num_pages: 221
description: This wonderfully readable companion volume to the Signet Classic Shakespeare offers both students and general readers the opportunity to meet Shakespeare the playwright; visit his colorful, raucous theater; and experience the rough-and-tumble, bawdy world of Elizabethan England.Renowned scholar Samuel Schoenbaum tells the story of Shakespeare's life with a historical accuracy enlivened by wit and perception. He explains how the English of the plays differs from modern usage and how readers can get past the difficulties to grasp the meaning of the lines and hear the beauty of the words. He then introduces Shakespeare's contemporaries - from good friend Ben Jonson to enemy Robert Greene - and gives a brief history of the British drama up to Shakespeare's times. Finally, each of Shakespeare's plays is put in context, with notes that explain when it was written, what it portrays, and even what happened when it was first performed.By making his time immediate, alive, and fascinating, this introduction to Shakespeare and his world becomes an invaluable guide to first-time as well as seasoned readers of the plays, and enriches the understanding of the great dramas by our greatest playwright.
language: English
title: Shakespeare: His Life, His Language, His Theater
titlecomplete: Shakespeare: His Life, His Language, His Theater (Signet Classics)
ratings_count: 4
publisher: Signet Classics