ABSTRACT

Demystifying and contextualising Shakespeare for the twenty-first century, this book offers both an introduction to the subject for beginners as well as an invaluable resource for more experienced Shakespeareans.

In this friendly, structured guide, Robert Shaughnessy:

  • introduces Shakespeare’s life and works in context, providing crucial historical background
  • looks at each of Shakespeare’s plays in turn, considering issues of historical context, contemporary criticism and performance history
  • provides detailed discussion of twentieth-century Shakespearean criticism, exploring the theories, debates and discoveries that shape our understanding of Shakespeare today
  • looks at contemporary performances of Shakespeare on stage and screen
  • provides further critical reading by play
  • outlines detailed chronologies of Shakespeare’s life and works and also of twentieth-century criticism

The companion website at www.routledge.com/textbooks/shaughnessy contains student-focused materials and resources, including an interactive timeline and annotated weblinks.

part |77 pages

Life and contexts

chapter |4 pages

Introduction

chapter |6 pages

Shakespeare's early years

chapter |56 pages

A life in writing

chapter |6 pages

Final years

chapter |3 pages

Chronology

1564–1644

part |216 pages

Works

chapter |2 pages

A catalogue

chapter |11 pages

Henry VI, Parts 1, 2 and 3

chapter |6 pages

Titus Andronicus

chapter |6 pages

The Taming of the Shrew

chapter |5 pages

Richard III

chapter |5 pages

The Merchant of Venice

chapter |7 pages

King John and Richard II

chapter |11 pages

Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2

chapter |5 pages

Julius Caesar

chapter |13 pages

Hamlet

chapter |8 pages

Othello

chapter |4 pages

Timon of Athens

chapter |10 pages

King Lear

chapter |6 pages

Macbeth

chapter |7 pages

The Tempest

chapter |7 pages

The Winter's Tale

chapter |4 pages

Henry VIII, or All Is True

part |96 pages

Criticism

chapter |3 pages

Prologue

A critical century

chapter |44 pages

Histories

chapter |20 pages

Languages

chapter |27 pages

Subjectivities

part |49 pages

Screen and stage

chapter |18 pages

Film

chapter |26 pages

Performance

chapter |3 pages

A Shakespearean chronology

1899–2008