William Shakespeare Books

MARKETING THE BARD: SHAKESPEARE IN PERFORMANCE AND PRINT, 1660-1740 is more than just another biographical sketch of the bard: it offers a business perspective in considering exactly how he rose above the rest of his colleagues to make his reputation over the centuries. Performance and publication alike affected his growth, with London theatre and key performances changing him from just another author to the most popular playwright of his times. Chapters focus on both theatre and publishing history, providing close inspections perfect for college-level audiences studying in either theatre or literature. In fact, the latter would do well to absorb the business/marketing aspects of this unusual approach to a often-covered bard.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

I found the book to be concise, detailed with historical records being references and where conjecture was made it was clearly noted. It brought the various families to life and expanded on my knowledge of the personal life of William Shakespeare.

The rival set on Harper is a much more elegant reading of with Gielgud and Richardson as Deputy and Duke. On the other hand, this is much more lively performance. Perhaps the Duke of Roger Allam is a little less noble than one expects in this role; but Simon Russell's Angelo is sufficiently villainous and Stella Gonet's Isabella is a strong one. The rest of the cast keeps things moving at a good clip. The tale of the Governor Who Lets Things Go Too Far is a very timely one in any age. Picture the present Mayor of New York's problems with law enforcement in a city that put political correctness before the safety of its citizens. And need we point out the obvious link with a High Official who uses his office to gain sexual favors from young women? And they say Shakespeare has nothing to say to a modern audience!!! This play should be studied in Political Science classes as well as in English ones.

This play is controversial because of the bizarre behaviour of the Duke and other characters but this production is sublime! By all means get a hold of it and be surprised how funny it is. Enough said except that if I could do it over again, I would buy the complete series of S's plays.

I was very satisfied with this version of William Shakespeare's "Measure for Measure." As far as Shakespeare goes, different editions of the plays can be drastically different, not generally in actual Shakespearian context, but in the quality and quantity of footnotes and helpful information. Throughout this book the footnotes are on the left-hand page while the actual play is on the right-hand page. There are also scene summaries in the footnotes at the beginning of each scene, which I found very helpful in understanding. There are also longer notes on some topics at the back of the book. As far as the footnotes go, I have been very satisfied with the amount of information and the layout of the book. My one complaint is that I purchased this book for a class and everyone else is using a different edition and for some reason the line numbers are different in my book from the ones that they are using. Mine are always higher, so I'm assuming I have some additional lines that were edited out in their version, but it causes some problems and I wonder which version is more widely accepted. Either way, I'm very satisfied with this edition and all the supplementary information it provides.

I picked up Measure for Measure knowing nothing about the play other than it was not an early work and that it was a comedy. I knew Shakespeare as an enjoyable Wit and was looking forward to a virtuoso display of the English Language. I certainly got this, but this is by no means a "light" play. In fact, the more I looked into it, the more disturbing it became.

The plot is quite involved with many twists and turns, based on many unlikely situations. Read it like any other comedy and you will be fine.

The characters are what's disturbing. There are no clear "white hats" in this story. Claudio sets his sister up which causes much of the story. The Duke handles people like puppets. Angelo is certainly not worthy of trust and there are some hints that the Duke even knows this when he leaves him in charge. Isabella? Well, there are two strong attributes to her personallity - Future Nun and also as Harold Bloom described her, the sexiest female character in Shakespeare.

There are many "lowlife" characters as well. Most important and probably most interesting would be Lucio who moves the plot around. Also quite interesting and infuriating would be Pompey.

I read it in the New Cambridge Edition. Brian Gibbons gives an interesting introduction which goes over the original context for the play, a discussion of its sources, as well as a production history. His notes to the text are also quite good. My eyes glazed over a bit on the textual analysis...not interesting to me at this point.

If you want "uplifting" or "inspirational", pick something else. If you are willing to let these interesting, ambigious characters into your mind, you will have a fine time as one of the finest artists of the English Language leads you around their stories.

Here's Shakespeare's most modern play, but also his most topical, about local laws in 1604, as the play came out, laws closing down suspect, illegal business in new shacks or "straight rooms" near the Globe Theater. The central action is what we call sexual harassment. Though set in the old London court system, this play resonates with our own times and with our social problems-- like Judge Judy's favorite complaint of young people living together, beyond the help of the law. Kamps' edition gets at the social context in a lively and thorough way, with many provocative documents.
Of course, some of the LEGAL activities surprise us, like bear-baiting a hundred yards from the Globe: the cruel national sport that Shakespeare had to compete with in bloody violence. A famous professional athelete has been arrested for similar sport in the US. Also a surprise to us is the sexual harassment and seduction, here done by theological discussion! This is the best edition of this wild play.

Perhaps its just me, but nothing beats the aesthetic of reading a classic like this one in a nice, little, unpretentious hardcover.

The quality of shakespeare cannot be underestimated. For those that tread the well worn path of Macbeth and Hamlet, the Merchant is not too far off the track as something different.

The cast do not outshine the story but still add the traditional life and warmth that everyone can enjoy.

The Arkangel production is a brilliant new collection of timeless classics. You will never be able to resist remembering those age old quotes. So shines a good deed in a weary world... enjoy

This play is very intresting! The play is funny and meaningful. It gives an insightful look on sexism and the way people react to life situations. The play pleads for peace and love.