William Shakespeare Books

This book is an excellent, and largely unbiased, discussion of CALIBAN (the character from Shakespeare's The Tempest) and traces the evolution of his perception as reflected in literary criticism, culture/politics, theatrical performance (stage and film), poetry, and visual art. An actor myself, when doing research on Shakespeare roles, the most efficient technique I've found is investigation of stage history. Most of the relevant literary criticism has at one time or another been reflected in stage history. Also, stage history is something I find more easily applicable to performance than literary criticism--for obvious reasons. In light of this bias, the only disappointment I had in the book is that I would have liked a longer chapter on stage history. Nonetheless, as the book surveys CALIBAN's history from so many perspectives, one comes away with a strong appreciation of the wide range of exploration available in playing CALIBAN. The numerous black & white figures are an added plus. Finally, any actor playing CALIBAN and hard-pressed to find research time would do well to at least read the chapter on scriptural analysis relevant to CALIBAN and the final chapter, which summarizes the entire book. Directors and designers would benefit from perusal of this text; however, the book does stick fairly close to its subject of CALIBAN, specifically, rather than The Tempest, in general. To close, Shakespearean actors would certainly benefit from more character-specific surveys like this book.

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The authors of this anthology would answer that question with an emphatic "yes!" Battenhouse's anthology brings together writings from an important school of Shakespearean criticism which holds that the Bard's works exemplify traditional Christian teachings as mediated by such thinkers as Boethius and, especially, St. Augustine. It is sometimes called the Augustinian school. A critic's assumptions can greatly influence his or her interpretation of a work. For example, Romantic critics, such as Coleridge and Bradley, hold that the character Hamlet's main problem is his vacillation in carrying out his father's ghost's demand that Hamlet revenge his murder. The Augustinians disagree. They believe there are numerous signs in the play that the ghost is actually a demonic hallucination intent on deceiving Hamlet. Horatio and Marcellus suspect this and tell Hamlet not to follow the ghost. Hamlet's decision to follow the ghost anyway, say the Augustinians, is the first of many errors he makes which result in the "accidental judgments, casual slaughters" with which he ends so many lives, including his own. In fact, Hamlet's whole ethic of revenge is very dubious morally, as are the suicides of Romeo, Juliet, and Othello. Shakespeare's Christian Dimension challenges many widely-held assumptions about the meaning of the plays. These critics anchor their interpretations firmly in the moral and theological writing of Elizabethan and earlier times. Battenhouse has assembled a fine group of critics here. His book is well-organized and easy to use. One need not read the whole book to get the Augustinian view of a particular play. The book is a feast for lovers of Shakespeare.

AMAZINGLY,THIS BOOK IS RELATIVELY UNKNOWN. I'VE SPENT OVER 40 YEARS DIRECTING AND ACTING SHAKESPEAREAN TRAGEDY AND I CAN CONFIDENTLY SAY THIS IS ONE OF THE VERY BEST ON THIS SUBJECT. IT IS FAR BETTER THAN ANY OF THE OTHER BOOKS THAT HAVE COME OUT IN THE PAST 40 YEARS.

I happened into this volume because a major student of all Petrarchan and Shakespearean sonnets (Thomas Roche) deemed it, "one of the most exciting and informative books on the Sonnets I have read in many years." I am well rewarded for having taken the bait.
Melchiori chooses to focus ("experiments") on four sonnets that are alike is being very different in address than other sonnets: #s 94, 121, 129, and 146 (with reference of course to many others for contrast, etc.). He identifies these sonnets as 1) "non-You" sonnets - not written as if *to* his subject; and 2) meditations on some subject other than the traditional (Love). Sounds like a strange starting point, but Melchiori fills a couple hundred pages with intriguing (to the sonnet-obsessed) insights and implications for the tradition-breaking among the sonnets.
Lots of thought-provoking insights not covered by other authors.

This book makes an excellent argument for this being a true portrait of Shakespeare. I was convinced that this is Shakespeare. I do not understand why this image does not become the standard illustration in Shakespeare books and plays, and why Shakespeare scholars and enthusiast and actors have not embraced this image, which has more claim to authenticity than any other. The book is well researched and written with clear facts and thoughtful points.Shakespeare's Face

Shakespear's Friends is a book that enhances knowledge about William Shakespear, as it gives insight into the type of man he really was. Many of William Shakespear's friends were from royalty, yet others were from those he worked with, and many of his friends were from the working class. Through his body of work, one can tell William Shakespear valued friendship.

The book is broken into different periods of his life, his friends in Stratford before he left for London, friends in London, friends he knew from his profession. Among his friends were Elizabeth I, James I, Francis Collins, Richard Field, and countless more. His friends transended the lines of gender, and class. As he had female friends, as well as those that were from all lines of work. One can tell he was readily able to draw characters in his places from personal knowledge of a variety of people.

It's a crime that this book is out of print. This is the best plot-writing book I have discovered. Although the topic is play-writing, the lessons apply to fiction-plotting as well. Gibson dissects parts of 8 or 10 Shakespeare plays, showing in detail how the Bard achieved some of his most striking dramatic effects. I read numerous writing-guides while working on my novel "Direct Action," and this was far and away the best for building a coherent plot. -- Luke Hauser

I am grasping this chance to sing the praises of this book, as I buy it again! I had a copy that I showed around to students and other interested people so much that the poor thing fell apart! Anyone interested in the Elizabethan stage as space and as a platform for performance should love this book. It informs the reader about the research that went into the rebuilding of the Globe, and thus, uniquely, gives possibility for insights into the Shakespearean playing space, multiple staging possibilities, multiple sightlines, etc. Rereading any Shakesperean play after a thorough encounter with this book opens possibilities for a whole new and enriched experience! It is richly illustrated, which helps too! Try it -- but leave another copy for me! This new one is bound to go to bits too.

This little version of Shakespeare's 'Hamlet' is a sparkling gem, thanks to the dynamic illustrations by Tintin Pantoja. Since this play is a familiar favorite of mine I really didn't need another copy of it, but the beguiling cover art convinced me to indulge, and I wasn't disappointed.

The text inside is pure Shakespeare - the play has been skillfully pruned, but thankfully not paraphrased. The story moves along briskly with distinctive character designs, varied panel layouts, and brilliantly expressive figures. I keep returning to the beginning of Act V to appreciate my favorite scene: Hamlet by the graveside, cradling the skull of "poor Yorick", the jester from Hamlet's childhood. Two illustrations show Hamlet as a child enjoying the company of Yorick, and such is the advantage of this medium (manga/graphic novel) - that we can see Hamlet as a young adult in one panel and Hamlet as a child in the next.

I can only imagine that this manga edition would be an engaging first encounter with the play, but I can say with certainty that this is a pleasant reacquaintance with an old familiar favorite.