An Introduction to Shakespeare : The Dramatist in His Context

By: Hyland, Peter [Author]Material type: TextTextPublication details: New York : St. Martin's Press, 1996Description: vii, 215 pagesISBN: 9780312162740 ; 031216274X; 9780333598801; 0333598806 Subject(s): Shakespeare, William, -- 1564-1616 -- Stage history -- To 1625DDC classification: 822.33
Contents:
Approaching Shakespeare and his stage -- 1. Life and times : Life ; Shakespeare's context ; Politics and history ; Social models ; London ; Beliefs and myths -- 2. Theatrical professions : The rise of playing ; The professional public theatre ; The playhouses ; Actors and acting ; Playwrights ; Audiences ; Control and censorship -- 3. The plays : Canon, texts and chronology ; Sources and materials ; Language and style ; Drama and metadrama ; Criticism and 'meaning' ; Genre ; Comedies ; Histories ; Tragedies -- Chronology.
Summary: Peter Hyland gives a highly readable account of what is known about Shakespeare's life, and maps out the historical, social and intellectual pressures of his time. He provides a comprehensive description of the development of the theatrical profession in Shakespeare's England, and of the practical constraints under which the dramatist had to work. Half of the book is devoted to a survey of the plays and examines the numerous controversial issues that arise when we ask precisely what we can 'know' about Shakespeare and his works. For those who want to discover more about Shakespeare and the turbulent times in which his plays were written, and for those who are daunted by the volume or the impenetrable prose of much recent writing on the dramatist, this book will be a stimulating introduction.
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Index

Approaching Shakespeare and his stage --
1. Life and times : Life ; Shakespeare's context ; Politics and history ; Social models ; London ; Beliefs and myths --
2. Theatrical professions : The rise of playing ; The professional public theatre ; The playhouses ; Actors and acting ; Playwrights ; Audiences ; Control and censorship --
3. The plays : Canon, texts and chronology ; Sources and materials ; Language and style ; Drama and metadrama ; Criticism and 'meaning' ; Genre ; Comedies ; Histories ; Tragedies --
Chronology.


Peter Hyland gives a highly readable account of what is known about Shakespeare's life, and maps out the historical, social and intellectual pressures of his time. He provides a comprehensive description of the development of the theatrical profession in Shakespeare's England, and of the practical constraints under which the dramatist had to work. Half of the book is devoted to a survey of the plays and examines the numerous controversial issues that arise when we ask precisely what we can 'know' about Shakespeare and his works. For those who want to discover more about Shakespeare and the turbulent times in which his plays were written, and for those who are daunted by the volume or the impenetrable prose of much recent writing on the dramatist, this book will be a stimulating introduction.

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