Catching up on Classics (and lots more!) discussion

The purpose of this thread is to discuss The Bard himself or books about William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare



William Shakespeare (26 April 1564 (baptised) – 23 April 1616) was an English poet, playwright, and actor, 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". His extant works, including collaborations, consist of approximately 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two 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.

Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William...

Here are some of the books that were suggested as good reads from our The Merchant of Venice discussion:

Shakespeare After All by Marjorie Garber
The Shakespeare Book by DK Publishing
Shakespeare: The World as Stage by Bill Bryson

Shylock Is My Name

Portia wrote: "Shylock Is My Name"

Thanks Portia
This book is part of the series of Hogarth Shakespeare.

"FOR MORE THAN FOUR HUNDRED YEARS, Shakespeare’s works have been performed, read, and loved throughout the world. They have been reinterpreted for each new generation, whether as teen films, musicals, science-fiction flicks, Japanese warrior tales, or literary transformations.

The Hogarth Press was founded by Virginia and Leonard Woolf in 1917 with a mission to publish the best new writing of the age. In 2012, Hogarth was launched in London and New York to continue the tradition. The Hogarth Shakespeare project sees Shakespeare’s works retold by acclaimed and bestselling novelists of today. The series launches in October 2015 and to date will be published in twenty countries."

The books so far in the series:
Shylock Is My Name: The Merchant of Venice Retold by Howard Jacobson -- Merchant of Venice retelling
The Gap of Time by Jeanette Winterson -- The Winter's Tale retelling
Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler -- Taming of the Shrew retelling
Hag-Seed by Margaret Atwood -- The Tempest retelling

Reference: http://crownpublishing.com/hogarth-sh...

Not Hogarth. Serena by Ron Rash, modern day Macbeth.

Hag-Seed will be released on October 11. Timely, yes?

Portia wrote: "Hag-Seed will be released on October 11. Timely, yes?"

I'd say! :)

Portia wrote: "Hag-Seed will be released on October 11. Timely, yes?"

I scored a Netgalley of this book. Now I just need to read it. Shakespeare play first though.

And A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley is a retelling of King Lear. And it won the Pulitzer for Fiction in 1992.

Portia wrote: "Hag-Seed will be released on October 11. Timely, yes?"

I am already in the Holds list for this one at my library. Now I just have to read The Tempest before this new one is released!

Another useful resource is Emma Smith's Oxford lectures which are available on iTunes.

She does one lecture on each of about thirty of the plays, trying to boil down the critical responses to one, sometimes frivolous sounding, question for each of them. Then using that question as a jumping off point to discuss the play at length.

They are very listenable.

Jon wrote: "Another useful resource is Emma Smith's Oxford lectures which are available on iTunes.

She does one lecture on each of about thirty of the plays, trying to boil down the critical responses to one,..."

Thanks for posting this Jon!

Jon wrote: "Another useful resource is Emma Smith's Oxford lectures which are available on iTunes.

She does one lecture on each of about thirty of the plays, trying to boil down the critical responses to one,..."

That sounds like a good resource.

Here is a neat link (at least to me) that lists plays by Shakespeare and some modern retellings of them. https://www.bustle.com/articles/76746...

And a list on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...

Christine wrote: "Portia wrote: "Hag-Seed will be released on October 11. Timely, yes?"

I am already in the Holds list for this one at my library. Now I just have to read The Tempest before this new..."

Christine wrote: "Portia wrote: "Hag-Seed will be released on October 11. Timely, yes?"

I am already in the Holds list for this one at my library. Now I just have to read The Tempest before this new..."

I won Hag-Seed in a give-away a couple of weeks ago! Haven't started it yet though.