Overview

The Shakespeare Handbooks provide a helpful, straightforward guide to the work of the world's most celebrated dramatist. Along with a clear, easy-to-follow description of the plot, each book contains plenty of quotations from the text - with simple explanations of any unfamiliar words and phrases - and some thought-provoking comments from critics, past and present. The Shakespeare Handbooks include a few intriguing Shakespearean facts and figures, too. How old was Shakespeare when he wrote Titus Andronicus? In which way was the play a new departure for him? How did Elizabethan audiences react to the play's violence? Which critic doubted whether the play was by Shakespeare, and declared that 'it can scarcely be conceived tolerable to any audience'? What was unusual about Ira Aldridge's production of Titus Andronicus in the 1850s? At which point in the play did a number of audience members regularly faint during Peter Brook's 1955 production? Which word appears more frequently in Titus Andronicus than in any other Shakespeare play? What is a 'palliament'? And a 'brabble'? And a 'shive'? And why might you be wary of a 'Machiavel'? If you're apprehensive about approaching a Shakespeare play, the Shakespeare Handbooks provide the perfect introduction. They're ideal for students, theatregoers - in fact, anyone curious to know more about the greatest plays in the English language. These are a few of the appreciative comments we've received about the Shakespeare Handbooks: ""Tremendously useful in helping to understand Shakespeare's works"" - Dame Judi Dench. ""Very readable, very helpful"" - Kenneth Branagh. ""The Shakespeare Handbooks open the plays up admirably. Excellent for all levels of reader - everybody will get something from them."" - Simon Callow.

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