Those of us who speak English as our native tongue can count a number of blessings.
It is a widespread language that is understood by more people in more parts of the world than any other and it is therefore the language that is most nearly an open door to all peoples....
But most of all, we who speak English can read, in the original, the writings of William Shakespeare, a man who is certainly the supreme writer through all the history of English literature and who, in the opinion of many, is the greatest writer who ever lived -- in any language.
Description:
William Shakespeare presents a unique dichotomy. On one hand, his plays are still being performed worldwide over 400 years after they were composed, and his complete works are always prominently featured on lists of books to be taken to a deserted island. As in the quote above, he is widely considered the greatest writer in any language.
On the other hand, for many people there is a sense of dread about facing this author. When high school students are required to read a play by Shakespeare, there is much teeth-gnashing, protesting, and avoidance. People of all ages in today's theatre audiences often experience more confusion than pleasure when attending a performance of a Shakespearean play.
And why is that? It is because the language makes his art very difficult to understand. Added to that, his plays involve unfamiliar plots, settings, and story lines that can prove challenging to decipher much less enjoy for many modern theatre-goers. Throw in the rapid speaking by large numbers of characters and an evening of Shakespeare soon translates into more frustration than pleasure.
To the rescue comes Asimov's Guide to Shakespeare by Isaac Asimov. This is the greatest reference book for complete understanding all forty of the plays the Bard penned, written in Asimov's clear, intelligent, and very thorough style. If you are faced with attending a performance of Shakespeare, get this book immediately. You will thank me over and over!
In his two-volume Guide (usually combined into one very thick book), Asimov separates the plays into five groups:
He provides a 10-50 page guide for each play starting with a historic background of the specific setting, era, and incidents that have led up to the action set forth in the play. This history is extremely handy for today's audiences unfamiliar with the play's setting, characters, and story. Because Shakespeare wrote for audiences who already knew this background information from stories, legends, and histories, he wasted little performance time with needless scene-setting. Shakespeare's plays start with a bang in the first lines of every Act I, so any modern audience member must be familiar with the back story and characters before sitting down or risk being hopeless lost from the opening minutes.
William Shakespeare presents a unique dichotomy. On one hand, his plays are still being performed worldwide over 400 years after they were composed, and his complete works are always prominently featured on lists of books to be taken to a deserted island. As in the quote above, he is widely considered the greatest writer in any language.
On the other hand, for many people there is a sense of dread about facing this author. When high school students are required to read a play by Shakespeare, there is much teeth-gnashing, protesting, and avoidance. People of all ages in today's theatre audiences often experience more confusion than pleasure when attending a performance of a Shakespearean play.
And why is that? It is because the language makes his art very difficult to understand. Added to that, his plays involve unfamiliar plots, settings, and story lines that can prove challenging to decipher much less enjoy for many modern theatre-goers. Throw in the rapid speaking by large numbers of characters and an evening of Shakespeare soon translates into more frustration than pleasure.
To the rescue comes Asimov's Guide to Shakespeare by Isaac Asimov. This is the greatest reference book for complete understanding all forty of the plays the Bard penned, written in Asimov's clear, intelligent, and very thorough style. If you are faced with attending a performance of Shakespeare, get this book immediately. You will thank me over and over!
In his two-volume Guide (usually combined into one very thick book), Asimov separates the plays into five groups:
- Greek plays - based on Greek history or legends
- Roman plays - based on Roman history
- Italian plays - set in Renaissance Italy or nearby locales
- English plays - historical English events and legends
He provides a 10-50 page guide for each play starting with a historic background of the specific setting, era, and incidents that have led up to the action set forth in the play. This history is extremely handy for today's audiences unfamiliar with the play's setting, characters, and story. Because Shakespeare wrote for audiences who already knew this background information from stories, legends, and histories, he wasted little performance time with needless scene-setting. Shakespeare's plays start with a bang in the first lines of every Act I, so any modern audience member must be familiar with the back story and characters before sitting down or risk being hopeless lost from the opening minutes.
Following the background, Asimov meticulously highlights lines which are the most critical to the play, as well as the words, phrases and references that might be confusing to anyone not familiar with the language and culture presented in the piece. Asimov shows the context of these lines, then gives brief explanations and even histories of the unknown words and phrases. Thus, he helps clarify the obscure (to us) references, define words created by Shakespeare, reveal the innuendos, illuminate references to previous events, and even describe the severity of insults.
Slowly, by providing this understanding, Asimov draws us into the complexity of the characters and their motivations in the backdrop of this historical setting. With his guidance, the characters are revealed as genuinely human, representatives of their era, with real ambitions and failings, along with passionate love or hatred for others in the play.
The action, therefore, becomes easier to comprehend as it flows naturally from the dreams, fears, ambitions, and frailties motivating the decisions of these characters. The play becomes more than words, costumes, and sets. It now shines as if a brighter light was turned up to reveal what was previously hidden in shadows, far beyond the basic plot and famous speeches.
Armed with this knowledge of character, plot, and language, we are now fully prepared to enjoy reading or watching a Shakespeare performance. Asimov provides an understanding of the subtleties of the setting and forces at work and an intimacy with the characters and their motivations. And during a performance you are on the edge of your seat in anticipation of rich phrases or shocking actions, or chuckling smugly at jokes that sail over the heads of the uninitiated.
And that is why Shakespeare is still performed, read, memorized, and taken to deserted islands today. The same forces of love, passion, pride, envy, and ambition drive the characters in a 400-year-old Shakespearean play as they do all people over the past centuries. Audiences everywhere are fascinated to watch this fact play out year after year, generation after generation.
And thanks to Asimov's Guide to Shakespeare, we, too, are able to recognize and appreciate the richness, the wit, and the truisms expressed by the greatest writer of all time in the most wonderful writing ever produced.
What a gift Asimov has given us: the ability to enjoy rather than dread Shakespeare.
Happy reading.
Fred
Fred
www.firstsentencereader.blogspot.com
If this book interests you, be sure to check out:
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If this book interests you, be sure to check out:
Tey, Josephine. Daughter of Time
Burgess, Anthony. Nothing Like the SunInspector Alan Grant, laid up on his back recovering from a police-related injury, becomes fascinated with the face of Richard III, King of England, and decides to solve the mystery of this king's legacy and the death of his nephews in the Tower of London. Great historical research and references are used to unravel the details of the murder, with very surprising conclusions.
Based on the meager bits of information known about Shakespeare, Burgess constructs a richly imaginative, plausible biography that depicts the love life of WS as the driving force behind his works. Sprinkles in many allusions to Shakespeare's sonnets and plays, much like the Shakespeare in Love film.
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