Shakespeare Resources

Dictionary of Literary Biography ; v. 263
"Provides biographical information on the life of William Shakespeare and his writings. Discusses the trivial events in his life that help interpret the plays or poems he wrote, the "lost years", the Dark Lady of the sonnets, his life as an actor, his legal transactions, and his shift from writing comedies and histories to tragedies. Using documents in which Shakespeare's name appears provides insight into his life as a practical businessman."

Contents: Shakespeare's ghost writers -- Hamlet : giving up the ghost -- Macbeth : the male Medusa -- Shakespeare as fetish -- Character assassination -- Out of joint -- Roman numerals -- Second-best bed -- Shakespeare's dogs -- Shakespeare's laundry list -- Shakespeare's faces -- McGuffin Shakespeare -- Fatal Cleopatra -- What did Shakespeare invent? -- Bartlett's familiar Shakespeare
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Shakespeare's plays were written some four hundred years ago, and while his characters are enduring, they are also alien. In grappling with the text of his plays, the modern actor must bring Shakespeare's Renaissance characters to life for a modern audience. And while it is difficult enough for twentieth-century spectators to make sense of the plays, it is also hard for modern actors to understand the Elizabethan world that created the personalities so vividly sketched in Shakespeare's texts. This reference is a convenient and practical guide for actors faced with the task of playing Shakespeare's characters. The volume begins with an overview of Elizabethan theatrical conventions, including the training of actors. It then looks at the dramatic tradition of personification, which Shakespeare's world inherited from the medieval stage. Later chapters give special attention to how language reveals character and to the social and cultural contexts of the Renaissance. Throughout, the emphasis is on how to translate Shakespeare's text into action on the stage. While the volume contains much useful information, that information is presented to meet the special needs of theater professionals.
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Who says only the British can act Shakespeare? In this unique guide, a veteran acting coach shatters that myth with a boldly American approach to the Bard. Written in the form of a play, this volume's "characters" include a master teacher and 16 students grappling with the challenges of acting Shakespeare. Using actual speeches from 32 of Shakespeare's plays, each of the book's six "scenes" offer proven solutions to such acting problems as delivering spoken subtext, using physical actions to orchestrate a speech, creating images within a speech, dividing a speech into measures, and much more.

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This enlarged and revised edition of the classic guide first published in 1966, provides insights into the history and rich heritage of England and Great Britain through the lives of all the monarchs, from the early Saxons to Elizabeth II. The character of every monarch is discussed, together with the principal events of their reign. For easy reference, each section begins with a listing of all the essential facts and dates, including key biographical details. Successive royal dynasties are clearly indicated, with genealogical trees to show how the hereditary line has been perpetuated.