Collects quotes from the bard's plays that illustrate the human condition in themes such as love, war, evil, madness, illusion, the supernatural, and the struggle for power.
The author follows up his successful Theatergoer's Guide to Shakespeare with a book that focuses on the Bard's greatest themes in his various comedy, tragedy, and history plays.
Fallon (emeritus, English, La Salle U., Philadelphia, Penn.) has written a wonderfully engaging guide that will appeal to hardened Shakespeare enthusiasts as much as hopeful novices. The book is organized by theme, with a judicious number of quotes to illustrate, such themes as love, war, evil, madness, illusion, the supernatural, and the struggle for power. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
This book surveys the most pervasive of Shakespeare's themes, among them love, war, illusion, statecraft, heroism, the supernatural, and the comic. In chapters devoted to each, Mr. Fallon explains how these patterns of meaning were viewed in Shakespeare's time, what history the poet draws upon in presenting them on the stage, and how he suggests them through his pageant of men and women engaged in the business of living.
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