volume 3
Book SynopsisRead Shakespeare’s plays in all their brilliance—and understand what every word means! Don’t be intimidated by Shakespeare! These popular guides make the Bard’s plays accessible and enjoyable.Each No Fear guide contains: The complete text of the original play A line-by-line translation that puts Shakespeare into everyday language A complete list of characters with descriptions Plenty of helpful commentary
£7.59
Penguin Putnam Inc As You Like It
Book Synopsis The acclaimed Pelican Shakespeare series edited by A. R. Braunmuller and Stephen Orgel The legendary Pelican Shakespeare series features authoritative and meticulously researched texts paired with scholarship by renowned Shakespeareans. Each book includes an essay on the theatrical world of Shakespeare’s time, an introduction to the individual play, and a detailed note on the text used. Updated by general editors Stephen Orgel and A. R. Braunmuller, these easy-to-read editions incorporate over thirty years of Shakespeare scholarship undertaken since the original series, edited by Alfred Harbage, appeared between 1956 and 1967. With definitive texts and illuminating essays, the Pelican Shakespeare will remain a valued resource for students, teachers, and theater professionals for many years to come. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700Trade Review“Gorgeous new Shakespeare paperbacks.” —Marlon James, author of A Brief History of Seven Killings“I have been using the Pelican Shakespeare for years in my lecture course--it's invaluable, the best individual-volume series available for students.”—Marjorie Garber, William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of English and Visual and Environmental Studies, Harvard University
£9.00
Granta Books The Smoking Diaries Volume 3: The Last Cigarette
Book SynopsisThe final volume of the trilogy that began with The Smoking Diaries finds Simon Gray determined to give up smoking. Really. At last. Can he kick the habit of sixty years? Will he, sometime soon, be able to leave his house without nervously feeling for his two packets of twenty and his two lighters? As this wonderful, wayward record of Gray's life progresses, these questions are overtaken by much larger ones. What was sex like before 1963? Will his name be in lights on Broadway? Why leave the bedside of his dying mother? With their combination of comedy and serious reflection, of sharp observation and painful self-disclosure, Simon Gray's diaries reinvented the memoir form and are destined to become classics of autobiography.Trade Review"- 'A new volume of diaries from Simon Gray is always a rare treat' Evening Standard -'A great achievement, a terrific read, every page crammed with jokes, philosophical observations... Volume III is keenly awaited' Lloyd Evans, Spectator - 'His apparently spontaneous, but I suspect meticulously crafted journals are highly addictive, often wildly funny but also, and this is increasingly the case, deeply moving.... they are works of rare honesty, humanity and wit that are surely destined to be read with pleasure a hundred years from now' Sunday Telegraph - '**** There are few things more enjoyable than reading the diaries of Simon Gray... (they) are very, very, funny.' - Irish mail on Sunday"
£7.59
Pan Macmillan Lady Gregorys Toothbrush
Book SynopsisColm Tóibín's Lady Gregory's Toothbrush is a beautiful insight into the life of outspoken Irishwoman, Augusta Gregory.A remarkable figure in Celtic history, she was married to an MP and land-owner, yet retained an unprecedented independence of both thought and deed, actively championing causes close to her heart. At once conservative and radical in her beliefs, she saw no conflict in idealizing and mythologizing the Irish peasantry, for example, while her landlord husband introduced legislation that would, in part, lead to the widespread misery, poverty and starvation of the Great Famine. Nevertheless, as founder of the Abbey Theatre, an outspoken opponent of censorship, and mentor, muse, and mother-figure to W. B. Yeats, Augusta Gregory played a pivotal role in shaping Irish literary and dramatic history. Moreover, despite her parents’ early predictions of spinsterhood, she was no matronly figure, engaging in a passionate affair while Trade ReviewBiographical portraits are too often nowadays smudged in a surfeit of words . . . this one is a brilliant illumination. * Spectator *
£8.54
World Wisdom Shakespeares Sonnets and the Bible A Spiritual
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£17.99
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Macbeth
Book SynopsisMacbeth is one of Shakespeare's most performed and studied tragedies. This major new Arden edition offers students detailed on-page commentary notes highlighting meaning and theatrical ideas and themes, as well as an illustrated, lengthy introduction setting the play in its historical, theatrical and critical context and outlining the recent debates about Middleton's possible co-authorship of some scenes. A comprehensive and informative edition ideal for students and teachers seeking to explore the play in depth, whether in the classroom or on the stage.Trade ReviewThis is a splendid edition: it incorporates the most recent modern scholarship ... and it does so within a compass and format that is both readable and usable. -- Neil Rhodes, University of St. Andrews, UK * Around the Globe *A much needed third series edition of Macbeth, which provides the reader with a breath of fresh scholarship after over 30 years. * Jarrod DePrado, Sacred Heart University, USA *Table of ContentsPreface List of Illustrations Introduction Macbeth Appendices Further Reading Index
£8.99
Temple Lodge Publishing Educating the Soul: On the Esoteric in
Book Synopsis'The power of Shakespeare lies in his evidently conscious knowledge, skill and understanding of how to work with the alchemical potential in the human soul in the crafting of his plays. Each play is made as an exquisitely unique transformative device for the education of the soul."Books carry on conversations across the thresholds of time and space', writes Josie Alwyn in her introduction. This book is the fruit of her 'conversation' with Brien Masters - a collaboration that began more than twenty years ago, when she was learning to be a Waldorf teacher. They open their discussions with the broader theme of the role and 'mission' of drama in human development, before focusing on the central topic: the potential for metamorphosis inherent in Shakespeare's plays. This creative, birth-giving, transformative essence of Shakespeare - the esoteric core of his work - is vitally important to our times, they suggest, and contributes to the ongoing cultural education of the human soul.Published to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death, Educating the Soul offers an overview of Shakespeare's journey as a playwright in the context of evolving human consciousness. The heart of the book features nine essays on Shakespeare's most performed plays. Just as the middle act of a Shakespearian drama gives a point of transformation, so these essays represent the central, unfolding dialogue that took place between the writers as the book developed. This section is followed by an in-depth study of Hamlet, that sees the story as a learning process, deeply strengthened by the primary character's own education and changing consciousness. Finally, the book explores the theme of transformation through The Tempest and in relation to the archetypal 'tree of life'. Accessible to all, the motifs of the various chapters in this book are woven lightly together, enabling the reader to follow the contents in sequence, or to dip in and pick up the threads at any point.
£14.24
CONNELL PUBLISHING LTD The Connell Guide To Shakespeare's Antony and
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£8.54
LUP - University of Michigan Press David Mamet in Conversation
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£18.00
Cambridge University Press Macbeth
Book SynopsisThis second edition of Macbeth offers a thorough reconsideration of one of Shakespeare's most popular plays. Edited and introduced by A. R. Braunmuller, this edition features a new introductory section on recent productions of the play, including cinematic versions by Kurosawa and Roman Polanski.Trade Review'This updated edition of Macbeth reveals thorough research, it is conscientiously annotated, and it appears a superb tool for researchers and students involved in Shakespeare scholarship.' Year's Work in English StudiesTable of ContentsIntroduction: Macbeth in legend, Macbeth in history; Macbeth in the mind; Macbeth in performance; Macbeth in the mind and in performance; Recent performances and adaptations; Note on the text; List of characters; The play; Supplementary notes; Textual analysis; Appendixes: 1. Casting Macbeth; 2. Additional text and music; 3. Relineation of the Folio; Reading list.
£9.99
The Lilliput Press Ltd Denis Johnston: A Life
Book SynopsisThis is the first biography of Denis Johnston, barrister, theatre director, film-maker, pioneering television producer, war correspondent, essayist and celebrated playwright. Johnston was of Ulster Presbyterian stock, born into Edwardian Dublin, where he was briefly held hostage in his family home at Lansdowne Road during the 1916 Rising. Son of a Supreme Court judge, he was schooled at St Andrew’s in Dublin, in Edinburgh and Christ’s College, Cambridge, and at Harvard University. He made the name of the Gate Theatre in 1929 with his astonishing first play The Old Lady Says ‘No!’, created the radio epic ‘Lillibulero’ for the BBC in Belfast, and earned an OBE for his war reporting from North Africa, Yugoslavia and Buchenwald. In 1950 he decamped to New York and taught for many years at colleges in Massachusetts, founding the Poets’ Theatre in Boston. An Irishman of wide horizons and wit, and a prodigal dissenter, his multi-faceted life illuminates the cultural history of the past century. He was turbulently married to the actresses Shelah Richards and Betty Chancellor, and had four children, among them the novelist Jennifer Johnston. In this masterly biography, Adams draws upon Johnston’s copious and intimate diaries, letters and uncompleted autobiography deposited in Trinity College, Dublin, cataloguing the ‘untidy museum’ of his subject’s past. The result is an enthralling narrative of the extraordinary secret life of a complex, self-doubting individual, which brings new light to bear on one of the twentieth century’s most original Irish writers.Trade Review‘Bernard Adams has produced a terrific biography of a truclent maverick’ – Neil Donnelly, Irish Independent ‘This excellent biography will undoubtedly stimulate further interest in the work while providing fitting tribute to a remarkable Irishman.’ – P.J. Mathews, Irish Times ‘A masterly biography. Rarely was a biographer better served by his subject. Johnston was an enthusiastic archivist who left a wealth of secret diaries, autobiographical writings and recordings, scrapbooks and unpublished memoirs in his wake. These sources are judiciously used and amplified by the author’s keen sense of Johnston’s milieu to provide an intriguing narrative of a fascinating life.’ – P.J. Mathews, Irish Times ‘Bernard Adams sets out from a secure base and he tells his story of Johnston’s life fluently.’ -W.J. McCormack, Sunday Business Post ‘Denis Johnston: A Life is clearly a labour of love. It is also a thoroughly good read.’ – Emer O’Kelly, Sunday Independent
£23.75
Archetype The Secret of Shakespeare: His Greatest Plays
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£17.95
WW Norton & Co Modern African Drama
Book SynopsisThe first truly continentally representative collection of modern African drama in any language, this Norton Critical Edition includes plays from Egypt, Algeria, the Republic of South Africa, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Ghana, and Kenya.
£18.99
WW Norton & Co 1 Henry IV
Book SynopsisThe text, with few departures, is that of the First Quarto (1598) edition of the play.Table of ContentsPreface A Note on the Text Abbreviated Genealogy of the Mortimers and the House of Lancaster The Text of 1 Henry IV Contexts and Sources COMPOSITION AND PUBLICATION Excerpt from the 1598 Quarto ONE PLAY OR TWO? Harold Jenkins – The Structural Problem in Shakespeare’s “Henry the Fourth” Paul Yachnin – History, Theatricality, and the “Structural Problem” in the Henry IV Plays FALSTAFF OR OLDCASTLE? Gary Taylor – The Fortunes of Oldcastle David Scott Kastan – [Reforming Falstaff] ORIGINS Peter Saccio – [Shakespearean History and the Reign of Henry IV] Edward Hall – Henry, Prince of Wales Raphael Holinshed – Elizabeth and the Uniting of the Two Houses Anonymous – An Homilee against disobedience and wylful rebellion Raphael Holinshed – The Chronicles of England Samuel Daniel – The Ciuile Wars The Famous Victories of Henry the Fifth Criticism John Dryden – The Composition of a Character Samuel Johnson – [Falstaff] Elizabeth Montagu – [Hal, Falstaff, and Taste] Maurice Morgann – An Essay on the Dramatic Character of Sir John Falstaff John Dover Wilson – The Falstaff Myth Arthur C. Sprague – Gadshill Revisited E.M.W. Tillyard – The Second Tetralogy Henry Ansagar Kelly – [Providence and Progaganda] Graham Holderness – [Tillyard, History, and Ideology] Sigurd Burckhardt – [Symmetry and Disorder] John Wilders – [Knowledge and Misjudgement] Stephen Greenblatt – [Theater and Power] Scott McMillin – [Performing 1 Henry IV] David Scott Kastan – “The King Hath Many Marching in His Coats,” or, What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? C. L. Barber – [Mingling Kings and Clowns] Michael Bristol – [The Battle of Carnival and Lent] Samuel Crowl – [Welles and Falstaff] Patricia Parker – [Fat Lady Falstaff] Coppélia Kahn – [Masculine Identities] Gus Van Sant – [My Own Private Idaho] Susan Wiseman – [Shakespeare in Idaho] Jean E. Howard and Phyllis Rackin – [Gender and Nation] Christopher Highley – [Defining the Nation] Barbara Hodgdon – [Endings] Selected Bibliography
£13.29
Union Square & Co. Measure for Measure
Book SynopsisThis guide helps make Shakespeare's play more accessible. It contains a complete text of the original work, along with a line-by-line modernisation and plenty of helpful commentary.
£6.99
Nick Hern Books Tip of the Tongue: Reflections on Language and
Book SynopsisA thoughtful and deeply personal book by a master theatre-maker. In Tip of the Tongue, Peter Brook takes a charming, playful and wise look at topics such as the subtle, telling differences between French and English, and the many levels on which we can appreciate the works of Shakespeare. Brook also revisits his seminal concept of the 'empty space', considering how theatre – and the world – have changed over the span of his long and distinguished career. Threaded throughout with intimate and revealing stories from Brook's own life, Tip of the Tongue is a short but sparkling gift from one of the greatest artists of recent times.Trade Review'Engaging and thought-provoking… Brook is constantly enthralled but never daunted by contemplation of the art he serves, as this short work shows with grace and eloquence' * Shakespeare Survey *'A gem… like sitting down with Brook after a meal… this simple and accessible book contains insights and lessons from someone who has lived and breathed theatre for over seventy years' * Drama Magazine *'Full of aphoristic wisdom' * Guardian *'Short, sweet and brimming with wise saws and modern instances' * The Stage *'Peter Brook's exploration of words, theatre and everything attached is loving and heartfelt, taking his readers on a journey through his experiences and giving meaning to what he's seen and done' * Broadway World *'Filled with wisdom… devotees will be enchanted by the great director’s latest ruminations on language and the theatre' * British Theatre Guide *
£10.44
