Overview

Shakespeare for Everyone offers an accessible and engaging introduction to the worlds of Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets. By focusing on emotions, it enables readers to build the skills and confidence to understand, appreciate, and enjoy Shakespeare’s plays by getting up close and personal with the characters in them, with their emotional journeys, and with the dramatic genres—of comedy, tragedy, tragicomedy, and history—in which they are cast. It provides insights into the forces that shaped Shakespeare’s work, and includes in-depth chapters on emotions in four representative plays: love in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, hate in Othello, jealousy in The Winter’s Tale, and the manipulation of emotions in Henry V. The book also considers how emotions were conceptualised in Shakespeare’s time and are understood today by modern psychological science. Additionally, the book enables readers to get to know Shakespeare himself, and gain insights into the processes of his art. Featuring end-of-chapter further reading sections and an invaluable glossary of key terms through which to unlock the meaning of any Shakespeare play, this practical and informative guide proves that Shakespeare is for everyone. Written in a conversational tone, this short yet compelling book is not just a series of insights into what Shakespeare’s plays mean, but a way of exploring what it is to be human.

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9780367407438

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Reviews

‘This book is quite unlike any I have encountered in over forty years of teaching Shakespeare. Whilst very simply expressed it succeeds in taking the reader beyond mere plot and to a better understanding of Shakespeare’s craft, which can be applied to any of his plays. Language that may seem difficult at first soon becomes understandable. I think it would be an invaluable text for new teachers of Shakespeare, and I can imagine it being devoured by bright Year 12 students. I especially loved Lucy’s comment about playing Shakespeare, climbing into the sandpit. This brilliantly and aptly captured my approach to teaching Shakespeare, making it accessible and enjoyable to all students, not a tedious task to be endured.’ Wendy Dowd, inaugural Australian Shakespeare Teacher of the Year (1998, awarded by the Shakespeare Globe Centre, Australia).

Author Information

Lucy Potter is Associate Professor of English at the University of Adelaide, Australia.

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