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The Golden Labyrinth: A Study of British Drama (Routledge Revivals)
by G. Wilson KnightFirst published in 1965, The Golden Labyrinth provides a coherent and readable history of the essential nature of British drama in a single volume. The treatment is philosophical and imaginative, and full of enthusiasm and clarity which have made Professor Wilson Knight’s works, of Shakespearian and other interpretations, so famous. The chapters in this book have been organized according to literary periods and will appeal to both students of literature and casual readers.
The Homecoming: The Homecoming; Old Times; No Man's Land (Modern Plays Ser.)
by Harold Pinter'An exultant night - a man in total command of his talent.' Observer'The most intense expression of compressed violence to be found anywhere in Pinter's plays.' The TimesWhen Teddy, a professor in an American university, brings his wife Ruth to visit his old home in London, he finds his family still living in the house. In the conflict that follows, it is Ruth who becomes the focus of the family's struggle for supremacy.
Incident at Vichy: The Misfits; After The Fall; Incident At Vichy; The Price; Creation Of The World; Playing For Time (Student Editions)
by Arthur MillerJew is only the name we give to that stranger. Each man has his Jew; it is the other. And the Jews have their Jews.Arthur Miller's largely forgotten masterpiece, Incident at Vichy is a prescient examination of the evil that exists in us all, inspired by a real-life incident in France in which a Gentile gave a Jew his identity pass during a check, which would have resulted in the Jew otherwise being sent to a concentration camp.This Methuen Drama Student Edition of the play includes commentary and notes by Joshua Polster, Emerson College, US, which investigate the politics of the play in the context of the African-American civil rights movement happening at the time; the Vietnam War; The House Committee on Un-American Activities; and the murder of Kitty Genovese, as well as exploring Miller's own relationships that were central to the play including with psychoanalyst Dr Rudolf Loewenstein, his wife Inge Morath and his friend Elia Kazan.
Mr. Universe: And Other Plays
by Jim GrimsleyGeorge Oppenheimer Award for Best New American Playwright; Bryan Prize for Drama by the Fellowship of Southern Writers. In this collection, critically acclaimed novelist Jim Grimsley reveals his great gifts as a playwright in four powerful, award-winning plays presenting different worlds in collision and convergence. In "Mr. Universe," the rescue of a mute bodybuilder from the gritty streets of New Orleans by a couple of drag queens brings out the best and worst in them. In "The Lizard of Tarsus," an imprisoned Jesus (called J.) is interrogated by an ambitious follower, Paul of Tarsus. In "The Borderland," neighboring families representing two very different social classes are brought together during a storm. And in "Math and Aftermath," the two worlds of pornography and nuclear testing collide during a film shoot in the Marshall Islands. These plays (introduced by Romulus Linney, Reynolds Price, Kaye Gibbons, and Craig Lucas) demonstrate the differences that are matters of perception; together they establish Grimsley as a dramatist with imagination and nerve. A STAGE AND SCREEN BOOK CLUB selection.
Philadelphia, Here I Come: Philadelphia, Here I Come!; The Freedom Of The City; Living Quarters; Aristocrats; Faith Healer; Translations
by Brian FrielFed up with the dreary round of life in Ballybeg, with his uncommunicative father and the humiliating job in his father's grocery shop, with his frustrated love for Kathy Doogan who married a richer, more successful young man and with the total absence of prospect and opportunity in his life at home, Gareth O'Donnell has accepted his aunt's invitation to come to Philadelphia. Now, on the eve of his departure, he is not happy to be leaving Ballybeg.With this play Brian Friel made his reputation and it is now an acknowledged classic of modern drama.
The Recruiting Officer: A Comedy... (New Mermaids)
by George Farquhar Tiffany SternThis completely new edition of The Recruiting Officer contains a freshly-edited play text, with new annotations, in modern spelling. Tiffany Stern's comprehensive and engaging introduction discusses the author's career and gives a history of the play including its staging, critical interpretation, date and sources, putting it its context of the late Restoration and illuminating its theatrical vivacity.Farquhar's The Recruiting Officer is set in Shrewsbury in 1704 and describes what happens in a country town when the army come to stay. With cross-dressing and confusion in plenty, this is a comedy exploring the timeless themes of love and war. One of Farquhar's last two plays, The Recruiting Officer is both entertaining and touching. It has a light, humane touch and its original depiction of a real-life provincial town comically explores the impact that ongoing warfare had on its civilian society.
The Sound of Music Companion: The Official Companion To The World's Most Beloved Musical
by Laurence MaslonThe definitive book on the world's most beloved musical, TheSound of Music Companion charts the incredible and enduring story of Maria von Trapp and her story over the last hundred years – from Maria's birth in Vienna in 1905 to the 50th anniversary of the film's release in 2015.
Three Revenge Tragedies
by Cyril Tourneur John Webster Thomas MiddletonFollowing the end of Queen Elizabeth's reign in the early seventeenth century, the new court of King James was beset by political instability and moral corruption. This atmosphere provided fertile ground for the dramatists of the age, whose plays explore the ways in which social decadence and the abuse of power breed resentment and lead inexorably to violence and bloody retribution. In Tourneur's The Revenger's Tragedy, the debauched son of an Italian Duke attempts to rape the virtuous Gloriana - a veiled reference to Elizabeth I. Webster's The White Devil depicts a sinister world of intrigue and murderous infidelity, while The Changeling, perhaps Middleton's supreme achievement, powerfully portrays a woman bringing about her own unwitting destruction. All three are masterpieces of brooding intensity, dominated by images of decay, disillusionment and death.
A Little Devil in America: In Praise of Black Performance
by Hanif AbdurraqibAn electrifying celebration of Black performances, cultures and communities in the United States, from the New York Times bestselling poet and critic Hanif Abdurraqib'Gorgeous' - Brit Bennett'Pure genius' - Jacqueline Woodson'One of the most dynamic books I have ever read' - Clint SmithAt the March on Washington, Josephine Baker reflected on her life and her legacy. She had spent decades as one of the most successful entertainers in the world, but, she told the crowd, "I was a devil in other countries, and I was a little devil in America, too". Inspired by these words, Hanif Abdurraqib has written a stirring meditation on Black performance in the modern age, in which culture, history and his own lived experience collide.With sharp insight, humour and heart, Abdurraqib explores a sequence of iconic and intimate performances that take him from mid-century Paris to the moon -- and back down again, to a cramped living room in Columbus, Ohio. Each one, he shows, has layers of resonance across Black and white cultures, the politics of American empire, and his own personal history of love and grief -- whether it's the twenty-seven seconds of 'Gimme Shelter' in which Merry Clayton sings, or the magnificent hours of Aretha Franklin's homegoing; Beyoncé's Super Bowl show or a schoolyard fistfight; Dave Chapelle's skits or a game of spades among friends.
Coriolanus
by William Shakespeare Paul Prescott G. R. HibbardA peerless general is offered the consulship of Rome after his triumph over the city of Corioles. Too proud to respect the will of the people, however, he soon finds himself despised by the mob, and speaks out passionately against popular rule. Driven from the city as a traitor, he allies himself with his old enemies and begins to plot a merciless revenge.This book includes a general introduction to Shakespeare's life and the Elizabethan theatre, a separate introduction to Coriolanus, a chronology, suggestions for further reading, an essay discussing performance options on both stage and screen, and a commentary.
The Merchant of Venice: As Originally Performed By Shakespeare's Company...
by William Shakespeare Peter HollandWilliam Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice is both a witty comedy and a moving exploration of bigotry and stigmatisation, and this Penguin Shakespeare edition is edited by W. Moelwyn Merchant with an introduction by Peter Holland.'The quality of mercy is not strain'd,It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven'Bassanio, a noble but impoverished Venetian, asks his friend the merchant Antonio for a loan to impress an heiress. Antonio agrees, but is forced to borrow the sum from a cynical Jewish moneylender, Shylock, who forces him into a chilling contract, which stipulates he must honour the debt with a pound of his own flesh. But Bassanio's beloved is not as demure as she seems, and disguising herself as a lawyer, Portia proves herself one of Shakespeare's most cunning heroines, in a witty attack on Shylock's claim. A complex and controversial comedy, The Merchant of Venice explores prejudice and the true nature of justice.This book contains a general introduction to Shakespeare's life and Elizabethan theatre, a separate introduction to The Merchant of Venice, a chronology, suggestions for further reading, an essay discussing performance options on both stage and screen, and a commentary.William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was born to John Shakespeare and Mary Arden some time in late April 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon. He wrote about 38 plays (the precise number is uncertain), many of which are regarded as the most exceptional works of drama ever produced, including Romeo and Juliet (1595), Henry V (1599), Hamlet (1601), Othello (1604), King Lear (1606) and Macbeth (1606), as well as a collection of 154 sonnets, which number among the most profound and influential love-poetry in English.If you enjoyed The Merchant of Venice, you might like The Taming of the Shrew, also available in Penguin Shakespeare.'The man who of all modern, and perhaps ancient poets, had the largest and most comprehensive soul'John Dryden
A Specimen of a Commentary on Shakspeare: Being the Text of the First (1794) Edition Revised by the Author and Never Previously Published (Routledge Library Editions: Study of Shakespeare)
by Walter WhiterIf it is not generally known that the foundations of twentieth-century criticism of Shakespeare’s imagery were laid over one hundred and fifty years ago, the explanation lies in the limited availability of the single original edition of Walter Whiter’s Specimen of a Commentary on Shakspeare published in 1794. In an age in which the study of Shakespeare’s characters was of prime interest and importance, Whiter – a classical scholar who took holy orders and ended his life as a country parson – developed a form of textual criticism closely linked to a study of the workings of the human mind: and his book offers a psychological survey of the creative imagination, following the principles laid down in Locke’s Essay on Human Understanding and illustrated by examples from Shakespeare’s plays. In his realization that Shakespeare provides the finest examples of the poetic imagination Whiter is of his time: but in his particular study of the associative powers of such a mind engaged in the process of creation, he is far in advance of his time and has no immediate disciples in the later nineteenth century. In the twentieth century, however, there was an increasing acknowledgement of Whiter’s work and a more frequent appeal for the reissue of his book. Originally published in 1967, the present edition was started in response to that appeal more than ten years before Mr Alan Over’s tragic death in 1964 and incorporates the revisions and additions made by Whiter for his own projected second edition.
A Specimen of a Commentary on Shakspeare: Being the Text of the First (1794) Edition Revised by the Author and Never Previously Published (Routledge Library Editions: Study of Shakespeare)
by Walter WhiterIf it is not generally known that the foundations of twentieth-century criticism of Shakespeare’s imagery were laid over one hundred and fifty years ago, the explanation lies in the limited availability of the single original edition of Walter Whiter’s Specimen of a Commentary on Shakspeare published in 1794. In an age in which the study of Shakespeare’s characters was of prime interest and importance, Whiter – a classical scholar who took holy orders and ended his life as a country parson – developed a form of textual criticism closely linked to a study of the workings of the human mind: and his book offers a psychological survey of the creative imagination, following the principles laid down in Locke’s Essay on Human Understanding and illustrated by examples from Shakespeare’s plays. In his realization that Shakespeare provides the finest examples of the poetic imagination Whiter is of his time: but in his particular study of the associative powers of such a mind engaged in the process of creation, he is far in advance of his time and has no immediate disciples in the later nineteenth century. In the twentieth century, however, there was an increasing acknowledgement of Whiter’s work and a more frequent appeal for the reissue of his book. Originally published in 1967, the present edition was started in response to that appeal more than ten years before Mr Alan Over’s tragic death in 1964 and incorporates the revisions and additions made by Whiter for his own projected second edition.
The Theatre of Commitment: And Other Essays on Drama in Our Society (Routledge Revivals)
by Eric BentleyFirst published in 1967 The Theatre of Commitment presents miscellaneous collection of seven essays written over fifteen years. Eric Bentley deals with themes like is the drama an extinct species; the American drama; what is theatre; the pro and con of political theatre; letter to a would-be playwright and the theatre of commitment. For most people, theatre of commitment is political theater, though Bentley indicates that the word commitment is broad enough to embrace the work of any serious writer even if the commitment is to non-commitment. This is an interesting read for students of theatre and performance studies.
The Theatre of Commitment: And Other Essays on Drama in Our Society (Routledge Revivals)
by Eric BentleyFirst published in 1967 The Theatre of Commitment presents miscellaneous collection of seven essays written over fifteen years. Eric Bentley deals with themes like is the drama an extinct species; the American drama; what is theatre; the pro and con of political theatre; letter to a would-be playwright and the theatre of commitment. For most people, theatre of commitment is political theater, though Bentley indicates that the word commitment is broad enough to embrace the work of any serious writer even if the commitment is to non-commitment. This is an interesting read for students of theatre and performance studies.
The Vocal Songs in the Plays of William Shakespeare: A Critical History (PDF)
by Peter J. SengThe Vocal Songs in the Plays of William Shakespeare: A Critical History
Anthony Trollope (Routledge Library Editions: The Nineteenth-Century Novel)
by P.D. EdwardsFirst published in 1968, this book sets out to refute the idea of Trollope as a ‘mild cathedral-town novelist, describing storms in ecclesiastical tea cups’ which prevailed at the time in spite of his stature during his lifetime. The author reveals the full strength and range of Trollope’s achievement and provides an excellent introduction to further exploration of the novels. Two sections — ‘Narrative Method’ and ‘Subject-Matter’ — are used as the basis from which the author examines key themes in Trollope’s work, with instructive extracts from the novels included to illustrate these points and upon which commentary is provided. This book will be of interest to students of literature.
Anthony Trollope (Routledge Library Editions: The Nineteenth-Century Novel)
by P.D. EdwardsFirst published in 1968, this book sets out to refute the idea of Trollope as a ‘mild cathedral-town novelist, describing storms in ecclesiastical tea cups’ which prevailed at the time in spite of his stature during his lifetime. The author reveals the full strength and range of Trollope’s achievement and provides an excellent introduction to further exploration of the novels. Two sections — ‘Narrative Method’ and ‘Subject-Matter’ — are used as the basis from which the author examines key themes in Trollope’s work, with instructive extracts from the novels included to illustrate these points and upon which commentary is provided. This book will be of interest to students of literature.
As You Like It: A Pleasant Comedy (Oxford School Shakes Ser.)
by William Shakespeare Katherine Duncan-Jones H. J. OliverWilliam Shakespeare's exuberant comedy As You Like It is his playful take on the Renaissance tradition of pastoral romance, edited by H.J. Oliver with an introduction by Katherine Duncan-Jones.'All the world's a stage,And all the men and women merely players'When Rosalind is banished by her uncle Duke Frederick, who has usurped her father's throne, she flees to the forest of Arden where her exiled father holds court. There, dressed as a boy to avoid discovery, she encounters the man she loves - Orlando, similarly forced into exile by his older brother Oliver - and resolves to remain in disguise to test his feelings or her. A gloriously sunny comedy, As You Like It is an exuberant combination of concealed identities and verbal jousting, reconciliations and multiple weddings.This book contains a general introduction to Shakespeare's life and Elizabethan theatre, a separate introduction to As You Like It, a chronology, suggestions for further reading, an essay discussing performance options on both stage and screen, and a commentary.William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was born to John Shakespeare and Mary Arden some time in late April 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon. He wrote about 38 plays (the precise number is uncertain), many of which are regarded as the most exceptional works of drama ever produced, including Romeo and Juliet (1595), Henry V (1599), Hamlet (1601), Othello (1604), King Lear (1606) and Macbeth (1606), as well as a collection of 154 sonnets, which number among the most profound and influential love-poetry in English.If you enjoyed As You Like It, you might like Much Ado About Nothing, also available in Penguin Shakespeare.'At once sublime poet and master dramatist'Simon Callow
Bartholmew Fair (New Mermaids)
by Ben Jonson Alexander Leggatt G. R. HibbardEarly modern London - too foggy and Protestant to have a carnival -offered its inhabitants commercial events during which to indulge theirneed for bodily delights and festival exuberance. The fair of StBartholmew, held anually in Smithfield on 24 August, served Jonson asan opportunity to dissect a wide cross-section of Londoners and theirvarious reasons for spending a day out among the booths, stalls, smellsand noises of the fair. Unusually magnanimous for a Jonsonian citycomedy, the main thrust of the satire is not against fools, madmen,fortune-hunters, cuckolds or prostitutes, but against hypocrisy andbigotry. This edition shows that the play can be read as acomprehensive refutation of puritanism and the London magistracy, bothof whom were attacking the theatre (and the festive culture of which itwas still part) as idolatrous, seditious and disorderly.
Henry IV Part One: A Tragedy, In Five Acts (classic Reprint) (Argo Ser.)
by William Shakespeare Charles Edelman Peter DavidsonPrince Hal, the son of King Henry IV, spends his time in idle pleasure with dissolute friends, among them the roguish Sir John Falstaff. But when the kingdom is threatened by rebellious forces, the prince must abandon his reckless ways. Taking arms against a heroic enemy, he begins a great and compelling transformation - from irresponsible reprobate to noble ruler of men.
Henry IV Part Two: King Richard Ii. First Part Of King Henry Iv. Second Part Of King Henry Iv. King Henry V. First Part Of King Henry Vi. Second Part Of King Henr
by William Shakespeare Adrian PooleAngered by the loss of his son in battle, the Earl of Northumberland supports another rebellion against King Henry IV, bringing the country to the brink of civil war. Sick and weary, the old King sends out his forces, including the unruly Sir John Falstaff, to meet the rebels. But as the conflict grows, he must also confront a more personal problem - how to make his reprobate son Prince Hal aware of the duties he must bear, as heir to the throne.
Henry V: Shakespeare Appreciated
by A. Humphreys William ShakespeareShakespeare's immutable history of Henry's victory over the French at Agincourt and the subsequent peace between the two nations is also a study of war and kingship. From a wild youth, Henry comes to embody all of the kingly virtues: courage, justice, integrity and honour. Ironically these qualities are brought to the fore by the realities of war. Written at the end of the life of Elizabeth I, Henry V told the British people that with strong leadership, they had little to fear at a time of uncertainty.
Henry V: Shakespeare Appreciated
by William Shakespeare A. R. Humphreys Ann KaegiHenry V is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1599. It is based on the life of King Henry V of England, and focuses on events immediately before and after the Battle of Agincourt (1415) during the Hundred Years' War. The play is the final part of a tetralogy, preceded by Richard II, Henry IV, part 1 and Henry IV, part 2. The plot follows the young prince (a reckless and undisciplined character in Henry IV) as he matures into a man and embarks on an attempted conquest of France.