Shakespeare for Students:critical interpretations of As you like it, Hamlet, Julius Caesar, Macbeth, The merchant of Venice, A midsummer night's dream, Othello, and Romeo and Juliet. by
The mountain of Shakespearean criticism is often more intimidating to students than Shakespeare's plays themselves. This volume attempts to address this problem with a single, accessible volume of criticism to the playwright's eight most popularly studied plays in secondary schools and undergraduate curriculums - Macbeth, Hamlet, Julius Caesar, Romeo and Juliet, As You Like It, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Othello, and The Merchant of Venice.
Reading Shakespeare Historically by
Reading Shakespeare Historically is a passionate, provocative book by one of the most renowned and popular Renaissance scholars writing today. Charting ten years of critical development, these challenging, witty essays shed new light on Renaissance studies. It also raises intriguing questions about how the culture and history of the past illuminates the key social and political issues of today. Lisa Jardine re-reads Renaissance drama in its historical and cultural context, from laws of defamation in Othello to the competing loyalties of companionate marriage and male friendship in The Changeling. In doing so she reveals a wealth of new insights, sometimes surprising but always original and engrossing. At the same time, these essays also provide a fascinating account of the rise of feminist scholarship since the 1980s and the diversifying of new historicist' approaches over the same period. Reading Shakespeare Historically will fascinate and provoke students of shakespeare and his historical age, and general readers with an urge to understand how the culture and history of our past illuminates the key scoial and political issues of today.
Shakespeare and Renaissance Politics by
Shakespeare, like many of his contemporaries, was concerned with the question of the succession and the legitimacy of the monarch. From the early plays through the histories to Hamlet, Shakespeare's work is haunted by the problem of political legitimacy.
Shakespeare's English Kings by
Far more than any professional historian, Shakespeare is responsible for whatever notions most of us possess about English medieval history. Anyone who appreciates the dramatic action of Shakespeares history plays but is confused by much of the historical detail will welcome this guide to theRichards, Edwards, Henrys, Warwicks and Norfolks who ruled and fought across Shakespeare's page and stage. Not only theater-goers and students, but today's film-goers who want to enrich their understanding of film adaptations of plays such as Richard III and Henry V will find this revised edition ofShakespeare's English Kings to be an essential companion. Saccio's engaging narrative weaves together three threads: medieval English history according to the Tudor chroniclers who provided Shakespeare with his material, that history as understood by modern scholars, and the action of the plays themselves. Including a new preface, a revised furtherreading list, genealogical charts, an appendix of names and titles, and an index, the second edition of Shakespeare's English Kings offers excellent background reading for all of the ten history plays.
Shakespeare's Political Drama by
First published in 1989. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.
Shakespeare's Political Realism by
Explores the continuing relevance of important political themes in five of Shakespeare's English History plays.
The Battle of Agincourt by
Published in partnership with the Royal Armouries, this comprehensive, sumptuously illustrated volume provides a defining reassessment of England's legendary victory on the fields of Agincourt on October 25, 1415. Dramatized by William Shakespeare in Henry V, the Battle of Agincourt changed the course of the Hundred Years War and Britain's relationship with her longtime enemy, France. In a remarkable work commemorating the 600th anniversary of arguably the most iconic military engagement of the medieval era, a wide range of experts examine the battle in its political, cultural, and geographical contexts, detailing strategies, tactics, armor, weapons, and fighting techniques while exploring the battlefield experiences of commanders and ordinary soldiers alike. In addition, this all-encompassing study offers deep analyses of many artifacts and aspects of the battle and its aftermath that have rarely been covered in other histories, including medicine and hygiene, the roles of faith and chivalry, the music of the times, and the experiences of women.
HENRY V (Scroll Down for Resources)
"But we in it shall be remember'd;
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition:
And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day."
Henry V begins at the English court, where the young king is persuaded that he has a claim to the throne of France. When the French dauphin, or heir apparent, insults him by sending him tennis balls, Henry launches his military expedition to France.
Before departing, Henry learns that three of his nobles have betrayed him, and he orders their execution. Meanwhile, his old tavern companions grieve over Sir John Falstaff’s death, and then leave for France.
Henry and his army lay siege to the French town of Harfleur, which surrenders. The Princess of France, Katherine, starts to learn English, but the French nobles are sure of success against Henry. Instead, Henry's forces win a great victory at Agincourt.
After a brief return to England, Henry comes back to France to claim his rights and to set up his marriage to Princess Katherine. The play’s epilogue points out that Henry will die young and that England will as a result lose most of his French territories.
(Photo: Henry V, 1989, Renaissance Films, BBC)
HENRY V, ACT IV, SCENE III - Speech Before Battle of Agincourt (Courtesy YouTube)
Henry V Saint Crispian's Day Speech (Kenneth Branagh, Rennaissance Films, BBC)
ACT II, SCENE III - Harfleur, "Once more unto the breech, dear friends" (Courtesy of YouTube)
Laurence Olivier Version, 1944, Two Cities Films.
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