Simply Shakespeare

by Widdicombe, Toby

• ISBN13: 9780321077042
• ISBN10: 0321077040
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-06-27
• Publisher: Pearson

Summary

Written in a straightforward, engaging style,Simply Shakespeareactively engages the reader in understanding and appreciating Shakespeare's language and intricate stagecraft.Accessible writing style neither talks down to readers nor over their heads. Introduction: "How to Read Shakespeare" outlines strategies readers can adopt to make Shakespeare easier to understand. Four chapters on language focus on the single greatest hurdle for readers: language. The chapters deal with words, imagery (literal and figurative), rhetoric, and humor. Boxed material highlights major points in any topic discussed. Test Cases analyze key passages in depth. Bulleted lists break up heavy prose passages allowing readers to concentrate on key material, making content more accessible. A Resources Section provides an annotated list of websites and books-emphasizing the best resources and latest scholarship. Glossary covers 30 Shakespearean terms most readers have trouble with.For those interested in gaining a clear understanding of Shakespeare and his art.

Table of Contents

Illustrations	xii
Preface	xiii
Introduction: How to Read Shakespeare	1	(1)
Chapter Overview	1	(1)
Making an Effort	2	(4)
Using Your Imagination	6	(4)
Imagining the World	6	(1)
Imagining the Stage	7	(3)
Staying Flexible	10	(3)
Listening for the Subtext	13	(6)
Writing or Discussion Assignments	18	(1)
Further Reading	18	(1)
Part 1 Language	19	(94)
Shakespeare's Dramatic Language	20	(26)
Chapter Overview	20	(1)
Some Preliminary Suggestions	21	(2)
Test Case #1: Hamlet's Famous Soliloquy	23	(4)
Initial! Reactions	24	(2)
Summary	26	(1)
Shakespeare's Peculiar Language	27	(6)
``You'' and ``Thou''	27	(2)
``Hath'' and ``Doth''	29	(1)
Some Other Shakespearean Oddities	30	(2)
Advice	32	(1)
Rearranging Word Order	33	(6)
Advice	39	(1)
Verse and Prose	39	(7)
Writing or Discussion Assignments	44	(1)
Further Reading	45	(1)
Shakespeare's Imagery	46	(20)
Chapter Overview	46	(1)
A Definition of Imagery	46	(1)
Literal Appeals to the Senses	47	(1)
Appeal to the Sense of Sight	47	(1)
Appeal to the Sense of Hearing	47	(1)
Appeal to the Sense of Touch	48	(1)
Appeal to the Sense of Taste	48	(1)
Appeal to the Sense of Smell	48	(1)
Figurative Language	48	(1)
Figurative Language 14 Key Terms	48	(14)
Analogy	48	(1)
Hyperbole	49	(1)
Image Strands	50	(1)
Irony	50	(2)
Litotes	52	(1)
Metaphor	53	(1)
Metonymy	54	(1)
Onomatopoeia	55	(1)
Oxymoron	55	(1)
Personification	56	(1)
Pun	56	(2)
Simile	58	(1)
Symbol	59	(2)
Synecdoche	61	(1)
Test Case #2: The Barge at Cydnus	62	(4)
Advice	64	(1)
Writing or Discussion Assignments	64	(1)
Further Reading	65	(1)
Shakespeare's Rhetoric	66	(24)
Chapter Overview	66	(1)
The History of Rhetoric	66	(2)
Shakespeare's Dramatic Rhetoric	68	(1)
Rhetoric 17 Key Terms	68	(15)
Adage	69	(1)
Alliteration	69	(1)
Anaphora	69	(2)
Antistrophe	71	(1)
Aside	71	(1)
Assonance	72	(1)
Caesura	72	(1)
Chiasmus	73	(1)
Consonance	74	(1)
Enargia	74	(1)
Ethos	75	(1)
Isocolon	76	(1)
Logos	77	(1)
Pathos	77	(2)
Rhyme	79	(2)
Soliloquy	81	(1)
Stichomythia	82	(1)
Pattern, Repetition, Variation	83	(4)
Pattern	83	(1)
Repetition	84	(2)
Variation	86	(1)
Test Case #3: Portia's Defense of Antonio	87	(3)
Writing or Discussion Assignments	89	(1)
Further Reading	89	(1)
Shakespeare's Humor	90	(23)
Chapter Overview	90	(1)
Shakespeare's Crude Humor	91	(1)
Shakespeare's Cultural Humor	92	(6)
Shakespeare and All Those French Jokes	92	(4)
Shakespeare and All Those British Jokes	96	(2)
Shakespeare's Linguistic Humor	98	(3)
The Malapropism	99	(2)
Shakespeare's Slapstick Humor	101	(4)
Shakespeare's Cosmic Humor	105	(8)
Writing or Discussion Assignments	111	(1)
Further Reading	111	(2)
Part 2 Staging	113	(100)
Shakespeare's Genres	114	(36)
Chapter Overview	114	(1)
Genre and the Folio of 1623	115	(4)
Genre and the Modern Critic	119	(1)
The Major Genres	119	(28)
Comedy	119	(7)
History	126	(8)
Tragedy	134	(8)
Romance	142	(5)
The Minor Genres	147	(3)
Problem Play	147	(1)
Roman Play	148	(1)
Writing or Discussion Assignments	148	(1)
Further Reading	148	(2)
Shakespeare's Stagecraft	150	(35)
Chapter Overview	150	(1)
Getting up to Speed	151	(2)
Handling the Introductions	153	(2)
Comings and Goings	155	(3)
Placing Yourself in the Action	158	(2)
Making Lemonade (from Lemons)	160	(4)
Battle Scenes	160	(3)
Boys as Women	163	(1)
Taking Advantage	164	(5)
The Power of Symbolism	165	(2)
Hamlet and the Hell beneath the Stage	167	(1)
Props and the Value of Minimalism	168	(1)
Threading the Needle	169	(2)
Varying the Tempo	171	(2)
Easing up on the Rack	173	(2)
The Porter in Macbeth (2.3)	173	(1)
The Clown in Antony and Cleopatra (5.2)	174	(1)
Painting in Chiaroscuro	175	(2)
The Gravediggers in Hamlet (5.4)	175	(1)
The Gardener in Richard II	176	(1)
Shakespeare's Stagecraft 11 Major Devices	177	(1)
Internalizing the Playwright	177	(8)
``All the World's a Stage''	178	(1)
``The Play's the Thing''	179	(2)
The Playwright Front and Center	181	(2)
Writing or Discussion Assignments	183	(1)
Further Reading	184	(1)
Shakespeare in Performance: Stage and Screen	185	(28)
Chapter Overview	185	(1)
Stage, Film, and Television: Some Preliminary Definitions	186	(1)
Theatre, Film, and TV Some Important Distinctions	186	(1)
Theatre, Film, and TV Some Important Continuities	187	(1)
Shakespeare on Stage: Antony and Cleopatra	187	(6)
Analysis	191	(2)
Shakespeare on Stage: King Lear	193	(5)
Discussion Questions on Character	195	(2)
Discussion Questions on Staging	197	(1)
Discussion Questions on Acting	198	(1)
Shakespeare on Film: Hamlet	198	(1)
Key Terms Used in the Discussion of Hamlet	199	(11)
The Olivier Version (1948)	199	(3)
The Richardson/Williamson Version (1969)	202	(2)
The Bennett/Jacobi Version (1980)	204	(2)
The Zeffirelli/Gibson Version (1990)	206	(2)
The Branagh Version (4996)	208	(2)
Hamlet on Film: Some Final Thoughts	210	(3)
Writing or Discussion Assignments	211	(1)
Further Reading	212	(1)
Notes	212	(1)
Appendix Shakespeare Resources: Websites, Books, and Journals	213	(10)
Websites	213	(2)
Books	215	(6)
Journals	221	(2)
Works Cited	223	(4)
Photo Credits	227	(2)
Index	229