|
| The Pocket Companion to Shakespeare's Plays | 
 enlarge | Authors: Jc Trewin, Stanley Wells
Creator: Judi Dench
Publisher: Mitchell Beazley
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
Buy New: $1.35
You Save: $13.60 (91%)
New (29) Used (10) from $1.35
Avg. Customer Rating:  1 reviews
Sales Rank: 956957
Media: Hardcover
Edition: Revised Edition
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 208
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 3.9 x 0.7
ISBN: 1845331281
Dewey Decimal Number: 822.33
EAN: 9781845331283
ASIN: 1845331281
Publication Date: July 1, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: BRAND NEW! As pictured, thank you.
|
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
This compact and portable volume will quickly enlighten readers and enhance their enjoyment of both the written word and the plays in performance. For each of Shakespeares 39 plays there is a synopsis of the plot, a list of characters and notes on the chief figures, and a resume of the performance history. The book also includes a critique on the poems and sonnets, a history of the Shakespearean theatre and the early players, a background to the Apocrypha of plays attributed to Shakespeare, and a selected glossary of Elizabethan English. The book is readily consultable on the spot and will enhance the enjoyment of any Shakespearean production.
|
| Customer Reviews:
A Useful Pocket Sized Resource - Despite the Small Font May 30, 2008
I still use my Simon and Schuster Pocket Companion to Shakespeare's Plays (1989) to check on the date of a particular play, to glance over a synopsis, or the find the name of a character that I have forgotten, despite my increasing use of Wikipedia now days.
The plays are arranged chronologically. (We should be thankful for those meticulous Victorian scholars a century ago that helped create the now accepted sequence of Shakespeare's works. In fact, there is a 35-page biography section that briefly outlines the contributions of key Shakespearean actors, directors, critics, and scholars.) There is small section on Shakespeare's poetry and sonnets.
Three or four pages, sometimes more, are devoted to each play with sections titled Synopsis, In Performance, In Other Terms (e.g., films), and Chief Characters.
There are two brief sections on major Shakespearean Theatres and Shakespearean Festivals. The Select Glossary on Shakespeare's English (roughly 900 terms) might prove useful as a study guide, although I typically rely on footnotes and my favorite dictionary when reading for pleasure. There is even a genealogical chart for the House of Lancaster and the House of York.
The Simon and Schuster Pocket Companion to Shakespeare's Plays is not without defects. Most noticeably, the font size is small to the point that good lighting is essential, especially if you are old enough to have read a good many Shakespearean plays more than once.
As the forward indicates, this guidebook targets readers developing a kinship with Shakespeare's works. Scholars and theatrical professionals will likely require more elaborate studies, but for many readers this small book will prove most satisfactory. And it will fit in a pocket.
Newer Edition: A fully revised 2005 edition titled The Pocket Companion to Shakespeare's Plays is available from Mitchell Beazley Publishing. The revisions were by Stanley Wells; the forward was written by Dame Judi Dench.
|
|
|
Proud member of the JimmyKat Network. Make sure you check out these other great JimmyKat network sites:
Lyrics Database
Celebrity Blog
Celebrity Thing
Celebrity PC
Celebrity Latest
Celebrity Pro
Travel Photos
Quotes
Flash Games
|
Is there a better
price available?
Find out:
|
|
|
|
