Shakespeare the Thinker

Book Description

A. D. Nuttall’s study of Shakespeare’s intellectual preoccupations is a literary tour de force and comes to crown the distinguished career of a Shakespeare scholar. Certain questions engross Shakespeare from his early plays to the late romances: the nature of motive, cause, personal identity and relation, the proper status of imagination, ethics and subjectivity, language and its capacity to occlude and to communicate. Yet Shakespeare’s thought, Nuttall demonstrates, is anything but static. The plays keep returning to, modifying, and complicating his creative preoccupations. Nuttall allows us to hear and appreciate the emergent cathedral choir of play speaking to play. By the later stages of Nuttall’s book this choir is nearly overwhelming in its power and dimensions. The author does not limit discussion to moments of crucial intellection but gives himself ample space in which to get at the distinctive essence of each work.
Much recent historicist criticism has tended to “flatten” Shakespeare by confining him to the thought-clichés of his time, and this in its turn has led to an implicitly patronizing view of him as unthinkingly racist, sexist, and so on. Nuttall shows us that, on the contrary, Shakespeare proves again and again to be more intelligent and perceptive than his 21st-century readers. This book challenges us to reconsider the relation of great literature to its social and historical matrix. It is also, perhaps, the best guide to Shakespeare’s plays available in English.

Customer Reviews:

A Valuable Companion.......2007-07-27

What makes this book especially valuable to me is that A.D. Nuttall brought not only a lifetime of reading and discussion of the plays, but a lifetime of seeing them performed.

This book has already proven to be an excellent companion when considering a specific play (using the Index helped), especially before and after seeing a new production. The contexts and meanings of the histories so remote in time and place are especially useful.

Nuttall writes with fearless precision that honors the best academic standards, yet in an almost conversational style. He writes about nearly all the plays, and his approach is variously appropriate to that particular play as well as its relationship to the others, to its "type," to Shakespeare's times and what we know about him. He does not shrink from the issues which certain plays raise for 21st century audiences: the role of women within marriage in "The Taming of the Shrew", for example. Other commentators may suggest that Kate's submission is meant ironically, but Nuttall does not take that easy escape.

I'm not a Shakespeare scholar, and I don't agree with all of Nuttall's interpretations, but that's the joy of Shakespeare--the dialogue with the plays can be endless. For reference and for reading, I will be returning to "Shakespeare the Thinker."

A Great Forest.......2007-07-04

That Harold Bloom sees A.D. Nuttall as his hero should be a tip-off to potential buyers of this book: it is not one for the average reader (like me).

There is no doubt that the author is a scholar of the first rank. However, this book is written for his fellow scholars and those intense amateurs who have a good existing command over the full breadth of William Shakespeare's many plays.

I was disappointed since the title seems to indicate there would be a more overt and accessible discussion of the thought patterns of the great playwright. Instead I entered a great forest, which as Professor Nuttall notes, "is a place to get lost in."

A lifetime of thinkng about Shakespeare summarized here.......2007-07-03

Nuttall who recently passed away was considered by his colleagues one of the great Shakespeare scholars of our time. I have read at least two reviews praising this book in the highest terms possible.
Thus to my own surprise and slight disappointment I did not find myself enjoying the book as much as I had hoped.
There are a couple of reasons for this. The title suggests that we are going to understand far more deeply, and in something like a systematic way that which Shakespeare thought on the major issues of life.
This is not exactly what happens. Nuttall continually stresses Shakespeare's extraordinary intelligence but he never really develops lines of thought in a rich and complicated way. What he does is 'read the plays' often by seeing how they grow out of each other. He also in doing this includes a lot of extraneous information often supplying short - summaries of concepts which in many cases it might be assumed the reader of his book would have a knowledge of.
The writing itself somehow does not flow, and feels to me ' broken up' shifting attention needlessly in a less than coherent way.
But the writing does contain an enormous knowledge about Shakespeare. It too reveals an encylopediac knowledge of scholarly disputes which often to the general reader seem less than interesting.
Nuttall does make a strong case for his own conception of Shakespeare as an enormously intelligent thinker, who uses a variety of literary techniques to hide himself and his own position on the question at hand. Shakespeare's long- noted multi- sidedeness, his ability to think sympathetically into and out of the positions of diverse and contradictory characters is also amply illustrated. Nuttall has a wonderful feeling for the most remarkable passages in Shakespeare, and in fact for me the most enjoyable part of the work was confronting and reading again, for instance , what Nuttall considers the greatest speech in all Literature, Antony's funeral oration for Ceasar in 'Julius Caaesar' or Gaunt's sad lament on the decline of the England he has known.
I believe that there is much to learn for all lovers of Shakespeare in this work.
But the kind of new depth in understanding which came with reading the great critics like Coleridge and A.C. Bradley I , perhaps mistakenly, did not find in this work.

The Brilliance of Shakespeare.......2007-04-24

In this delightful book, Shakespeare the Thinker, A. D. Nuttall seeks to defend the great playwright against those who view him as just a product of his time (a view that is a strong form of Historicism). I'm a huge fan of Stephen Greenblatt, who wrote the terrific biography Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare, so I was glad that Nuttall did not disagree with the nuanced New Historicism of Greenblatt and Pierre Bourdieu. Rather he agrees with them that Shakespeare interacted or "negotiated" with his milieu in a complex way, and that the "causation [was] a two-way street." Nuttall goes even further, asserting that "although knowledge of the historical genesis can on occasion illuminate a given work, the greater part of the artistic achievement of our best playwright is _internally_ generated" and that "[i]t is the product, not of his time, but of his own, unresting, creative intelligence."

Shakespeare the Thinker takes the form of a well-integrated commentary on the plays--almost too well integrated, as it is hard to find discussion of a particular play just by thumbing through the book. Several plays are discussed in each chapter, which the skimpy table of contents doesn't mention (my only real gripe with the book). In a way, this is good, because much is gained by reading the book, or at least a chapter, straight through. For instance, Romeo and Juliet is followed by A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Nuttall examines some common themes and how interpretation depends on which play one believes was written first.

Nuttall's new book probably won't replace Marjorie Garber's Shakespeare After All, but will complement it. His synthesis provides a nice counterpoint to her fine-grained analysis; and his (sometimes elliptical) engagement with other critical works, to her careful culling of observations from such works.

Nuttall's writing is enjoyable, sprinkled with insightful references to modern pop culture--for example, Ian McEwan's Atonement, Wife Swap, Goodfellas, and Star Trek! He takes delight in language (and not just Shakespeare's), like when he's describing Katherina's response to Petruchio in the sun-moon exchange: "Turning his non-committal `say' into `know' exposes the lunacy of all this moonshine with solar clarity."

What shines through, most of all, is Nuttall's admiration of Shakespeare's intellect, encapsulated in his "law": "Whatever you think of, Shakespeare will have thought of first." Fellow admirers and students of the playwright will enjoy this excellent book.

Here is an expanded table of contents:
Ch. 1. To the Death of Marlowe
p. 25: Henry VI, parts 1-3
45: Richard III
56: The Comedy of Errors
63: Two Gentlemen of Verona
70: The Taming of the Shrew
Comparison of Shakespeare and Marlowe.

2. Learning Not to Run
87: Love's Labour's Lost (preceded by brief discussion of Titus Andronicus)
99: Romeo and Juliet
119: A Midsummer Night's Dream

3. The Major Histories
133: Richard II
150: Henry IV, parts 1 and 2; Henry V

4. Stoics and Sceptics
171: Julius Caesar
192: Hamlet
205: Troilus and Cressida

5. Strong Women, Weaker Men
221: Much Ado about Nothing
226: As You Like It
247: All's Well That Ends Well

6. The Moralist
255: The Merchant of Venice
262: Measure for Measure

7. How Character May Be Formed
277: Othello
284: Macbeth
290: Coriolanus

8. Shrinking and Growing
300: King Lear
312: Timon of Athens
321: Antony and Cleopatra

9. The Last Plays
333: Pericles and Cymbeline
345: The Winter's Tale
360: The Tempest

The Buddha Said...: Meeting the Challenge of Life's Difficulties

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Unlocks Buddhist mysteries
The Most Significant Book on Spiritual Growth I've Ever Read
The best introduction to Buddhism from the perspective of a living a fuller life
a big surprise

The Buddha Said...: Meeting the Challenge of Life's Difficulties
Osho
Manufacturer: Watkins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1842931156

Book Description

Osho, one of the best-known and most provocative spiritual teachers of our time, presents The Sutra of 42 Chapters—a scripture compiled in the first century C.E by a Chinese emperor. Using wonderful anecdotes throughout, Osho weaves his own unique insights into this profound ancient wisdom and expands its meaning for our time. As we travel with the Buddha on a path of radical wisdom, we’ll laugh or shake our heads at the folly, the ineptitude, or the goodness of the characters in the stories—and gain knowledge and understanding at the same time. Osho engages us at every level to help us experience the Buddha’s teachings and take in their timeless truths. A powerful, inspirational gem of a book.

Customer Reviews:

Unlocks Buddhist mysteries.......2007-06-13

For most of the last decade, I have journeyed toward Buddhism again and again, attracted by its emphasis on meditation, on peace, on compassion, on all the true human values. But each time I approached Buddhism with an open mind, I became lost in the maze of scriptures, in the archaic language, in the vast and indecipherable terminology. Most of all, I turned away from what seemed a vacuousness in the Buddha's teaching. Too often, it seemed to me, he was just saying, "live rightly and not wrongly, this is the key to happiness." As a born-and-raised Christian, Buddha's teaching seemed much more clinical and sterile than Jesus' "love your neighbor as yourself" teachings. I'm sorry, but "think rightly and not think wrongly," and "there is suffering, and there is a way out of suffering, and the way out of suffering is to live rightly" just wasn't cutting it for me.
Time and again, then, I turned away from Buddhism, frustrated. But nonetheless I could not help but feel I must be missing something; like I did not have the key in front of me to really unlock the meaning and teaching of Buddhism. This was true, despite the fact that I bought probably 50 Buddhist-based books. Some of these, like "Being Dharma" by Ajahn Chah, really struck a chord in me. But that master seemed like his own light, and I didn't really understand Buddha's teaching any better from it.
The point of my review here is that this book by Osho, "The Buddha Said..." is the beacon shining on the hill, that is illuminating Buddhism for me, at last. It took this deeply educated Indian guru--who understands the West as well as the East--to really unlock the apparent contradictions, terminology, and truisms of the Buddhist scriptures. Those of you familiar with any of Osho's books will instantly recognize him here. The format is basically identical to his books on Zen and Tao, such as "No Water No Moon" and the entire "Insights for Living" series. The difference here is the entire book methodically tackles the Buddha's "Sutra of Forty-Two Chapters" which is the succinct summary doctrine by which Buddhism was introduced to China. Osho takes you through each verse, and dissects it line by line, never omitting to explain--in clear modern terms--the real meaning of the verses. Reading this book, my jaw has dropped at how incredible it is. This book is literally bringing Buddhism to life for me. Every page is just packed with insights and explanations, that will change the way you look at Buddhism. I am seeing Buddhism clearly in its beauty and power for the first time. For instance, just his explanation that Buddha sets forth everything logically, so that nothing can be refuted, and tying this to Wittgenstein's statement that what you cannot say, you must pass over in silence, hit me with great force. So, one reads further, that when Buddha says you must give up the idea of the self, because there is no self, Osho explains that Buddha did not mean there would be nothing left. Rather, if you have this spiritual experience derived from meditation, you will see no-self inside, but the result--what is left for you, in terms of bliss, peace, and heart filled with ever expanding compassion for humanity--is in fact the true self, that cannot be put into words. So, Buddha is inviting you to come along with him, to see for yourself.
I cannot say enough about this book. This may be Osho's most magnificent accomplishment. This book is truly a treasure, because it has opened up Buddhism for me, unlike any book I have ever read. What an exciting thing it is, to have the Buddha's teaching opening up for me at last....

The Most Significant Book on Spiritual Growth I've Ever Read.......2007-03-13

This book assisted me in performing a 'disk clean-up' of my mind and a 'defragmentation' of my spirit. No pretentious pseudo high-minded hocus pocus here. This is real aid for real people. I won't go into detail about how this book is comforting me every step of my journey because it's a very personal experience and therefore must be unique for every individual. I can only recommend you get this book.

The best introduction to Buddhism from the perspective of a living a fuller life.......2007-03-08

My life is changing every moment. I can perceive it everyday. This book particularly provides simple, logical, and very reasonable understanding of what life is all about and how to deal with situations and circumstances by listening to your heart, your very inner being. For a scientist like me who believes in reasons and not analogies, logic and not scriptures, this book meets these and goes above what I had expected it to be. Osho is simply great. It seems to me as if the author is virtually sitting in front of me and is giving me this lecture. May be time, space, and thoughts have been transcended by such great souls in such a way that for a reader seeking knowledge the speaker comes physically to deliver his words ...

a big surprise.......2007-02-20

Iv'e been a big student of Buddhism for some seven years or so now and have until now read books on the subject written by Buddhist authors. After I began reading this book I became curious as to who the author is (or was, as it turns out). Who is "Osho"? It turns out he was an Indian guru who stirred up a lot of controversy when he moved to the United States in the 1990's. Remember anything about "Bhagawan Shree Rhajneesh"? Well, that's who Osho was prior to changing his name. I'm glad I didn't have any prejudice before reading parts of the book because this man (now deceased) had a marvelous grasp of Buddhism in my opinion. The manner in which it is presented is extremely effective. This book is a transcription of lectures he gave and are just now being published for the first time apparently. I think the publisher must have come up with the title with the idea that it might better attract readers. I really don't think "Meeting the Challenge of Life's Difficulties" was the main thrust of what Osho was trying to convey is these lectures. I recommend this book to anyone interested in Buddhism despite the fact (or maybe because of the fact) that Osho was such a maverick.

History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)

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Check and see
Suprise! Suprise!
Prescient St Augustine?
Something of a disappointment
Romulus courts Helen, Paris founds Rome, Moses goes to Troy..

History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)
Anatoly T Fomenko
Manufacturer: Delamere Resources LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 2913621066

Product Description

`History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2` is the second volume of the most explosive and astounding tractate on history ever written - however, every theory it contains, no matter how unorthodox, is backed by rock solid scientific data. The book is easy and pleasant to read; it is well-illustrated, contains hundreds of charts, graphs and illustrations, copies of ancient manuscripts, and countless facts attesting to the falsity of the chronology used nowadays. You will be amazed to discover: - That the chronology universally accepted today and taken for granted is simply wrong; - That ALL methods of dating of ancient sources and artefacts known today are erroneous or non-exact; - That there is not a single document that could be reliably dated earlier than the XIth century; The Author refers to the Middle Ages as the Antiquity and proves mutual superimposition of the Second and the Third Roman Empire, both of which become identified as the respective kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Furthermore, he asserts that the famous reform of the Occidental Church in the XI century by Pope Gregory Hildebrand was the reflection of the XII century reforms of Byzantine emperor Andronicus who in his turn identifies with Jesus Christ. The Trojan war counted by Homer happened only as late as of the XIII century A.D. and the great poet actually lived in XIV century A.D. No stone in history of Antiquity is left unturned. Literally. This book is the beginning of a major correction to the chronology we live with.

Customer Reviews:

Check and see.......2007-06-21

I don't care what other people say of this book. Those affirmig it's fake, they hadn't ever read it. Or have some special reasons to do so. "Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see..." This book won't make you feel comfortable. It'll make you feel free. It'll make you feel you're "not the only one" to feel you'd been lied to for centuries.

Suprise! Suprise!.......2007-03-22

Here is a serie of books which turns "the whole world" upside down. I learned a lot of it and I hope that a new book from A.T. Fomenko will follow very quick. A absolute must for everybody who is interested in history or even a little bit from it.

Prescient St Augustine?.......2006-02-05

We can so far divide the New Chronology into the following three parts:

a) The verifiable theory that proves consensual chronology wrong with the aid of astronomy, statistics and mathematics;

b) The new chronology hypothesis based on a new understanding of known historical facts and the most likely logical explanation of the most obvious inconsistencies inherent in the official version of history;

c) The history conjectures, that is experimental historical reconstructions based on assumptions that the authors believe to make sense in the light of their research and linguistic parallels - void of ironclad factual support to date.

Fomenko's theory complies with the most rigid scientific standards as a whole:

It gives a coherent explanation of what we already know.

- It is consistent: independent lines of inquiry all lead to the same conclusion.

- The predictions it makes are confirmed empirically.

Fomenko goes by the following axioms:

- Chronology is the basis of history;

- Human evolution has always been linear, gradual and irreversible;

- The "cyclic" nature of human civilization is a myth, likewise all the gaps, duplicates, "dark ages" and "renaissances" that we know from consensual history;

- The accumulation of geographical knowledge as reflected in cartography is a gradual and irreversible process;

- The chronological distance between a given manuscript and the events described therein is proportional to the amount of distortions it contains;

- There is no "useless" information in authentic ancient sources.

Why the mainstream historians do not shower mathematician Academician Dr.Prof Fomenko with thanks and laurels?

The Russians:

Because Fomenko asserts that there was no such thing as the Tartar and Mongol invasion followed by three centuries of slavery, providing a formidable body of documental evidence to prove his assertion. The so-called "Tartars and Mongols" were the actual ancestors of the modern Russians, living in a bilingual state with Arabic spoken as freely as Russian. The ancient Russian state was governed by a double structure of civil and military authorities. The hordes were actually professional armies with a tradition of lifelong conscription (the recruitment being the so-called "blood tax"). Their "invasions" were punitive operations against the regions that attempted tax evasion. Fomenko proves that Russian history as we know it today is a blatant forgery concocted by a host of German scientists brought to Russia by the usurper dynasty of the Romanovs, whose ascension to the throne was the result of coup d'état, charged with the mission of making their reign look legitimate. Fomenko proves Ivan the Terrible to be a collation of four rulers, no less. They represented the two rival dynasties - the legitimate rulers and the ambitious upstarts. The winner took it all! Over some 30 years of controversy, Russian historians have made a most remarkable transition - they were initially accusing the young mathematician Fomenko of anticommunist dissident activity and attempts to deface the historical legacy of Soviet Russia; nowadays the middle-aged mathematician is accused of adhering to "pro-communist Russian nationalism" and defacing the proud historical legacy of Great Russia.

The Westerners:

Because Fomenko blows consensual Russian history to smithereens, successfully removing a crucial cornerstone from underneath the otherwise impeccable edifice of World History. Fomenko adds insult to injury, wiping out one by one the Ancient Rome (the foundation of Rome in Italy is dated to the XIV century A. D.), the Ancient Greece and its numerous poleis, which he identifies as the mediaeval crusader settlements on the territory of Greece, and the Ancient Egypt (the pyramids of Giza become dated to the XI-XV century A. D. and identified as the royal cemetery of the Global "Mongolian" Empire, no less). The civilization of the Ancient Egypt is irrefutably dated to the XII-XV century A. D. with the aid of the ancient Egyptian horoscopes cut in stone. He was the first one to decipher and date all such horoscopes, coming up with mediaeval dates in every case. English historians rage at the suggestion that the history of Ancient England was de facto a Byzantine import transplanted to the English soil by the fugitive Byzantine nobility. To reward the English historians who consider themselves the true scribes of World History, the cover of the present book portrays Tintoretto's Jesus Christ crucified on the Big Ben.

The Chinese:

Because Fomenko wipes out the Ancient History of China outright. No such thing. Full point. The compilation of the so-called Ancient Chinese History is reliably datable to the XVII-XVIII century only. It is perfectly recognizable as the Ancient European history, reworked and transcribed in hieroglyphs as yet another historical transplantation, this time performed on the Chinese soil by the loving Jesuit hands. The Chinese are the next in line to go berserk. Chinese history is inevitably bound to get both more ancient and more eventful, proportionally to the growing involvement of China in the world affairs. Chinese historians will keep on finding valid proof of prehistoric Chinese spaceflights until the Politburo orders them to shut up.

The Arabs:

Too bad. Islam with all its key figures is datable to XV-XVI century A. D. Arabic historians may find consolation in the crucial historical role of the Ottoman Empire in the XVI-XVII century. The trouble is that this empire was initially a Christian state, with Hagia Sophia identifiable as Temple of Solomon, according to Fomenko! We can only guess if the acquisition of Alexander the Great (a Macedonian and a Christian) as the founder of the Muslim World Empire will make Fomenko's theories more acceptable to the Arabic mainstream. He certainly does not spare any holy cows at all, claiming The Stone of Qa'Aba in Mecca to contain the lost Arch of the Covenant.

The Divinity:

Despite of reiterated statement that his theory is all about chronology and not Religion, Fomenko stirs up a whole condominium of wasp nests. His collection of anathemas, fatwa, and other condemnations from all parties concerned is already considerable. Little wonder, considering that the history of religions à la Fomenko looks as follows: the pre-Christian period (before the XI century and JC), Bacchic Christianity (XI-XII century, before and after JC), JC Christianity (XII-XVI century) and its subsequent mutations into Orthodox Christianity, the Catholicism, Islam, Buddhism, and so on.

According to Fomenko we know strictly NOTHING about the events that predate the X century A. D.

St Augustin was prescient when he spoke unto us: "be wary of mathematicians, particularly when they speak the truth."

Something of a disappointment.......2005-09-09

After having read the first volume of this expected series of 7 volumes I was triggered by the thesis of these authors that ancient Greek and Roman history did in fact take place in the Middle Ages. So I started studying medieval history of the Middle East - also known as Islamic history - to find out if the opponents of the ancient Greeks and Romans - the Acheamenid Persians, Sassanids, Scythians, Egyptians, etc. - also have their duplicates in medieval history. My search was disappointing: none of the many medieval Islamic dynasties seemed to correspond to the ancient middle eastern rulers.

However, I did find a close correspondence between Herodotus' Persian kings and medieval events:

- the defeat and capture of an Anatolian king - the Lydian Croesus - by the Persian conqueror Cyrus is identical to the defeat and capture of another Anatolian king - sultan Bayezid - by the Asian/Mongol conqueror Tamerlane;
- the Persian conquest of Egypt by the cruel tyrant Cambyses reds almost exactly as the Ottoman conquest of Egypt by Selim the Grim (note the nickname!);
- Darius the Lawgiver of the Persian Empire looks very much alike to Sulayman the Magnificent, the Lawgiver in Islamic history;
- Xerxes, whose main claim to fame is to be defeated by the Greeks at the naval battle of Salamis, looks like Selim II (the Sot) whose main claim to fame is to be defeated by a Spanish-Italian alliance at the naval battle of Lepanto.

I should have expected Fomenko et al. to arrive at similar conclusions, however, they claim that the Persian kings are the alter egos of the Angevin kings of Sicily whose biographies do not contain the exploits of the Persian kings.

The similiarities I indicate lead to the conclusion that Herodotus must have written his Histories at the close of the 16th century. But this is extremely late, given that Herodotus is "the Father of History", so therefore all other "ancient" histories must have been fabricated even later. Yet, the founders of modern chronology - Scaliger and Petavius - laid their foundations also at the close of the 16th century and had the full corpus of ancient histories already at their disposal.

It seems to me that Fomenko has to address these inconsistencies, maybe in the forthcoming 5 volumes?

Another critique of their book is that the correspondencies between different rulers are often based on a superficial comparison of the biographies; upon a more thorough comparison many details appear that do not correspond at all.

Finally, the authors rely heavily on the works of Gregorovius (1821-1891!!) - his medieval histories of Rome and Athens - as the source of medieval history; these works are - at least in the West - hoplessly outdated and have been superceded by more up-to-date works (for instance, Julius Norwich's trilogy on Byzantine history is not even cited).

Romulus courts Helen, Paris founds Rome, Moses goes to Troy.........2005-07-30

If you agree with Fomenko that Roman chronology is basically the foundation of the entire edifice of global chronology; you would also certainly agree that despite its numerous gaps and inconsistencies, Roman history is the best-documented field of ancient history, and thus a reference scale. But how well is the actual date of the Eternal City's foundation known?

Firstly, Rome is supposed to have been founded by the Trojans who had to flee after the fall of Troy. Some claim Rome to have been founded by Aeneas and Ulysses shortly after Troy had fallen; others are of the opinion that there was an entire dynasty that ruled for 500 years between the fall of Troy and the foundation of Rome.

Well, that's just an innocent 500 years long misunderstanding compared with what heretic Fomenko says, asserts, proves in his second volume: Second Roman Empire, Third Roman Empire, Biblical Kingdom of Israel, Biblical Kingdom of Judah, Holy Roman Empire are stories about basically same events, written from different points of view at different times. The underlying events have actually taken place during xii-xv cy. These histories have been written and perfected by multitude of highly talented humanist and clerical writers of xiii-xvi cy disguised as "ancients" with glorious names like Homer, Pluto, Thucydides etc..Chronology 2.0 beta..

Historians are kindly invited to report the bugs.

A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare: 1599 (P.S.)

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A Magnficent Account Of Shakespeare's Annus Mirabilis
a magnificent book; clear, detailed and lucid.
1599 - it was "a very good year"
"Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose" and Other Lessons
shakespeare in 1599

A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare: 1599 (P.S.)
James Shapiro
Manufacturer: Harper Perennial
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Authors | Arts & Literature | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0060088745
Release Date: 2006-06-13

Book Description

1599 was an epochal year for Shakespeare and England

Shakespeare wrote four of his most famous plays: Henry the Fifth, Julius Caesar, As You Like It, and, most remarkably, Hamlet; Elizabethans sent off an army to crush an Irish rebellion, weathered an Armada threat from Spain, gambled on a fledgling East India Company, and waited to see who would succeed their aging and childless queen.

James Shapiro illuminates both Shakespeare's staggering achievement and what Elizabethans experienced in the course of 1599, bringing together the news and the intrigue of the times with a wonderful evocation of how Shakespeare worked as an actor, businessman, and playwright. The result is an exceptionally immediate and gripping account of an inspiring moment in history.

Download Description

An intimate history of Shakespeare, following him through a single year -- 1599 -- that changed not only his fortunes but the course of literature

How was Shakespeare transformed from being a talented poet and playwright to become one of the greatest writers who ever lived? In this one exhilarating year we follow what he reads and writes, what he sees, and whom he works with as he invests in the new Globe Theatre and creates four of his most famous plays -- Henry the Fifth, Julius Caesar, As You Like It, and, most remarkably, Hamlet.

James Shapiro illuminates both Shakespeare's staggering achievement and what Elizabethans experienced in the course of 1599: sending off an army to crush an Irish rebellion, weathering an Armada threat from Spain, gambling on the fledgling East India Company, and waiting to see who would succeed their aging and childless queen.

This book brings the news and intrigue of the times together with a wonderful evocation of how Shakespeare worked as an actor, businessman, and playwright. The result is an exceptionally immediate and gripping account of an inspiring moment in history.

Customer Reviews:

A Magnficent Account Of Shakespeare's Annus Mirabilis.......2007-08-04

While we have his magnificent plays and poetry, we know little about Shakespeare the man. We have the dry details of his birth, marriage, and death, the birth and death of his children, his education at Stratford Grammar School, his will, and some business and legal records. We can infer a little from what others wrote about him, especially in the 1623 First Folio; and we can extrapolate a bit more from what we know of the London theater scene and its denizens during the Elizabethan period. But the stuff of a real biography -- what Shakespeare was thinking, feeling, and experiencing during his life -- perforce are matters only for speculation.

It is truly remarkable, therefore, that Professor Shapiro uses this small heap of facts to bring Shakespeare brilliantly to life. Shapiro focuses on Shakespeare's life during 1599, which Shapiro forcefully argues was the year Shakespeare began his transformation into one of the greatest dramatists of all time. It was a year in which Shakespeare and his partners built the Globe Theatre where the Chamberlains Men / Kings Men would perform for the rest of his career. It was also the year in which Shakespeare ground out masterpieces in all three of his genres of history, comedy, and tragedy: Henry V, Julius Caesar, As You Like It, and Hamlet. Linking his sensitive and erudite explications of these plays to contemporary political developments (such as the bogged-down English invasion of Ireland and the threat of Spanish invasion), occurrences in the rapidly changing Elizabethan theater world (e.g., the diminishing roles of clowns like Shakespeare's partners Will Kemp and Robert Armin), literary trends (such as the development of self-expository monologue in Montaigne's essays and Shakespeare's soliloquies) and events in Shakespeare's own life (e.g., his quest for middle-class status as evidenced by his application for a coat of arms), Professor Shapiro paints a colorfully vibrant portrait of Shakespeare and the competitive theater business in which Shakespeare became so prominent as both a creator and an entrepreneur.

I don't know enough about Shakespeare to have an independent opinion about whether Shapiro overstates the case for the crucial nature of the year 1599. However, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Although a product of deep learning, it is beautifully written and compellingly readable, and makes Shakespearean scholarship accessible even to a general reader like me. It also made me want to read many of the plays again, which I haven't since school days. Whether you love the Bard, or haven't thought much about him since you were forced to read the plays in school, this book is a wonderful and essential companion to Shakespeare's works.

a magnificent book; clear, detailed and lucid........2007-07-12

A joy to read.

This is a magnificent book; clear, detailed and lucid.

Much has been said already about this book. It gives a very clear insight into Elizabethan London towards the end of Elizabeth's reign. As a student of the Bard, Shapiro performs well in widening the discussion to mention the theatre-going habits of plebs and aristocracy alike; how Shakespeare and his players would have attended palaces which informed his works. Shapiro notes the echoes of Catholicism, the threat of another Spanish invasion, the deeply unsettling rebellion in Ireland, even the confusion over the calendar and holy/national days. Given the difficulties and expense of publishing in the 1600's, I suppose it is possible to read every individual item published in 1599, and the comprehensiveness of the author's grasp of Elizabethan London, makes me believe he may have done so.

All told extremely well, he plots Shakespeare's emergence as a serious playwright, who eschews the popular trivialities and takes on large questions of politics and personality.
I was less impressed with the later discussions of Shakespere's rewrites of the great plays of 1599, however it is a work of great learning, synopsized very well and told in an engaging style.

1599 - it was "a very good year" .......2007-03-23

In this insightful and innovative book, Shapiro adopts the reverse approach to the usual. Instead of analysing the plays to find the man, he explores the life to illuminate the plays. The result is a revelation of both.

A Prologue describes the building of the Globe from timbers secretly transported across the Thames by Shakespeare and Co. from The Theatre (on which the lease had expired). Then Shapiro trains his lens on 1599, dividing it into its four "seasons". Maintaining dynamic readability throughout, each season deals with a set of preoccupations at national, professional, and personal levels:

1. Winter - Shakespeare's artistic differences with his comic star, Will Kemp; the run-up to Essex's Ireland campaign, with mobilisation and departure - as well as pacifism.

2. Spring - logistics of building the Globe; censorship, book-burning and history; the appropriation of religious holidays for politcal purposes.

3. Summer - paranoia in London with rumours of a second Armada invasion); Shakespeare's anguish at an unauthorised, cobbled-together edition of his poems; sincerity, fakery, and learning the true nature of love.

4. Autumn - the decline of chivalric values and rise of empire via merchant-adventurers and the East India Company; the impact of Montaigne's essays on soliloquies; and finally, an elucidation of how the various versions of "Hamlet" reveal Shakespeare's changing view of this most problematic play.

Shapiro correlates these topics with the themes and language of Henry V, Julius Caesar, As You Like It, and Hamlet (the four dramas Shakespeare wrote in 1599). He also provides us with details so unexpected as to be poignant - for example, Shakespeare changing horses while riding home to Stratford. These touches reveal what critics formerly called "Shakespeare the Man" - but there's minimal speculation here, with skilful deployment of primary sources. Also the texture of Elizabethan court and civic life is stunningly evoked.

So we have the feeling of moving through the year "in real time" with Shakespeare. Daringly illuminating, this will make you critically re-evaluate not only Shakespeare, but other biographies and criticism. Well done indeed.

"Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose" and Other Lessons.......2007-01-16

"No," I tell my students, "Shakespeare did not write in Old English. Beowulf was written in Old English. Chaucer wrote the Canterbury Tales in Middle English. Shakespeare's language was firmly in the Modern English linguistic period." I then confess the obvious, that the language has indeed changed in the four centuries since Shakespeare wrote, but, as Shapiro's book clearly demonstrates, much else in society has not. Such demonstrations, while not Shapiro's goal, are, to me, among the strong points of his book, so let's take a peek at those first, shall we?

Looking at the year 1599 in Elizabethan England, we are struck by more than a few parallels with contemporary world affairs. We see a national leader intent on invading another country, Ireland in the earlier case. We observe ill-starred Essex leading an invading army which utterly fails to subdue the Irish. We look on in astonishment as the English quake in fear of a reported Spanish invasion and as they block the streets of London with chains and illuminate the night with burning lamps to thwart enemy infiltration under cover of darkness. Potentially, of course, that may have been somewhat more pragmatic than creating a new government department and a rainbow-hued series of "threat levels." One can only recall the French axiom "Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose," or "The more things change, the more they stay the same." Little in human nature, it seems, has changed in the past four hundred years.

Shapiro's book also helps pierce the mask of literary demigod behind which Shakespeare has been hidden by generations of admiring teachers and bewildered students. We see a man who produced plays through hard labor and laborious revision. We come to appreciate that Shakespeare was a businessman with an eye toward profitability, even when such was perhaps not completely legal or ethical. In this, he was certainly a man of his time, for the proto-capitalist British West Indies Company also got its start during this period.. With another eye toward profit, he and his fellow investors literally made off with the timbers from another theater to build the Globe that has become synonymous with his plays, although of course many other plays were enacted there as well. And speaking of enactments, Shapiro reminds us that Shakespeare was an actor as well as an investor and a playwright, and suggests some of the parts that the author very likely reserved for himself.

Reading Shapiro, one comes to appreciate the political realities of late 16th century England as well. In an era when writing that was perceived to be critical of the monarchy or to justify assassination or usurpation was banned and when books were burned, one simply did not publish Julius Caesar in Elizabeth's realm. Writing that portrayed the rise of republicanism at the expense of monarchical rule simply did not appear without retribution. Such insights as these make Shapiro's book a rewarding experience for those seeking to understand the social, economic, political, and intellectual milieu which formed both Shakespeare and his dramatic creations.

The book, however, is not an unmitigated joy to read. I found my interest in Shapiro's text waxing and waning, being the strongest when he delves into historical events such as the invasion of Ireland, Essex's failed leadership of the military and his devolution from trusted general to seditious and condemned prisoner, the panic among both government and citizenry over the reported Spanish invasion with its "Invisible Armada," and other facts, such as the common practice of plagiarism among authors of the day, including Shakespeare himself, the "inconvenient" fact that copyrights were owned by publishers, not by authors, and the annoyance that Shakespeare surely felt when he discovered some of his sonnets, which he circulated only privately among a few friends, featured in a book along with others of various quality but all attributed to him! My interest does tend to wane when Shapiro departs from his historical writing to immerse us with his qualitative descriptions of the plays whose compositions he ascribes to 1599: Henry the Fifth, Julius Caesar, As You Like It, and Hamlet; his vocabulary and syntax become somewhat dense and obfuscated when he lapses into literary analysis; moreover, that aspect of the book does not appear to be delivering what the title has promised.

My other disappointment lies in the "bibliographical essay" that consumes forty-one pages of the book. Entries are arranged by chapter and discussion topic within each chapter and are hidden within a structure of sentences and paragraphs. A simple alphabetical bibliography would have been far more usable and beneficial for the reader interested in Shapiro's sources and related works.

As far as a recommendation is concerned, I would truly regret seeing this book become assigned reading for high school or university students whose interest in Shakespearean drama and in 16th century England in general is tenuous at best. While informative for them, the writing is not sufficiently captivating to ensnare their attention and appreciation, and is likely to be considered another bit of drudgery foisted upon them by an educational system out of touch with reality. Moreover, for the well-read Shakespearean scholar and Elizabethan historian, I doubt that the book contains any revelations that have not been encountered in other sources. However, for the general reader and for the student who enjoys filling in all of the massive gaps in understanding that persist despite high school diplomas and university degrees, Shapiro's book does give a most helpful, interesting, and usually readable overview of the society that formed Shakespeare and that determined the style and tenor of his long-lived literary creations. If one is at all curious about the "life and times" of William Shakespeare, then the book is certainly worth its purchase price and, more importantly, it is worth the time and effort expended in reading it.

shakespeare in 1599.......2007-01-03

Superb look at the bard in one of his most productive years. Places Shakespeare firmly in his times. Highly recommended.

William Shakespeare: A Compact Documentary Life (Oxford Paperbacks)

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Play it Again Sam
A scholarly yet compelling biography of this elusive figure.

William Shakespeare: A Compact Documentary Life (Oxford Paperbacks)
S. Schoenbaum
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0195051610

Book Description

Covering 400 years of Shakespeare scholarship, Schoenbaum's now classic William Shakespeare: A Documentary Life received high acclaim from critics and scholars. The New York Review of Books called it "a masterpiece," and the Guardian labeled it "our best life of Shakespeare." Making the resources of the world's greatest Shakespeare collections more accessible to all readers, this updated "Compact Life" contains a refined and amplified version of the original text and fifty of the original documents reproduced in smaller format. Schoenbaum has incorporated new material into his narrative, including an eyewitness account, in harrowing detail, of a murder believed to have occurred in New Place, the house that Shakespeare bought in Stratford in 1597. He also provides a new postscript which includes newly-compiled information from recent research on Shakespeare.

Customer Reviews:

Play it Again Sam.......2000-05-15

I was a personal friend of Sam's in fact a neighbor of his in Maryland for 6 years. I spoke with him a week before he passed away and he was telling me that Shakespeare's Identity was still an elusive subject for him and other scholars. He felt that his book ,William Shakespeare : A Compact Documentary Life, a lifelong pursuit was a good primer for beginners but that he felt incomplete about it and wished he had another life to make changes. This I found powerful as he was willing to be open about this and not be stuck in being an expert. Although his research in this book carries influence as authoritarian on Shakespeare's life , Sam up till the end of his life was convinced there had to be more. His publisher of course was unwilling to consider a new revised edition. But one thing Sam stressed over and over in the book as well that it was important for teachers who used his research to be careful in not telling students this was the absolute Gospel on Shakespeare's life.

A scholarly yet compelling biography of this elusive figure........1999-09-30

Schoenbaum's book, which I have used to teach college courses for years, is rigorous and objective in its scholarship. He succeeds in separating the legend from the fact, and gives us the best possible view of the notoriously elusive "man who was Shakespeare." The text is eminently readable, and irresistably interesting.

The Crystal Zodiac: Use Birthstones to Enhance Your Life

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Crystal Healing According To Your Sun, Moon, and Ascendant

The Crystal Zodiac: Use Birthstones to Enhance Your Life
Judy Hall
Manufacturer: Godsfield
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1841812412

Book Description

Star power combines with earth's gifts in a richly illustrated guide to the astrological use of birthstones. Crystals, in tandem with astrology, can attract beneficial energies, balance out less desirable qualities, and even improve health. But because each sign now has many stones connected with it, anyone wanting to harness their potential needs help finding exactly the right ones. The search for a crystal begins with sun sign, and a list of stones for abundance and rituals, as well as a variety of companion choices; there's even information on where on the body to wear it. Complement this with knowledge about crystal masks (based on the Ascendant) and lunar crystals. An exquisite crystal zodiac mandala closes this illuminating volume in style.

Customer Reviews:

Crystal Healing According To Your Sun, Moon, and Ascendant.......2005-05-14

"You may already know your birthstone, but you may be surprised to learn that there are several other stones associated with your birthchart." --from the book

Your natal astrological chart is based on the date, time, and place of your birth. Most people are familiar with their Sun sign, which is one of 12 Zodiac symbols. The placement of the Sun in your chart indicates the pathway your soul is following, and each sign is associated with one or more crystals. Using the gemstones associated with your Sun sign can help attract beneficial energies, balance out less desirable tendencies, overcome your karmic inheritance and connect you to the path of your soul.

Each Sun sign is also associated with specific body parts, indicating areas where health challenges may occur. Birthstones can help with these ailments, as well.

While the Sun sign is important, there are two other components of your natal chart that paint the unique portrait that is you: the Moon sign and Ascendant (also know as the Rising Sign). The Moon sign shows how you process and express emotion. Your instinctual nature, unconscious patterns and expectations are also governed by your Moon Sign.

The Ascendant, or Rising Sign, is the "mask" you show to the world. It's the part of your personality that is readily seen to most-a "first impression" if you will. Interestingly, this face you present to the world may be far different than the inner workings of your Sun sign!

The Crystal Zodiac by Judy Hall is an incredibly practical book that explains which gemstones and crystals correlate with each Sun, Moon, and Ascendant placement...and why. So if your Sun is in Scorpio, your Moon is in Aquarius and your Ascendant is in Aries, you'll get a comprehensive overview of the crystals that will aid you on your own unique journey.

For each of the 12 Sun Signs, Hall provides an in-depth look at the corresponding birthstone, abundance stone, ritual crystal, and companion crystals. She then takes you on a journey exploring each Sun sign and how specific crystals help you reach your highest potential, deal with challenges, handle emotions, balance your thinking, link you to your soul's pathway, and heal physical ailments. Hall even provides a special birthday ritual for each Sun sign.

The Crystal Masks section explains the Ascendant and what it reflects in a natal chart. Hall asserts that the Ascendant crystal for each sign is a powerful tool for self-development, bestowing confidence and helping you "own" the qualities of your Ascendant. For the 12 Ascendant placements, Hall explains how each one "meets" the world, the nature of its "mask", and crystal "confidence tricks". She also provides the "fairy godmother" blessings innate in each Ascendant Sign, as well as a wonderful meditation.

For the Moon Sign, Hall outlines the Moon crystal, intuition crystal, and lunar crystals for each of the 12 placements. She explains the significance of your Moon crystal, and the positive qualities of each Moon sign. Because the Moon is associated with emotions, ingrained behavior patterns, and intuition, you'll find out what crystals help with exploring hidden needs, overcoming emotional blocks, developing intuition, and nurturing yourself. Two intriguing aspects to the Moon Sign section is the past life association and a specific ritual. For example, the ritual for the Aries Moon involves a Co-Operation Ritual, Scorpio Moon a Forgiveness Ritual and Cancer Moon a Tie-Cutting Ritual.

Because we each possess a bit of all 12 Signs, Hall provides a full-color Crystal Zodiac Mandala for meditation and contemplation.

The Crystal Zodiac consists of 144 glossy pages featuring dozens of full-color pictures of gemstones and crystals. Although gemstones may often be prettier and pricier, Hall provides the less-expensive correlations for each-assuring the reader that they exhibit the exact same qualities as their counterparts.

Hall writes in an enjoyably lucid style, so this potentially complex subject has been rendered quite graspable for individuals new to crystal healing and astrology. Those familiar with Sun, Moon, and Ascendant signs will be sure to gain additional insights into personality patterns and past life ripples. Crystal healers will love the added dimension that the Zodiac brings to balancing mind, healing the emotions, grounding the body, and expanding the spirit.

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A wonderfully clear portrait of the greatest of English writers
An excellent biography
The Life and Times of Mr. William Shakespeare
Fascinating !____A Keeper
A remarkable and lucid book

Shakespeare: A Life
Park Honan
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0198117922

Book Description

In the most complete, accurate, and up-to-date narrative of Shakespeare's life ever written, Park Honan uses a wealth of fresh information to dramatically alter our perceptions of the actor, poet, and playwright. The young poet's relationships, his early courtship of Anne Hathaway, their marriage, his attitudes to women such as Jennet Davenant, Marie Mountjoy, and his own daughters, are seen in a new light, illuminating Shakespeare's needs, habits, passions and concerns. Park Honan examines the world of the playing companies -- the power of patronage, theatrical conditions, and personal rivalries -- to reveal the relationship between the man and the writing, and using previously unpublished material explores the causes of Shakespeare's success; Stratford childhood, his parents' capabilities, and his preparations for a London career. Shakespeare: A Life casts new light on the complexity and fascination of Shakespeare's life and his extraordinary development as an artist.

Customer Reviews:

A wonderfully clear portrait of the greatest of English writers.......2006-03-06

I enjoyed this biography of Shakespeare very much. My wife and I were in London at the just opened Borders on Oxford St. when I saw a signed copy of this book for sale and decided to purchase it. It was a great read and quite convincing in its approach to the playwright and poet. There is not enough direct evidence of the man's life to flesh everything out, but Park Honan uses the plays forensically. What does a close reading of the plays tell us about the man who wrote them? And then look into how that matches with what we know directly of him. It matches quite well and becomes a wonderfully fleshed out portrait. That being said, there is much more direct evidence about Shakespeare and his plays than many of the conspiracy theorists would have you believe.

We follow him from his youth in Stratford along his journey to London and what work in the theater of those days was like. We learn about the sheer volume of lines an actor of those times would have had ready for use in their mind at any given time; it was thousands and thousands of lines. It is drawing upon that resource, just as a Handel or a Teleman or a Bach called upon the hundreds of works they had in their minds, that allowed him to compose with such rapidity. It was his genius to improve upon his sources just as Bach and Handel always made more of their borrowings. Genius never requires a noble source. In fact, it is usually sprung from seemingly poor soil. Yet it comes.

The author is very specific about what we know directly from the record versus what is a normative behavior for the time and a possibility for Shakespeare. Honan never allows speculation and possibility to become fact. Nor does he follow other modern anachronisms of wondering about the psychology of Shakespeare or whether he was "Gay" since even the term homosexual would be out of place in Elizabethan times, though homoerotic attachments were not.

I believe the author makes such a powerful case the William Shakespeare of Stratford wrote the plays that the Oxfordians will simply attack the book because of their faith, however unfounded in anything beyond desire and assertion.

I recommend this book highly.

An excellent biography.......2004-04-04

Honan's biography of Shakespeare is superb. The writing style is good, the research reliable, and the play reviews are appropriate. The reader ends up with a detailed knowledge of the life of the bard. That is the purpose of a biography. Highly recommended.

The Life and Times of Mr. William Shakespeare.......2002-06-24

A great deal of Shakespeare's life appears never to have made it into the official record, and Park Honan, for all his skill as a writer, cannot change that.

What Mr. Honan does do, however, is construct in detail the setting for what facts we do know about Shakespeare's life. Even if we lack many of the basic facts of Shakespeare's boyhood, for instance, we know what Stratford was like, and we know what kind of lives boys in Stratford led. Mr. Honan lays out this setting, gives us the known facts about young Will, contents himself with making the occasional relatively safe guess, and leaves it at that.

Despite the fact that Mr. Honan's book is mostly setting, with a fairly scarce plot, it's a good read, flowing well and entertaining. Your study of Shakespeare should start here.

Fascinating !____A Keeper.......2001-04-08

We will perhaps never be able to come across a "definitive" (in the modern sense) life of Shakespeare because of the obviously sketchy nature of the extant documents relating to his life .Realising this,Mr.Honan has done the next best thing : to fill in the bare bones of the Bard's life with information from the Elizabethan period & done it in an exquisite fashion.What we get is not what Shakespeare DID at any given point in his life but a sense of what he was MOST LIKELY DOING given the socio-cultural milieu,Elizabethan mores,surviving public documents ,comments by his contemporaries and autobiographical fragments from his plays and sonnets.Mr.Honan's view is by its very nature "oblique" but given the paucity of "hard data" ,it is the wisest approach .Moreover he doesn't gloss over the gaps in our knowledge of Shakespeare's life but freely acknowledges them .Each chapter is thoroughly referenced and annotated .The picture that emerges from this account is of a remarkably sensitive genius endowed with a superlative gift for expressing the universal & the ineffable pertaining to the human condition____ in timeless prose .Interestingly ,Honan manages to do this without deifying Shakespeare ,which is wise given that Shakespeare is too fascinating a man to be 'deified away' !In the final analysis genius is always inexplicable in that it breaks the existing molds and "liberates" us to see,hear and experience the world in a novel and yet distinctly human way .This is an exquisite and enjoyable book .

A remarkable and lucid book.......2001-01-24

A wonderfully written book that cuts through the myths and speculations concerning Bill's life. A view of Shakespeare's life as he lived it. As a boy, a writer, a business man. Easily the best book on the Bard.

Shakespeare A to Z: The Essential Reference to His Plays, His Poems, His Life and Times, and More

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Don't Judge by the Cover
One Great Book
Great fun for the Shakespeare fan!
Life Savor!!
The Shakespeare students' best friend!

Shakespeare A to Z: The Essential Reference to His Plays, His Poems, His Life and Times, and More
Charles Boyce
Manufacturer: Delta
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

English (All) | Dictionaries & Thesauruses | Reference | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0385313616
Release Date: 1991-11-10

Book Description

What famous essayist insisted that Shakespeare's play were unfit for performance?

Which two plays center on the Hundred Years' War?

In which scene of Romeo and Juliet does the nurse report--falsely--that Juliet is dead and thus seal Romeo's tragic fate?

The answers are easily found in Shakespeare A to Z, the only single-volume reference to virtually everything one needs--or wants--to know about the Bard. Wonderfully informative, this comprehensive work includes 3,000 entries and 50 illustrations.

Customer Reviews:

Don't Judge by the Cover.......2006-08-09

Don't let the overly casual cover mislead you. This book provides excellent understandable commentary on Shakespeare's works. Using the "dictionary format" one may have to look up the invidual characters within a play, in addition to the play itself, to get all the pertinent information. But what excellent information it is! It contains better plot summaries, including character motivation, play sources, "real" facts for historical characters, and performance information presented more clearly and concisely than similar books. Good for virually all levels of study, reading, or watching the plays.

One Great Book.......2005-03-14

I am a student in high school and this book saved me a lot of time and energy while writing a research paper for English. Any part of "A MIdsummer Night's Dream" that I didn't understnad was right there, explained in terms that anyone could understand. It helped me develop my thesis, and overall saved my paper from a certain 'C+' grade. It was a great book.

Great fun for the Shakespeare fan!.......2004-06-27

I love this book. It's fun to keep it handy and just flip through the pages from time to time. Charles Boyce presents from A ("Aaron" in Titus Andronicus) to Z (Zeffirelli, Franco"), an outrageous potpourri of the fictional and the real, the historic and the apocryphal, the comic and the scholarly. It's crammed with commentary, scene-by-scene synopses of plays, character background, background on the sources for the plays, biographical information on Shakespeare and lots of fun trivial information, too. I know my Shakespeare fairly well, but this delightful book always teaches me something new. (For example, there's an entry for the real-life inspiration for Shakespeare's line in HENRY VIII about "some Indian with the great tool come to court.") I think this book would be a great gift for Shakespeare fans. And if you're going to get a Complete Works for the student you know, why not splurge and get this one, too? It's the perfect companion to Shakespeare and easily accessible to all ages.

Life Savor!!.......2003-02-03

I'm just a student in high school, and not long ago was recieved the part as Lady Macbeth for our school play Macbeth. My drama teacher recommended this book to me to get an in depth analysis of my character and the rest of the play. I bought the book and I was totally blown away. The information packed in here is tremendous. In this book is everything you'll ever need to know about each play and every character, even if they don't have a speaking part. This book has also helped me with the other Shakespeare plays I read during school for Literature. It's a great study and reference. It's helped me understand so much about the characters and the play, I recommend this to anyone who reads Shakespeare for school or anything, this tells you things even your teacher wouldn't know. It's been truly a life savor, to me and the rest of my cast who couldn't understand what was going on or what their character was about.

The Shakespeare students' best friend!.......2001-11-15

I'm a Shakespeare major, and my shelves are bowing under the weight of all my Shakespeare books. SHAKESPEARE A TO Z is the book I reach for most often, whenever I've got questions about the plays.

This book truly is the essential reference, but it is much more than a typical reference book. It's readable, interesting, and thorough. Inside, you'll find passages on every single one of Shakespeare's characters, no matter how minor; detailed analysis, as well as an act-by-act plot summary, on EVERY play; information on locations used in the plays, and MUCH more. Virtually every topic/character/place/important thing in a play is covered in this book.

Customer Reviews:

Shakespeare programs for children.......2007-03-10

I am very, very pleased with this book. I found all of the information on Shakespeare fascinating and the activities will be very good for the programs our art organization is offering.

Good, But No Cigar.......2002-06-24

I bought this book on the basis of the fine reviews. It is good, glossy, and an easy read. My disappointment is that I did not realize that this book is not geared to high school students. I had hoped to find activities that would spark my students, but --there is, for me, too big a stretch between text and activity. I can see the making a bird feeder and the references to birds in Shakespeare's works at an earlier level, but not for high school seniors. The book is, however, filled with historical references and good pictures.

I highly recommend this book for young and old........2000-02-06

It was great to revisit one of my favorite places in the world = Stratford-Upon-Avon = and to learn about London and the theatre in the 16th century. I loved this book and my teenage boys loved it, too. It is beautifully written and well researched and the activities are a lot of fun.

Wonderful introduction to the life and times of Shakespeare.......1999-10-17

If you like Shakespeare and you like kids, you'll love this book. I found this to be an original and colorful introduction the life and times of the Bard of Avon, which can be enjoyed by children as well as adults.

Shakespeare for anyone and everyone.......1999-06-10

Although this book is geared towards children, anyone can learn something new and interesting by reading this extremely informative and fun book. Not only can a younger reader learn to juggle like the queen's entertainers, but he or she can also learn how to write a sonnet or stage a sword fight. This book includes historical and political facts as well as what Shakespeare's life and the theater was like. Give this to any child and they will be quoting "A Midsummer Night's Dream", telling you about life in Stratford-upon-Avon and even staging their own productions!

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