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Shakespeare: An Oxford Guide
Edited by Stanley Wells and Lena Cowen Orlin, this stimulating and comprehensive guide to Shakespeare is an ideal text for undergraduate students. It includes over forty specially commissioned essays by an outstanding team of scholars. Each essay is written in an accessible and engaging style and is followed by annotated suggestions for further reading.
An Oxford Guide is divided into four key parts. Part One offers concise introductions to the literary and historical contexts in which Shakespeare lived and worked. It covers the society, culture, language, theatre, and playwriting conventions of Shakespeare's time and also discusses his contemporary impact. Part Two offers critical overviews of Shakespeare's achievements in the major genres. Each overview is followed by a reading that explores Shakespeare's use of the traditions, scope, and boundaries of that genre in one of his key works. Part Three discusses current critical approaches to the study of Shakespeare. Each chapter outlines a specific approach and is followed by a reading applying that approach to one of Shakespeare's works. Part Four offers chapters on Shakespeare's intellectual and cultural impact over the ages.
An Oxford Guide is divided into four key parts. Part One offers concise introductions to the literary and historical contexts in which Shakespeare lived and worked. It covers the society, culture, language, theatre, and playwriting conventions of Shakespeare's time and also discusses his contemporary impact. Part Two offers critical overviews of Shakespeare's achievements in the major genres. Each overview is followed by a reading that explores Shakespeare's use of the traditions, scope, and boundaries of that genre in one of his key works. Part Three discusses current critical approaches to the study of Shakespeare. Each chapter outlines a specific approach and is followed by a reading applying that approach to one of Shakespeare's works. Part Four offers chapters on Shakespeare's intellectual and cultural impact over the ages.
713 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
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104 people want to read
About the author
Stanley Wells
187 books47 followersStanley William Wells, CBE, is a Shakespeare scholar and Chairman of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
February 13, 2023
A comprehensive entry-level guide to Shakespeare, his works and times, aimed anywhere from GCSE standard to university level, Shakespeare: An Oxford Guide provides a variable-quality array of essays from the life, times, social conditions and works of Shakespeare. It touches on the richness of Renaissance theatre and Shakespeare's part in it alongside his contemporary dramatists (which opened my eyes to further early modern drama) and the conventions of playwriting, the court and monarchs Elizabeth I and James I, religion, witchcraft, racism, slavery, mercantilism, city hierarchies and country, home and family life, with gender threaded through, as well as basic analyses of language, verse and metre, before approaching the plays through genre and then literary theory, with all discursive chapters having specific readings of selected plays representing one of those genres or theories.
It is notable that, revisiting the earlier introductory chapters some time after having first read them, I revised my view of some them. This is partly because I had learned much en route, but also because I had so much more information for comparative assessment, and also appreciated them more. The trickiest subjects were Shakespeare's verse, by Russ McDonald - but I had since read two of his works on the subject, and felt much more at home with it second time round - and 'Material criticisms', which involved a lot of dense technical information about literary theory and its development, at the most sophisticated end of critical approaches - and, like Shakespeare, was sometimes obscure.
Of the 65 essays, 26 fell short of the average I rated the work at (7.37; but rounded up because it's an impressive collection at 700 pages, and more fairly reflects my enjoyment); so 60% were above average, 40% below. This represents both the comparative complexity or sophistication of the arguments, their comparative quality, and my affinity to their subjects. Overall, I enjoyed almost every essay and the last month immersed in this work. Even while the standard of the essays is sometimes widely variable, and even while many of the essays might not appeal initially, they all contribute to a very wide overview with some interesting in-depth analyses of a fabulous portfolio of work.
It is notable that, revisiting the earlier introductory chapters some time after having first read them, I revised my view of some them. This is partly because I had learned much en route, but also because I had so much more information for comparative assessment, and also appreciated them more. The trickiest subjects were Shakespeare's verse, by Russ McDonald - but I had since read two of his works on the subject, and felt much more at home with it second time round - and 'Material criticisms', which involved a lot of dense technical information about literary theory and its development, at the most sophisticated end of critical approaches - and, like Shakespeare, was sometimes obscure.
Of the 65 essays, 26 fell short of the average I rated the work at (7.37; but rounded up because it's an impressive collection at 700 pages, and more fairly reflects my enjoyment); so 60% were above average, 40% below. This represents both the comparative complexity or sophistication of the arguments, their comparative quality, and my affinity to their subjects. Overall, I enjoyed almost every essay and the last month immersed in this work. Even while the standard of the essays is sometimes widely variable, and even while many of the essays might not appeal initially, they all contribute to a very wide overview with some interesting in-depth analyses of a fabulous portfolio of work.
January 5, 2013
Quite helpful for getting a broad range of information & insight into Shakespeare. I found the chapter on deconstruction especially interesting in that it points out how Shakespeare deconstructs many conventions in his plays. I would have liked a reasonable & thoughtful chapter on religious elements in Shakespeare but non-religious readers probably don't agree with that. I think that René Girard's "Theater of Evy" gives valuable insight into Shakespeare, but none of the scholars mention him. The essay on "The Winter's Tale" writes of mysterious forces outside the control of the characters. Girard's concept of mimetic desire gives a clearer anthropological principle for finding the characterization of Leontes both believable & deep. My essay "Violence and the Kingdom of God" on my blog site http://bit.ly/SwYVuH introduces Girard & comments on Shakespeare, especially "Midsummer Night's Dream" & my post "The Need for New Hearts" brings in "Julius Caesar." http://bit.ly/ZdFNJy
January 1, 2024
Read this for my Shakespeare class. Really good resource for current Shakespeare scholarship. A lot of different theories explored including feminist and post-colonialism.
December 29, 2014
Wonderful, wonderful, and still more wonderful!
This is, for my money, the most readable, approachable, intelligent introduction to Shakespeare studies that I've yet found. Each of the book's 45 chapters is written by a different scholar, and edited by Stanley Wells and Lena Cowen Orlin. Over the course of this 45 chapters, readers are given a detailed but comprehensive introduction to the headline topics. This includes Shakespeare's life from birth to death; the theatres and culture of his time; how plays were written, performed, and printed; Shakespeare's genres; close readings of several of the plays; performance practice through the ages; some of the main branches of Shakespearean criticism, ranging from post-colonial and feminist to new historicism; Shakespeare on film and in translation; and Shakespeare online. While the last of those categories is hopelessly outdated, the rest remains invaluable.
What the editors get right is that each chapter is written with a scholarly air, rather than presenting "Shakespeare for Dummies!". At the same time, I wish that some of my Penguin or Arden editions chose to include a few of these morsels. The plain-speaking explanation of the difference between iambs, trochees and spondees will be of much use to someone approaching Shakespeare with trepidation. Each chapter also includes a bibliography for suggested reading, which should be able to direct the keen reader to a wealth of knowledge.
Of course, at the end of the day, most chapters are roughly 10 pages long. This is an overview, and a ground-level one at that. But, after all, the joy of Shakespeare is in the discovery. I recommend this book to all - even if you're fairly well-read - as you'll find many avenues to explore in the future.
This is, for my money, the most readable, approachable, intelligent introduction to Shakespeare studies that I've yet found. Each of the book's 45 chapters is written by a different scholar, and edited by Stanley Wells and Lena Cowen Orlin. Over the course of this 45 chapters, readers are given a detailed but comprehensive introduction to the headline topics. This includes Shakespeare's life from birth to death; the theatres and culture of his time; how plays were written, performed, and printed; Shakespeare's genres; close readings of several of the plays; performance practice through the ages; some of the main branches of Shakespearean criticism, ranging from post-colonial and feminist to new historicism; Shakespeare on film and in translation; and Shakespeare online. While the last of those categories is hopelessly outdated, the rest remains invaluable.
What the editors get right is that each chapter is written with a scholarly air, rather than presenting "Shakespeare for Dummies!". At the same time, I wish that some of my Penguin or Arden editions chose to include a few of these morsels. The plain-speaking explanation of the difference between iambs, trochees and spondees will be of much use to someone approaching Shakespeare with trepidation. Each chapter also includes a bibliography for suggested reading, which should be able to direct the keen reader to a wealth of knowledge.
Of course, at the end of the day, most chapters are roughly 10 pages long. This is an overview, and a ground-level one at that. But, after all, the joy of Shakespeare is in the discovery. I recommend this book to all - even if you're fairly well-read - as you'll find many avenues to explore in the future.
February 26, 2011
This is part of my Shakespeare reference collection, which includes:
A Companion to Shakespeare
Asimov's Guide to Shakespeare
Essential Shakespeare Handbook
Imagining Shakespeare
Northrop Frye on Shakespeare
Shakespeare After All
Shakespeare: An Oxford Guide
Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human
The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare
The Oxford Companion to Shakespeare
For the plays I’ve read, I’ve also read the relevant sections in these reference books. When I pick up the next play in my Shakespeare reading list, I start by reading the relevant section in the reference books, and also to refer back when necessary to get the background, history of performance and literary criticism.
A Companion to Shakespeare
Asimov's Guide to Shakespeare
Essential Shakespeare Handbook
Imagining Shakespeare
Northrop Frye on Shakespeare
Shakespeare After All
Shakespeare: An Oxford Guide
Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human
The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare
The Oxford Companion to Shakespeare
For the plays I’ve read, I’ve also read the relevant sections in these reference books. When I pick up the next play in my Shakespeare reading list, I start by reading the relevant section in the reference books, and also to refer back when necessary to get the background, history of performance and literary criticism.
January 3, 2019
This is another review that's too long to post here. Please visit my blog for a lengthy introduction to the sections & my opinions.
If not, that's OK too! In short, it's a fantastic book if you like Shakespeare, history, or literary theory.
http://writingradiation.wordpress.com...
If not, that's OK too! In short, it's a fantastic book if you like Shakespeare, history, or literary theory.
http://writingradiation.wordpress.com...
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February 15, 2019I have stalled my reading. I left my book on the dashboard in Durban's heat and the glue from the spine migrated out of the spine into the rest of the book so now I have a brick. This has taught me not to cook books.
June 13, 2015
Please I want to know if I can read this book from here, or even a part of it.
Thanks.
Thanks.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews