ABSTRACT

This edition first published in 1982. Previous edition published in 1972 by Houghton Mifflin.

Outlining methods and techniques for reading Shakespeare's plays, Roland Frye explores and develops a comprehensive understanding of Shakespeare's drama, focussing on the topics which must be kept in mind: the formative influence of the particular genre chosen for telling a story, the way in which the story is narrated and dramatized, the styles used to convey action, character and mood, and the manner in which Shakespeare has constructed his living characterizations.
As well as covering textual analysis, the book looks at Shakespeare's life and career, his theatres and the actors for whom he wrote and the process of printing and preserving Shakespeare's plays.

Chapters cover: King Lear in the Renaissance; Providence; Kind; Fortune; Anarchy and Order; Reason and Will; Show and Substance; Redemption and Shakespeare's Poetics.

part I|59 pages

Life and Work

chapter 1|19 pages

William Shakespeare, 1564-1616

chapter 2|11 pages

Plays in Print

chapter 3|27 pages

Plays for the Theater

part II|74 pages

Types of Plays

chapter 4|12 pages

The History Plays

chapter 5|22 pages

The Comedies

chapter 6|26 pages

The Tragedies

chapter 7|12 pages

The Tragicomedies

part III|38 pages

Structure

chapter 8|21 pages

The Plot Line

chapter 9|6 pages

The Dramatic Line

chapter 10|9 pages

The Time Line

part IV|51 pages

Style

chapter 11|22 pages

Stylistic Developments

chapter 12|17 pages

Stylistic Techniques

chapter 13|10 pages

Stylistic Decorum

part V|22 pages

Characterization

chapter 14|20 pages

Characterization