Stories from Shakespeare

Viac o knihe

Familiarity with the stories that Shakespeare is telling in his plays adds enormously to the enjoyment of them on the stage. In this book all the plays from the First Folio – the thirty-six comedies, tragedies, and histories – are retold for the reader of any age who wants a preliminary acquaintance with their plots and characters so that he can step into the wonder of Shakespeare without stumbling. Miss Chute, well-known for her style and scholarship, not only describes the characteristics and plot structure, but by a skillful selection of quotations portrays the atmosphere and underlying themes. Her book is in no sense meant as a substitute for seeing or reading the plays, but is a key to the fullest understanding and appreciation, for, as the author says, the happy reader is the best one. Her book will also have much value for the Shakespearean student, for she prefaces her version of the stories with a long introduction in which she discusses and comments on Shakespeare’s world, the meaning of his genius, the theater of his day, the inherent value of his writing and the way to approach and ready the plays themselves.