"Shakespeare: Texts and Contexts focuses on both the texts of Shakespeare's plays and the many contexts in which they have been produced, from their first performances to contemporary productions. This book introduces nine of Shakespeare's major plays: A Midsummer Night's Dream, Richard II, Macbeth, Antony and Cleopatra, Hamlet, Twelfth Night, Measure for Measure, King Lear and The Tempest. The chapters on the plays are supplemented by two short intervals, one describing the original theatrical contexts of the plays, and the other discussing the different textual versions of the plays available to us. Shakespeare: Texts and Contexts combines the critical practices of close reading and historical contextualization with a lively question-and-answer teaching style. In addition, two further aspects of Shakespeare studies are emphasized. First, there is detailed attention to Shakespeare in performance, on stage and on film. Secondly, the new theoretical approaches to the study of Shakespeare of the last 30 years are thoroughly integrated into the analyses of the plays. Students and teachers of Shakespeare at all levels will find Shakespeare: Texts and Contexts indispensable."--Jacket.

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