The Rough Guide to Shakespeare 2 (Rough Guide Reference)

✍ Scribed by Andrew Dickson, Rough Guides

• Year: 2009
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 610
• Edition: 2
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

The Rough Guide to Shakespeare is the ultimate guide to the life and work of the world’s greatest playwright; William Shakespeare. With full coverage of the 38 Shakespearian plays, including a synopsis, full character list, stage history and a critical essay for each, this comprehensive guide is both a quick reference and in-depth background guide for theatergoers, students, film buffs and lovers of literature alike. The Rough Guide to Shakespeare also explores Shakespeare’s sonnets and Shakespeare’s less well-known narrative poems, combined with fascinating accounts of Shakespeare’s life and theatre, exploring in colourful detail each play’s original performances. This fully updated guide includes a new ‘My Shakespeare’ chapter with directors & actors including Sir Ian McKellen, Christopher Plummer and Zo? Wanamaker, as well as tips for introducing your children to Shakespeare with recommended graphic novels, adaptations and DVDs for all age groups. With up-to-date reviews of the best films and audio recordings from Olivier to Luhrmann, and Kosintzev to Kurosawa, the Rough Guide to Shakespeare is a celebration of all classic and contemporary Shakespearian productions.

✦ Table of Contents

Contents......Page 4
Introduction......Page 10
How this book works......Page 13
Q&As: The man and the myths......Page 15
Part I: The Plays......Page 18
All’s Well That Ends Well......Page 20
Antony and Cleopatra......Page 29
As You Like It......Page 40
The Comedy of Errors......Page 52
Coriolanus......Page 61
Cymbeline......Page 71
Edward III......Page 81
Hamlet......Page 91
Henry IV Part I......Page 109
Henry IV Part II......Page 119
Henry V......Page 128
Henry VI Part I......Page 139
Henry VI Part II......Page 150
Henry VI Part III......Page 159
Henry VIII......Page 168
Julius Caesar......Page 179
King John......Page 190
King Lear......Page 201
Love’s Labour’s Lost......Page 215
Macbeth......Page 225
Measure for Measure......Page 239
The Merchant of Venice......Page 249
The Merry Wives of Windsor......Page 261
A Midsummer Night’s Dream......Page 270
Much Ado About Nothing......Page 282
Othello......Page 293
Pericles......Page 309
Richard II......Page 319
Richard III......Page 330
Romeo and Juliet......Page 342
The Taming of the Shrew......Page 352
The Tempest......Page 363
Timon of Athens......Page 377
Titus Andronicus......Page 387
Troilus and Cressida......Page 399
Twelfth Night......Page 410
The Two Gentlemen of Verona......Page 422
The Two Noble Kinsmen......Page 432
The Winter’s Tale......Page 442
Part II: The Poems......Page 454
A Lover’s Complaint......Page 456
The Rape of Lucrece......Page 463
The Sonnets......Page 471
Venus and Adonis......Page 481
Part III: Contexts......Page 490
Shakespeare’s life......Page 492
Shakespeare’s stages......Page 511
Shakespeare’s language......Page 527
Shakespeare’s canon......Page 543
Colleagues and rivals......Page 547
Shakespeare for kids......Page 561
Books......Page 565
Websites......Page 576
Glossary of useful terms......Page 588
Index......Page 597