History Books

Much Ado about Nothing (Cambridge School Shakespeare)

William Shakespeare

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 289 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Much Ado about...Nothing 1 out of 5 stars.
0 of 3 people found this review helpful.

It's as the title implies..nothing this film did nothing for me. None of the actors really seemed to sparkle or stand out (maybe that guy from House but barely). This movie also features Keanu Reeves in one of his worst acting roles since Bram Stoker's Dracula. It seems to me I get Shakespeare's dramas better than I get his comedies.The lines are supposedly witty and funny, funny to who an audience from ol' Willie's century? Maybe, or maybe the performance was too dumbed down to make it either but I digress.
There are some scenes I find totally pointless and dumb. The opening shot of the menfolk returning homes from a battle or something riding thier horses over the hill to some extremely corny triumph music "RIDING HORESES YAH! WOO look how cool we look riding slow-mo on our horses while making constipated faces. And another shot of the men and women getting ready to go greet each other by getting cleaned up, they show [...] shots of both sexes (though I think they linger disturbingly longer on the women) just for the sake of having [...] shots. And be warned the lighting for the mens shot has you seeing a little more than you want to.
Tell me when there's a good Shakespeare adaptation I can rave about Ciao!

Editorial Review:

This new edition of Much Ado About Nothing is part of the established Cambridge School Shakespeare series and has been substantially updated with new and revised activities throughout. Remaining faithful to the series' active approach it treats the play as a script to be acted, explored and enjoyed. As well as the complete script of Much Ado About Nothing, you will find a variety of classroom-tested activities, an eight-page colour section and an enlarged selection of notes including information on characters, performance, history and language.

Death of a Salesman (Cliffs Notes)

Jennifer L. Scheidt

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Total reviews: 202 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

The original CliffsNotes study guides offer a look into critical elements and ideas within classic works of literature. The latest generation of titles in this series also feature glossaries and visual elements that complement the classic, familiar format.

CliffsNotes on Death of a Salesman shares an intimate glimpse into the dreams and disappointments of an American family.

Following the story of Willy Loman, an aging salesman who can't accept change within himself and society, this study guide provides a character list, character map, and character analyses to explore the personalities within Arthur Miller's masterful play. Other features that help you figure out this important work include

• Personal and career background of the author
• Introduction to and brief synopsis of the play
• Summaries and expert commentaries for each act and scene
• Essays that explore the play's major themes and the author's manipulation of time and space
• A review section that tests your knowledge and suggests essay topics and practice projects
• A Resource Center full of books, publications, films, and Internet resources

Classic literature or modern-day treasure — you'll understand it all with expert information and insight from CliffsNotes study guides.

Hamlet (Barron's Book Notes)

William Shakespeare, Tessa Krailing

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 154 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

To thine own self be true ... 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

NOTE: THE FOLLOWING CHIEFLY PERTAINS TO THE NEW FOLGER LIBRARY EDITION.

William Shakespeare's "Hamlet" is arguably the most famous play ever written in the English language; it presents the world with questions and characters that have been the subject of thespian and scholarly debate ever since the Prince of Denmark's first appearance on the stage of London's Globe Theatre. Probably written and first performed in 1601 (estimates vary between 1600 and 1602), the play draws on Saxo Grammaticus's late 12th/early 13th century chronicle "Gesta Danorum," which includes a popular legend with a similar plot centering around a prince named Amleth; as well as several more contemporaneous sources, primarily Francois de Belleforest's "Histoires Tragiques, Extraicts des Oeuvres Italiennes de Bandel" (1559-1580), which expands on the story told in the "Gesta Danorum," and a lost play known as the "Ur-Hamlet" (i.e., original "Hamlet"), sometimes also attributed to Shakespeare, but equally likely written by a different author a few decades earlier. Another work frequently cited in this context is 16th century playwright Thomas Kyd's "Spanish Tragedie."

Pursuant to Shakespeare's wishes and like all of his works, "Hamlet" was not immediately published, and the original manuscript did not survive. However, in the absence of copyright laws or other forms of protection of what today would be called the playwright's intellectual property rights, first bootleg copies (so-called quartos) based on transcripts made during or after performances began to appear in 1603. Yet, it would not be until 1623 - seven years after Shakespeare's 1616 death - that his former fellow actors John Hemmings and Henry Condell published 36 of his plays (including this one) in a collection known as the First Folio.

As no print version of any of Shakespeare's plays has a bona fide claim to its author's first-hand blessings, ever since the Bard's death the world is left with numerous questions about his characters' motivations and psychological makeup; first and foremost, in this particular case: who is this Prince of Denmark anyway, and what's driving him - is he a reluctant suicide or reluctant avenger? A Renaissance man? Wrecked by Freudian guilt? Genuinely mad, or merely putting on a clever act of deception? Or is he someone else entirely? - Indeed, we're even left in doubt as to what exactly it was that Shakespeare meant his characters to say, with all attendant interpretative consequences: Does the Prince wish for his "too too sullied" or his "too too solid" flesh to "melt, thaw, and resolve itself into a dew" in his first major soliloquy (Act I, Scene 2)? Does he really contemplate "the stamp of [that] one defect" which may fatally taint the perception of a man's other virtues, "be they as pure as grace," before meeting his father's ghost (I, 4)? Does Polonius, when sending Reynaldo on a spying mission after Laertes, refer to his scheme as "a fetch of wit" or "a fetch of warrant" (II, 1)? Do Hamlet's musings in "To be, or not to be" (III, 1) concern "enterprises of great pith and moment" or "of great pitch and moment," whose "currents turn awry and lose the name of action" by his doubts? Does or doesn't the sight of the Norwegian army while Hamlet is on his way to England (IV, 4) prompt him, who has so far failed to carry out his purpose, to reflect "How all occasions do inform against me," and conclude his soliloquy with the vow "from this time forth my thoughts be bloody or be nothing worth"?

How you answer any of these questions, and how you consequently view the play's characters, depends in no small part on the text you read. Like all Folger Shakespeare editions, this one is based on what the editors have deemed the "best early printed version," while allowing the reader a unique direct comparison of the principal reliable versions by including a text essentially combining these versions, with unobtrusive markers characterizing those passages appearing only in one particular version. For "Hamlet," the editors eschewed the play's very first (1603) quarto, which was possibly compiled by a journeyman actor and whose inconsistencies with all subsequent versions (textually as well as plot-wise and even regarding character names) have caused it to be generally considered a "bad" quarto, in favor of the 1604 Second Quarto, which some even believe to be based on Shakespeare's own first draft of the play and which, in any event, while more extensive than the 1623 First Folio (in turn, thought to be closest to the version(s) actually produced on the Globe Theatre stage), boasts about as secure a claim of authenticity as the latter. In some instances, the text follows the Second Quarto (Q2) without visually alerting the reader to the differences vis-a-vis the First Folio (F1), thus compelling those more used to the latter version to seek out the extensive end notes to reassure themselves that (in the examples given above) it might indeed be "solid flesh," "warrant," and "pith and moment" (F1) instead of "sullied flesh," "wit," and "pitch and moment" (Q2). In other instances, however, the First Folio's language (clearly marked as such) is given preference over that of the Second Quarto; while crucially, the text also includes all those passages *only* contained in the latter, including the "stamp of one defect" and "bloody thoughts" monologues, whose interpretation has such a direct bearing on many a reader's understanding of Hamlet's character.

The text is amplified by illustrations and annotations for those unfamiliar with 16th century English, scene-by-scene plot summaries, a short biography of Shakespeare, and introductory and concluding essays on this and the Bard's other plays and on Shakespearean theatre, as well as extensive suggestions for further reading, and a key to the play's most famous lines. While it is unlikely that after 400 years of debate any one version, be it in print, on stage or on screen, will be able to generate unanimous acceptance as the "definitive" rendition of this complex play, this is an excellent starting point for an in-depth excursion into the Prince of Denmark's world.

Also recommended:
The Oxford Shakespeare: The Complete Works 2nd Edition
BBC Shakespeare Tragedies DVD Giftbox
Olivier's Shakespeare - Criterion Collection (Hamlet / Henry V / Richard III)
William Shakespeare's Hamlet (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Grigori Kozintsev's Hamlet
Hamlet
Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead
Peter Brook's King Lear
Richard III
Julius Caesar

Editorial Review:

Plot synopsis of this classic is made meaningful with analysis and quotes by noted literary critics, summaries of the work's main themes and characters, a sketch of the author's life and times, a bibliography, suggested test questions, and ideas for essays and term papers.

Julius Caesar (Barron's Book Notes)

William Shakespeare, Tessa Krailing

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 44 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Great edition of a great play 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

I really enjoyed reading this edition of the play. Each scene is proceded by a summary of the secene and followed by commentary on the scene, and there are notes alongside the text explaining unusual words/phrases. As an actor, I have been reading Shakespeare for quite awhile, and I still found this book very helpful. If you are new to reading Shakespeare, I particularly recommend this because you will find it very helpful.

Simply the Best 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

The Arden Shakespeare series is the best, for either the beginning of scholarly research, the average needs of the English student, or as a resource for the informed theater professional. My only note of caution is for a casual reader who may find the extensive footnoting more of an interruption than a help. Love this book, love them all.

Editorial Review:

Plot synopsis of this classic is made meaningful with analysis and quotes by noted literary critics, summaries of the work's main themes and characters, a sketch of the author's life and times, a bibliography, suggested test questions, and ideas for essays and term papers.

Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot (Bloom's Modern Critical Interpretations)

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Total reviews: 163 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Waiting and Waiting and Waiting and ... 4 out of 5 stars.
14 of 14 people found this review helpful.

Waiting and Waiting and Waiting and ...

Review of Play: Waiting for Godot - A Tragicomedy in Two Acts

Written in: 1949

Premiere in: 1953

By: Samuel Beckett (1906 - 1989)

Originally written in French and translated to English by the author himself.

This play takes place on a desolate road next to a barren tree. There are two aimless men loitering and passing the time in discussion. They are soon joined by two others. The first act of the play lasts through one evening. The second act lasts through a second evening almost identical to the first. When ever the subject of leaving their spot arises, we learn that they can't leave because they are "Waiting for Godot" and need to stay at this particular spot on the road.

There is a sense of timelessness. The second evenings (second act) seems to be slightly altered copy of the first evening (first act). The characters are "Waiting for Godot" and for salvation. Their wait for salvation might well be endless since all of them are loath to face their true motives, their real needs, their personal wants and honest desires. They don't seem to know why they are "Waiting for Godot" or what Godot (God?) will bring them. When they mention suicide they flippantly dismiss the subject. One time they say they can not hang themselves because they have no rope when in fact there is a rope lying on the stage as one of the few props.

They appear to have voluntarily subjected themselves to a purgatory and don't have the courage or initiative to even question their situation.

The discussion ranges from an inane account of boots being too tight to sophistic meanderings on the purpose of life. The characters seem to relentlessly keep talking to avoid facing something. We are not privy to any of their pasts or in fact any personal information about any of the characters. They might have been meeting on the desolate road for an endless time, so that any past that they had is lost in the mist of their memories.

The nearly barren tree reminds them of a hanging tree and by implication a crucifixion cross. The tree dominates the stage background just as Godot dominates the lives; free choice and every expression of the four main characters. Does the milieu force the characters to think of salvation to the exclusion of a meaningful life? Could their need for salvation keep them trapped in a purgative existence where escape would be a form of condemnation which none of them could tolerate?

The play "Waiting for Godot" forces the reader to ask questions of him/her self.



Waiting for Godot

Krapp's Last Tape

Endgame and Act Without Words



I completely enjoyed and highly recommend this book.

Editorial Review:

-- Presents the most important 20th-century criticism on major works from The Odyssey through modern literature -- The critical essays reflect a variety of schools of criticism -- Contains critical biographies, notes on the contributing critics, a chronology of the author's life, and an index

A Streetcar Named Desire

Tennessee Williams

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 110 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

The Pulitzer Prize and Drama Critics Circle Award winning play—reissued with an introduction by Arthur Miller (Death of a Salesman and The Crucible), and Williams' essay "The World I Live In."

It is a very short list of 20th-century American plays that continue to have the same power and impact as when they first appeared—57 years after its Broadway premiere, Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire is one of those plays. The story famously recounts how the faded and promiscuous Blanche DuBois is pushed over the edge by her sexy and brutal brother-in-law, Stanley Kowalski. Streetcar launched the careers of Marlon Brando, Jessica Tandy, Kim Hunter and Karl Malden, and solidified the position of Tennessee Williams as one of the most important young playwrights of his generation, as well as that of Elia Kazan as the greatest American stage director of the '40s and '50s.

Who better than America's elder statesman of the theater, Williams' contemporary Arthur Miller, to write as a witness to the lightning that struck American culture in the form of A Streetcar Named Desire? Miller's rich perspective on Williams' singular style of poetic dialogue, sensitive characters, and dramatic violence makes this a unique and valuable new edition of A Streetcar Named Desire. This definitive new edition will also include Williams' essay "The World I Live In," and a brief chronology of the author's life.

Spark Notes Our Town

Thornton Wilder, SparkNotes Editors

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 110 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Get your "A" in gear!

They're today's most popular study guides-with everything you need to succeed in school. Written by Harvard students for students, since its inception SparkNotes™ has developed a loyal community of dedicated users and become a major education brand. Consumer demand has been so strong that the guides have expanded to over 150 titles. SparkNotes'™ motto is Smarter, Better, Faster because:

· They feature the most current ideas and themes, written by experts.
· They're easier to understand, because the same people who use them have also written them.
· The clear writing style and edited content enables students to read through the material quickly, saving valuable time.

And with everything covered--context; plot overview; character lists; themes, motifs, and symbols; summary and analysis, key facts; study questions and essay topics; and reviews and resources--you don't have to go anywhere else!

Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry and Drama

Dana Gioia, X. J. Kennedy

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Total reviews: 10 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

The most popular introduction of its kind, Literature 8/e, reflects a balance of classic works along with contemporary and non-Western authors. Writer's Perspectives sections give commentary on the craft of writing and revising from authors which provide insight and a more human perspective on literature and the writing process. Writing Critically sections expand coverage of composition with accessible and pragmatic suggestions on writing. Critical Approaches to Literature section provides three essays on every major school of criticism with sections on gender criticism and cultural studies. More than 150 photographs, author portraits, production shots of plays, and actors in performance-gives readers important perspectives. New casebooks on Flannery O'Connor and Raymond Carver, as well as two new drama casebooks: Sophocles and Shakespeare. New Stories and poems have been added. Two new plays: Stoppard's The Real Inspector Hound and Beckett's Krapp's Last Tape. A New Glossary of Literary terms has been added.

The Tempest (Cambridge School Shakespeare)

William Shakespeare

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 39 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Excellent activity based edition 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

The Tempest is rightly regarded as being one of the Bard's greatest works, containing some of his deepest thoughts on the nature of power and the relationship between rational man as controller of nature, and the animal man always to be at the mercy of the passions both of himself, others, and the world around him. In fact, this play could be thought of as representing Shakespeare's final and definitive statement on topics that he had explored throughout his cannon. But profound as the philosophy is, and despite the beauty of the poetry and the many magical elements contained within the play, the fact is that as far as the average attention lacking teenager is concerned, not a lot happens. This is why this Cambridge schools edition scores over most others. It is almost entirely activity focused, the expressed aim being to 'bring the play to life'. With at least one suggested activity beside each page of Shakespeare's text (as well as a decent amount of background notes and interpretation), every teacher armed with this book should be able to enthuse his charges with the very real relevance of this play to the world which we have bequeathed them.

Editorial Review:

This new edition of The Tempest is part of the established Cambridge School Shakespeare series and has been substantially updated with new and revised activities throughout. Remaining faithful to the series' active approach it treats the play as a script to be acted, explored and enjoyed. As well as the complete script of The Tempest, you will find a variety of classroom-tested activities, an eight-page colour section and an enlarged selection of notes including information on characters, performance, history and language.

Macbeth (Bloom's Major Literary Characters)

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Total reviews: 92 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Deception and Treachery 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 2 people found this review helpful.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was a dramatist whose genius is universally acknowledged, with a reputation as an actor, playwright and poet. He lived in an age of vast and significant changes characterised by the rise of the middle class and of a centralised government and the disappearance of medieval religious beliefs. England was transforming into a modern state. This was a time when self-realisation, self-respect and boldness of thought and action was idealised. Shakespeare's drama merely reflected the dramatic times of the age.

Shakespeare's genius can be reflected by the variety of his productions, where out of the 36 plays he has left, no two are alike and he managed to articulate the diverse subjects with exceptional expertise, handling both tragedies and comedies with ease.

Macbeth is a tragedy, intended to teach us a lesson about the human condition. The play is a tragedy about a wealthy Scottish noble called Macbeth who kills his king to gain the throne. During Shakespeare's time, this was a terrible thing to do, and from then on, Macbeth was doomed to die a tragic death.

The play starts with three witches confronting the great Scottish general Macbeth on his victorious return from a war between Scotland and Norway. The witches predict that he will one day become king. They also predict that another General called Banquo will be the father of kings, although he will not ascend the throne himself. The Scottish king, Duncan, decides that he will confer the title of the traitorous Cawdor on the heroic Macbeth. Macbeth, with the urging of his evil and ambitious wife murder King Duncan and ascends to the throne of Scotland.

Macbeth and his evil wife begin to do strange things, partly because of what they have done and also because they never get a whole night's sleep. Macbeth thinks he has to kill two of his former friends because he believes that they threaten his new throne. His efforts fail and he is eventually killed.

Editorial Review:

Shakespeare's most conflicted character leaves a path of murder and chaos in his quest to usurp the throne of Scotland.