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How to Understand Shakespeare's Dramas in the Context of Their Time (1590-1610): The Beginnings of Modern Theater (hardcover)

Author: 
Year:
Pages:236
ISBN:1-4955-1147-2
978-1-4955-1147-9
Price:$79.95
(Hardcover Edition)

"It is almost a rule of logic that anyone who doesn't need helpful directions should never consult a how-to book like this one. The subject here is not 'introduction to Shakespeare,' for which there is scarcely any need since there are plenty of them, and very good ones, too. This particular 'how-to' is also not to be taken as an academic book. ...It is, however, a book on ...the problem of reading. Here I have narrowed that wide issue to one particular kind of reading--the drama--and to one particular writer, William Shakespeare, the dramatist taken to be the most famous in the world, and who seems to present certain problems for those who want to read his work." -Gerald Snare (Preface)

Table of Contents

A Preface: To The Reader
Shakespeare's Poetry in the Plays: The Cases of Romeo and Juliet, Antony and Cleopatra, Macbeth, and the Flowers of
Ophelia and Perdita
A Pause: On Reading
Shakepeare's Dramatic Language: Much Ado About Nothing and Henry the Fifth
An Excursus: On Reading In Retrospect
Shakespeare's Theatre, Shakespeare's Company, Shakespeare's Profession
An Excursus: Reprising Shakespeare's Stage Language: Hamlet and the Players
Shakespeare's Profession Concluded
The Matter of Shakespeare's Dramaturgy: Stage Directions in A Winter's Tale and The Tempest
The Matter of Shakespeare's Dramaturgy: Beginnings, Middles, and Ends
The Matter of Shakespeare's Dramaturgy: The Middle of As You Like it
The Matter of Shakespeare's Dramaturgy: Beginnings of Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, and King Lear
An Excursus on Dramatic Art and Decor
The Matter of Shakespeare's Dramaturgy: The Endings of Plays A Winter's Tale and The Tempest
Shakespeare's Dramaturgy and the Final Illusion: The Matter of Meta-Theatre and A Midsummer Night's Dream
An Epilogue