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A Pocket Guide to Shakespeare's Plays
Going to see 'Shakespeare' and want a quick run-down on the plot?
Studying Shakespeare and want to know who's who?
Teaching the 'Henrys' and need a handy guide to histories?
A Pocket Guide to Shakespeare's Plays gives all this and
--an introduction to Shakespeare and his times
--a note on the sources
--cast lists
--a synopsis for each play
--main character descriptions
--an essay on 38 plays.
An essential, concise, and readable guide to all thirty-eight of Shakespeare's plays.
A Pocket Guide to Shakespeare's Plays is an invaluable resource for anyone with an interest in the greatest of all English-language playwrights. Equally useful for actors, directors, and students-as well as for anyone planning to see a Shakespearean play-this book offers a great deal of information about Shakespeare in an accessible, succinct format. It looks at Shakespeare and his works from virtually every possible angle, including a section on Shakespeare and his time; a note on his sources; a synopsis of each play; descriptions of the main characters, which take note of the differences between the characters on the page and how they have been portrayed on the stage; and a brief, insightful essay on each work, which helps put the play in the context of Shakespeare's time as well as our own.
Studying Shakespeare and want to know who's who?
Teaching the 'Henrys' and need a handy guide to histories?
A Pocket Guide to Shakespeare's Plays gives all this and
--an introduction to Shakespeare and his times
--a note on the sources
--cast lists
--a synopsis for each play
--main character descriptions
--an essay on 38 plays.
An essential, concise, and readable guide to all thirty-eight of Shakespeare's plays.
A Pocket Guide to Shakespeare's Plays is an invaluable resource for anyone with an interest in the greatest of all English-language playwrights. Equally useful for actors, directors, and students-as well as for anyone planning to see a Shakespearean play-this book offers a great deal of information about Shakespeare in an accessible, succinct format. It looks at Shakespeare and his works from virtually every possible angle, including a section on Shakespeare and his time; a note on his sources; a synopsis of each play; descriptions of the main characters, which take note of the differences between the characters on the page and how they have been portrayed on the stage; and a brief, insightful essay on each work, which helps put the play in the context of Shakespeare's time as well as our own.
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
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48 people want to read
About the author
Kenneth McLeish
140 books7 followersJohn Kenneth Tyrrell McLeish, known as Kenneth McLeish was a British writer, playwright and translator. McLeish, "the most widely respected and prolific translator of drama in Britain", translated all the surviving classical Greek plays, most plays by Henrik Ibsen and Georges Feydeau, and individual plays by Plautus, Molière, Alfred Jarry, August Strindberg, Ödön von Horváth and Eugène Labiche.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 24, 2019
Excellent handy guide to all Shakespeare's plays with plot synopsis, main characters explained, commentary about each play and details of some performances.
July 6, 2021
Interesting but did feel like some of the plays explanation was too academic
March 30, 2023
This book helped me a lot to understand a language that is over 400 years old lol.
May 17, 2011
A fantastic little reference work, the Shakespearean equivalent to the many TV & film guides I enjoy reading. My only complaint is the scatter-shot approach to the reviews of theatrical & film/TV performances of the plays, updated to the year 2000. This small section is my only complaint about an otherwise excellent, one stop go-to-guide & resource for history's greatest playwright.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews