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No Fear: A Companion
Let's face it. Hearing people talk about Shakespeare can be pretty annoying. Particularly if you feel like you don't understand him. When people talk about which of Shakespeare's plays they like best, or what they thought of so-and-so's performance, they often treat Shakespeare like membership in some exclusive club. If you don't "get" him, if you don't go to see his plays, you're not truly educated or literate. You might be tempted to ask whether the millions of people who say they love Shakespeare actually know what they're talking about, or are they just sheep?
No Fear Shakespeare: A Companion gives you the straight scoop on everything you really need to know about Shakespeare, including:
What's so great about Shakespeare?
How did Shakespeare get so smart?
Five mysteries of Shakespeare's life � and why they matter
Did someone else write Shakespeare's plays?
Where did Shakespeare get his ideas?
Shakespeare's world
Shakespeare's theater
Shakespeare's language
The five greatest Shakespeare Characters
No Fear Shakespeare: A Companion gives you the straight scoop on everything you really need to know about Shakespeare, including:
What's so great about Shakespeare?
How did Shakespeare get so smart?
Five mysteries of Shakespeare's life � and why they matter
Did someone else write Shakespeare's plays?
Where did Shakespeare get his ideas?
Shakespeare's world
Shakespeare's theater
Shakespeare's language
The five greatest Shakespeare Characters
320 pages, Paperback
First published April 23, 2007
6 people are currently reading
133 people want to read
About the author
William Shakespeare
27.8k books47.1k followersWilliam Shakespeare was an English playwright, poet, and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon" (or simply "the Bard"). His extant works, including collaborations, consist of some 39 plays, 154 sonnets, three long narrative poems, and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. Shakespeare remains arguably the most influential writer in the English language, and his works continue to be studied and reinterpreted.
Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children: Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Sometime between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part-owner ("sharer") of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men after the ascension of King James VI and I of Scotland to the English throne. At age 49 (around 1613), he appears to have retired to Stratford, where he died three years later. Few records of Shakespeare's private life survive; this has stimulated considerable speculation about such matters as his physical appearance, his sexuality, his religious beliefs, and even certain fringe theories as to whether the works attributed to him were written by others.
Shakespeare produced most of his known works between 1589 and 1613. His early plays were primarily comedies and histories and are regarded as some of the best works produced in these genres. He then wrote mainly tragedies until 1608, among them Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth, all considered to be among the finest works in the English language. In the last phase of his life, he wrote tragicomedies (also known as romances) and collaborated with other playwrights.
Many of Shakespeare's plays were published in editions of varying quality and accuracy during his lifetime. However, in 1623, John Heminge and Henry Condell, two fellow actors and friends of Shakespeare's, published a more definitive text known as the First Folio, a posthumous collected edition of Shakespeare's dramatic works that includes 36 of his plays. Its Preface was a prescient poem by Ben Jonson, a former rival of Shakespeare, that hailed Shakespeare with the now famous epithet: "not of an age, but for all time".
Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children: Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Sometime between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part-owner ("sharer") of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men after the ascension of King James VI and I of Scotland to the English throne. At age 49 (around 1613), he appears to have retired to Stratford, where he died three years later. Few records of Shakespeare's private life survive; this has stimulated considerable speculation about such matters as his physical appearance, his sexuality, his religious beliefs, and even certain fringe theories as to whether the works attributed to him were written by others.
Shakespeare produced most of his known works between 1589 and 1613. His early plays were primarily comedies and histories and are regarded as some of the best works produced in these genres. He then wrote mainly tragedies until 1608, among them Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth, all considered to be among the finest works in the English language. In the last phase of his life, he wrote tragicomedies (also known as romances) and collaborated with other playwrights.
Many of Shakespeare's plays were published in editions of varying quality and accuracy during his lifetime. However, in 1623, John Heminge and Henry Condell, two fellow actors and friends of Shakespeare's, published a more definitive text known as the First Folio, a posthumous collected edition of Shakespeare's dramatic works that includes 36 of his plays. Its Preface was a prescient poem by Ben Jonson, a former rival of Shakespeare, that hailed Shakespeare with the now famous epithet: "not of an age, but for all time".
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June 24, 2010Just as a minor bit of silliness, I was walking down the street with this book and someone told me I shouldn't be reading it. It's inappropriate. I've run around with Against Christianity, The Story of O, The Communist Manifesto, and just a whole host of books one might call inappropriate. Never has a word been said to me, but this was clearly crossing the line.
May 31, 2017
The No Fear Shakespeare (NFS) series by SparkNotes efficiently conveys information. I prefer it when reading Shakespeare’s works. Their approach provides the original text next to a modern translation of The Bard’s (i.e., the poet’s—Shakespeare's nickname) sometimes impenetrable language. Does a native English speaker really need a translation of an English author’s work? Well, consider the difficulty in comprehending teenage lingo—“lit,” “throw shade,” “netflix and chill.” Yes, I needed translations when I first encountered these phrases. Now consider that Shakespeare lived in another country on another continent four centuries ago. I’ll take the translation, thanks. Full translations are useful because you can be certain of at least some guidance for every line. Other editions from other publishers will frequently provide footnotes for only certain words or phrases, which can be immensely frustrating when they omit unknown words. With NFS, you don’t have to worry about that.
The NFS series currently covers 18 plays and the Sonnets. This “Companion” rounds the NFS series out to an even 20. The Companion provides highlights about the life and times of Shakespeare. It then lists every play with brief synopses and analyses. The Companion is not an exhaustive or scholarly analysis of Shakespeare. It is a summation of important points. Some of those important points follow.
Shakespeare was born in 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, United Kingdom. He was buried there after dying in 1616. During the intervening years, he married Anne Hathaway (which makes me wonder if the chick in the Devil Wears Prada is using a stage name), who was ten years his senior. They had three daughters but no grandchildren and, therefore, no known descendants. He studied grammar and Latin in school but never attended university. He became rich from writing plays and investing in his theatre company in London.
In Shakespeare’s day, everyone went to the theatre. It was like the movies, concerts, and sporting events wrapped into one. Plays were raucous occasions, with cheap seats (costing about a day’s wages) nearer the stage. More expensive seats were farther away in balconies. Almost all plays ended with a dance number—which I assume was like a Bollywood film ending. All parts were played by men. Theatre companies performed multiple productions and, out of necessity, used stage settings and background props sparingly. The stage was mostly bare. Settings were explained via dialogue, music, and elaborate costumes. Theatre companies could only perform if they had a “patent” sponsored by an aristocrat or royal patron. King James I eventually sponsored Shakespeare’s company, at which point it became known as “The King’s Men.” Shakespeare’s theatre was known as “The Globe.” It burned down in 1613, was rebuilt in 1614, and closed in 1642.
Shakespeare, perhaps more concerned with business than artistic matters, did not preserve his plays. Half of his plays did not appear in print until years after he died. Other people wrote them down in “folios.” He based his plays on works from Raphael Holinshed, Edward Hall, Plutarch, Ovid, Seneca, Plautus, Giovanni Boccaccio, and others. In total, he wrote at least 38 plays (most online sources show 37 plays by excluding Two Noble Kinsmen), hundreds of Sonnets, and the poems Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece. His plays are typically categorized into comedies and tragedies. All his comedies except Love’s Labor’s Lost end in marriage. His tragedies nearly always end in death. Four plays avoid easy categorization in the comedy/tragedy dichotomy, and are sometimes referred to as the “romances”: Cymbeline, Pericles, The Tempest, and The Winter’s Tale. Some people also split his historical plays into a separate category. His historical plays, in chronological order of the events in the plays, are: Richard II; Henry IV, Parts One and Two; Henry V; Henry VI, Parts One, Two, and Three; and Richard III. Queen Elizabeth ruled during most of his life, with King James I succeeding her towards the end of Shakespeare’s life. As a prominent figure in London, Shakespeare had to carefully navigate the politics of his time and avoid displeasing the monarchy while simultaneously appealing to mass audiences.
Shakespeare’s enduring appeal rests on a combination of the emotional impact of the stories he tells and his use of language to convey character. There was no dictionary, codified grammar, or codified syntax in the English language while he wrote. He used language in innovative and memorable ways and likely invented (or at least popularized) many commonly used words and phrases. Hamlet is Shakespeare’s most talkative character, followed by Richard III. The language, speeches, and plots of his plays have lasting appeal and influence. Without even researching, I know that Twelfth Night was the basis for She’s the Man, The Taming of the Shrew was the basis for 10 Things I Hate About You, and Titus Andronicus was the basis for the South Park episode Scott Tenorman Must Die.
Shakespeare was so talented and influential that some people, known as “Anti-Stratfordians,” question whether he actually wrote his plays. NFS discusses and then dismisses some of the more popular conspiracy theories suggesting other authors wrote Shakespeare’s plays. NFS states, “Alternative authorship theories are for suckers.” Anti-Stratfordians, per NFS, are wrong. Even assuming he wrote his plays, Shakespeare is not universally loved. Many prominent authors have criticized his work, including: Robert Greene, John Dryden, Thomas Rymer, Voltaire, Lord Byron, Leo Tolstoy, and George Bernard Shaw. While Shakespeare is not perfect, who is better?
Shakespeare’s popularity generates much speculation about certain aspects of his life. Some scholars think he may have been gay. They cite his Sonnets, large portions of which appear to be addressed to a man. Some think he may have been Catholic even though it was illegal at the time he lived in England. Some think he may have hated his wife because he moved to London and they spent much time apart. Some think he may have had a sexually transmitted disease, probably syphilis, because of his knowledge and description of the disease and its treatments. It is unclear whether he had other professions before or during his writing career; his vocabulary and knowledge of sailing and the law, for example, lead some to speculate he worked in those fields at some point. Much like his puns on words with multiple meanings, Shakespeare’s life and preferences can be interpreted multiple ways.
The Companion lists “the five greatest Shakespeare characters” as:
1. Hamlet
2. Falstaff
3. Richard III
4. Lady Macbeth
5. Mercutio
The Companion lists Shakespeare’s plays in the following order. It does not explicitly state the logic behind the order. I assume it is from most critically acclaimed to least. Curiously, the NFS series currently includes plays 1 through 17, 19, and 22, while omitting 18, 20, and 21.
1. Hamlet
2. Romeo and Juliet
3. King Lear
4. Macbeth
5. Othello
6. A Midsummer Night’s Dream
7. Julius Caesar
8. The Taming of the Shrew
9. The Tempest
10. The Merchant of Venice
11. Twelfth Night
12. Much Ado About Nothing
13. As you Like It
14. Richard III
15. Henry V
16. Henry IV, Part One
17. Henry IV, Part Two
18. Richard II
19. Antony and Cleopatra
20. Measure for Measure
21. The Winter’s Tale
22. The Comedy of Errors
23. Coriolanus
24. The Two Gentlemen of Verona
25. Titus Andronicus
26. Henry VI, Part One
27. Henry VI, Part Two
28. Henry VI, Part Three
29. Love’s Labor’s Lost
30. The Merry Wives of Windsor
31. King John
32. Troilus and Cressida
33. All’s Well That Ends Well
34. Timon of Athens
35. Pericles
36. Cymbeline
37. The Two Noble Kinsmen
38. Henry VIII
I never used SparkNotes, Cliffs Notes, or other study aids while in school because I naively believed my teachers when they told me I was cheating myself out of the learning experience. Now, with no grades to worry about and the joy of learning my only goal, I’ll gladly use any tool that sheds light on the subject. NFS is one such tool.
Memorable Quotes:
“The greatness of Shakespeare basically boils down to two things:
• the emotional impact of the stories he tells
• his use of language to convey character”
“Anti-Stratfordians (the name for people who reject Shakespeare’s authorship) argue that such diversity of intellect seems unlikely in William Shakespeare, a man who never attended university and whose parents and children were, most experts agree, illiterate.”
“Taken together, the plays, sonnets, and poems contain over 25,000 different words. Estimates put the average vocabulary of a likely Shakespearean theatergoer at only 800 words. The average adult in the year 2000, by contrast, had a vocabulary of 7,000 to 10,000 words, many of which Shakespeare himself made current. Weird, swagger, radiance, lament, invitation, frugal, bedazzle, and accuse are just a few of the words for which the Oxford English Dictionary cites Shakespeare as the first known use. There is no way of knowing which of these he truly invented and which simply benefited from his publicity.”
“The #1 most talkative character in Shakespeare [Hamlet] (with 1,422 lines in a single play) is in many ways the opposite of Richard III [who has the second most lines of any character in Shakespeare].”
“Robert McKee, the author of Story, defines dimension as ‘a contradiction consistently maintained’ by a character.”
The NFS series currently covers 18 plays and the Sonnets. This “Companion” rounds the NFS series out to an even 20. The Companion provides highlights about the life and times of Shakespeare. It then lists every play with brief synopses and analyses. The Companion is not an exhaustive or scholarly analysis of Shakespeare. It is a summation of important points. Some of those important points follow.
Shakespeare was born in 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, United Kingdom. He was buried there after dying in 1616. During the intervening years, he married Anne Hathaway (which makes me wonder if the chick in the Devil Wears Prada is using a stage name), who was ten years his senior. They had three daughters but no grandchildren and, therefore, no known descendants. He studied grammar and Latin in school but never attended university. He became rich from writing plays and investing in his theatre company in London.
In Shakespeare’s day, everyone went to the theatre. It was like the movies, concerts, and sporting events wrapped into one. Plays were raucous occasions, with cheap seats (costing about a day’s wages) nearer the stage. More expensive seats were farther away in balconies. Almost all plays ended with a dance number—which I assume was like a Bollywood film ending. All parts were played by men. Theatre companies performed multiple productions and, out of necessity, used stage settings and background props sparingly. The stage was mostly bare. Settings were explained via dialogue, music, and elaborate costumes. Theatre companies could only perform if they had a “patent” sponsored by an aristocrat or royal patron. King James I eventually sponsored Shakespeare’s company, at which point it became known as “The King’s Men.” Shakespeare’s theatre was known as “The Globe.” It burned down in 1613, was rebuilt in 1614, and closed in 1642.
Shakespeare, perhaps more concerned with business than artistic matters, did not preserve his plays. Half of his plays did not appear in print until years after he died. Other people wrote them down in “folios.” He based his plays on works from Raphael Holinshed, Edward Hall, Plutarch, Ovid, Seneca, Plautus, Giovanni Boccaccio, and others. In total, he wrote at least 38 plays (most online sources show 37 plays by excluding Two Noble Kinsmen), hundreds of Sonnets, and the poems Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece. His plays are typically categorized into comedies and tragedies. All his comedies except Love’s Labor’s Lost end in marriage. His tragedies nearly always end in death. Four plays avoid easy categorization in the comedy/tragedy dichotomy, and are sometimes referred to as the “romances”: Cymbeline, Pericles, The Tempest, and The Winter’s Tale. Some people also split his historical plays into a separate category. His historical plays, in chronological order of the events in the plays, are: Richard II; Henry IV, Parts One and Two; Henry V; Henry VI, Parts One, Two, and Three; and Richard III. Queen Elizabeth ruled during most of his life, with King James I succeeding her towards the end of Shakespeare’s life. As a prominent figure in London, Shakespeare had to carefully navigate the politics of his time and avoid displeasing the monarchy while simultaneously appealing to mass audiences.
Shakespeare’s enduring appeal rests on a combination of the emotional impact of the stories he tells and his use of language to convey character. There was no dictionary, codified grammar, or codified syntax in the English language while he wrote. He used language in innovative and memorable ways and likely invented (or at least popularized) many commonly used words and phrases. Hamlet is Shakespeare’s most talkative character, followed by Richard III. The language, speeches, and plots of his plays have lasting appeal and influence. Without even researching, I know that Twelfth Night was the basis for She’s the Man, The Taming of the Shrew was the basis for 10 Things I Hate About You, and Titus Andronicus was the basis for the South Park episode Scott Tenorman Must Die.
Shakespeare was so talented and influential that some people, known as “Anti-Stratfordians,” question whether he actually wrote his plays. NFS discusses and then dismisses some of the more popular conspiracy theories suggesting other authors wrote Shakespeare’s plays. NFS states, “Alternative authorship theories are for suckers.” Anti-Stratfordians, per NFS, are wrong. Even assuming he wrote his plays, Shakespeare is not universally loved. Many prominent authors have criticized his work, including: Robert Greene, John Dryden, Thomas Rymer, Voltaire, Lord Byron, Leo Tolstoy, and George Bernard Shaw. While Shakespeare is not perfect, who is better?
Shakespeare’s popularity generates much speculation about certain aspects of his life. Some scholars think he may have been gay. They cite his Sonnets, large portions of which appear to be addressed to a man. Some think he may have been Catholic even though it was illegal at the time he lived in England. Some think he may have hated his wife because he moved to London and they spent much time apart. Some think he may have had a sexually transmitted disease, probably syphilis, because of his knowledge and description of the disease and its treatments. It is unclear whether he had other professions before or during his writing career; his vocabulary and knowledge of sailing and the law, for example, lead some to speculate he worked in those fields at some point. Much like his puns on words with multiple meanings, Shakespeare’s life and preferences can be interpreted multiple ways.
The Companion lists “the five greatest Shakespeare characters” as:
1. Hamlet
2. Falstaff
3. Richard III
4. Lady Macbeth
5. Mercutio
The Companion lists Shakespeare’s plays in the following order. It does not explicitly state the logic behind the order. I assume it is from most critically acclaimed to least. Curiously, the NFS series currently includes plays 1 through 17, 19, and 22, while omitting 18, 20, and 21.
1. Hamlet
2. Romeo and Juliet
3. King Lear
4. Macbeth
5. Othello
6. A Midsummer Night’s Dream
7. Julius Caesar
8. The Taming of the Shrew
9. The Tempest
10. The Merchant of Venice
11. Twelfth Night
12. Much Ado About Nothing
13. As you Like It
14. Richard III
15. Henry V
16. Henry IV, Part One
17. Henry IV, Part Two
18. Richard II
19. Antony and Cleopatra
20. Measure for Measure
21. The Winter’s Tale
22. The Comedy of Errors
23. Coriolanus
24. The Two Gentlemen of Verona
25. Titus Andronicus
26. Henry VI, Part One
27. Henry VI, Part Two
28. Henry VI, Part Three
29. Love’s Labor’s Lost
30. The Merry Wives of Windsor
31. King John
32. Troilus and Cressida
33. All’s Well That Ends Well
34. Timon of Athens
35. Pericles
36. Cymbeline
37. The Two Noble Kinsmen
38. Henry VIII
I never used SparkNotes, Cliffs Notes, or other study aids while in school because I naively believed my teachers when they told me I was cheating myself out of the learning experience. Now, with no grades to worry about and the joy of learning my only goal, I’ll gladly use any tool that sheds light on the subject. NFS is one such tool.
Memorable Quotes:
“The greatness of Shakespeare basically boils down to two things:
• the emotional impact of the stories he tells
• his use of language to convey character”
“Anti-Stratfordians (the name for people who reject Shakespeare’s authorship) argue that such diversity of intellect seems unlikely in William Shakespeare, a man who never attended university and whose parents and children were, most experts agree, illiterate.”
“Taken together, the plays, sonnets, and poems contain over 25,000 different words. Estimates put the average vocabulary of a likely Shakespearean theatergoer at only 800 words. The average adult in the year 2000, by contrast, had a vocabulary of 7,000 to 10,000 words, many of which Shakespeare himself made current. Weird, swagger, radiance, lament, invitation, frugal, bedazzle, and accuse are just a few of the words for which the Oxford English Dictionary cites Shakespeare as the first known use. There is no way of knowing which of these he truly invented and which simply benefited from his publicity.”
“The #1 most talkative character in Shakespeare [Hamlet] (with 1,422 lines in a single play) is in many ways the opposite of Richard III [who has the second most lines of any character in Shakespeare].”
“Robert McKee, the author of Story, defines dimension as ‘a contradiction consistently maintained’ by a character.”
December 14, 2021
For the casual Shakespeare fan, the No Fear Shakespeare collection is a must have. It deftly presents both the Elizabethan era English version with a modern English (although sometimes too modern version) so a reader can go back and forth between translations.
This book takes those No Fear books and adds to it. The first half is a biography of Shakespeare and offers insight to all the rumors that still surround Shakespeare. The latter half deconstructs the plays, sonnets, and narrative poems. This book is another must have for the casual Shakespeare fan.
This book takes those No Fear books and adds to it. The first half is a biography of Shakespeare and offers insight to all the rumors that still surround Shakespeare. The latter half deconstructs the plays, sonnets, and narrative poems. This book is another must have for the casual Shakespeare fan.
October 7, 2018
The book starts with a great 80 page introduction to Shakespeare.
The remainder are short synopses of Shakespeares works, split into groups. “Top ten plays everyone should know”, “Plays that show you’re well red”, “Plays with Which to seriously impress your teacher”, “Plays for hardcore Shakespeareans”, and finally “Bonus: Poetry”
This gives me a plan on what to read, and how much. Great!
The remainder are short synopses of Shakespeares works, split into groups. “Top ten plays everyone should know”, “Plays that show you’re well red”, “Plays with Which to seriously impress your teacher”, “Plays for hardcore Shakespeareans”, and finally “Bonus: Poetry”
This gives me a plan on what to read, and how much. Great!
February 3, 2020
I'm glad this book exists because it gave me exactly what I was looking for: a shallow but thorough overview of everything Shakespeare. That includes summaries and important takeaways from every one of his plays, as well as background information on the bard himself and the England that he lived in to provide context. Loved it!
August 24, 2016
This is a handy and excellent sources for getting an outline of major Shakespeare plays. It is written surprisingly well, particularly useful in summarizing key elements of each play.
*** The following is not directly related to this particular book but my reading/view of Shakespeare plays ***
There is a lot of entertainment materials in Shakespeare’s comedies; some of them clever and witty, yet a lot of blustery low-brow gags as well. Theater being theater, proper duration of time needs to be filled with materials to engage the paying audience instead of one’s muse. I have little interest in comedies as I find tropes such as gender-bending, doubling twins, mis-identities, rowdy jokes, marital misdeeds only of momentary amusemement. Yet his tragedies and history plays have been the center of thinking for the last few months. Some has said that comedies are about relationships, while tragedies are about individual psyches.
What is enduring and relevant is what these plays say about human conditions and psyches. Here are my favorite plays:
(1) Hamlet: how does a thinking and feeling person do when confronts with external ambiguities and moral imperatives? Instead of following a coded rule of conduct (like Laertes), he pondered and hesitated, active in both thinking and feeling. (Best adaption: Kenneth Branagh 1996 movie)
(2) Romeo and Juliet: forget about the teenage lust and obsession, watch how Mercutio being the ironic observer and commentator of the excessive of emotions. Both love and hate have done much to wreck havoc on lives.
(3) King Lear: The vanity of being power-used-to-be (ex-King, and father). Question: is Edmund a grade A “scumbag”, revenging against the established order of society, or he is simply striving for “self-actualization” by radical career advancement?
(4) Macbeth: How does one distinguish “fated outcome” versus one’s own fantasy? The three weird sisters offered powerful suggestions, but won’t it require one’s own latent ambition to set the act in motion? Also it is the tragic undoing of a perfect marriage. (Best adaption: Patrick Stewart & Kate Fleetwood, 2010. Fleetwood is terrifically terrifying as Lady Macbeth).
(5) Othello: Watching Iago’s story telling is to watch a master persuader at work. By hinting but not stating suspicions, Iago let Othello do his own suspicion. A drop of poison is more effective than a dagger. (Best: Lawrence Fishburne and Kenneth Branagh, 1995)
(6) Merchant of Venice: how does vengeance exact more grief than forgiveness does. Portia is one of the wisest woman created on theater. (Best: Al Pacino, Jeremy Irons, 2004)
(7) Henry IV part 1 and part 2: Two stories: (1) the “sack and sugar” Falstaff who scorns of honor while opted for every human appetites unchecked, versus (2) Prince Hal who comes to his public royal persona of a valiant king after redeemed from a “prodigal” reckless youth. (Best: Jeremy Irons & Tom Hinddleton, Russell Beale is excellent as Falstaff, 2013)
(8) Richard II: the dreamy boy who should not be a King vs. the warrior who usurped his throne. (Best: Ben Wishaw 2013)
(9) Coriolanus: when a public turns against its created hero, how will the ex-hero do? Also, what a tiger mother in Volumnia! (Best: Ralph Fiennes, Vanessa Redgrave, 2011)
(10) The Tempest: how should one rule if one is given power and magic? What about past grievances? This play gives a satisfactory answer to our modern age of technological advances and weapon of terrifying powers.
*** The following is not directly related to this particular book but my reading/view of Shakespeare plays ***
There is a lot of entertainment materials in Shakespeare’s comedies; some of them clever and witty, yet a lot of blustery low-brow gags as well. Theater being theater, proper duration of time needs to be filled with materials to engage the paying audience instead of one’s muse. I have little interest in comedies as I find tropes such as gender-bending, doubling twins, mis-identities, rowdy jokes, marital misdeeds only of momentary amusemement. Yet his tragedies and history plays have been the center of thinking for the last few months. Some has said that comedies are about relationships, while tragedies are about individual psyches.
What is enduring and relevant is what these plays say about human conditions and psyches. Here are my favorite plays:
(1) Hamlet: how does a thinking and feeling person do when confronts with external ambiguities and moral imperatives? Instead of following a coded rule of conduct (like Laertes), he pondered and hesitated, active in both thinking and feeling. (Best adaption: Kenneth Branagh 1996 movie)
(2) Romeo and Juliet: forget about the teenage lust and obsession, watch how Mercutio being the ironic observer and commentator of the excessive of emotions. Both love and hate have done much to wreck havoc on lives.
(3) King Lear: The vanity of being power-used-to-be (ex-King, and father). Question: is Edmund a grade A “scumbag”, revenging against the established order of society, or he is simply striving for “self-actualization” by radical career advancement?
(4) Macbeth: How does one distinguish “fated outcome” versus one’s own fantasy? The three weird sisters offered powerful suggestions, but won’t it require one’s own latent ambition to set the act in motion? Also it is the tragic undoing of a perfect marriage. (Best adaption: Patrick Stewart & Kate Fleetwood, 2010. Fleetwood is terrifically terrifying as Lady Macbeth).
(5) Othello: Watching Iago’s story telling is to watch a master persuader at work. By hinting but not stating suspicions, Iago let Othello do his own suspicion. A drop of poison is more effective than a dagger. (Best: Lawrence Fishburne and Kenneth Branagh, 1995)
(6) Merchant of Venice: how does vengeance exact more grief than forgiveness does. Portia is one of the wisest woman created on theater. (Best: Al Pacino, Jeremy Irons, 2004)
(7) Henry IV part 1 and part 2: Two stories: (1) the “sack and sugar” Falstaff who scorns of honor while opted for every human appetites unchecked, versus (2) Prince Hal who comes to his public royal persona of a valiant king after redeemed from a “prodigal” reckless youth. (Best: Jeremy Irons & Tom Hinddleton, Russell Beale is excellent as Falstaff, 2013)
(8) Richard II: the dreamy boy who should not be a King vs. the warrior who usurped his throne. (Best: Ben Wishaw 2013)
(9) Coriolanus: when a public turns against its created hero, how will the ex-hero do? Also, what a tiger mother in Volumnia! (Best: Ralph Fiennes, Vanessa Redgrave, 2011)
(10) The Tempest: how should one rule if one is given power and magic? What about past grievances? This play gives a satisfactory answer to our modern age of technological advances and weapon of terrifying powers.
April 25, 2014
Even if this is a Sparks Note entry, this book manages to touch on all of Shakespeare’s known works and bring interesting slants on his intentions to bear. Not everything in the book answered to my ideas of Shakespeare (the section about The Merchant of Venice predictably focuses on Shylock and has little to nothing to state about Portia’s role in keeping Antonio out of his clutches) but the book is mainly about giving people grounding in Shakespeare’s works, his world, history, the era in which he lived, etc. If you want to know more, the book is more than enough encouragement to start exploring on your own.
December 24, 2010
A great, funny approach to the Bard. I wished it had been a little more detailed regarding the plays, and of course I was disturbed to learn Kenneth Branagh buys into the conspiracy idea of someone other than Shakespeare as the author of the plays, but for someone who enjoys Shakespeare or wants to learn more about the whole "Shakespearian world," this book is nicely priced and very thorough.
November 20, 2012
A guide for anyone who wants to know Shakespeare but is clueless about him. With a comprehensive easy English, this book is very suitable for those who speak English as a second language like me. It consists of everything you should know about the bard: his biography, context of his era, introduction to Elizabethan theatre, synopsis of all his works and information in his famous characters.
November 7, 2013
This companion is simply an overview of all the plays of Shakespeare's. The overview is not merely a summary of each of the plays but a slight analysis on the characters and their tragic flaws. This book is after all helpful especially to those who'd like to understand more the depth of Shakespeare's plays.
April 27, 2014
Great little reference for familiarising yourself with Shakespeare and his works. Very easy to read and lots of good info. I'll be returning to this often.
I recommend all of the books in this series - they've allowed me to finally read and enjoy Shakespeare and at such an amazingly cheap price for a quality product.
I recommend all of the books in this series - they've allowed me to finally read and enjoy Shakespeare and at such an amazingly cheap price for a quality product.
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November 12, 2009Enjoying.
November 17, 2012
Really helpful and interesting. I love the No Fear style -- intellectually rich without being stuffy.
May 26, 2013
Great notes. Thorough without being boring, this was interesting and helpful.
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August 7, 2011An excellent introduction to Shakespeare, even if you know nothing about him.
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