[Reading Shakespeare's Dramatic Language (Arden Shakespeare Library)] [Author: x] [December, 2000]

Arden Shakespeare Library

by Lynette Hunter

The first in an occasional series of student guides to be published by the Arden Shakespeare, this interdisciplinary volume addresses a fundamental need in 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 should 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 historical understanding of dramatic language in the early modern period.

Genres: Shakespeare, Nonfiction, Literary Criticism, Literature

Paperback

First published December 14, 2000

About the author

Hunter is Distinguished Professor Emerita of the History of Rhetoric and Performance at the University of California, Davis, and Professor Emeritus in Rhetoric at Gresham College, City of London. She has written or co-written over 25 books in performance studies, feminist philosophy, the politics of decolonial and alterior aesthetics, and the history of rhetoric and performance, including Critiques of Knowing (Routledge, 1999).

Reviews

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been teaching Shakespeare for thirty years, but this has so much in it that I've never thought of.

How is Shakespeare using rhetoric? How is he using dialogue? How is he using description? How is he using metaphor?

But it's about the use, not about WHAT is being described. This book got me thinking about Shakespeare's writing in different ways, which is why I'd recommend it to anyone interested in the way Shakespeare worked.

[John Fredrickson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a useful guide to Shakespeare, but is more focused on breadth than depth. The short essays cover many aspects of performative drama as well as language, including body language as well as the use of silence on the stage. This is in addition to the subjects you would expect, such as rhetoric and persuasive techniques, grammar, puns, neologisms and more.

[Mugren Ohaly · Rating 3 out of 5]

A useful textbook for anyone studying Shakespeare or someone wanting help reading and understanding Shakespeare's work.