Kategoria BISAC: Literary Criticism >> Shakespeare

Shakespeare's history plays make up nearly a third of his corpus and feature iconic characters like Falstaff, the young Prince Hal, and Richard III--as well as unforgettable scenes like the storming of Harfleur. But these plays also present challenges for teachers, who need to help students understand shifting dynastic feuds, manifold concepts of political power, and early modern ideas of the body politic, kingship, and nationhood.

Part 1 of this volume, "Materials," introduces instructors to the many editions of the plays, the wealth of contextual and critical writings available,...

Among the dramatists who wrote for the professional playhouses of early modern London was a small group of writers who were neither members of the commercial theater industry writing to make a living nor aristocratic amateurs dipping their toes in theatrical waters for social or political prestige. Instead, they were largely working- and middle-class amateurs who had learned most of what they knew about drama from being members of the audience.

Using a range of familiar and lesser-known print and manuscript plays, as well as literary accounts and documentary evidence, Playwriting...

It is unique in using social policy, anthropology and economics, as well as close readings of the playwright, to show how a text from the past becomes part of contemporary culture and how Shakespeare's writing informs modern ideas of cultural value. It goes beyond the twentieth-century cultural studies debates that argued the case for and against...

The young Prince Hamlet, returning from university, finds his Kingdom in disarray: 'something is rotten in the state of Denmark'. With his father dead, and his uncle and mother marrying, Hamlet is confronted by an armored ghost, who, claiming to be the King, implores him to enact revenge upon the newlyweds and restore order to the realm. Yet, Hamlet's ability to act conflicts with his will to think: curing the rot and stabilising the kingdom will unleash a series of tragedies that threaten to ruin his entire family.

Arden Performance Editions are ideal for anyone engaging with...

What do 'stage directions' do in early modern drama? Who or what are they directing: action on the stage, or imagination via the page? Is the label 'stage direction' helpful or misleading? Do these 'directions' provide evidence of Renaissance playhouse practice? What happens when we put them at the centre of literary close readings of early modern plays?
Stage Directions and Shakespearean Theatre investigates these problems through innovative research by a range of international experts. This collection of essays examines the creative possibilities of stage directions and and...

The three parts of Shakespeare's Global Philosophy present evidence and argument that Shakespeare's Sonnets of 1609 articulate the philosophy behind all his plays and longer poems and that the Globe Theatre symbolises the global significance of the philosophy.

Part 1 examines the 1609 edition of the sonnets to demonstrate the presence of a comprehensive and consistent nature-based philosophy.

Part 2 shows how Shakespeare uses the sonnet philosophy to structure and vivify all his poems and plays.

Part 3 reflects on the relationship between the Globe Theatre and the current...