Shakespeare Books

This work, separated into chapters by topic, is beautifully organized for research about Shakespeare's times and places, people and customs. Straightforward and invaluable for its content, this book is a must-have for any middle- or high-school English teacher (xeroxes of certain sections would be wonderful handouts!).

This is a wonderful book for anyone who uses the Enlgish language --(ages: 12 to 200) and a wonderful companion to Strunk & White's The Elements of Style. Vocabulary Energizers II is instructive, witty, challenging and entertaining. Its etymology includes both fascinating history and superb quotes of the classics of all the world literatures which inform and constitute the current version of our English language. If you want to improve your communication skills (especially if you work in a virtual world), this book should be on the top of your "to do" list. This is is a terrific book.

These are two charming eclectic collections of love poetry, on CD with accompanying books, which really ought to be purchased and reviewed together. The 10 actors, all talented, also present a varied lot. Each poem and each performance was enjoyable, some romantic, some funny, some thoughtful, some sad, ranging from modern to one written in the 3rd Century and all in between. Many of the poems were a surprise and the very fact of their inclusion was enchanting, for instance Simon Prebble's charming rendition of The Owl and the Pussycat, a poem whose acquaintance I made 50 years ago and which remains dear to me, on the Voices of Marriage CD. I reacted differently to each poem, to each actor, and to each performance and would assume that most listeners would also have highly personal reactions. There were many poems I was especially delighted to hear, as they were old favorites, others because they were newly met ones. There were two actors I found irresistible, whose every performance was wonderful: Simon Prebble, long a favorite, and Michael Wager, new to me. Most of the others were also superb. There were some who were decidedly less entrancing, however each actor did at least one poem no one else could have done better and every poem can be enjoyed as it was performed, on its own merits. The more I listen, the more I find to enjoy, even including the order in which the poems are presented. In all, this is a wonderful idea.

WE THREE is more than a scholarly dissertation, it's an accessible and wonderfully wrought exploration of the lives of women in Shakespeare's day, and the legacy of the witches we think we know (but don't, until now). Dr. Shamas brings the Weird Sisters to life in a thoughtful and provocative way. I couldn't put it down.

Useful small dictionary which very often has the definition I'm looking for and has great derivations.

The turning of the tide shows the uprise of the popularity of Shakespere. And rightly so too-it It seemed that for a while, his name was condemned to a fate of "just another white, male, Anglo-Saxon writer". This book has brought a different light to all of the plays that were once forgotten. Even though this book has also been forgotten and reshelved for the new, some libraries still have it, and I really enjoyed some of the offerings. My favorite was the "this is the way it actually happened" scenerio of Hamlet and the possible importance of Yorick. Another great one was the joke of the porn director trying to enlist the brightest stars of Hollywood to try to recapture the "prestige" of Hamlet with Mel Gibson. There is a little mention of Tom Stoppard in it too, which I liked. Recommended!

Caution: Not to be read by graduate students or untenured faculty who need to stay wedded to one particular ideology in the turf wars of literary criticism. (But a solace to those who enjoy maintaining their senses of humor about those who contend they are *the objective thinkers*.)

Pechter stays, if not *above* then at least remarkably non-attached to the ideological wars into which he provides insights. For the informed outsider, his wit and insight make for an enjoyable safari into the minds (and even emotions) of those professionally involved in lit crit. and theory. What a delight to see gibes with affection instead of venom, as when Pechter refers to Richard Levin as enjoying a "richly deserved and entirely honorable reputation for stirring up trouble..." or remarks on the irony of how at the end of an acrimonious conference, *everyone* seems to express a sentiment similar to Gayle Greene's "If you really want to know, I feel beset from all sides."

Pechter's final analysis is upbeat about the possibility of actual light being shed during the heat of Theory's ideology wars. Unfortunately, the very absence of personal attacks and diatribes may leave his insights largely unread by the warring factions. For students who afford to entertain a broader perspective on Critical Practice (not feeling pressed to join a 'side' in order to succeed at the academe) Pechter offers a breath of fresh (though not sanitized) air. Enjoy!

G. Wilson Knight's book, The Wheel of Fire, examines Shakespeare's later tragedies in the light of what Knight calls "spatial" correspondences. Through the examination of such works as Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth, King Lear and others, Knight shows that the themes considered in the plays are worked out not merely in the plot, but spatially as well, that is in the relationship of the characters to their background. This is to say that the characters and plot alone do not construct the theme, but the setting and other circumstances surrounding the chain of events of the story are also key to an understanding of the play's meaning. As Knight says, the idea is not to see the plays as realities but rather as artworks, which is to see them as expanded metaphors. Therefore all things contained within contribute to the overarching theme, and not the plot and characters alone. Knight suspects that this is what Aristotle means when he refers to the "unity of idea," where all elements hinge on their relation to the whole. Any serious study of Shakespearian tragedy ought to contain a reading of this classic scholarly work.

Professor Emeritus of English Gerald M. Pinciss presents Why Shakespeare: An Introduction To The Playwright's Art "demystifies" the talents and skills of the immortal bard, whose theatrical works were created centuries ago under conditions best called primitive yet which resonate among audiences worldwide today. Why Shakespeare explains the structural, plotting, theatrical, and language elements that distinguished Shakespeare's work in plain terms, avoiding technical jargon to better reach the lay reader as surely as the would-be playwright and the learned literary critic striving to better understand how Shakespeare's works so transcended their time. Particularly focusing on a dozen of Shakespeare's best-known plays, Why Shakespeare is highly recommended reading for all who appreciate and wish to better understand Shakespeare's genius.

Wild Women is a story about a naïve young woman who starts living her life for the first time at the age of 22. This story follows her escape from her parents to finding what she thinks she wants to what she realizes she really does want. It's well written and makes you think about the stereotypes of society. But most of all it allows you to believe in happily ever after again. It's a mainstream romance not unlike Ms. Bardsley's other Hard Shell novels, with the distinction of murder being involved. The female protagonist makes you believe that it can all be right in the world while the male protagonist questions everything and everyone. He is a very cynical person. But love triumphs all even if it takes time apart to realize that love is worth the risk. It's a wonderful story that I would recommend along with any other of Ms. Bardsley's stories.