Awards

• Winner of Core Collection: YA Reference Sources Booklist 2005 Library Journal Best Refere 0 (United States)
• Winner of Core Collection: YA Reference Sources Booklist 2005 Library Journal Best Refere 2005 (United States)

Overview

"Describing everything from glove-making to barley-sowing, this illustrated encyclopedia covers the terminology, symbolism, household objects, daily activities, forms of entertainment, and other elements found in Shakespeare's works. This unique encyclopedia complies an impressive breadth of information about all manner of things from weapons to weddings in Shakespeare's world. More than 200 articles, most accompanied by vivid illustrations, bring together rich historical detail with informative, insightful description on form and function of items both obscure and everyday, such as tools, weapons, clothing, and coins. Students reading Shakespeare's plays can look up meanings of specific terms such as ""farthingale"" and ""springe,"" or find explanations of concepts such as the four humours and the worthies. Not only are the articles mentioned by Shakespeare graphically described here, but many of the processes and methods such as glove-making, beer-brewing, and barley-sowing are also explicated. Readers, researchers, actors, and audiences will enjoy the lively--and at times humorous--essays on myriad topics including anatomy, hunting, entertainment, astronomy, falconry, torture, death, medicine, astrology, mythology. This user-friendly encyclopedia makes a great variety of information about Shakespeare's world accessible to readers. Students reading his plays can look up specific terms referenced in the works. In addition to the ample illustration, a table of weights and measures illuminates such terms as ""cade,"" ""firkin,"" and ""hogshead,"" and maps pinpoint many of the locations mentioned in Shakespeare's plays and poems. Each term explicated here details in which plays the item occurs. A chronology of historical events referenced in Shakespeare's plays concisely identifies the important events that figure in the plays. Teachers can use the index to find each citation of an assigned play, or use the bibliography and topic guide for assignments and research paper ideas. Going beyond mere definitions, the depth of information and illustrations provided in this encyclopedia will give all readers a clear sense of the world that Shakespeare knew and wrote about."

Full Product Details

9780313315039

Table of Contents

Reviews

While there have been many overviews of English life in Shakespeare's time, few provide this much detail on so many topics....This guide is highly recommended for school, public, and academic libraries. - Gale Free Resources Reference Reviews [O]lsen's encyclopedia would be a good resource to have on hand in a noncirculating reference section at a high school, college, or local public library. - The Sixteenth Century Journal Olsen has done the reference world a service by compiling a crackerjack guide to the Elizabethan milieu.... Students, teachers, librarians, actors, and readers will have little difficulty navigating the text to explain tidbits from Shakespeare's writings. Recommended for high-school, public, and undergraduate libraries. - Booklist/Reference Books Bulletin ... Most teens will find Olsen's rendering to be an irresistible peek into a world every bit as strange as that described in many a space fantasy. Even those who profess little familiarity with the great works of Shakespeare of the intricacies of English history will find these volumes fascinating. - School Library Journal, Starred Review Useful to students and teachers alike, the set will be valuable to directors, actors, historians, and avid readers of Shakespeare who wish to learn more about the intimate details of the world in which he lived. - VOYA Easy to use and unique in its coverage, the book will be desired by Shakespeare fans and English teachers alike. Every library should have a copy. Highly Recommended. - Library Media Connection An ideal reference for those looking for information on the physical world of Shakespeare's time. - School Library Journal Focus on Shakespeare Described as a concise encyclopedia,^IAll Things Shakespeare^R is actually a detailed and fascinating reference book. Designed as a useful guide to the world that Shakespeare lived in and recreated in his work, the book is accessible, informative (without being dry) and often surprising too. Its contents range all the way from 'Alchemy' to 'Writing' via a great many entries on well-trodden topics and some more obscure subjects. Everyday life is described through entries on clothing, markets, household objects, business and marriage but more unusual or difficult concepts are also explained. The reader will find entries on the nine Worthies and the Five Wits, religion, suicide and astrology. Infinitely useful for students, teachers, and the interested general reader alike, there is also a bibliography and topic guide with suggestions for further reading. - The Shakespeare Bookshop Newsletter [T]his detailed and informative encyclopedia describes Shakespeare's physical environment, including common objects, daily activities, and popular beliefs and attitudes....Recommended for all libraries. - Library Journal All Things Shakespeare offers excellent background material for students trying to place Shakespeare's works in historical context. Recommended. General readers and undergraduates. - Choice

<p> [O]lsen's encyclopedia would be a good resource to have on hand in a noncirculating reference section at a high school, college, or local public library. - <p>The Sixteenth Century Journal

[O]lsen's encyclopedia would be a good resource to have on hand in a noncirculating reference section at a high school, college, or local public library. - The Sixteenth Century Journal While there have been many overviews of English life in Shakespeare's time, few provide this much detail on so many topics...This guide is highly recommended for school, public, and academic libraries. - Gale Free Resources Reference Reviews [T]his detailed and informative encyclopedia describes Shakespeare's physical environment, including common objects, daily activities, and popular beliefs and attitudes...Recommended for all libraries. - Library Journal All Things Shakespeare offers excellent background material for students trying to place Shakespeare's works in historical context. Recommended. General readers and undergraduates. - Choice Olsen has done the reference world a service by compiling a crackerjack guide to the Elizabethan milieu... Students, teachers, librarians, actors, and readers will have little difficulty navigating the text to explain tidbits from Shakespeare's writings. Recommended for high-school, public, and undergraduate libraries. - Booklist/Reference Books Bulletin ... Most teens will find Olsen's rendering to be an irresistible peek into a world every bit as strange as that described in many a space fantasy. Even those who profess little familiarity with the great works of Shakespeare of the intricacies of English history will find these volumes fascinating. - School Library Journal, Starred Review Useful to students and teachers alike, the set will be valuable to directors, actors, historians, and avid readers of Shakespeare who wish to learn more about the intimate details of the world in which he lived. - VOYA Easy to use and unique in its coverage, the book will be desired by Shakespeare fans and English teachers alike. Every library should have a copy. Highly Recommended. - Library Media Connection An ideal reference for those looking for information on the physical world of Shakespeare's time. - School Library Journal Focus on Shakespeare Described as a concise encyclopedia,^IAll Things Shakespeare^R is actually a detailed and fascinating reference book. Designed as a useful guide to the world that Shakespeare lived in and recreated in his work, the book is accessible, informative (without being dry) and often surprising too. Its contents range all the way from 'Alchemy' to 'Writing' via a great many entries on well-trodden topics and some more obscure subjects. Everyday life is described through entries on clothing, markets, household objects, business and marriage but more unusual or difficult concepts are also explained. The reader will find entries on the nine Worthies and the Five Wits, religion, suicide and astrology. Infinitely useful for students, teachers, and the interested general reader alike, there is also a bibliography and topic guide with suggestions for further reading. - The Shakespeare Bookshop Newsletter

Described as a concise encyclopedia, All Things Shakespeare is actually a detailed and fascinating reference book. Designed as a useful guide to the world that Shakespeare lived in and recreated in his work, the book is accessible, informative (without being dry) and often surprising too. Its contents range all the way from 'Alchemy' to 'Writing' via a great many entries on well-trodden topics and some more obscure subjects. Everyday life is described through entries on clothing, markets, household objects, business and marriage but more unusual or difficult concepts are also explained. The reader will find entries on the nine Worthies and the Five Wits, religion, suicide and astrology. Infinitely useful for students, teachers, and the interested general reader alike, there is also a bibliography and topic guide with suggestions for further reading. -The Shakespeare Bookshop Newsletter

All Things Shakespeare offers excellent background material for students trying to place Shakespeare's works in historical context. Recommended. General readers and undergraduates. - Choice [T]his detailed and informative encyclopedia describes Shakespeare's physical environment, including common objects, daily activities, and popular beliefs and attitudes....Recommended for all libraries. - Library Journal Described as a concise encyclopedia,^IAll Things Shakespeare^R is actually a detailed and fascinating reference book. Designed as a useful guide to the world that Shakespeare lived in and recreated in his work, the book is accessible, informative (without being dry) and often surprising too. Its contents range all the way from 'Alchemy' to 'Writing' via a great many entries on well-trodden topics and some more obscure subjects. Everyday life is described through entries on clothing, markets, household objects, business and marriage but more unusual or difficult concepts are also explained. The reader will find entries on the nine Worthies and the Five Wits, religion, suicide and astrology. Infinitely useful for students, teachers, and the interested general reader alike, there is also a bibliography and topic guide with suggestions for further reading. - The Shakespeare Bookshop Newsletter An ideal reference for those looking for information on the physical world of Shakespeare's time. - School Library Journal Focus on Shakespeare Easy to use and unique in its coverage, the book will be desired by Shakespeare fans and English teachers alike. Every library should have a copy. Highly Recommended. - Library Media Connection Useful to students and teachers alike, the set will be valuable to directors, actors, historians, and avid readers of Shakespeare who wish to learn more about the intimate details of the world in which he lived. - VOYA ... Most teens will find Olsen's rendering to be an irresistible peek into a world every bit as strange as that described in many a space fantasy. Even those who profess little familiarity with the great works of Shakespeare of the intricacies of English history will find these volumes fascinating. - School Library Journal, Starred Review Olsen has done the reference world a service by compiling a crackerjack guide to the Elizabethan milieu.... Students, teachers, librarians, actors, and readers will have little difficulty navigating the text to explain tidbits from Shakespeare's writings. Recommended for high-school, public, and undergraduate libraries. - Booklist/Reference Books Bulletin [O]lsen's encyclopedia would be a good resource to have on hand in a noncirculating reference section at a high school, college, or local public library. - The Sixteenth Century Journal While there have been many overviews of English life in Shakespeare's time, few provide this much detail on so many topics....This guide is highly recommended for school, public, and academic libraries. - Gale Free Resources Reference Reviews

Author Information

KIRSTIN OLSEN is an independent author. Her several books include Understanding Lord of the Flies (2000), Daily Life in 18th-Century England (1999), and Chronology of Women's History (1994), all from Greenwood Press.

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