A fascinating portrait of life in Shakespeare's London, as seen from the theatrical perspective by popular historian Catharine Arnold. The life of William Shakespeare, Britain's greatest dramatist, is inextricably linked with the history of London. Together, the great writer and the great city came of age and confronted triumph and tragedy. Triumph came when Shakespeare's company, the Chamberlain's Men, opened the Globe playhouse on Bankside in 1599, under the patronage of Queen Elizabeth I. Tragedy touched the lives of many of his contemporaries, from fellow playwright Christopher Marlowe to ... View More...
This fascinating book by one of Britain's most acclaimed Shakespeare scholars explores the extraordinary staying-power of the world's most famous dramatist. Bate opens by taking up questions of authorship and then goes on to trace Shakespeare's canonization and near-deification, examining not only the uniqueness of his status among English-speaking readers but also his effect on literary cultures across the globe. Ambitious, wide-ranging, and historically rich, this book shapes a provocative inquiry into the nature of genius as it ponders the legacy of a talent unequalled in English letters. A... View More...
From one of our most eminent and accessible literary critics, a groundbreaking account of how the Greek and Roman classics forged Shakespeare's imagination Ben Jonson famously accused Shakespeare of having small Latin and less Greek. But he was exaggerating. Shakespeare was steeped in the classics. Shaped by his grammar school education in Roman literature, history, and rhetoric, he moved to London, a city that modeled itself on ancient Rome. He worked in a theatrical profession that had inherited the conventions and forms of classical drama, and he read deeply in Ovid, Virgil, and Seneca. In ... View More...
John Russell Brown demonstrates just how much is in Shakespeare's texts; how the language is awakened, colored, emphasized, sensualized and extended in performance. Shakespeare's intended readers were his collaborators, not his commentators. Brown invites all Shakespeare lovers to seek their insights in Shakespeare's natural habitat: the stage. View More...
Perhaps the best-known of Shakespeare's tragedies, Hamlet has all the ingredients for a gripping story: revenge and power, familial love and betrayal, dramatic sword fights, dark spooky scenes. Once again Lois Burdett has woven her own brand of magic by transforming Shakespeare's complex verse into rhyming couplets. She has created a version of Hamlet especially for children, even as young as seven, and one that readers of all ages will enjoy. At the appropriately named Hamlet Elementary School in Stratford, Ontario, where Burdett has taught for over 20 years, her students have created wonde... View More...
"Who is William Shakespeare?" For more than 20 years, Lois Burdett has asked that question of her elementary school students in Stratford, Ontario, Canada, leading them on a voyage of discovery that brings the Bard to life for boys and girls ages seven and up.
Macbeth for Kids, written in rhyming couplets is suitable for staging as class plays as well as reading aloud.
The Tempest is an exciting tale of jealousy and betrayal, magic and romance, repentance and forgiveness, and has all the elements necessary to ignite a young child's imagination and creative energy. By her use of rhyming couplets, Lois Burdett has once again succeeded in transforming Shakespeare's complex verse into a format readily understood by children. Children's enthusiasm toward Burdett's adapted Shakespeare is evident in the wonderful drawings and anecdotes created by her Grade 2 and 3 students at Hamlet Elementary School in Stratford, Ontario. Together with the five other books in th... View More...
An award-winning scholar and teacher explores how Shakespeare's greatest characters were built on a learned sense of empathy While exploring Shakespeare's plays with her students, Paula Marantz Cohen discovered that teaching and discussing his plays unlocked a surprising sense of compassion in the classroom. In this short and illuminating book, she shows how Shakespeare's genius lay with his ability to arouse empathy, even when his characters exist in alien contexts and behave in reprehensible ways. Cohen takes her readers through a selection of Shakespeare's most famous plays, including Ham... View More...
The first popular narrative history of Shakespeare's First Folio, the world's most obsessively pursued book. One book above all others has transfixed connoisseurs for four centuries--a book sold for shillings in the streets of London, whisked to Manhattan for millions, and stored deep within the vaults of Tokyo. The book: William Shakespeare's First Folio of 1623. Paul Collins, lover of odd books and author of the national bestseller Sixpence House, takes up the strange quest for this white whale of precious books. Broken down into five acts, each tied to a different location and century, The ... View More...
This volume continues and completes the biography that began with Young Shakespeare, tracing the playwright's life from the writing of Romeo and Juliet to his death in 1616. The text follows Shakespeare and his company around London, immersing the reader in Elizabethan court gossip. View More...
An improved, larger-format edition of the Cambridge School Shakespeare plays, extensively rewritten, expanded and produced in an attractive new design. The Rex Gibson active approach to classroom Shakespeare enables students to inhabit Shakespeare's imaginative world in accessible and creative ways, sharing Shakespeare's love of language, interest in character and sense of theatre. Substantially revised and extended, classroom activities are thematically organised in distinctive stagecraft, writing, language, characters and themes features. Expanded endnotes include extensive essay-writing gui... View More...
A New York Times bestseller Gareth Hinds's stylish graphic adaptation of the Bard's romantic tragedy offers modern touches -- including a diverse cast that underscores the story's universality. She's a Capulet. He's a Montague. But when Romeo and Juliet first meet, they don't know they're from rival families -- and when they find out, they don't care. Their love is honest and raw and all consuming.But it's also dangerous. How much will they have to sacrifice before they can be together?In a masterful adaptation faithful to Shakespeare's original text, Gareth Hinds transports readers to the su... View More...
With elegant, contemporary artwork and a faithful but succinct adaptation, this graphic novel casts a classic drama in a provocative new light. Here is the tale of young Bassanio, who, to win the love of fair Portia, entangles his dearest friend, Antonio, in a dangerous bargain with the moneylender Shylock. Only Bassanio's heartfelt efforts -- and a clever intervention by Portia -- will save Antonio from paying Shylock a pound of flesh. Moody and mesmerizing, this graphic novel adaptation of one of Shakespeare's more controversial plays boasts a chic modern cast, high drama, and all the dark, ... View More...
