Kategoria BISAC: Literary Criticism >> Shakespeare

Originally published in 1986. This volume points to the rich variety of critical responses to the Henry IV plays and their complexity. It includes selections from characteristic thought of the neoclassical age, character criticism in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, historical and new criticism, theatrical interpretation and other pieces by the likes of Samuel Johnson and W. H. Auden. The editor s introduction explains the collection s relevance and puts the pieces in context. Several chapters look at the character of Falstaff and the changing response and critique through time....

Originally published in 1986. Among the most frequently performed and high admired of Shakespeare s plays, "Twelfth Night" is examined here in this collection of writings from well-known essayists and scholars. The chapters present to the modern reader discussions of the play to enhance understanding and study of both the text and performances. Opening essays address individual characters; then some accounts of its potential and theatrical reviews are included; finally followed by critical studies looking at various parts and themes. The editor s introduction explains the usefulness of...

An approachable and indispensable guide to Shakespeare's sonnets

Shakespeare's sonnets are the greatest single work of lyric poetry in English, as passionate and daring as any love poems we may ever encounter, and yet they are often misunderstood. Ideas of Order: A Close Reading of Shakespeare's Sonnets reveals an underlying structure within the 154 poems that illuminates the entire work, and provides a guide--for first-time readers as well as scholars--that inspires a new understanding of this complex masterpiece. The Elizabethan scholar and former...

Paul Cefalu argues that Shakespearean characters raise timely questions about the relationship between cognition and consciousness and often defy our assumptions about "normal" cognition. The book will appeal to scholars and students interested in both the virtues
and limitations of cognitive literary criticism.

The book points out an anticipation of the dissolution of the self in some modern authors. However, contrary to postmodern assumptions, this early calling into question of the self did not lead to a negation of identity. Montaigne acknowledged the fairly stable nature of his personality and...

Reading Antony and Cleopatra is particularly challenging because of Shakespeare's masterful embodiment of Rome and Egypt's contrasting worlds in language, structure, and characterization.
Instead of seeing the interaction of Roman and Egyptian perspectives in Antony and Cleopatra as a type of double image of reality that changes as one moves from one location to another, students often find themselves compelled to pick sides. The more romantic opt for Cleopatra as the most sympathetic character, while the pragmatists dismiss her lifestyle as self-indulgent. The central challenge...

Shakespare and Montaigne are the English and French writers of the sixteenth century who have the most to say to modern readers. Shakespeare certainly drew on Montaigne's essay 'On Cannibals' in writing The Tempest and debates have raged amongst scholars about the playwright's obligations to Montaigne in passages from earlier plays including Hamlet, King Lear and Measure for Measure.

Peter Mack argues that rather than continuing the undeterminable quarrel about how early in his career Shakespeare came to Montaigne, we should focus on the similar...