How to enjoy Shakespeare / Robert Thomas Fallon.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Fallon, Robert Thomas.

Contributor:

Horace Howard Furness Memorial Library (University of Pennsylvania)

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616--Technique.

Shakespeare, William.

Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616.

Technique.

Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616--Appreciation.

Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616--Dramatic production.

Theater audiences.

Physical Description:

xi, 114 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Chicago : Ivan R. Dee, 2005.

Summary:

Readers and playgoers who are new to Shakespeare (even seasoned veterans who would like to appreciate him more than they do) often find themselves puzzled: what is going on? His characters speak in verse rather than in the patterns of everyday speech. They are figures that ordinary humans seldom encounter-kings, queens, dukes, cardinals, and generals. Some of the plays are set in unlikely places and distant times. What's more, the plots pursue events that appear to have little to do with the daily round of modern lives-contention for a royal crown, the assassination of kings, shipwreck, occult visitation.

Robert Thomas Fallon's small book is designed to dispel some of this apparent strangeness. Drawing on a lifetime of study of the plays and a genius for explaining their many aspects in clear language, Mr. Fallon shows readers that what may at first seem unfamiliar to them is in fact close to their own lives. Kings and queens emerge as recognizable fathers and mothers, dukes and earls as squabbling siblings of any era. Exotic locales might be any present-day village or city block. And the plots resemble stories to be found in the pages of our morning newspaper. Shakespeare's language takes some getting used to, but even a brief acquaintance with its cadence and imagery will offer a glimpse of its glories.

In How to Enjoy Shakespeare, Mr. Fallon explores Shakespeare's familiarity in five sections dealing with language, theme, staging, character, and plot, each abundantly illustrated with episodes and quotations from the plays. He writes in easily accessible prose in a book designed to make modern readers and audiences feel comfortable with the Bard. This is an indispensable primer for those who are meeting Shakespeare for the first time, or those who want to enhance their enjoyment of his great plays.

Contents:

1 Language 3

2 Theme 28

3 Staging 61

4 Character 71

5 Plot 87.

Notes:

Includes indexes.

ISBN:

1566636183

OCLC:

55671857