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The Complete Idiot's Guide to Shakespeare's Plays
Here Art Thou, True Shakespeare!
This accessible new guide to Shakespeare's major plays focuses on the essence of the spoken word and the benefits of watching the plays in performance - on the stage or screen - whenever possible. You'll find tips about plot, theme, famous passages and soliloquies, and how to hear the music within the Bard's verse and wordplay.
Remember - Shakespearean theatre is a social art form, and in its earliest days, it was highly commercial. This book brings you closer to the heady world of freelance playwriting and the London playhouses of the 1590s. As a playwright and sharer in the Globe theatre, Shakespeare was at the forefront of Western show business. This book highlights Shakespeare's career, his dramatic influences, and what 16th-century playgoers in London would have experienced inside the theatre.
In The Complete Idiot's Guide to Shakespeare's Plays cultural and historical contexts for the major plays are explored, offering perspectives of the director and actor, in addition to that of the scholar and close reader. In particular, the book takes you behind the scenes with Shakespearean directors, who offer commentary about key challenges presented by the plays, famous roles, and a host of other production concerns. Professional actors also discuss how they've tackled lead roles in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Much Ado About Nothing, The Merchant of Venice, King Lear, Antony and Cleopatra, and The Tempest, among others. You'll
Twenty (20) major plays explored in depth, explaining literary terms? and Elizabethan English, with attention to language and verse;
A look at how the plays have been staged, from the earliest playhouses to contemporary auditoriums;
Appendices spotlighting Shakespeare's likely collaborations, a glossary, suggested further reading, and tips about acclaimed film and audio versions.
Perfect for English and drama students, general readers, theatergoers, and actors.
This accessible new guide to Shakespeare's major plays focuses on the essence of the spoken word and the benefits of watching the plays in performance - on the stage or screen - whenever possible. You'll find tips about plot, theme, famous passages and soliloquies, and how to hear the music within the Bard's verse and wordplay.
Remember - Shakespearean theatre is a social art form, and in its earliest days, it was highly commercial. This book brings you closer to the heady world of freelance playwriting and the London playhouses of the 1590s. As a playwright and sharer in the Globe theatre, Shakespeare was at the forefront of Western show business. This book highlights Shakespeare's career, his dramatic influences, and what 16th-century playgoers in London would have experienced inside the theatre.
In The Complete Idiot's Guide to Shakespeare's Plays cultural and historical contexts for the major plays are explored, offering perspectives of the director and actor, in addition to that of the scholar and close reader. In particular, the book takes you behind the scenes with Shakespearean directors, who offer commentary about key challenges presented by the plays, famous roles, and a host of other production concerns. Professional actors also discuss how they've tackled lead roles in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Much Ado About Nothing, The Merchant of Venice, King Lear, Antony and Cleopatra, and The Tempest, among others. You'll
Twenty (20) major plays explored in depth, explaining literary terms? and Elizabethan English, with attention to language and verse;
A look at how the plays have been staged, from the earliest playhouses to contemporary auditoriums;
Appendices spotlighting Shakespeare's likely collaborations, a glossary, suggested further reading, and tips about acclaimed film and audio versions.
Perfect for English and drama students, general readers, theatergoers, and actors.
- GenresNonfiction
368 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2008
4 people are currently reading
31 people want to read
About the author
Cynthia Greenwood
4 books1 followerCynthia Greenwood has worked as a professional interpreter of Shakespeare for newspaper readers, students, and theatregoers for thirty years. In addition to Deciphering Shakespeare's Plays, she is the author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Shakespeare’s Plays, having taught Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets at the college level for ten years. She served as the classical arts critic for the Houston Press, and has filed arts reports and reviews for The New York Times, Houston Chronicle, Dallas Morning News, San Francisco Chronicle, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, San Antonio Express-News, Fort Worth Star Telegram, Playbill and PlayShakespeare.com. She holds a Master’s degree in English from the University of Texas at San Antonio, and a second Master’s degree with an emphasis on British drama, from The University of Houston.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 23, 2013
I like reading Shakespeare's plays and sonnets and thought I would read this book about them. This is definitely a beginner's book. Like the other books in the series, it offers a very lightweight introduction to the subject and is good for those who want to dive into the plays but would like a little easy-to-read info before getting started. The information is very basic and the plays are not reprinted here. I got this used for next to nothing and did enjoy reading it but would not pay full retail for it since I already know everything it covers. It is a pleasant read though and I do recommend it.
August 23, 2009
What a great resource! Steve and I read through this before attending the Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City, Utah.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews