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Meagher...draws from seven plays (Hamlet, Lear, Romeo & Juliet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, As You Like It, Richard II, and Henry IV, Part I) to show that the accumulated work of editors, directors and critics over the centuries has blinded us to some of Shakespeare's basic concerns as a dramatist. Meagher begins with an excellent example (act 2, scene 5 of As You Like It) in which he returns to the First Folio text to uncover subtle points about comedy and stagecraft. He then arranges his subsequent remarks into topical chapters that discuss perceptively Shakespeare's use of space, time, doubling of actors, sources, character and language....His most controversial findings will probably be those that minimize a study of character psychology, though his balanced explanations persuade: Shakespeare drew his roles primarily from a repertoire of established and recognizable types.... His expertise was exercised mainly in the finesse with which he deployed their typical attributes. Meaghe

Meagher...draws from seven plays (Hamlet, Lear, Romeo & Juliet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, As You Like It, Richard II, and Henry IV, Part I) to show that the accumulated work of editors, directors and critics over the centuries has blinded us to some of Shakespeare's basic concerns as a dramatist. Meagher begins with an excellent example (act 2, scene 5 of As You Like It) in which he returns to the First Folio text to uncover subtle points about comedy and stagecraft. He then arranges his subsequent remarks into topical chapters that discuss perceptively Shakespeare's use of space, time, doubling of actors, sources, character and language....His most controversial findings will probably be those that minimize a study of character psychology, though his balanced explanations persuade: Shakespeare drew his roles primarily from a repertoire of established and recognizable types.... His expertise was exercised mainly in the finesse with which he deployed their typical attributes. Meagher hits on a rich truth when he concludes that the staple element of surprise in Shakespeare comes not from plot twists but from an appeal to more elemental truths and values than those that had seemed in charge of the play. An engaging, lively discussion with many fresh perceptions, this book both stands on its own and justifies the author's further explorations. Publishers Weekly

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John Meagher is the author of Method and Meaning in Jonson's Masques, and other books. He is professor of English and Theology at St. Michael's College, University of Toronto.

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