Shakespeare: The Pattern in His Carpet.

by Francis Fergusson

316 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1970

Reviews

[J. Alfred]

This is a true story: one morning I found, on my seat at my desk, a tote bag which said "Pretty Girls Read Books." This bag was filled with six or seven books, of which there was no discernable order or theme, and of which this Fergusson book was one. For weeks, no one said anything about this guerilla donation. Then, finally, after I had picked up the Fergusson book because it seemed like the only reasonable thing to do in this situation, a colleague said, "oh yeah. Somebody dropped that bag off for you. I don't know who it was." Which is to say-- the explanation told me precisely what I already knew. If you are this mystery donor, well done. Keep 'em coming, I guess.

The book itself is takes its title from the Eliot essay on Dante from The Sacred Wood, and it interprets the plays while keeping an eye on both Dante and Eliot as critical companion pieces. This is a good reminder book, or a good one to prep you for reading the whole works, or a good one to help you decide where to dive in if you're wanting to just focus in on a few plays. It's close, plot themed criticism that comes off as a little too adulatory, but works quite well as a refresher or a starting point.

[Toni]

I cherry picked as I read. I may return to this. I was reading too many other books at the same time. I'd say his is a solid rather no nonsense approach to the plays. I like the premise of Shakespeare primarily as a poet. Nice to learn about WS progression as a writer.

[Thom Dunn]

Anyone preparing for undergraduate exit exams in English would do well to have this as a one-volume study.

[Lisa]

good