The definitive, fully illustrated single-volume companion to the world's greatest playwright. "Refreshing and joyful" -- Kenneth Branagh, Shakespearean actor and director, on stage and screen
Look inside: Essential Shakespeare Handbook
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Introduction
Whether you want a quick overview of Romeo and Juliet to set the scene before a night at the theatre or an in depth reference guide for that challenging essay, this is the handbook for you!
This one-stop guide to the life and work of the Bard will enable you to approach his plays and poems with new confidence. Written in clear, non-academic, prose throughout - this is the first and only book to combine an easy-to-absorb guide to each and every play, plus the sonnets and poems.
- A portrait of Shakespeare's life and times: critics, contemporaries, patrons and the era's vibrant theatre.
- Full commentaries on all 39 plays including detailed plot summaries, a survey of dramatic interpretations on stage and screen, and an introduction to Shakespeare's sonnets and narrative poetry.
- Gain an insight into Shakespeare's unique world, including his language, his sources of inspiration and the secret of his enduring, universal appeal.
"A brilliant new way of looking at Shakespeare, and recaptured for me the excitement I felt as a teenager when I first discovered him. This travel guide seems to me to be an ideal introduction to Shakespeare, and a wonderful corrective to the dryness of much recent commentary. I'm very happy to have this book on my shelves."
Nick Hytner, the new director of the National Theatre.
"This is an excellent guide to a country called Shakespeare that can't fail to add to the knowledge and enjoyment to be derived from visiting it."
Sir Richard Eyre, Director of the National Theatre, London from 1988 to 1997
"This book is lively and useful, diverse and entertaining. It mainlines the reader to the essential Shakespeare and is friendly, imaginative, funny, serious and modern...like the Bard himself! A wonderful achievement."
Fiona Shaw, stage and screen actress who presented the case for Shakespeare in the BBC's "Great Britons" debate
Press reviews
"...lavishly and imaginatively illustrated..."
Sunday Telegraph
Deborah Warner, acclaimed theatre and opera director
"Refreshing and joyful"
Kenneth Branagh, Shakespearean actor and director, on stage and screen.
"This is an excellent guide to a country called Shakespeare that can't fail to add to the knowledge and enjoyment to be derived from visiting it."
Sir Richard Eyre, Director of the National Theatre, London from 1988 to 1997
"A brilliant new way of looking at Shakespeare, and recaptured for me the excitement I felt as a teenager when I first discovered him. This travel guide seems to me to be an ideal introduction to Shakespeare, and a wonderful corrective to the dryness of much recent commentary. I'm very happy to have this book on my shelves."
Nick Hytner, the new director of the National Theatre
"This book is lively and useful, diverse and entertaining. It mainlines the reader to the essential Shakespeare and is friendly, imaginative, funny, serious and modern...like the Bard himself! A wonderful achievement."
Fiona Shaw, stage and screen actress who presented the case for Shakespeare in the BBC's "Great Britons" debate
Product details
Format: Paperback: flexiback
ISBN: 9780751348828
Size: 140 x 210mm
Number of pages: 480
Publication date: 01 Apr 2004
Publisher: Dorling Kindersley
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