Acting from Shakespeare's First Folio examines a series of techniques for reading and performing Shakespeare's plays that are based on the texts of the first ‘complete’ volume of Shakespeare's works: the First Folio of 1623.Do extra syllables in a line suggest how it might be played? Can Folio commas reveal character? Don Weingust places this work on Folio performance possibility within current understandings about Shakespearean text, describing ways in which these challen...

Shakespeare for Children (Illustrated) is a masterful anthology that offers a gateway into the enchanting world of Shakespeare's works through the lens of childhood wonder. The collection brilliantly encapsulates the magic and timelessness of Shakespeare's themes such as love, ambition, and betrayal, recast into simplified yet elegant narratives. This anthology oscillates between the realms of drama and playfulness, making classic tales palatable for younger audiences without sacrificing t...

"Startlingly good" stories of Nepali society set against the backdrop of violent Maoist insurgencies ( San Francisco Chronicle).From an author like "a Buddhist Chekhov," The Royal Ghosts features characters trying to reconcile their true desires with the forces at work in Nepali society ( San Francisco Chronicle). As political violence rages, these people struggle with their duties to their aging parents, an oppressive caste system, and t...

The Newly Revised Signet Classic Shakespeare Series The work of the world’s greatest dramatist edited by outstanding scholarsThe Winter’s TaleUnique Features of the Signet Classic Shakespeare•An extensive overview of Shakespeare’s life, world, and theater by the general editor of the Signet Classic Shakespeare series, Sylvan Barnet•Special introduction to the play by the editor, Frank Kermode, Fellow of the ...

In this new offering from Stanley Wells, the pre-eminent Shakespearian scholar, comes a Very Short Introduction to the life and writings of the world's greatest and best-known dramatists: William Shakespeare. Looking at his early life and education, Wells explores Shakespeare's social and intellectual background and the literary traditions on which Shakespeare drew. Examining the theatres and theatrical profession of the time, he also considers how Shakespeare experienced this wor...

How does Shakespeare's treatment of human sexuality relate to the sexual conventions and language of his times? Pre-eminent Shakespearean critic Stanley Wells draws on historical and anecdotal sources to present an illuminating account of sexual behaviour in Shakespeare's time, particularly in Stratford-upon-Avon and London. He demonstrates what we know or can deduce of the sex lives of Shakespeare and members of his family. He also provides a fascinating account of depictions of sexuality...

The Routledge Companion to Actors’ Shakespeare is a window onto how today’s actors contribute to the continuing life and relevance of Shakespeare’s plays.The process of acting is notoriously hard to document, but this volume reaches behind famous performances to examine the actors’ craft, their development and how they engage with playtexts. Each chapter relies upon privilieged access to its subject to offer an unparalleled insight into contemporary practice.This v...

Renaissance ideas of honour had a profound influence on the English people who formed Shakespeare’s audiences. In When Honour’s at the Stake, first published in 1973, Norman Council describes the increasing importance of these ideas to the themes and structure of a number of Shakespeare’s major plays.The validity of the most widely approved code of honour was being challenged on a variety of fronts, yet both personal standards of behaviour and public affairs were habituall...

From The Two Gentlemen of Verona in the early 1590s to The Two Noble Kinsmen at the end of his career around 1614, Shakespeare wrote at least eighteen plays that can be called 'comedies': a far higher number than that for any other genre in which he wrote. So what is a Shakespearean comedy? We associate these plays with such themes as mistaken identities, happy marriages, and exuberant cross dressing, but how representative are these of the oeuvre as a whole? In this ...

Are you studying Shakespeare and looking for a handy summary of plots, characters and interpretations? Or are you a keen theatregoer wanting essential background on the Shakespeare plays you see on stage? Ideal for students and theatre enthusiasts alike, this lively and authoritative guide presents key information, clearly set out, on all Shakespeare's dramatic and poetic works, covering plots and people, sources, context, performance history and major themes. Ordered alphabetically for ea...

Originally published by Chatto & Windus in 1959, this book has long been out of print and largely neglected by Shakespearean scholars. It offers a viewpoint seldom considered: an unusual and exceptionally clear insight into Shakespeare’s philosophy. It does so with freshness, modesty and conviction.Appreciating the danger Shakespeare faced in writing at a time of major religious intolerance, Vyvyan shows how subtly the plays explore aspects of the perennial philosophy allegorically....

Written by an international team of literary scholars and historians, this collaborative volume illuminates the diversity of early modern religious beliefs and practices in Shakespeare's England, and considers how religious culture is imaginatively reanimated in Shakespeare's plays. Fourteen new essays explore the creative ways Shakespeare engaged with the multifaceted dimensions of Protestantism, Catholicism, non-Christian religions including Judaism and Islam, and secular perspectives, c...