عنوان

The Oxford companion to Shakespeare

eng

The Oxford companion to Shakespeare

Amazon.co.uk: From Ariel and anti-theatrical polemic to Willow Song, Yorrick and Zeffirelli, The Oxford Companion to Shakespeare is a remarkably eclectic reference book. "Setobos is a deity or demon worshipped by Sycorax in The Tempest," runs one entry; "Lighting--Open air playhouses used available daylight supplemented by cresset-lights )oil-soaked rope burning in a metal basket( in the early evening," begins another. The writing style is commendably unpretentious. Most of the 540 pages are given over to alphabetic listing of characters and locations in the plays, actors, directors, theatre managers and critics from the late 16th century until the present. Then there are, among other things, technical terms to do with the theatre or with language and names such as Wagner, Zoffany, Arnold, Marlowe, whose work connects in any way with Shakespeare. There is no index but the book opens with a detailed account of the plays' dramatis personae, themes and associated names; and it ends with maps, a Royal family tree to help you pick your way through the history plays and a timeline giving a chronology of Shakespeare's life and works )and their reception(. There are also suggestions for further reading. Each play gets several pages at the appropriate point in the alphabetical arrangement. The commentary includes a synopsis, textual information and some facts on the play's sources, along with an account of its stage and critical history and artistic features. The section about published editions and criticism of each play is useful too. Apocryphal plays such as The Merry Devil of Edmonton are mentioned more briefly. The Oxford Companion to Shakespeare is an attractive book--with its A4 format, shiny paper and plenty of pictures--to browse through as well as use as a reference. --Susan Elkin -- Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine andere Ausgabe: Gebundene Ausgabe .

From Booklist: It is difficult to think of a topic that is not touched upon in this new handbook designed "to inform readers about Shakespeare's works, times, lives, and afterlives." As one might expect, there are entries for the plays and sonnets, sources and themes, and significant people and places in Shakespeare's life, as well as for aspects of interpretation and performance over the years. What one might not expect are entries that throw light onto obscure details )Mulberry tree; Performance times, lengths; Shakespeare Society of China; Trapdoors(, as well as those for topics that at first glance seem only remotely relevant )Ceramics; Melville, Herman; Romania; Tobacco(. Among the more than 3,000 signed entries are brief identifications of every character and in-depth treatments of each play. Articles on plays are several pages long and provide background information on text and sources, followed by plot summaries and discussions of artistic features, stage history, and screen presentations. Other entries cover biographical details, literary and cultural context, publishing history, literary terms, criticism, and scholarship. Particular emphasis is placed on theatrical history, from the productions of Shakespeare's time to Royal Shakespeare Company, Silent films, and Television. Notable players, from Thomas Betterton )1635-1710(, "the greatest actor of the Restoration period," to Kenneth Branagh, Judi Dench, and Ian McKellen are included. Also represented are countries and regions, among them Arab world, Japan, and Scandinavia. Most entries are quite short, but broader topics, such as Music, Nineteenth-century Shakespearian production, and Trade, travel, and colonialism, are given at least a page. Many entries conclude with a brief list of resources. A detailed "Thematic Listing of Entries" helps compensate for the paucity of cross-references. Among other supplemental aids are a chronology and a bibliographic essay noting introductory studies and standard reference works. Coeditor Wells also edited )with Gary Taylor( the modern-spelling edition of Oxford's Complete Works )1986( upon which the companion is based. In their introduction, Wells and Dobson admit to "some small bias" toward theaters in London and Stratford-upon-Avon. North American readers may take issue with the short shrift given to the Stratford Festival in Stratford, Ontario, and its "Hollywood-like emphasis on costumes, props, and gimmicks." The entry United States of America talks about the Classics Illustrated comic-book versions of the plays and notes Shakespearian elements in television series such as Gilligan's Island, but does not mention the Chicago Shakespeare Theater, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, or any of the many other serious American enterprises devoted to Shakespeare's work. Some entries, such as Cultural materialism, will baffle nonspecialists. A few entry headings are arcane )movies are discussed under Shakespeare on sound film(, and the lack of indexing means that information can be hard to retrieve. But its embrace of all things Shakespearian makes this volume a necessity for academic and public libraries. High-school libraries should also consider it, although high-schoolers may find Scribner's Shakespeare's World and Work ]RBB S 1 01[ more accessible. RBB. Copyright ش American Library Association. All rights reserved -- Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine andere Ausgabe: Gebundene Ausgabe .

From Library Journal: Companions to Shakespeare are ubiquitous, coming bound with various editions of the plays, in A-to-Z companions, and in many other manifestations. The Oxford Companion enters into this crowded field with both rigor and authority. Following in the very large footsteps of The Oxford Shakespeare )2001(, this companion has the same formatting )from text lines to play names and character spellings( and is of the same stellar quality. Comprising more than 3000 entries, it covers topics such as Shakespeare's biography, legend, works, literary features and terms, individuals )both real and fictional(, and a host of topics such as Elizabethan and Jacobean literature and theater, which help put in context both the times and the works. Of particular note are the entries on each play, which include scene-by-scene explanations as well as examinations of the play's particular artistic features, critical history, and stage and screen history, and a listing of recent editions and selected criticism. There is enough in each play summary to aid students from middle school to college. The attention paid to the poetic work of Shakespeare is also noteworthy. From "Venus and Adonis," "The Rape of Lucrece," and "Lover's Complaint" right through to a general section on the sonnets, the treatment is as in-depth and as helpful as that of the plays. Enlivened by photos and illustrations and an excellent map keyed to the history plays, this work is highly recommend for all libraries. Neal Wyatt, Chesterfield Cty. P.L., VA. Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. -- Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine andere Ausgabe: Gebundene Ausgabe .

Kurzbeschreibung: Shakespeare on stage, as a major cultural figure world-wide, in art, in the movies, and more. Michael Dobson and Stanley Wells present the most comprehensive work ever on the man, his times, his achievements and his legacy. -- Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine andere Ausgabe: Gebundene Ausgabe .

Synopsis: The Oxford Companion to Shakespeare is the most comprehensive reference work yet produced about Shakespeare's works, times, life, and afterlives. From the conjectured identity of the Dark Lady of the Sonnets to the misprints in the First Folio, from Shakespeare's favourite figures of speech to the staging of Othello in South Africa, a team of internationally renowned scholars provides a lucid, stimulating, and authoritative guide to the plays, the poems, and their interpretation around the world over the last four centuries. Bringing its readers up to date not only with the latest in Shakespearian scholarship and controversy but with the plays' recent incarnations on stage, on film, and in international popular culture, this is the perfect companion to Shakespeare's works, covering everything from Aaron and act divisions to Zeffirelli and Zuccaro, from Shakespeare in schools to Shakespeare in Love.

Oxford

Oxford University Press

2002, 2005

xxix, 541 p.: ill., maps; 29 cm.

Includes bibliographical references )p. 537-539(

ISBN: 0192806149

general editor, Michael Dobson; associate general editor Stanley Wells

1

Machine generated contents note: Preface vii -- Acknowledgements viii -- Contributors ix -- Thematic listing of entries xi -- List of plays xxviii -- Note to the reader xxix -- THE OXFORD COMPANION TO SHAKESPEARE-- The British Isles and France in the English Histories and Macbeth 035 -- The royal family in Shakespeare's English Histories 235 -- Shakespeare's life, works, and reception: a partial chronology 335 -- Further reading 735 -- Picture acknowledgements

، Shakespeare, William, 4651-6161

TI

AU Dobson, Michael 1960-

AU Wells, Stanley W. 1930-