Studying Shakespeare has been devised to meet the needs of students wishing to place the study of an individual Shakespeare play in the context of Shakespeare’s work as a whole. The Handbook begins with a description of Shakespeare’s life and his contemporary world. A general view of Shakespeare’s work is then followed by brief critical analyses of all the plays that are likely to be studied as background reading for set books. 'The Actor’s Shakespeare’ concludes the volume with an account of how the written text can be transformed into fresh and invigorating stage productions.

CONTENTS:
Introduction
1. The background to Shakespeare
   The life of Shakespeare
   The historical and social background
   Shakespeare’s theatre
   The Elizabethan world
   Reading list
2. A general view of Shakespeare’s works
   The plays
   The sonnets
   Shakespeare’s themes
3. Critical introductions to selected plays
   Hamlet
   Macbeth
   Othello
   King Lear
   Henry IV and Henry IV Part 2
   Twelfth Night
   As You Like It
   A Midsummer Night’s Dream
   Much Ado About Nothing
   Antony and Cleopatra
   Measure for Measure
   The Winter’s Tale
   The Tempest
   Romeon and Juliet, Julius Caesar and The Merchant of Venice
4. Studying Shakespeare
   An alphabetical guide to Shakespeare’s style and technique
   How to approach a Shakespeare play
5. The actor’s Shakespeare
6. Selected bilbiography
Index