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E-book
Author Cahn, Victor L

Title The plays of Shakespeare : a thematic guide / Victor L. Cahn
Published Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 2001

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Description 1 online resource (xiii, 361 pages)
Contents Acting -- Appearance versus Reality -- Clerics -- Commoners -- Cynicism -- Divine Right -- Fate -- Fathers and Daughters -- Fidelity -- Fools -- Forgiveness -- Gender -- Generations -- Honor -- Innocence -- Intoxication -- Justice -- Language -- Love and Romance -- Machiavels -- Madness -- Male Friendship -- Marriage -- Money -- Mortality -- Nationalistic Pride and Prejudice -- Nature -- Order -- Politics -- Power -- Reason versus Passion -- Revenge -- Supernatural Phenomena -- The Tragic Flaw -- War
Summary Touching viewers and readers with his presentation of social, moral, and political issues, Shakespeare holds ageless and unequaled appeal primarily because of the universal themes at the heart of his dramatic works. Shakespeare scholar Victor Cahn takes a unique approach to exploring the plays by identifying and explicating the themes that recur throughout the canon. Written in lively language, each of the 35 essays explores a core theme or topic and discusses its implications in several key plays in which it figures prominently. This user-friendly guide not only allows readers to understand better the significance of concepts such as power, politics, marriage or money; the organization by theme also helps users to compare and contrast these important topics across relevant plays. Cahn draws vivid connections between related works of Shakespeare, but just as importantly, enlightens readers as to the pertinence of these themes in contemporary life. Cahn (affiliation not cited) identifies and explicates the themes that recur throughout Shakespeare's canon of 37 plays. Each of the 35 essays explores a core theme or topic and discusses its implications in several key plays in which it figures prominently. Attention is focused on the characters and how they reveal themselves through language and action. Some of the topics examined are: acting, clerics, divine right, fidelity, fools, gender, honor, language, love, male friendship, marriage, mortality, politics, reason vs. passion, revenge, the tragic flaw, and war. Identifies the core topics of Shakespeare's plays and allows students to compare and contrast the thematic connections that recur throughout the canon
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index
Notes Master and use copy. Digital master created according to Benchmark for Faithful Digital Reproductions of Monographs and Serials, Version 1. Digital Library Federation, December 2002. http://purl.oclc.org/DLF/benchrepro0212 MiAaHDL
Print version record
digitized 2010 HathiTrust Digital Library committed to preserve pda MiAaHDL
Subject Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616 -- Themes, motives
Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616 -- Handbooks, manuals, etc.
Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616 -- Outlines, syllabi, etc.
SUBJECT Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616 fast
Subject LITERARY CRITICISM -- Shakespeare.
DRAMA -- Shakespeare.
Themes, motives
Genre/Form Electronic books
Electronic book
handbooks.
Handbooks and manuals
Outlines and syllabi
Handbooks and manuals.
Outlines and syllabi.
Guides et manuels.
Résumés et programmes.
Form Electronic book
ISBN 0313000298
9780313000294
9780313309816
0313309817