Step on to a stage full of stories with this beautiful anthology of 12 stories from Shakespeare. Featuring much-loved classics such as The Tempest, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet and Othello, each story is rewritten in a comprehensive way that is accessible for children and stunningly illustrated by collage artist Alice Lindstrom. This lavish follow-up to A Year Full of Stories and A World Full of Animal Stories is the perfect gift for book lovers young and old.

It is a commonplace of Shakespeare criticism that he invented few of the plots of his plays and the sources he drew upon have been often and rewardingly studied. The emphasis of this book, however, is not on sources but on what may be called Shakespeare's story-telling technique especially as seen in the articulation and pacing of events. Ranging widely through the canon, the book identifies characteristic problems and achievements which occur in the course of Shakespeare's handling of his story material. Different aspects of Shakespeare's treatment of, and attitude to, story are studied with reference groups of plays and, in two final chapters, essays on Hamlet and King Lear apply and extend the findings of the preceding discussions. The point of view adopted serves, above all, to bring out the vitality and resourcefulness of Shakespeare's creative imagination, recognition of which must underpin all commentary but may easily be lost to sight in the increasing sophistication of criticism and scholarship.

Shakespeare's Books contains nearly 200 entries covering the full range of literature Shakespeare was acquainted with, including classical, historical, religious and contemporary works. The dictionary covers works whose importance to Shakespeare has emerged more clearly in recent years due to new research, as well as explaining current thinking on long-recognized sources such as Plutarch, Ovid, Holinshed, Ariosto and Montaigne. Entries for all major sources include surveys of the writer's place in Shakespeare's time, detailed discussion of their relation to his work, and full bibliography. These are enhanced by sample passages from early modern England writers, together with reproductions of pages from the original texts. Now available in paperback with a new preface bringing the book up to date, this is an invaluable reference tool.

Reproduction of the original: The Man Shakespeare and His Tragic Liffe Story by Frank Harris

Just as concerts emerge from the interaction of many instruments, so our understanding of Shakespeare is enriched by different approaches to him. Psychoanalysis assumes that creative writers have the need to both reveal and conceal their own inner conflicts in their works. They leave residues in their works that, if we pay attention, can become building blocks that reveal aspects of the unconscious. Readers may find that the questions raised add to the pleasure of reading Shakespeare and that they deepens their understanding of his plays. Topics covered include the pivotal position of Hamlet, the poet and his calling, the Oedipus complex, intrapsychic conflict, the battle against paranoia and the homosexual compromise. By using psychoanalytic techniques in analyzing his plays and characters, the author reveals more about Shakespeare's hidden motivations and mental health.

Reproduction of the original.

Shakespeare is revered as the greatest writer in the English language, yet education reform in the English-speaking world is informed primarily by the ‘market order’, rather than the kind of humanism we might associate with Shakespeare. By considering Shakespeare’s dramatisation of the principles that inform neoliberalism, this book makes an important contribution to the debate on the moral failure of the market mechanism in schools and higher education systems that have adopted neoliberal policy. The utility of Shakespeare’s plays as a means to explore our present socio-economic system has long been acknowledged. As a Renaissance playwright located at the junction between feudalism and capitalism, Shakespeare was uniquely positioned to reflect upon the nascent market order. As a result, this book utilises six of his plays to assess the impact of neoliberalism on education. Drawing from examples of education policy from the UK and North America, it demonstrates that the alleged innovation of the market order is premised upon ideas that are rejected by Shakespeare, and it advocates Shakespeare’s humanism as a corrective to the failings of neoliberal education policy. Using Shakespeare's Plays to Explore Education Policy Today will be of key interest to researchers, academics and students in the fields of education policy and politics, educational reform, social and economic theory, English literature and Shakespeare.

This volume presents a winning selection of the very best essays from the long and distinguished career of Stanley Wells, one of the most well-known and respected Shakespeare scholars in the world. Wells's accomplishments include editing the entire canon of Shakespeare plays for the ground-breaking Oxford Shakespeare, and over his lifetime he has made significant contributions to debates over literary criticism of the works, genre study, textual theory, Shakespeare's afterlife in the theatre, and contemporary performance. The volume is introduced by Peter Holland, and its thirty chapters are divided into themed sections: 'Shakespearian Influences', 'Essays on Particular Works', 'Shakespeare in the Theatre', and 'Shakespeare's Text'. An afterword by Margreta de Grazia concludes the volume.

In this work, the authors bring a blend of clear thinking, playful and inventive practice and straightforward practical advice to bear on teaching Shakespeare in the primary school. The book offers a sound rationale for teaching Shakespeare in primary schools and shows how to engage children with Shakespeare through story.