Play Groups Books

After a spate of books in queer studies anachronistically identifying this or that work as "gay," Alan Sinfield produced this thoughtful, accessible book that gives gay readings their due while simultaneously attempting to read things with a sense of historical responsibility, postulating the Oscar Wilde trial of 1896 as a marker for the formation of a queer identity that incorporates effeminacy into its battery of indicators. A smart, responsible, and well-written study.

"The Wilde Century" positions Oscar Wilde as the archetypal queer of the 20th Century (although perhaps not too far beyond), and as such it's insightful and enormously entertaining. Those not familiar with gender studies will marvel as Sinfield neatly constructs a convincing paradigm of queer/homosexual history. If you'd like a readable introduction to the germ of queer theory I'd recommend this book.

I ordered this book for my sister who was struggling with an online college English course. She could not understand Shakespeare and was really having a hard time. I found this book on Amazon and had it sent to her. She not only understands Shakespeare now, she actually enjoys it! The original writing is on one side of the page, and the plain English version is right beside it. Wonderful!! I have no doubt my sister will now make an A in her class as well as become a fan of Shakespeare!

Let me begin by saying that Hamlet is truly an amazing play. By far, my favorite drama, Shakespearian or otherwise. Telling the story of a man searching for the light amid mind-boggling darkness, Hamlet reveals more about the conflicts people face in their own lifetimes than any other piece of literature.

This edition includes an introduction about the life of Shakespeare, including a completed works list, and even some words of his own creation. After the unabridged play, several very noteworthy critical reviews reveal more and more about Hamlet than any other comparable binding. At the price and information contained within in its pages, you simply cannot find a better edition of this awe-inspiring drama.

As a college student who had to write a paper on Hamlet,Again,I of course had to get away from any classic ideas about the play. Being a student with a talent for writing I would never be able to "get away with," these common theories, as professor's expect much more. This book really helped me to create a rather ambitious and interesting thesis; one which went against the criticisms in the book, and was refreshingly new.

I like the individual criticisms in this book as they really force you to look harder for textual evidence. One of the BEST things about the book was that it included the whole play as well. That was so useful because I didn't have to juggle two books -one of them being the complete works of Shakespeare which weighs about 20lbs. I was able to take this book everywhere and work on it whenever I had spare time.

However, I would not sugesst this book for an individual who does not have a very strong background in Hamlet. You need to know the play Extremely well in order for this book to benefit you. If you do not know Hamlet inside and out, then this book will only cause confusion and you should probably stay away from it, as the theories may be difficult to comprehend.

I'm not ashamed to admit it. I find Shakespeare difficult. I need help. The Cambridge School Shakespeare editions, with the classroom activities and assignments on each facing page, give me the focus and direction I need to finally truly enjoy the text.

I thought I didn't like Shakespeare until I took a class on several of the plays. It turns out that I love Shakespeare when I'm doing close reading or studying it carefully but for whatever reason I find it extremely difficult to do on my own. The Cambridge School editions allow me to replicate the classroom experience on my own, providing enough background and questions for critical thought that I keep a close focus on the text. Previous times I've attempted to read 'Hamlet' I was struggling just to figure out what was going on; reading this edition I was analyzing the characters and considering different acting and directing choices. It's amazing.

NOTE: THE FOLLOWING CHIEFLY PERTAINS TO THE NEW FOLGER LIBRARY EDITION.

William Shakespeare's "Hamlet" is arguably the most famous play ever written in the English language; it presents the world with questions and characters that have been the subject of thespian and scholarly debate ever since the Prince of Denmark's first appearance on the stage of London's Globe Theatre. Probably written and first performed in 1601 (estimates vary between 1600 and 1602), the play draws on Saxo Grammaticus's late 12th/early 13th century chronicle "Gesta Danorum," which includes a popular legend with a similar plot centering around a prince named Amleth; as well as several more contemporaneous sources, primarily Francois de Belleforest's "Histoires Tragiques, Extraicts des Oeuvres Italiennes de Bandel" (1559-1580), which expands on the story told in the "Gesta Danorum," and a lost play known as the "Ur-Hamlet" (i.e., original "Hamlet"), sometimes also attributed to Shakespeare, but equally likely written by a different author a few decades earlier. Another work frequently cited in this context is 16th century playwright Thomas Kyd's "Spanish Tragedie."

Pursuant to Shakespeare's wishes and like all of his works, "Hamlet" was not immediately published, and the original manuscript did not survive. However, in the absence of copyright laws or other forms of protection of what today would be called the playwright's intellectual property rights, first bootleg copies (so-called quartos) based on transcripts made during or after performances began to appear in 1603. Yet, it would not be until 1623 - seven years after Shakespeare's 1616 death - that his former fellow actors John Hemmings and Henry Condell published 36 of his plays (including this one) in a collection known as the First Folio.

As no print version of any of Shakespeare's plays has a bona fide claim to its author's first-hand blessings, ever since the Bard's death the world is left with numerous questions about his characters' motivations and psychological makeup; first and foremost, in this particular case: who is this Prince of Denmark anyway, and what's driving him - is he a reluctant suicide or reluctant avenger? A Renaissance man? Wrecked by Freudian guilt? Genuinely mad, or merely putting on a clever act of deception? Or is he someone else entirely? - Indeed, we're even left in doubt as to what exactly it was that Shakespeare meant his characters to say, with all attendant interpretative consequences: Does the Prince wish for his "too too sullied" or his "too too solid" flesh to "melt, thaw, and resolve itself into a dew" in his first major soliloquy (Act I, Scene 2)? Does he really contemplate "the stamp of [that] one defect" which may fatally taint the perception of a man's other virtues, "be they as pure as grace," before meeting his father's ghost (I, 4)? Does Polonius, when sending Reynaldo on a spying mission after Laertes, refer to his scheme as "a fetch of wit" or "a fetch of warrant" (II, 1)? Do Hamlet's musings in "To be, or not to be" (III, 1) concern "enterprises of great pith and moment" or "of great pitch and moment," whose "currents turn awry and lose the name of action" by his doubts? Does or doesn't the sight of the Norwegian army while Hamlet is on his way to England (IV, 4) prompt him, who has so far failed to carry out his purpose, to reflect "How all occasions do inform against me," and conclude his soliloquy with the vow "from this time forth my thoughts be bloody or be nothing worth"?

How you answer any of these questions, and how you consequently view the play's characters, depends in no small part on the text you read. Like all Folger Shakespeare editions, this one is based on what the editors have deemed the "best early printed version," while allowing the reader a unique direct comparison of the principal reliable versions by including a text essentially combining these versions, with unobtrusive markers characterizing those passages appearing only in one particular version. For "Hamlet," the editors eschewed the play's very first (1603) quarto, which was possibly compiled by a journeyman actor and whose inconsistencies with all subsequent versions (textually as well as plot-wise and even regarding character names) have caused it to be generally considered a "bad" quarto, in favor of the 1604 Second Quarto, which some even believe to be based on Shakespeare's own first draft of the play and which, in any event, while more extensive than the 1623 First Folio (in turn, thought to be closest to the version(s) actually produced on the Globe Theatre stage), boasts about as secure a claim of authenticity as the latter. In some instances, the text follows the Second Quarto (Q2) without visually alerting the reader to the differences vis-a-vis the First Folio (F1), thus compelling those more used to the latter version to seek out the extensive end notes to reassure themselves that (in the examples given above) it might indeed be "solid flesh," "warrant," and "pith and moment" (F1) instead of "sullied flesh," "wit," and "pitch and moment" (Q2). In other instances, however, the First Folio's language (clearly marked as such) is given preference over that of the Second Quarto; while crucially, the text also includes all those passages *only* contained in the latter, including the "stamp of one defect" and "bloody thoughts" monologues, whose interpretation has such a direct bearing on many a reader's understanding of Hamlet's character.

The text is amplified by illustrations and annotations for those unfamiliar with 16th century English, scene-by-scene plot summaries, a short biography of Shakespeare, and introductory and concluding essays on this and the Bard's other plays and on Shakespearean theatre, as well as extensive suggestions for further reading, and a key to the play's most famous lines. While it is unlikely that after 400 years of debate any one version, be it in print, on stage or on screen, will be able to generate unanimous acceptance as the "definitive" rendition of this complex play, this is an excellent starting point for an in-depth excursion into the Prince of Denmark's world.

Also recommended:
The Oxford Shakespeare: The Complete Works 2nd Edition
BBC Shakespeare Tragedies DVD Giftbox
Olivier's Shakespeare - Criterion Collection (Hamlet / Henry V / Richard III)
William Shakespeare's Hamlet (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Grigori Kozintsev's Hamlet
Hamlet
Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead
Peter Brook's King Lear
Richard III
Julius Caesar

I'm sorry to slam something that has clearly moved so many people as has this monologue script. I also hasten to note that I'm frequently out of step with the tastes of general public, so feel free to take what I'm about to say with a grain of salt....

I do NOT, in ANY way, get the merits of this book/play! What are we going to read about next -- our anuses? The spaces between our toes? Our tongues? ("My tongue, when it curls -- warmly, trustingly, joyously -- against my hard palate... brings me home to myself....")

This piece of work strikes me as the HUGEST fit of public navel-gazing (except lower down, of course) in the past 30 years -- and when you think about some of the writing we've seen in this time, that's going some. On the other hand, maybe it's the naturally-arising response to the massive cuts in NEA funding in this country:

The 15-year surge of one-man and one-woman monologues in our non-profit theatres is purely due to the fact that there's virtually no money anymore for full stage productions. Costumes, sets, and ensemble casts have given way to a solitary actor standing on stage under a single spot, in black slacks and the obligatory "gem-toned" shirt, possibly using a prop or two as s/he describes some aspect of his/her life to the audience. Many times, this is good theatre -- I don't suggest it's not. My point is that this kind of low overhead allows both the actor and the venue to make a BIT of money out of their efforts, whereas a real play no longer can.

So here's the logical extension: You can't slash overhead more than by offering a monologue, but you CAN raise attendance by making the monologue all about vaginas! Please note this bit of dialogue from "Curb Your Enthusiasm":

[Actress who got the part:] Here's to "The Vagina Monologues"!

[Manager who got her the part:] Here's to the vagina!

Recognizing the deadly forces arrayed against our American dramatists today, I hate not to support them. But my support stops short of reading -- or attending "dramatic" productions of -- irrelevant tripe. Life is just too short.

A MUST read for any woman, empowering! Was a quick read, left me wanting more, LOVED IT.

Three friends and I read this book in conjunction and we could not stop talking about it. It's a quick read, sparks thought and emotion.

I'd heard of this book and of several performances from many friends and I finally got a chance to read it myself when my (lesbian) roommate was given it for Christmas and brought it back to school with her. We ended up reading it out loud to each other as bedtime stories every night until we finished the book. Some chapters and topics were hard to vocalize but since we were reading it to each other we always had someone else to talk to about the feelings and issues. I think alot of people would get more out of the book if they had seen performances of it or had read it aloud. I can understand why people think the book isn't what they thought it should be. However, every story, no matter how little it had to do with my own personal experiences, made me feel better about me and made me want to go out and help others.

If readers begin to read expecting to be changed, they will be disappointed. Change usually happens when unexpected things happen to us and we react. Open minds are a must. I also wouldn't let anybody under the age of 14 or 15 read it.

This is one of those books that can stick in your mind long after you've finished it, especially if you are one who is an advocate for women's rights and for the safety of women against violence. Ensler's frankness is both refreshing and startling to varying degrees, depending on your comfort level. I found it hard to put down, and read it in one evening.

I haven't seen the dvd yet, nor have I attended a live performance, but I have heard about V-Day and TVM for many years. This is a quick read, and I am so glad I read it because it has caused me to respect and admire Eve Ensler that much more: her work has led to V-Day being recognized all around the world in the aim raise to awareness to STOP VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN once and for all.

Initially, I was taken aback by the title, but I think it's appropriate. The level of violence mentioned in the collection of her monologues is shocking, to say the least. Her monologues are based on her many interviews she had with women from all walks of life, from around the world. I only wish the monologues were longer, or that she had included more of them! Some pieces are hysterically funny, others made me stop midway and reflect on the violence others have suffered.

TVM is also a celebration of women's sexuality and their most intimate parts. We aren't dirty. Why do we continue to listen to ads and society that tell us in myriad ways that we are??

Lots of kudos to Eve Ensler for helping to shake and wake the world up!

If you are a teacher, I would look into buying another audio version of Romeo and Juliet. I have been using it as a tool to get the students to hear professional actors and to then ask them to use the same skills those professional actors use (inflection, emphasis, etc.) The problem is it is VERY difficult to hear...to the point that you have to sit 3 feet away to hear it at times. This simply does not work for a classroom.

The notes that John Andrews gives on all the Everyman Shakespeare editions that he edits are fabulous. I think his editions are the most user friendly for any actor, student, director and teacher. Some publishing house should get Mr. Andrews to do all the plays.

Poor Romeo.

Watching Romeo meander his way through the play is like tailgating a drunk driver. At any moment he could crash, and in the end he overcorrects his assumptions by swallowing the poison, and in some ways his death must be a relief to his troubled mind.

Romeo's status in the story changes with nearly every scene, whether by his own doing or by an external entity. However, his circumstance reflects in almost every case his willingness to succumb to his passions. From his love of Rosalind to his love for Juliet to his exile, he is a bundle of nerves. Taking a time out would slow the pace, and instead Shakespeare quickens it by transplanting Romeo's moment of joy with Juliet with a moment of action and consequence: the death of Mercutio.

Giving Romeo the chance to be happy might damage his character. A great tragedy yet today. What makes it great is that the basic storyline pulls everyone in, and once the story captures, we can start to appreciate the minor characters, like Capulet and the Nurse.

Shakespeare defines teen angst in this romantic tragedy. 14-year-old Juliet and Romeo falls in love at a party despite their family's feud. There are movies made from this play, but nothing beats reading the play itself to relish the writing of Shakespeare. Heart-wrenching and beautiful.

Caution Scalawags: May Cause Pulmonary Failure!, July 29, 2004
Reviewer: Professor Emeritus Percy Q. Johnstone (Darkest India) - See all my
reviews
Yes dear reader, it is I, Professor Emeritus Johnstone. As you may have
divined, as Professor Emeritus of American Literature, I am well versed with
dramatic writings from our sister nation, England. Now, many of you are
unfamiliar with the work, as William Shakespeare is relatively unknown in
the bumpkin-ridden land you call "The Colonies". However, you
lucky few will discover a goldmine of quotes such as "Alack, Alack,
Alack" and other favorites. But I, Professor Emeritus Johnstone,
diverge. Yes yes. For those of you who wish to pursue the god-given purpose
of the most noble art of teaching American Literature, you must be familiar
with the works of Shakespeare. As you are stupid, and not a professor, like
I, Professor Emeritus Johnstone, you undoubtedly do not understand, but no
matter. The story of "Romeo and Juliet" is simple. it opens in a
court yard in Venice where the political rebels, Pyramus and Thisbe are
plotting to overthrow the evil fascist government (oh how I, Professor
Emeritus Johnstone know that feeling. I confess, dear reader, that once I,
Professor Emeritus Johnstone, lived in America until government stooges
exiled me to darkest India for poliical subterfuge. Suberfuge! Bah!). Alas,
Lord Capulet's men break into the meeting and arrest poor Pyramus and
Thisbe, casting them into the darkest dungeon. Ah, but fortune smiles on our
two heroes, for in the cell next to them are the "Star-burned
lovers" Romeo and Juliet, who were imprisoned for plotting to overthrow
the evil Capulet. Together, they escape the prison, kill all the
fascist-swine guards, and blow up the prison, bringing us, dear reader,
rather neatly to the end of Act I.
Act II opens in Lord Montague's (Lord Capulet's chief of security) hall,
where he has just made posters offering 5000 marks for the heads of the four
rebels. Enter the villain (mustache and all) Tybalt (cousin to Count Paris)
the bounty-hunter. Tybalt, in a scene that moved even I, Professor Emeritus
Johnstone, gives a heartrending "soliliquy" in which he mourns on
he pain of killing those whose politico agendas you support. Thus ends Act
II. In Act III, we find...ROMEO WORKING FOR LORD CAPULET! He has become a
traitorous lap-dog to the very system he despises (oh reader, how I,
Professor Emeritus Johnstone, know this feeling!). Pyramus and his rebel
army storm the palace, and in the final scene, Pyramus kills his traitorous
lover, Romeo, driving a dagger through his jugular...only to find out that
Romeo was a spy. Pyramus then jumps out the highest tower in penance to end
the play.
Genius. Every potential collegiate scamp should read this edition, for it
has a preface by one of the greatest scholars of our age...none other than
I, Professor Emeritus Johnstone.
Hark, I hear my Biddy calling me to gruel and morning prayers. As Hamlet
said, "Adieu Fair Readers!"

Bitterly,
--Professor Emeritus Percy Q. Johnstone

Fences is a fantastic play by August Wilson. It expresses very real emotions and language, and it is an enjoyable read.

My daughter had to read this book as an English class assignment and at times would ask for my input- I had never read any of August Wilson's work -I read the book so that I'd be able to discuss the book with her. I'm really glad I did but a bit sad that I'd just gotten around to Mr. Wilson's work. I enjoyed this book and will make it a point to read others.

The play by August Wilson is about a family life filled with happiness, sad and selfish moments. I chose the book named Fences because this book let me learn a lot on how relationships change between married couples and parents to sons. In the play, a man name Troy Maxson is the household of the family. He wants his son to play basketball in the college and he puts lot of hope on him, but one day he changes his mind about the dream. He thinks his son will not able to go to college; they always have fought on something. Troy always talks to his friend On Friday night. He wants to let people know he is the leader and can do anything he want. One time he has done something that makes his family hate him so mach because he destroy the family. Do you want to know what happen? Go to find out more and you can discuss with me. No one cares about him any more even his best friend. My family always had argument on something that cause us to get bad temper, no one in the house was happy about what was going on. People see each other everyday, but then their relationship will change, either good or bad, depending on how you see the situation. I always hear arguments in my house that makes me feel sad; I don't know what to do. The only thing I do is pretend nothing happen. Troy and his son have argues on something, then they change to not talk anymore and his son never come to see him anymore. So different people have different feeling on their emotion.

This book was okay. the pages were yellowing and some lines were highlighted, but it was as expected.

Interesting play. Good for a summer-reading assignment. I enjoyed the plot but it did end up being a bit depressing.

The book came in perfect condition and in a very timely fashion. I was pleased.

First, the content -- Ibsen's play is as powerful and -- perhaps surprisingly -- as relevant as ever in today's supposedly more gender-equalized culture. Nora Helmer's predicament as a woman who faces the seemingly impossible choice between self-development and family is treated in a masterful way by Ibsen, who in the process manages to work in connections between bourgeois domestic culture, money, and spirituality.

But this edition is very functional -- no notes and a brief intro only. I have to say that I was a bit shocked because the new copy I ordered looked like it had been pulled out from the bottom of some old craters because it even had the faint impression of a sole on it!

A Doll's House is an outstanding play that brings up many topics into question, topics such as gender roles, love in marriage, and self fulfillment vs. family duties and responsibility. I think that Nora's and Torvald's characters are excellently drawn out to show the extremes of what could go wrong in a seemingly normal and happy home in 19th century Europe. Gender roles, even though they have changed drastically over the century, have roots from the beginning of time that stick throughout the years. Roots such as that women are more likely to stay at home and men are more likely to be the ones to work; even though these days women and men are legally and socially equal. Nora's actions in the play were courageous and good intentioned, even though they went against her husband's wishes. I really liked how she was created to be so naive that she did not realize that she had no life of her own, but despite that naivete, she still understood that something was missing. Torvald, on the other hand, knew perfectly well that Nora was not living life as people should, but out of his selfishness, he let things be as they were; he enjoyed life that way. What I liked most about this play was Nora's decision to live and to learn and be her own person, even though that meant huge sacrifice on her part and that of her family's. Was she selfish in doing what she did? That question is hard to answer. Should one live for themselves or is that right gone once they have children? Usually, I would say that a mother's duty to her children comes before anything, even her own needs; but what made Nora's situation so difficult was that she was a child herself, she never had the choice to live her life, once she had the chance it's good that she took advantage of it. The play was definetely worth the time spent reading it.

This was quite an entertaining play! Very nice - I like it! In all seriousness, it's a fascinating story that revolves around the ideas of gender roles and the negativity that is associated with creating such distinctions in society. `Tis a well constructed (translated) piece, despite originating in Norway.

The characters within speak frequently and frankly, constantly interacting with one another. The simplicity with which this play is written is used to convey a broad message about how society is harsh towards those who do not live up to their associated gender roles. For example, Krogstad is seen by the other characters as a scroungy rogue, minus the charm, associated with being a divorced father of two.

While it may not be the sort of drama that can draw a sleazy crowd with a brief tagline or an action packed trailer, it entices it audience with realistically portrayed characters in a convincing setting with an invigorating premise. Oh, and it speaks for universal human efficacy.

Ibsen's best known play about the strictures imposed on women by society. It may be from a hundred years ago, but the plight of Nora and her world is a cautionary tale about life now.

Nora is simple and yet there is a complexity about her. Her naiveté is both her charm and her undoing. Torvald, her husband, is prominent and she is to be showy--a living doll. Nora is to be a mirror that reflects her husband beautifully.

The plot concerns financial woes in the marriage--and secrets kept and broken--in these, the story is not unlike most stressful marriages.

We can speculate about what Nora could or should have done but the die is cast.

This play is good for helping younger readers understand that assumptions about roles in marriage are still there, and have to be understood and discussed in order to help a marriage thrive.

If you have a place where you can read this aloud, try it. Plays were meant to be spoken. The translation is superb.

My almost 2 year old and I just love this book. We make up our own story to it (it doesn't have any words), and it changes a little bit here and there. But I like that because I can point out different aspects of the situation to her. I like that it shows the mom breast feeding and dad helping out since that is similar to our situation. She loves it and I have seen her mimic it (holding the baby, helping get diapers/wipes, etc.) with her brand new baby cousin - without being taught or asked! She just saw the new baby and did it - like the big girl in the book. It is really amazing how children can learn from pictures while they are working on learning the words that goes with them.

Our 27 month old son loves this book and its companion, "Waiting for Baby" by the same author. We talk about what's going on in the pictures and he's always noticing new things, even after repeated readings. I like this book because it presents the introduction of a new baby as a natural, happy event. The mom is pictured breastfeeding not once, but twice and the dad is shown changing diapers, dressing the baby, strapping on a baby carrier and cooking dinner. It is rare to find a book which depicts both parents so actively engaging in the the care of a newborn. And the illustrations are just gentle and sweet too. Great little books for anyone with a young child.

it takes a little imagination because there are no words to the book. but my son (2 years old) and i enjoy flipping through the pages and making up our own story (stories).

I was very disappointed with this book. Unfortunately I purchased "Waiting for Baby" in the same order but have not received it yet. The product description does not state that it is only a picture book.

Maybe it's my preggo brain, but I did not realize that this was a picture book with no words. I never would have purchased a picture book for my 2 1/2 year old. The pictures themselves are okay, but some words would have been nice.

Somewhere in England, 14th century. Nicholas, a monk on the lam, hooks up with a theatrical road company that's barely making the rent performing its repertoire of old chestnuts. (Small wonder, when one of the actors is a corpse. Their plays aren't the only things that stink) Dismayed by paltry box office receipts, Martin, the company's star and executive producer, fears he'll be driven out of show business by the big-budget horse & wagon tours that are dazzling audiences with realistic beheadings, miraculous transfigurations, plunging chandeliers, and other feats of divine light and magic.

Martin decides it's time for a last-ditch effort (no, this is not a reference to the late Brendan's interment). Aided by his fellow troupers: a dog-loving oldster, a discreet man-boy duo, a cunning strumpet, and a rum-soaked, nine-fingered senior thespian with a penchant for chewing up what little scenery there is to munch on, Martin drafts a brilliant business plan that results in the invention of (in order): investigative reporting, tabloid journalism, experimental theater, American sign language, and interactive infotainment.

Hit the road with this merry band of half-baked hams as they strike an
inadvertent blow for truth and justice, nearly losing their union cards
(and their heads!) in the process.

This is a really entertaining book, a mystery told by a master storyteller, with beautiful langauge but never a false step in the telling of a good story. Barry Unsworth offers us a mystery from the 14th century full of modern conceptions integrated into the narrative. We get a tale of child molestation and murder mixed with the social and class structure of the middle ages. Unsworth knows that modern readers will quickly follow the strucuture of the modern murder mystery and will try to get one step ahead of the narrator. He plays this to his advantage in a murder with twists and turns of plot that reveal much about the religious and social order of 14th Century England. One interesting aspect to the story was the concept of a group of actors radically changing the direction of theater by producing a play about a recent murder in a town instead of the typical morality plays. And yet this tale of a murder is in fact a morality play, since it explores the facts and beliefs about the murder in an attempt to reconcil different accounts and details that make the murder less tidy that those in power would wish. Unsworth is extremely skillful as a wordsmith, his prose is effortless and vivid and flowing. It is so nice to read a smart page-turner. It makes you wish to read more of Unsworth's work.

This brief novel is full of the things that make Barry Unsworth's writings so special: well crafted prose, fascinating and unusual characters, and a moral message worth pondering. The story involves a runaway priest who joins a group of actors (players) as they travel the English countryside. Upon entering a small village, the players decide to act out a murder that has just occurred in the town. The consequences of their play have far reaching effects for the village and the players alike. This is a wonderful story from a very talented writer.

I wasn't sure about this book in the beginning, but I love historical mysteries, so I tried it out. The narrator, Nicholas Barber, is a former priest who walked away from his place and joined a group of travelling players--remarkable for a time when you were born to a social station and stayed there all your life. That is, in fact, a recurring theme--being trapped in a role, escaping from it, choosing the part you play in your own life.
The mystery, which centers around the murder of a young boy, is interesting--true mystery lovers will probably figure out the ending long before the narrator does. But the surrounding story of Nicholas's development as a person and of the accused goat girl was interesting enough to keep me reading. Overall, it was a satisfying book.

Barry Unsworth's short novel "Morality Play" (1995) is a murder-mystery set in 14th century England, but it is much more. It is a story that explores the changing boundaries between the medieval and the modern and that illuminates the power of drama to help people understand their experiences.

The narrator of the book is a 23-year old priest, Nicholas Barber, who becomes restless with his calling, runs away, has a brief affair with a married woman, and meets a group of itinerant players who are burying one of their number. Nicholas joins the troupe which heads to a small village where they decide to make a play of the fresh murder of a 12-year old boy, Thomas Wells, in the community. A young deaf and dumb woman is being held for the murder. The troupe is compelled to perform their play for the local baron, Sir Richard de Guise (in a scene that reminded me of Hamlet's performance for Claudius). They come closer to the truth of the murder than they realize.

There are vivid pictures in this book of English medieval life, of corrupt monks and priests, plagues, dusty towns, jousting, knights, the life of wandering actors and performers called joungleurs, and much else. And the mystery itself is abosrbing. Nevertheless, in my reading I found these features of the book secondary.

I found "Morality Play" most intriguing in the character development of Nicholas and in the attendant picture of a rising modernity. Nicholas is dissatisfied in his budding life as a cleric and ultimately decides that the life of a clergyman is not for him. "The impulse to run away had not been folly but the wisdom of the heart," (p. 206) he concludes. There is a turn to secularization in Nicholas's story, and to finding and following one's own star in life.

Many other features of the novel illustrate the move to and nature of the modern temprament. The players initially object to performing a play based upon the murder of young Thomas Wells in part because the story is not biblically-based and the meaning of it in the divine plan is not revealed (unlike, say, the Fall, or the story of Cain and Abel.) But as a member of the troupe observes, "Men can give meanings to things. That is no sin because our meanings are only for the time, they can be changed." (pp.74-75)

The troupe decides to perform its story of Thomas Wells to make money, a distinctively modern motivation. The members of the troupe investigate the circumstances surrounding the murder, and their play suggests how art and science are means of approaching the truth. Ultimately the murder is solved by an investigator sent by the King, and the story has something to say about the relationship between a rising central government and medieval feudalism. Finally, a young woman of easy virtue, Margaret, has been accompaning the troupe as the mistress of one of the players. She also does a great deal of value for the troupe and contributes towards preparation of the play about Thomas Wells. Yet, the troupe does not consider her as one of their number due to her gender. She becomes highly angry with this and leaves the players to make her way on her own.

Thus, I think this book has a great deal to say about the growth of secularism and the rise of views of personal growth and personal identity, naturalism in art, strong civil government, gender issues, and other matters that move the story forward from the medieval time in which it is set. The "Play of Thomas Wells" is itself a drama that tells a story of our modern world and of the factors which have led to its development.

Robin Friedman

Of course Shakespeare's TEMPEST is an enchanting--and enchanted--play, but my comments here concern the DOVER THRIFT EDITION of the play. Dover is to be commended for making texts such as these affordable for readers on a budget. However, students and teachers alike should note that the Dover edition does not supply line numbers. Students who are considering this text for a class and may have to write about it will not be able to cite specific line numbers as is convention (Act.scene.lines; e.g., 3.1.34-47). Professors and teachers should also be aware of this limitation and weigh it against the affordability of this text.

I have my degree in English... I like reading and teaching with this version as "help" not as a substitution. It gives a clearer understanding to Shakespeare for people who have difficulty with it.

I bought this copy admittedly because the magical artwork on the cover drew me towards this edition. I admit that it is shallow but I am very glad I ended up picking this one because it contains a wealth of information that is so perfect for helping students understand the context, background, themes and ideas contained within this beautifully written play.

Shakespeare is always difficult for us young people, but I can easily promise anyone that this edition does a fine job of explaining the play and it definately helps the reader to gain a better understanding of the play so you are prepared to go into an exam and write about it for two hours with the conviction that you will yield good results.

The Tempest is rightly regarded as being one of the Bard's greatest works, containing some of his deepest thoughts on the nature of power and the relationship between rational man as controller of nature, and the animal man always to be at the mercy of the passions both of himself, others, and the world around him. In fact, this play could be thought of as representing Shakespeare's final and definitive statement on topics that he had explored throughout his cannon. But profound as the philosophy is, and despite the beauty of the poetry and the many magical elements contained within the play, the fact is that as far as the average attention lacking teenager is concerned, not a lot happens. This is why this Cambridge schools edition scores over most others. It is almost entirely activity focused, the expressed aim being to 'bring the play to life'. With at least one suggested activity beside each page of Shakespeare's text (as well as a decent amount of background notes and interpretation), every teacher armed with this book should be able to enthuse his charges with the very real relevance of this play to the world which we have bequeathed them.

I recently re-read THE TEMPEST prior to attending The Colorado Shakespeare Festival's performance of this play under the summer stars here in Boulder. Shakespeare (1564-1616) produced this emotionally-moving, poetic romance at the end of his career, in 1611, and published it in the First Folio in 1623. In fact, it was his last play.

It tells the story of Prospero, the exiled duke of Milan, and his beautiful daughter, Miranda, who have been stranded for twelve years on a desert island with two servants, the airy sprite Ariel (who Prospero rescued from being imprisonment in a tree) and the savage Caliban. Upon learning that his usurping brother Antonio is sailing near the island with the Neopolitan King Alonso's party, he uses his magic powers to conjure a sea storm that not only leaves the ship and its passengers wrecked on the island, but which also sparks a courtship between his daughter and the king's son, Ferdinand. The survivors of the wreck are separated into several groups, believing one another dead. Three subplots then alternate through the play. In one, Caliban befriends two drunken crew members, whom he believes to have come from the moon, and drunkenly attempts to raise is own rebellion against Prospero. In another, Prospero works to establish the romantic relationship between Ferdinand and Miranda. In the third subplot, Ariel thwarts a murder plot at Prospero's command.

The shipwrecked passengers are eventually reunited by island spirits to discover the marriage of Miranda and Ferdinand. In the end, as its title suggests, THE TEMPEST is as much about the opening scene's violent storm, as the journey that brought Prospero to the island and the psychological storm--"the sea change"--leading him to quit his magic and his remote island to return to Milan.

G. Merritt

As Harold Bloom says, this has become an unplayable play after the Holocaust. This is only an additional reason why one should read it. The play is fantastic and gives us one of Shakespeare's most memorable characters: Shylock. Whether you see him as villain or victim, Shylock is unforgettable. As is his speech defending the Jewish.

Anti-festive character who is Shylock on this play sacrificed unjustly. Shylock is a character who is legally invoking his rights as a money-lender among the community which experiencing transition from agriculture society to capitalistic society. Moroever, the character Portia's defending Bassanio as an disguised attorney is unreasonable in some ways and speech is crude, indeed.
In my opinion, to reach the axiomatically righteous conclusion, we should reverse pur point of view toward the 'Justice'. It is a transformation of way of our thinking. Therefore, I recommend rhis masterpiece for someone who aspire to ponder about our human being's viewpoint.

THE MERCHANT OF VENICE can be described as a tragedy only if one follows the modern definition of "tragedy" and not the Greek. The genre of tragedy in which Shakespeare wrote required that all of the players, or at least all of the main players, die at the end, à la ROMEO AND JULIET, JULIUS CAESAR, MACBETH, and HAMLET. In fact, MERCHANT OF VENICE can only be described as a tragedy if Shylock is seen as the main character and not Antonio. (Note, in the list of players at the beginning of the play, only Antonio is called a "merchant of Venice".) In sum, THE MERCHANT OF VENICE can only be described as a tragedy if it is completely removed from its historical context.

Shakespeare intended that the actions taken by Antonio, by Shylock, by Bassanio, and even by Portia be seen as comically extreme. Antonio goes to the lengths of seeking help from a man he despises to help a man he loves. Shylock demands nothing but justice, even when the demands of the agreement he made is met and even doubled. Everywhere in this play is there action taken to the extreme.

Only a refusal to acknowledge the historical context would be blind to the comedy. There are stage plays, television shows, and screenplays aplenty which follow the example set forth in MERCHANT OF VENICE, showing how comical people can be when their actions are taken to the extreme. If MERCHANT OF VENICE can be view in THIS context, then the comedy shines through.

As a writer, I find it comical that anyone would use MERCHANT OF VENICE to point the finger of "racism" at Shakespeare. Part of a writer's challenge is to present convincingly views even he or she disagrees with. The best writer would try to dismantle and disprove the very beliefs he or she holds dear. That Shakespeare has often been judged a racist based on his portrayal of Shylock serves only as testimony to the continuing success of this play. Shylock's speech, complimented by another reviewer, is ample proof that Shakespeare's own views are well hid. Shylock's speech demonstrates magnificently that Shakespeare was able to get inside the head of any man (or woman) in his stories and write the words which that man would speak, faithfully render the thoughts which that man would think, have that man act as only that man would act, and all of it be believable. Simply put, unless you knew beforehand a writer's views on any subject, it would be difficult to find the needle of truth in his or her haystack of fiction if that writer has done their job well, and in this case Shakespeare was damned near flawless!

It is true that the movie, starring Al Pacino, does not present this play as a comedy, but that hardly detracts from its excellence. It shows, in fact, that MERCHANT OF VENICE plays well as both a drama and a comedy. In our age, however, given the importance of religious tolerance, I'll admit that it is probably best played as a drama.

As for the Pelican series of Shakespeare's plays, they are an excellent resource for anyone wanting to read and study the Bard's work. I've several volumes in this series and hope to eventually own them all. Each volume contains two identical essays, "The Theatrical World" (which provides a good understanding of the historical context, as well as an idea of just how much we know about Shakespeare as an individual) and "The Texts of Shakespeare" (which gives more historical context and also discusses some of the difficulties which editors have experienced in presenting these plays in print to modern audiences). There is then an introduction to each play, which is best left unread until afterwards if you aren't familiar with the play. The footnotes are few, but well-chosen, and do help in understanding words and phrases whose meanings have changed over the centuries.

Shylock is the only sympathetic character in the play. Modernity has altered the villain in "The Merchant of Venice" from Shylock to the entire cast of characters EXCEPT for Shylock. Any sense of comedy in the play died for those with a sense of religious tolerance, and Shylock comes off as merely oppressed. I found Act 5 almost nauseating after the forced conversion. That, coupled with the happy racism makes a perversion of decency and happy endings. This play is a tragedy. The recent movie version done starring Al Pacino turned it into a tragedy, and amazingly, a play written as a comedy seems to work very well as a tragedy.

Antonio gladly spits upon Shylock and calls him a dog, but stunningly, when Antonio finds himself in a financial pinch he goes to Shylock for money. More brash is Antonio's promise to act the same in the future: "I am as like to call thee so again, / To spet on thee again, to spurn thee, too." (1.3.127-28) From this point on, sympathy for Antonio is paralyzed in a modern reader's mind, from reminders of past images, from slavery and anti-Semitism, where the dehumanizing of a group of people is accepted by a society. The entire text afterward reads like an indictment of humanity, as if Shakespeare is making the Elizabethans laugh at their own behavior.

In perhaps the best argument in Shylock's defense in the trial, he point out the fact that those who speak of mercy own slaves. "What judgment shall I dread, doing no wrong? / You have among you many a purchased slave." (4.1.89-90) Shylock, as fanatical as he is over the pound of flesh, is asking for only a pound of a man, when the slaveholders own the entire person. The play is littered with prejudiced remarks that clearly show how animalistic Shylock was to them.

Every conversation involving Shylock has ridicule from the Christians, without remorse or a feeling of comedy. The Christian children are taught to mock Shylock, they run after him in the street. The merchants spit on him, the Duke reviles him, his daughter renounces her religion and robs him.

Still an amazing story, with a few of the best on mercy and prejudice ever written.

The New Folger Library of Shakespeare's Tragedies and Comedies are among the best pocket editions available for the student and the journeyman lover of the Bard.

Before the actual text of the play which is wisely presented on the right hand page with explanatory notes (metaphors, allusions, similes, etc.) facing on the left hand page (words and phrases are defined by scholars based on their usage during Shakespeare's time; if scholars are inconclusive as to meaning, the word `uncertain' is used to connote this disagreement), the usual `Reading Shakespeare's Language', `Shakespeare's Life', `Shakespeare's Theatre', `Publication of Shakespeare's Plays' and `Introduction to the Text' introduce the reader to the Shakespearean world. Following the text, an essay by Alexander Leggatt follows illuminating `The Merchant of Venice' for the modern reader. In addition, an eleven page `Further Reading' list pinpoints books and essays on topics like the play itself, Shakespeare, the time in which he lived and the Globe Theatre. Rounding out the vital information is a three page "Key to Famous Lines and Phrases" complete with speaker and verse notation.

As far as the play itself, I will keep my remarks limited, saying only that for the modern audience, Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice" borders on the provocative. All with politically correct upbringing or today's cultural sensitivity training cannot help but focus on the reigning prejudice of the early Medieval and Renaissance time period, namely the exclusion of Jews from all forms of normal life since mainstream thought withheld that this race was primarily responsible for Christ's crucifixion.

Indeed, today's reader will pose the question as to whether or not this play should be deemed more tragedy than comedy and must remember that as a comedy, "The Merchant of Venice" focuses on marriage, couples (Bassanio/Portia, Lorenzo/Jessica, Gratiano/Nerissa) and their emotional and financial interrelationships and uses sly humor and innuendo to poke fun at Venice's societal `outsiders'(Shylock, Morocco, Aragorn and in a lesser sense Antonio) who do not form a Shakespearean couple per se. Looked at from this perspective, the character of Shylock becomes simply the play's foremost societal outcast, in spite of the famous speech where he asks seemingly so poignantly, "If you prick us, do we not bleed?"

Bottom line: Shakespeare is Shakespeare. If your modern sensibilities are offended by Shakespeare's treatment of Shylock the Jew, the Prince of Morocco and the Prince of Aragorn and question the unhappy and solitary Antonio's intense feelings for Bassanio, simply keep in mind that the world at that time looked at such things differently. Within the definition of comedy, this play with its multitude of lovely speeches and images works well indeed. The New Folger Library edition simply makes the play more easily accessible and understood on the various levels of language and scholarship. I recommend this series wholeheartedly.

Diana F. Von Behren
"reneofc"