Book Reviews: Make room on the Shakespeare shelf:
I am so tired of seeing reviews for “1599” that I almost did not follow this link through, but I’m glad I did because it brings up several Shakespeare books I had not yet heard of. “The Oxford Shakespeare” includes two “newly recognized” works as well as two versions of King Lear. “The Shakespeare Miscellany” seems to be trivial stuff like all the different ways to spell Shakespeare’s name – as well as the names of everybody he collaborated with, stuff like that. “The Sourcebooks” series looks at one play at a time, and comes with an audio CD of scene performances.
I need to pick my Shakespeare books more carefully. Last Christmas I got “Will in the World” which was good, Bloom’s “Invention of the Human” which I only barely dented, and Garber’s “Shakespeare After All” which I actually found pretty painful. I need something a little lighter next time. I hear “Shakespeare’s Bawdy” is fun.
Technorati Tags: book review, Shakespeare
I had two copies of Shakespeare’s Bawdy. I gave one to Ouranos knowing that he’d get as much of a regular chuckle as I did. It’s very much a dictionary. And it’s comprehensive enough to rewrite your understanding of the plays. They are very much the work of a bankside commoner.