The Meaning of Shakespeare, Volume 1

The Meaning of Shakespeare, Volume 1

Author: Harold C. Goddard

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2009-02-15

Total Pages: 410

ISBN-13: 0226300382

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In two magnificent and authoritative volumes, Harold C. Goddard takes readers on a tour through the works of William Shakespeare, celebrating his incomparable plays and unsurpassed literary genius.


Meaning by Shakespeare

Meaning by Shakespeare

Author: Terence Hawkes

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2003-09-02

Total Pages: 170

ISBN-13: 1134904991

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We traditionally assume that the `meaning' of each of Shakespeares plays is bequeathed to it by the Bard. It is as if, to the information which used to be given in theatrical programmes, `Cigarettes by Abdullah, Costumes by Motley, Music by Mendelssohn', we should add `Meaning by Shakespeare'. These essays rest on a different, almost opposite, principle. Developing the arguments of the same author's That Shakespearean Rag (1986), they put the case that Shakespeare's plays have no essential meanings, but function as resources which we use to generate meaning. A Midsummer Night's Dream, Measure for Measure, Coriolanus and King Lear, amongst other plays, are examined as concrete instances of the covert process whereby, in the twentieth century, Shakespeare doesn't mean: we mean by Shakespeare. Meaning by Shakespeare concludes with `Bardbiz', a review of recent critical approaches to Shakespeare, which initiated a long-running debate (1990-1991) when it first appeared in The London Review of Books.


Asimov's Guide to Shakespeare

Asimov's Guide to Shakespeare

Author: Isaac Asimov

Publisher:

Published: 1978

Total Pages: 1542

ISBN-13:

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Explains the historical, legendary, and mythological background of 38 plays and 2 narrative poems.


Coined by Shakespeare

Coined by Shakespeare

Author: Jeff McQuain

Publisher:

Published: 1998

Total Pages: 296

ISBN-13:

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A dictionary of terms that were first coined in William Shakespeare's plays. Each entry explains the source of the word, how the word is used throughout history, and where each word appears in Shakespeare's works.


Shakespeare

Shakespeare

Author: Mark Van Doren

Publisher: New York Review of Books

Published: 2005-08-31

Total Pages: 340

ISBN-13: 9781590171684

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This legendary book by an esteemed poet and beloved professor at Columbia University features a series of smart, witty, deeply perceptive essays about each of Shakespeare's plays, together with a further discussion of the poems. Writing with an incomparable knowledge of his subject but without a hint of pedantry, Van Doren elucidates both the astonishing boldness and myriad subtleties of Shakespeare's protean art. His Shakespeare is a book to be treasured by both new and longtime students of the Bard.


Dee-Coding Shakespeare

Dee-Coding Shakespeare

Author: Alan William Green

Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform

Published: 2012-10-22

Total Pages: 234

ISBN-13: 9781480077805

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Revolutionary new discoveries reveal the actual location where (according to coded information embedded in the poet's church) the great Bard himself has left physical evidence that promises to finally end the persistent controversy concerning his identity. What is hidden at Stratford could well be the greatest story Shakespeare ever wrote! Unlike anything you've ever read about him, 'Dee-Coding Shakespeare' is an exquisite cryptographic maze and includes over 20 gorgeous, full-page photographs of Holy Trinity Church, Stratford. The reader is taken on a breath-taking journey of discovery and invited to be part of history by solving the mystery themselves. Forty puzzles take just a couple of minutes each to work out and result in a stunning conclusion that will shake the halls of academia and bring new life to our appreciation of the most enduring literary genius the world has ever known. The Bard will never be the same ... to-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow.


Four Comedies

Four Comedies

Author: William Shakespeare

Publisher: Bantam Classics

Published: 2009-08-26

Total Pages: 736

ISBN-13: 0307420590

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The Taming of the Shrew Robust and bawdy, The Taming of the Shrew captivates audiences with outrageous humor as Katharina, the shrew, engages in a contest of wills–and love–with her bridegroom, Petruchio, in a comedy of unmatched theatrical brilliance, filled with visual gags and witty repartee. A Midsummer Night's Dream Fairy magic, love spells, and an enchanted wood turn the mismatched rivalries of four young lovers into a marvelous mix-up of desire and enchantment, all touched by Shakespeare’s inimitable vision of the intriguing relationship between dreams and the waking world. The Merchant of Venice This dark comedy of love and money contains one of the truly mythic figures in literature–Shylock, the Jewish moneylender. The “pound of flesh” he demands as payment of Antonio’s debt has become a universal metaphor for vengeance. Here, pathos and farce combine with moral complexity and romantic entanglements, to display the extraordinary power and range of Shakespeare at his best. Twelfth Night Set in a topsy-turvy world like a holiday revel, this comedy juxtaposes a romantic plot involving separated twins and mistaken identity with a more satiric one about the humiliation of a pompous killjoy. The hilarity is touched with melancholy, and the play ends, not with laughter, but with a clown’s plaintive song. Each Edition Includes: • Comprehensive explanatory notes • Vivid introductions and the most up-to-date scholarship • Clear, modernized spelling and punctuation, enabling contemporary readers to understand the Elizabethan English • Completely updated, detailed bibliographies and performance histories • An interpretive essay on film adaptations of the play, along with an extensive filmography


Shakespeare's Philosophy

Shakespeare's Philosophy

Author: Colin McGinn

Publisher: Harper Collins

Published: 2006-11-28

Total Pages: 244

ISBN-13: 0060856157

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Shakespeare's plays are usually studied by literary scholars and historians and the books about him from those perspectives are legion. It is most unusual for a trained philosopher to give us his insight, as Colin McGinn does here, into six of Shakespeare's greatest plays—A Midsummer Night's Dream, Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth, King Lear, and The Tempest. In his brilliant commentary, McGinn explores Shakespeare's philosophy of life and illustrates how he was influenced, for example, by the essays of Montaigne that were translated into English while Shakespeare was writing. In addition to chapters on the great plays, there are also essays on Shakespeare and gender and his plays from the aspects of psychology, ethics, and tragedy. As McGinn says about Shakespeare, "There is not a sentimental bone in his body. He has the curiosity of a scientist, the judgement of a philosopher, and the soul of a poet." McGinn relates the ideas in the plays to the later philosophers such as David Hume and the modern commentaries of critics such as Harold Bloom. The book is an exhilarating reading experience, especially at a time when a new audience has opened up for the greatest writer in English.


Shakespeare

Shakespeare

Author: Harold Bloom

Publisher: HarperCollins UK

Published: 2008-07

Total Pages: 774

ISBN-13: 0007292848

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Harold Bloom, the doyen of American literary critics and author of 'The Western Canon', has spent a professional lifetime reading, writing about, and teaching Shakespeare. In this magisterial interpretation, Bloom explains Shakespeare's genius in a radical and provocative re-reading of the plays.