Shakespeare Books

Reading Actors' descriptions of their approaches to Shakespeare's characters is a fantastic way of accessing the material.

What these books provide, is insight into how an actor thought of playing a certain role but didn't, how they played off of other characters, which characters they felt "drove the play," and so much more in the way of detail. They discuss their own processes, directors, fellow actors, different adaptations, etc.

I found that this approach truly makes certain of Shakespeare's characters more accessible. An actor helps to break the code of the character and bring you into the material, which is such a gift, and you can't watch a play at your leisure over and over again the way you can a film, so books like these can help bridge a gap.

Most of the essays written are interesting to read regardless of whether you have a particular interest in a certain play or not. I can imagine that an acting student would get a tremendous amount from these books, as they might from having private conversations or lessons with accomplished stage actors.

I received this book as a present for my first child. It is a delightful book with bright, cheerful pictures. The puppy in each picture is "fuzzy" to the touch. Pages are extra thick. A definite book to add to your children's collection.

Though it would appear from the title to be a bit esoteric, this book is nonetheless a revelation to any reader interested in Shakespeare. By focusing on the smallest roles in the canon, Mahood illuminates the larger parts and the plays themselves with a different slant of light. Informative for actors approaching any role, large or small, in the plays, and a wealth of edification for the enlightened audience member, this book is extremely engaging and well written, scholarly without being stuffy. Highly recommended for any reader interested in deepening their experience of Shakespeare. This is a classic, and I refer to it frequently.

This marvellous book should be on the reading list of every student of this play. The first two chapters especially are studded with question marks because, in preparing himself to play the role of King Lear at London's Almeida Theatre in 2002, Oliver Ford Davies explored a large range of alternative interpretations of the lines and characters in Shakespeare's play: which seemed most convincing to him? At each question the reader might pause to think out an answer for him or herself before reading on to discover how Davies resolved it for himself. Individual words and phrases, some of which might easily be overlooked, are carefully examined for what light they shed on the play; so our own understanding of it is greatly enriched. In the course of presenting these questions, we also get a history of what other great commentators have written (just as, in the third chapter, we learn how other great actors have played the part.) There are then four chapters about this particular production, three of them a rehearsal diary, in which further questions arise and are hammered out, and it is thrilling to see the production take shape.

Davies writes very well. He is modest about himself and generous about all with whom he worked, from the Director (Jonathan Kent) to whose own view of the play he devotes a separate chapter, to his fellow actors, to the Stage and Lighting Directors and to the tailor who made the costumes. Before Lear, Davies usually played rather benign roles, and that this benignity is part of his own character can be seen in the fact there there is none of the tension or bitchiness that one sometimes finds in accounts of other productions.

This set of three volumes; The Comedies, The Histories, and The Tragedies is the ultimate Shakepeare collection. Everything you could ever want to know in one set. Awesome......

I read these works for a graduate seminar on Aristotle.
Poetry appeals to human passions and emotions. Powerful beautiful language and metaphor really appeal to emotion. This idea really disturbed Plato, who takes on Homer in the Republic. Plato thought that early Greek poetry portrays a dark world; humans are checked by negative limits like death. Tragedy has in it a character of high status brought down through no fault of his own. Plato says this is unjust. Republic is about ethical life and justice. It starts with the premises that might makes right and then moves onto the idea much like modern religions that justice comes in the afterlife. Plato hates the idea that in tragedy bad things can happen to good people. He wanted to ban tragedy because he found it demoralizing.

Aristotle's Poetics is a defense against Plato's appeal to ban tragedy. Tragedy was very popular in Greek world so Aristotle asks can it be wrong to ban it? Yes, it is wrong thus he decides to study it. Plato says Poetry is not a technç because the poets are divinely inspired. Aristotle disagrees Poetics is a handbook for playwrights. Mimçsis= "representation or imitation." Plato uses it in speaking of painting, thus art is imitation. Another meaning is to mimic, like actors mimicking another person. Plato and Aristotle use it to mean psychological identification like how we get absorbed in a movie as if the action were real, eliciting emotions from us. We suspend reality for a while. Aristotle says this is natural in humans; we do this as children, we mimic. If imitation is important for humans then tragic poetry is worthwhile for Aristotle to study.

Definition of tragedy- "Through pity and fear it achieves purification from such feelings. This is a famous controversial line. Katharsis= "pity and fear" thus the purpose of tragedy is to purge katharsis. Katharsis can also mean purification or clean. There is a debate if it means clarification, through which we can come to understand katharsis. Aristotle thinks tragedy teaches us something about life. Tragedy is an elaboration on Aristotle's idea that good or virtuous people sometimes get unlucky and in the end, they get screwed. Tragedy shows this so we can learn to get by when life screws us. The whole point of tragedy is action over character. Action is the full story of the poem like the Iliad. Character is only part of the action.
Aristotle distinguishes between poetry and history. Poetry is concerned with universals, history is concerned with particulars.

I recommend Aristotle's works to anyone interested in obtaining a classical education, and those interested in philosophy. Aristotle is one of the most important philosophers and the standard that all others must be judged by.

A beautifully illustrated collection of poems by English poet and mystic William Blake... The subject matter (and the didactic tone) may seem remote to many modern readers, and secular-minded parents may wish to steer clear of the constant talk of angels, creators and shepherds, but for those wishing to immerse their children into the English canon, it would be hard to imagine a better introduction to Blake's work than this. The soft-textured artwork recalls Blake's own fantastical visual style, with its wild celebration of nature, and perfectly compliments the text. Although some of the loftier verses may be hard to crack, many poems are easily understood, including the well-known "The Tyger" ("Tyger, tyger, burning bright...") and "The Nurse." Part of an excellent series of introductory poetry sets. (ReadThatAgain)

Honesty requires a disclaimer. Booth is a friend and colleague. But I would react similarly if I didn't know the author. If there were six stars, I would award them to Precious Nonsense. Booth takes familiar texts that seem all too clear and obvious and makes us see a multitude of things going on beneath their surfaces. His discoveries are startling and sometimes you want to argue with him, but because he puts his cards on the table he makes argument possible. What he shows demonstrates the difference between great prose and verse and ordinary writing, and reveals the similarity between the operation of literary art and that of music. Booth is phenomenally sensitive and deeply learned, and he has a terrific memory. A bonus is his style: he , in making us see how much goes on in such art that we are never is clear, convesatonal, and often funny, This is a revolutionary book.

This is a brilliant treatment of our beloved Bard! Dr. Garber deconstructs his life, what may have informed his writing, his possible motives, as well as turning an interesting focus on our personal investments (our fetishes, she calls them) toward his works. Honest and respectful without the typical sappy reverence to his genius. Scholarly but friendly read.

All in all, a magical book. The 24 books thrown into the leaky vessel that took Prospero into exile are the starting point of Peter Greenaway's screen adaptation of Shakespeare's "The Tempest." This edition brings together beautifully detailed descriptions of the books themselves, the sets, action and visual effects, illustrated with stills and Greenaway's own drawings. Greenaway's surrealistic film may be difficult for some, however, this book opens the doors to his magic. He describes each of the books, then presents a scene by scene account of the entire film. Well illustrated, but it could have been three times larger! Highly recommended.