This title presents a comprehensive critical analysis of the most important Shakespearean critics, editors, actors and directors. It concentrates on key actors and directors from the Eighteenth-Century. "Great Shakespeareans" offers a systematic account of those figures who have had the greatest influence on the interpretation, understanding and cultural reception of Shakespeare, both nationally and internationally. In this volume, leading scholars assess the contribution of David Garrick, John Philip Kemble, Sarah Siddons and Edmund Kean to the afterlife and reception of Shakespeare and his plays. Each substantial contribution assesses the double impact of Shakespeare on the figure covered and of the figure on the understanding, interpretation and appreciation of Shakespeare, provide a sketch of their subject's intellectual and professional biography and an account of the wider cultural context, including comparison with other figures or works within the same field.

This book (hardcover) is part of the TREDITION CLASSICS. It contains classical literature works from over two thousand years. Most of these titles have been out of print and off the bookstore shelves for decades. The book series is intended to preserve the cultural legacy and to promote the timeless works of classical literature. Readers of a TREDITION CLASSICS book support the mission to save many of the amazing works of world literature from oblivion. With this series, tredition intends to make thousands of international literature classics available in printed format again - worldwide.

A new type of study aid which combines lively critical insight with practical guidance on the critical writings skills students need to develop in order to engage fully with Shakespeare's texts. The book's core focus is on language: both understanding and enjoying Shakespeare's complex dramatic language, and expanding the student's own critical vocabulary as they respond to the play. The book explores several different approaches to Shakespeare's language. It looks at how the subtleties of Shakespeare's language reveal the thought processes and motivations of his characters, often in ways those characters themselves don't recognise; it analyses how Shakespeare's language works within or sometimes against various historical contexts, the contexts of stage performance, of genre and of discourses of his day (of religion, law, commerce, and friendship); and it explores how the peculiarities of Shakespeare's language often point to broad issues, themes, or ways of thinking that transcend any one character or line of action. Each chapter includes a "Writing Matters" section, giving students ideas and guidance for building their own critical response to the play and the skills to articulate it with confidence.

The Oxford Handbook to Tudor Drama is the authoritative secondary text on Tudor drama. It both integrates recent important research across different disciplines and periods and sets a new agenda for the future study of Tudor drama, questioning a number of the central assumptions of previous studies. Balancing the interests and concerns of scholars in theatre history, drama, and literary studies, its scope reflects the broad reach of Tudor drama as a subject, inviting readers to see the Tudor century as a whole, rather than made up of artificial and misleading divisions between 'medieval' and 'renaissance', religious and secular, pre- and post-Shakespeare. The contributors, both the established leaders in their fields and the brightest young scholars, attend to the contexts, intellectual, theatrical and historical within which drama was written, produced and staged in this period, and ask us to consider afresh this most vital and complex of periods in theatre history. The book is divided into four sections: Religious Drama; Interludes and Comedies, Entertainments, Masques, and Royal Entries; and Histories and political dramas.

This is the first commentary to be written in English on Seneca's "Phoenissae, an intriguing work on account of its unusual structure and state of incompletion.
The substantial introduction deals, "inter alia, with the question of the unity and purpose of the work; the absence of an ending and of choral lyrics; the philosophical, rhetorical, and political content; Seneca's treatment of the Theban legend. The commentary is primarily a literary analysis of the text, but textual, linguistic, metrical, and grammatical difficulties are also elucidated.
With the resurgence of interest in Senecan drama in the last two decadese, this book is a valuable addition to English commentaries that appeared on most of the plays.

Whether written for Renaissance law students or the popular crowds at the Globe Theatre, Shakespeare's Coriolanus appeals to a wide audience. With thematic consistency, the play presents the class conflict between Roman patricians and plebeians in terms of metaphors, images, and symbols of the human body and its basic needs for nourishment, love, and security. The play considers the compromises individuals must make if they are to thrive in a social order, and its exploration of the responsibility of individuals to others has never been more timely. This book is a comprehensive introduction to the play. The volume discusses the genesis and textual history of Coriolanus and the merits of available modern editions. Also included is a plot summary. The book gives special attention to the historical, cultural, and intellectual contexts that shaped Shakespeare's work, and it analyzes his language and dramatic art. A chapter analyzes the play's themes and ideas, while another surveys the play's critical and scholarly reception. Of special interest is a chapter on the play's performance history. The guide cites current scholarship throughout and offers suggestions for further reading.

'York Notes Advanced' offer an accessible approach to English Literature. This series has been completely updated to meet the needs of today's A-level and undergraduate students. Written by established literature experts, York Notes Advanced introduce students to more sophisticated analysis, a range of critical perspectives and wider contexts.

In this volume an international cast of scholars explores conceptions of the self in the literature and culture of the Early Modern England. Drawing on theories of performativity and performance, some contributors revisit monological speech and the soliloquy - that quintessential solo performance - on the stage of Marlowe, Shakespeare and Jonson. Other authors move beyond the theatre as they investigate solo performances in different cultural locations, from the public stage of the pillory to the mental stage of the writing self. All contributors analyse corporeality, speech, writing and even silence as interrelated modes of self-enactment, whether they read solo performances as a way of inventing, authorizing or even pathologizing the self, or as a mode of fashioning sovereignty. The contributions trace how the performers appropriate specific discourses, whether religious, medical or political, and how they negotiate hierarchies of gender, rank or cultural difference. The articles cut across a variety of genres including plays and masques, religious tracts, diaries and journals, poems and even signatures. The collection links research on the inward and self-reflexive dimension of solo-performances with studies foregrounding the public and interactive dimension of performative self-fashioning. The articles collected here offer new perspectives on Early Modern subjectivity and will be of interest to all scholars and students of the Early Modern period.

Accessible informative critical introduction to Caryl Churchill's classic modern play, "Top Girls".Caryl Churchill is widely considered one of the most innovative playwrights to have emerged in post-war British theatre. Identified as a socialist feminist writer, she is one of the few British women playwrights to have been incorporated into the dramatic canon. "Top Girls" is one of Churchill's most well known and often studied works, using an all female cast to critique bourgeois feminism during the Thatcher era.This guide provides a comprehensive critical introduction to "Top Girls", giving students an overview of the background and context for the play; detailed analysis of the its structure, style and characters; a practical analysis of key production issues and choices; an overview of the performance history focusing on key productions; and an annotated guide to further reading highlighting key critical approaches. It includes new interpretations of the text in the light of Churchill's recent playwriting and intervening shifts in the political landscape.It offers accessible, informative critical introductions to modern plays for students in both Theatre/Performance Studies and English. Offering up-to-date coverage of a broad range of key plays throughout modern drama, the guides includes accounts of performance history, production analysis, screen adaptations and summaries of important critical approaches and debates.

The year 1988 was notable for being the centennial of playwright Eugene O'Neill's birth and a time of unprecedented democratization in the People's Republic of China and rapprochement with the West. In this optimal climate, a remarkable festival and conference devoted to O'Neill was held in Nanjing, China, orchestrated mainly by Haiping Liu, who secured the funds and cooperation necessary to lure noted O'Neill scholars and theatre artists from around the world. Liu selected and edited papers for publication after the conference, but he realized that this would be a difficult task conducted from China. At his invitation Lowell Swortzell, a conference participant, became co-editor, and in the dark days following the political upheaval in China in 1989, Swortzell assumed much of the burden of editing, organizing, clearing rights, and generally readying the final volume. The essays included capture the intellectual and artistic stimulation of the conference. Organized in divisions similar to the order in which the papers were delivered, they explore the major areas of O'Neill scholarship by some of the most renowned scholars from the United States, Western and Eastern Europe, Japan, and China. They emphasize O'Neill's international reputation and productions, particularly in Asia. Included is an open forum discussion of the festival productions, as well as photographs. The circumstances of the festival and conference are a story unto themselves, and in their individual introductions, the co-editors relate some of the background and convey some of the flavor of the events--providing insights into the continued appeal of O'Neill in China and the world.

From Shakespeare's religion to his wife to his competitors in the world of early modern theatre, biographers have approached the question of the Bard's life from numerous angles. Shakespeare & Biography offers a fresh look at the biographical questions connected with the famous playwright's life, through essays and reflections written by prominent international scholars and biographers.

The thirty chapters of this innovative international study are all devoted to the topic of "the play within the play." The authors explore the wide range of aesthetic, literary-theoretical and philosophical issues associated with this rhetorical device, not only in terms of its original meta-theatrical setting - from the baroque idea of a "theatrum mundi" onward to contemporary examples of postmodern self-referential dramaturgy - but also with regard to a variety of different generic applications, e.g. in narrative fiction, musical theatre and film. The authors, internationally recognized specialists in their respective fields, draw on recent debates in such areas as postcolonial studies, game and systems theories, media and performance studies, to analyze the specific qualities and characteristics of "the play within the play": as ultimate affirmation of the 'self' (the 'Hamlet paradigm'), as a self-reflective agency of meta-theatrical discourse, and as a vehicle of intermedial and intercultural transformation. The challenging study, with its underlying premise of "play" as a key feature of cultural anthropology and human creativity, breaks new ground by placing "the play within the play" at the centre of a number of intersecting scholarly discourses on areas of topical concern to scholars in the humanities.

The plays of Maria Martinez Sierra were popular in Spain, South America and in translation on Broadway and London's West End in the first half of the 20th century but they were thought to be written by her husband, the celebrated director and playwright Gregorio Martinez Sierra. After his death, the authorship of his work was revealed to be that of Maria, making her one of the most important playwrights of her time. This edited collection features three plays by Maria Martinez Sierra, translated by Helen and Harley Granville-Barker, along with an introduction by Patricia O'Connor, University of Cincinnati, US, which examines Maria's extraordinary life and work, and the battle for her authorship to be recognized in both the Spanish-speaking and anglophone world. This volume focuses on plays centred on strong women; and each is translated by the eminent man of theatre Harley Granville-Barker and his wife, Helen, whose own story holds stark parallels to Maria's in terms of authorship. The collection is edited by playwright Richard Nelson and Professor Colin Chambers, who contribute an essay on the translation work of the Granville-Barkers. The plays are: The Kingdom of God (1928); The Romantic Young Lady (1920) and Take Two From One (1931). Maria Martinez Sierra: A Great Playwright Hidden in Plain Sight recognizes Maria de la O Lejarraga Garcia, to use her birth name, as one of the most important female playwrights, not just in Spain, but globally, in the first half of the 20th century.

In the wake of the death of his friend Arthur Henry Hallam, the subject of In Memoriam, Alfred Tennyson wrote a range of intricately connected poems, many of which feature pivotal scenes of rapture, or being carried away. This book explores Tennyson's representation of rapture as a radical mechanism of transformation-theological, social, political, or personal-and as a figure for critical processes in his own poetics. The poet's fascination with transformation is figured formally in the genre he is credited with inventing, the dramatic monologue. Tennyson's Rapture investigates the poet's previously unrecognized intimacy with the theological movements in early Victorian Britain that are the acknowledged roots of contemporary Pentacostalism, with its belief in the oncoming Rapture, and its formative relation to his poetic innovation. Tennyson's work recurs persistently as well to classical instances of rapture, of mortals being borne away by immortals. Pearsall develops original readings of Tennyson's major classical poems through concentrated attention to his profound intellectual investments in advances in philological scholarship and archeological exploration, including pressing Victorian debates over whether Homer's raptured Troy was a verifiable site, or the province of the poet's imagination. Tennyson's attraction to processes of personal and social change is bound to his significant but generally overlooked Whig ideological commitments, which are illuminated by Hallam's political and philosophical writings, and a half-century of interaction with William Gladstone. Pearsall shows the comprehensive engagement of seemingly apolitical monologues with the rise of democracy over the course of Tennyson's long career. Offering a new approach to reading all Victorian dramatic monologues, this book argues against a critical tradition that sees speakers as unintentionally self-revealing and ignorant of the implications of their speech. Tennyson's Rapture probes the complex aims of these discursive performances, and shows how the ambitions of speakers for vital transformations in themselves and their circumstances are not only articulated in, but attained through, the medium of their monologues.

An approachable guide to Shakespeare on film, this book establishes the differences between stage and screen. It covers the history of Shakespeare on the screen since 1899, and discusses various modes and conventions of adaptations. Thoroughly updated to include the most recent films, for instance Joss Whedon's 2013 Much Ado About Nothing, it also explores the latest technology, such as DVD and Blu-ray, as well as live stage-to-screen productions. It also includes an exclusive interview with filmmaker John Wyver, discussing his own adaptations for the small screen.

What was it like to be in the audience of the Globe Theater in 1606? By demonstrating fundamental connections between audience reaction then and the use of computers today, Renaissance scholar Arthur Kinney explores the cultural moment of one of Shakespeare's most popular tragedies.

Examining the cultural practices and beliefs that influenced Shakespeare's writing of Macbeth, Kinney reconstructs how playgoers in 1606 understood that drama when it was first presented and shows how many congruent and often conflicting perspectives played on their minds. Calling on hundreds of documents with which Shakespeare might have been familiar -- books and pamphlets circulating in England from 1600 to 1606 as well as manuscripts and statutes -- he records a wide range of cultural practices related to nearly every aspect of society in that day: politics, religion, economics, medicine, family life, witchcraft, and more.

Kinney proposes a new way of reading this period's texts, drawing us closer to the way dramatic plays such as Macbeth were understood from early modern times to beyond today's technological revolution. In the course of this inquiry, he seeks to determine whether the 1623 text of Macbeth that we now have is anything like the original 1606 performance.

Lies Like Truth shows that the computer revolution of our time can help us revisit Shakespeare's works in their own time and thereby enhance our understanding of them. This provocative work unlocks a cultural moment frozen in time and broadens our appreciation of Shakespeare.

Until recently, French women playwrights had received almost no critical attention and their works were for the most part completely unknown, but this volume is evidence of the important contribution they have made to world literature. It presents an extensive list of the dramatic works of more than 400 French women playwrights from the 16th through 19th centuries and includes brief biographical information, as well as publication, performance, and availability information for nearly 3,000 plays.

The volume includes authors who are relatively unknown, as well as more canonical names such as Marguerite de Navarre and George Sand. The book is divided into four chapters, each devoted to a particular century with authors listed alphabetically. Each entry includes basic biographical information about the author, such as pseudonyms, place and date of birth and death, professions or activities for which the author is known, and other genres in which the author wrote. Plays are listed chronologically under the author's name.

A new type of study aid which combines lively critical insight with practical guidance on the critical writings skills students need to develop in order to engage fully with Shakespeare's texts. The book's core focus is on language: both understanding and enjoying Shakespeare's complex dramatic language, and expanding the student's own critical vocabulary as they respond to the play. The book explores several different approaches to Shakespeare's language. It looks at how the subtleties of Shakespeare's language reveal the thought processes and motivations of his characters, often in ways those characters themselves don't recognise; it analyses how Shakespeare's language works within or sometimes against various historical contexts, the contexts of stage performance, of genre and of discourses of his day (of religion, law, commerce, and friendship); and it explores how the peculiarities of Shakespeare's language often point to broad issues, themes, or ways of thinking that transcend any one character or line of action. Each chapter includes a "Writing Matters" section, giving students ideas and guidance for building their own critical response to the play and the skills to articulate it with confidence.

The majority of Shakespeare's plays have at least one clown figure making an appearance. These characters range from rogues who say only a line or two, to important figures like Touchstone and Falstaff. Videbaek examines even the smallest clown roles, showing how the clown's freedom of speech allows him to become a mediator between the audience and the action of the play, helping audience interpretation. This illuminating celebration of the stage clown's contribution to the understanding and enjoyment of Shakespeare's plays will be a valuable resource for both students and scholars alike.

This book challenges traditional Shakespeare studies through a study of its textual imperatives in the late eighteenth century. Only with Malone's 1790 edition did concepts now basic to literary studies become dominant.

This volume offers a practical, accessible and thought-provoking guide to this Roman tragedy, surveying its major themes and critical reception. It also provides a detailed and up-to-date history of the play's performance, beginning with its earliest known staging in 1599, including an analysis of the 2013 film Caesar Must Die starring Italian inmates, and an assessment of why the play is now coming back into vogue on stage. Moving through to four new critical essays, it opens up cutting-edge perspectives on the work, and finishes with a guide to pedagogical approaches by the experienced teacher and leading academic Jeremy Lopez. Detailing web-based and production-related resources, and including an annotated bibliography of critical works, the guide will equip teachers and facilitate students' understanding of this challenging play.

This book (hardcover) is part of the TREDITION CLASSICS. It contains classical literature works from over two thousand years. Most of these titles have been out of print and off the bookstore shelves for decades. The book series is intended to preserve the cultural legacy and to promote the timeless works of classical literature. Readers of a TREDITION CLASSICS book support the mission to save many of the amazing works of world literature from oblivion. With this series, tredition intends to make thousands of international literature classics available in printed format again - worldwide.

Hamlet remains the most-studied of all Shakespeare's great tragedies. This collection of newly-commissioned essays gives readers an overview of past critical views of the play as well as new writing about the play from today's leading scholars. The range of perspectives offered makes the book an invaluable companion to anyone studying the play at an advanced level. The final chapter on learning and teaching resources is particularly useful as a guide for further study.

No one does romantic comedy like William Shakespeare, and Much Ado About Nothing is the Bard at the top of his game. The Italian countryside is the perfect setting for love, which soon appears in abundance. We have Hero and Claudio, star-struck sweethearts who are kept apart by wicked machinations. Beatrice and Benedick are the original couple who can't stand each other yet are made for each other. Add to that a bevy of villains, fools, and assorted family members, and you have a recipe for fun of the highest order.

Though better known for his literary merits, Shakespeare made money, wrote about money and enabled money-making by countless others in his name. With chapters by leading scholars on the economic, financial and commercial ramifications of his work, this multifaceted volume connects the Bard to both early modern and contemporary economic conditions, revealing Shakespeare to have been a serious economist in his own right.