Overview

Appreciating Shakespeare makes easily available the essential tools for understanding and enjoying Shakespeare's plays and poems, which means experiencing the deep and thrilling meanings of his works. Part 1 offers the background knowledge--about Shakespeare's life, language, poetic and dramatic techniques, theatrical context, and historical and cultural background--that help you to appreciate Shakespeare's works. Part 2 offers short essays on twenty-two plays, pointing readers to the universally meaningful heart of each and illuminating themes often hidden or misrepresented in many stage and screen productions and critical writings. There is also a chapter dedicated to analysis of a selection of Shakespeare's sonnets.

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Reviews

Appreciating Shakespeare overwhelms me with its scholarship. I can't imagine any stone Gideon Rappaport left unturned- every relevant historical, political, literary, cultural, personal aspect of Shakespeare is laid out meticulously and is easily readable. If anyone has ever doubted or wondered why Shakespeare is so revered and studied, this book silences the question and replaces it with awe for Shakespeare's intelligence and perception about the human condition, his talent with language and writing, etc. This work on Shakespeare is outstanding for making Shakespeare accessible and attractive to any interested layman. It is not written for PhD's but for the vast sea of readers who might yearn to get a handle on Shakespeare but don't really know how. Rappaport writes about Shakespeare in a way that makes you yearn for more. The format makes it possible for busy people, on the go, to open the book most anywhere and become instantly intrigued. As a lifelong non-Shakespearean reader, I found myself totally surprised and grateful for the way Rappaport opens up door after door into the mind, meaning, and messages throughout the works of the world's greatest over-achiever ever: the Bard of Avon.. Highly recommended!! IF YOU ARE A TEACHER OR PROFESSOR, RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO YOUR STUDENTS! With this book Gideon Rappaport has given us a brilliant guide to get the most out of watching Shakespeare's plays. His clear and insightful treatment of the plays, the background, and the stumbling blocks for the modern reader brings joy in its wake. I prepared for my first live Shakespeare play after the pandemic by reading the chapter about Much Ado About Nothing. I enjoyed the theatrical experience far more than any previous Shakespeare play. Kudos to Dr. Rappaport for giving us a handbook to appreciate Shakespeare deeply and with enormous pleasure. Buy this book! I spent a weekend reading through various portions of this book. It was obviously written with the goal of transmitting an understanding and appreciation of Shakespeare as clear and simply as possible. It will give you the tools and knowledge needed to read his plays and sonnets and get the most out of them. Highly recommended.

Author Information

Gideon Rappaport, retired teacher and active dramaturge, has taught Shakespeare for forty-five years in high school, college, graduate school, and adult education courses and served as dramaturge on many professional productions of Shakespeare's plays and for Complete Works on Hulu, in which he had his film debut. He graduated from Cowell college, UC Santa Cruz, and earned his M.A. and Ph.D. in English and American Literature at Brandeis University. He edited Dusk and Dawn: Poems and Prose of Philip Thompson and co-authored Introduction to the Fundamental Liberal Arts: Grammar, Logic, and Rhetoric. He lives in San Diego, California.

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