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Title: Asimov's Guide to Shakespeare : A Guide to Understanding and Enjoying the Works of Shakespeare by ISAAC ASIMOV ISBN: 0-517-26825-6 Publisher: Gramercy Pub. Date: 02 September, 2003 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $24.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.5 (20 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Excellent Reading!
Comment: My only complaint about this book is that Asimov gets too strong in some of his personal opinions. (Harsh opinions of Banquo, Brutus, Richard II etc.) But aside from that I value this book highly. He helps us to see some things Shakespeare's original audience would be able to pick up on WITHOUT being told. This helps one to understand Shakespeare's plays more. Also for the most part he DOES avoid the absurd marxist views that tend to over simplify the anaylisis. He is especially helpful in the history plays. Understanding Shakespeare's historical plays depends to a large extent on knowing the facts that Shakespeare does not mention (but that the original audience would have known). He also offers educated speculation that offers deep insights. While I do not agree with him on EVERYTHING, his views are interesting.
Rating: 4
Summary: You Thought You Knew Shakespeare?
Comment: I thought I was pretty familiar with Shakespeare when I picked up Asimov's guide. I thought I had a strong grasp on most of his plays. Boy was I ever wrong! This book taught me things that I never even thought to look for in language that's approachable and engaging. The section where he discusses the REAL history behind the histories is downright gripping -- I wound up reading through it all, not as an explanation of the plays but because Asimov's description of the history itself was fascinating. It led me to read a lot of other literature on the War of the Roses.
Asimov also explains some of Shakespeare's sometimes hard to understand humor, the puns whose meanings were lost long ago. Scenes that once meant nothing to me came alive, and the characters and their relationships with each other became much clearer. I adore his take on Hamlet. It absolutely changed the way I read the play, made it a good deal more entertaining.
The reason I gave the book four stars instead of five is that Asimov is a little bit too forward in his personal opinions on some of the plays. There are places where he leaves a lot of questions I have about sections of certain plays unanswered because he's trying to forward an agenda for a creative interpretation of the play in question. Sometimes (as with Hamlet) this works, but all in all, I would have liked to have seen less of it.
Rating: 5
Summary: Azimov on Shakespeare
Comment: Isaac Azimov's Guide to Shakespeare is insightful, educational, controversial, well researched and fun. This is an excellent, alternative interpretation of the Canon. Anyone who wants to understand the history, the mythology and the drama of the plays should read this book. Highly recommended.
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Title: Asimov's Guide to the Bible : The Old and New Testaments (2Vols. in One) by ISAAC ASIMOV ISBN: 051734582X Publisher: Gramercy Pub. Date: 12 December, 1988 List Price(USD): $21.99 |
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Title: The Meaning of Shakespeare by Harold Clarke Goddard ISBN: 0226300412 Publisher: University of Chicago Press Pub. Date: June, 1960 List Price(USD): $20.00 |
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Title: Asimov's Chronology of the World by Isaac Asimov ISBN: 0062700367 Publisher: HarperResource Pub. Date: 06 November, 1991 List Price(USD): $45.00 |
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Title: Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human by Harold Bloom ISBN: 157322751X Publisher: Riverhead Books Pub. Date: September, 1999 List Price(USD): $18.00 |
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Title: Shakespearean Tragedy: Lectures on Hamlet, Othello, King Lear & Macbeth (New Shakespeare Library) by A. C. Bradley ISBN: 0140530193 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: October, 1991 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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