This guide to the most popular works of William Shakespeare provides & overview of his life & times which gives an insight into his writings themes & characters & how facts were altered to make the historical plays more entertaining. The book

Includes:: plot & main character summaries of such plays as A Midsummer Night's Dream" " Othello" " Julius Caesar" & " Romeo & Juliet". It also contains plot scorecards that allow the reader to follow the play & keep track of the deaths marriages & family relations. In addition Shakespeare's poetry is covered in detail. The guide

Includes:: an overview of the English of Shakespeare's day with tips on sentence construction verbs & knowing the difference between "thee" "thou" & "thine" as well as an examination of his use of words jokes & puns. The book also offers: tips on how to best enjoy the Bard's work with advice on reading aloud reading footnotes & using a dictionary; suggestions on how to prepare for a performance of Shakespeare's work & what to look for in film versions; the best places to see a Shakespearean production; the most common Shakespeare"es still used today; the best films based on the Bard's works; & notable performances."



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The full comprehension of the plays is gained from the line-by-line modern English translation given on facing pages. Understanding of the plays is increased as pupils take part in the variety of related activities included in each book. The significance of the plays is reinforced by sections discussing Shakespeares life works & theatre. Pupils are encouraged to understand the language characters structure & themes of the plays by completion of practical exercises. ...

The full comprehension of the plays is gained from the line-by-line modern English translation given on facing pages. Understanding of the plays is increased as pupils take part in the variety of related activities included in each book. The significance of the plays is reinforced by sections discussing Shakespeares life works & theatre. Pupils are encouraged to understand the language characters structure & themes of the plays by completion of practical exercises. ...

Whos afraid of William Shakespeare? Just about everyone. He wrote too much & what he did write is inaccessible & elitist. Right? Wrong. Shakespeare on Toast" knocks the stuffing from the staid old myth of Shakespeare revealing the man & his plays for what they really are: modern thrilling & uplifting drama. Actor & author Ben Crystal brings the bright words & colourful characters of the worlds greatest hack writer brilliantly to life handing over the key to Shakespeares plays unlocking the so called difficult bits & astonishingly finding Shakespeares own voice amid the poetry. Told in five fascinating Acts " Shakespeare on Toast" sweeps the cobwebs from the Bard
- from his language his life his time
- revealing both the man & his work to be relevant accessible & full of beans."

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Lily Bard has started over in the quiet town of Shakespeare Arkansas where she works as a cleaning lady. But shes about to go back to where she came from & where Lily goes danger follows.. . Determined to move beyond her violent past Lily heads to Bartley her hometown for her sisters Christmas Eve wedding. But theres something in the air besides festive cheer: the towns doctor & nurses have been bludgeoned to death & Lilys detective boyfriend has followed an eight-year-old kidnapping case straight to Bartley. It just might have something to do with the murders.. .and with her sisters fiance. With only three days to the wedding Lily must work fast to clean up the messy case before her sister promises to love honour & obey a killer. ...

From Neil Mac Gregor the acclaimed creator of A History of the World in 100 Objects" & the Director of the British Museum comes a unique enthralling exploration of the age of William Shakespeare to accompany a new BBC Radio 4 series. Shakespeare lived through a pivotal period in human history. With the discovery of the New World the horizons of Old Europe were expanding dramatically
- & long-cherished certainties were crumbling. Life was exhilaratingly uncertain. What were Londoners thinking when they went to see Shakespeares plays? What was it like living in their world? Here Neil Mac Gregor looks at twenty objects from Shakespeares life & times & uncovers the fascinating stories behind them. The objects themselves range from the grand (such as the hoard of gold coins that make up the Salcombe treasure) to the very humble like the battered trunk & worn garments of an unknown pedlar. But in each case they allow Mac Gregor to explore issues as diverse as piracy & Islam Catholicism & disguise. Mac Gregor weaves the histories of objects into the words of Shakespeares plays themselves to suggest to us where his ideas about religion national identity the history of England & the world human nature itself may have come from. The result is a fresh & thrilling evocation of Shakespeares world."
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Neil Mac Gregor the Director of the British Museum looks at the world through the eyes of Shakespeares audience by exploring objects from that turbulent period. Examining these objects Neil discusses how Shakespeares audiences understood & made sense of the unstable & rapidly changing world in which they lived. With old certainties shifting around them in a time of political & religious unrest & economic expansion Neil asks what the plays would have meant to the public when they were first performed. Neil uses objects to explore the great issues of the day that preoccupied the public & helped shape the works & considers what they can reveal about the concerns & beliefs of Shakespearean Engl&. ...

Shakespeares Sonnets are universally loved & much-quoted throughout the world while debates still rage as to the identity of the Dark Lady & how autobiographical the sonnets really are. First published in 1997 to much critical acclaim the Sonnets has been a consistent best-seller in the Arden Shakespeare series. Katherine Duncan Jones tackles the controversies & mysteries surrounding these beautiful poems head on & explores the issues of sexuality to be found in them making this a truly modern edition for todays readers & students. This revised edition has been updated & corrected in the light of new scholarship & critical thinking since its first publication. ...

Shakespeares Sonnets have caused endless debate & speculation: who is the dark lady; who is the only begetter; & what light do the poems shed on the life of the poet? Yet the sonnets themselves can be enjoyed for their lyricism rather than their intention. Written as a form of personal confession
- of love of grief of anger of jealousy & of lust
- the sonnets encompass a huge range of human emotion beautifully expressed within the restrictions of the form. Some such as Shall I compare thee to a summers day" or " Let me not to the marriage of true minds" will be instantly familiar to readers while others equally rich in imagery are less well known. Together they form a powerful meditation on the nature of love marriage beauty & time."

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Lily Bard has started over in the quiet town of Shakespeare Arkansas as a cleaning lady. She works out her anger & the pain of her past with martial arts. For Lily the gym is a place to get away from her troubles not find more of them. But when she stumbles on the corpse of a local bodybuilder his neck broken with a barbell the town's underlying racial tensions begin to boil over. The white victim was connected to two unsolved murders of black residents in Shakespeare & a dogged policeman is determined to stop the killing. Lily may have to decide whether to stay & fight for justice or run away one more time. ...