Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: Shakespeare A to Z : The Essential Reference to His Plays, His Poems, His Life and Times, and More by Charles Boyce ISBN: 0-385-31361-6 Publisher: Delta Pub. Date: 10 November, 1991 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $21.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.67 (9 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Life Savor!!
Comment: I'm just a student in high school, and not long ago was recieved the part as Lady Macbeth for our school play Macbeth. My drama teacher recommended this book to me to get an in depth analysis of my character and the rest of the play. I bought the book and I was totally blown away. The information packed in here is tremendous. In this book is everything you'll ever need to know about each play and every character, even if they don't have a speaking part. This book has also helped me with the other Shakespeare plays I read during school for Literature. It's a great study and reference. It's helped me understand so much about the characters and the play, I recommend this to anyone who reads Shakespeare for school or anything, this tells you things even your teacher wouldn't know. It's been truly a life savor, to me and the rest of my cast who couldn't understand what was going on or what their character was about.
Rating: 5
Summary: The Shakespeare students' best friend!
Comment: I'm a Shakespeare major, and my shelves are bowing under the weight of all my Shakespeare books. SHAKESPEARE A TO Z is the book I reach for most often, whenever I've got questions about the plays.
This book truly is the essential reference, but it is much more than a typical reference book. It's readable, interesting, and thorough. Inside, you'll find passages on every single one of Shakespeare's characters, no matter how minor; detailed analysis, as well as an act-by-act plot summary, on EVERY play; information on locations used in the plays, and MUCH more. Virtually every topic/character/place/important thing in a play is covered in this book.
I recommend this book for anyone who is interested in Shakespeare's plays, or is involved in the study of Shakespeare. This book not only serves as an accesssible reference, it's also full of thought-provoking facts and ideas.
Rating: 5
Summary: A Silent Companion and a Private Tutor
Comment: I am neither a student nor a professional academic, and I don't usually review reference works. SHAKESPEARE A TO Z, however, is much more to me than a "mere" reference book. It has become a silent companion and a private tutor. Before attending a play by Shakespeare or an opera based on his works, I read (or reread) the synopsis of the work in question in SHAKESPEARE A TO Z.
Early seventeenth century English. as it is spoken, is occasionally a mystery to the twentieth century American, and opera, often sung in Italian, can be even more of a mystery. Further confusion can come in an opera, if one isn't familiar enough with the plot to know whether the young soprano dressed in male clothing and playing the part of a male is: a.) a female deliberately cast in the role of a young male, or b.) a female playing the part of a female disguised as a male. If I've "done my homework" and consulted SHAKESPEARE A TO Z before attending the play or opera, I have no problem following the plot regardless of language or gender of the performer.
As an aside, I wonder if it was more, or less, confusing in Shakespeare's time when all roles were played by males. Under those conditions you would have been treated to the spectacle of a male actor portraying a female disguised as a male. Phew!
If I have taken the time to delve further into this wonderful reference, I have a good chance of also understanding the historical context of the play and the motivations of the various characters. Shakespeare is sometimes subtle and frequently devious. Knowledge of background and motivation helps to better understand what is happening.
Some contemporary directors add additional confusion by using deliberate ploys such as having the same actor play multiple roles. If I've prepared properly, I am not confused.
While I personally use this reference mainly to enhance my enjoyment, I am absolutely convinced that it is a valuable source of information for students and an even more valuable instructional tool for teachers. When I was in high school, many long years ago, I didn't enjoy Shakespeare very much, mostly because I didn't totally comprehend what I was reading or seeing. Had I had access to SHAKESPEARE A TO Z, accompanied by a little properly applied pressure to consult it, who knows, I might have come around to enjoying his works much earlier in my life.
 |
Title: Shakespeare Lexicon and Quotation Dictionary: A Complete Dictionary of All the English Words, Phrases, and Constructions in the Works of the Poet (Volume I) by Alexander Schmidt ISBN: 048622726X Publisher: Dover Pubns Pub. Date: 01 June, 1971 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
 |
Title: The Friendly Shakespeare: A Thoroughly Painless Guide to the Best of the Bard by Norrie Epstein ISBN: 0140138862 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: October, 1994 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
 |
Title: Shakespeare's Words: A Glossary and Language Companion by David Crystal, Ben Crystal, Stanley Wells ISBN: 0140291172 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: January, 2003 List Price(USD): $18.00 |
 |
Title: A Shakespeare Glossary by Robert D. Eagleson, Charles T. Onions ISBN: 0198125216 Publisher: Oxford Press Pub. Date: January, 1986 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
 |
Title: The Oxford Companion to Shakespeare by Michael Dobson, Stanley Wells ISBN: 0198117353 Publisher: Oxford Press Pub. Date: October, 2001 List Price(USD): $60.00 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
