Shakespeare: An Oxford Guide / Edition 1

by Stanley Wells, Lena Cowen Orlin

Overview

Edited by Stanley Wells and Lena Cowen Orlin, this stimulating and comprehensive guide to Shakespeare is an ideal text for undergraduate students. It includes over forty specially commissioned essays by an outstanding team of scholars. Each essay is written in an accessible and engaging style and is followed by annotated suggestions for further reading.
Shakespeare: An Oxford Guide is divided into four key parts. Part One offers concise introductions to the literary and historical contexts in which Shakespeare lived and worked. It covers the society, culture, language, theatre, and playwriting conventions of Shakespeare's time and also discusses his contemporary impact. Part Two offers critical overviews of Shakespeare's achievements in the major genres. Each overview is followed by a reading that explores Shakespeare's use of the traditions, scope, and boundaries of that genre in one of his key works. Part Three discusses current critical approaches to the study of Shakespeare. Each chapter outlines a specific approach and is followed by a reading applying that approach to one of Shakespeare's works. Part Four offers chapters on Shakespeare's intellectual and cultural impact over the ages.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199245222
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	04/03/2003
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	742
Product dimensions:	9.70(w) x 7.40(h) x 1.70(d)

About the Author

Stanley Wells is currently Chairman of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in Stratford, and was Professor of Shakespeare Studies, and Director of the Shakespeare Institute at the University of Birmingham from 1988 to 97, where he is now Emeritus Professor. He is the general editor of the Oxford Shakespeare, and co-editor of the Oxford Shakespeare: The Complete Works. With Peter Holland he is general editor of the Oxford Shakespeare Topics, and, with Michael Dobson, he recently edited the best-selling Oxford Companion to Shakespeare.
Lena Cowen Orlin is Professor of English at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and Executive Director of the Shakespeare Association of America. Her publications include Material London, Ca. 1600 (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2000), Elizabethan Households (University of Washington Press, 1995), and Private Matters and Public Cultures in Post-Reformation England (Cornell University Press, 1994).

Table of Contents

Part 1. Shakespeare's Life and Times1. Why Study Shakespeare?, Stanley Wells2. Shakespeare's Life and Career, Lois Potter3. Theater in London, Gabriel Egan4. Shakespeare's Audiences, Margaret Jane Kidnie5. Conventions of Playwriting, Peter Thomson6. Shakespeare's Fellow Dramatists, A. R. Braunmuller7. The Language of Shakespeare, David Crystal8. Shakespeare's Verse, Russ McDonald9. The Society of Shakespeare's England, Carole Levin10. Daily Life in Town and Country, Joan Thirsk11. Love, Sex, and Marriage, Martin Ingram12. Changing Attitudes Towards Religion, Peter Lake13. Ideas of Order, Lena Cowen Orlin14. Shakespeare's View of the World, Emily C. BartelsPART TWO. SHAKESPEAREAN GENRES15. Introduction, Lena Cowen Orlin16. Romantic Comedies, William C. CarrollREADING:, Twelfth Night, or What You Will17. English History Plays, Phyllis RackinREADING:, Henry V18. Tragedies, Linda WoodbridgeREADING:, Macbeth19. Roman Plays, Alexander LeggattREADING:, Julius Caesar20. Romances, Reginald FoakesREADING:, The Winter's Tale21. Comical and Tragical, Paul EdmondsonREADING:, Measure for Measure22. Non-Dramatic Poetry, Lynne MagnussonREADING:, Shakespeare's Sonnets23. Unfamiliar Shakespeare, Alan ArmstrongPART THREE. SHAKESPEARE CRITICISM24. The Critical Tradition, Michael Taylor25. Humanist Interpretations, Michael D. BristolREADING:, King Lear26. Character Criticism, Christy DesmetREADING:, Hamlet27. Source Study, Leah ScraggREADING:, As You Like It28. Close Reading, Inga-Stina EwbankREADING:, Richard III29. Feminist Criticism, Jean E. HowardREADING:, Othello30. Studies in Sexuality, Bruce R. SmithREADING:, The Merchant of Venice31. Psychoanalytic Criticisms, Lynn EnterlineREADING:, Venus and Adonis32. Materialist Criticisms, Jonathan Gil HarrisREADING:, Henry IV Part One33. Post-Colonial Criticism, Jyotsna SinghREADING:, The Tempest34. Deconstruction, Kiernan RyanREADING:, Romeo and Juliet35. Performance History: Shakespeare on the Stage 1660-2001, Patricia TatspaughREADING:, A Midsummer Night's Dream36. Performance Criticism, Miriam GilbertREADING:, The Taming of the ShrewPART FOUR. SHAKESPEARE'S AFTERLIFE37. Introduction, Terence Hawkes38. Shakespeare Published, Laurie Maguire39. Shakespeare and the Modern British Theatre, Michael Billington40. Film and Video, Tony Howard41. The Question of Authorship, David Kathman42. Shakespeare's Influence, John Gross43. Shakespeare and Translation, Ton Hoenselaars44. Commemorating Shakespeare, Georgianna Ziegler45. Internet and CD ROM Resources, Michael Best