{"product_id":"who-was-william-shakespeare-isbn-9780470658468","title":"Who Was William Shakespeare?","description":"\u003cp\u003eA new study of Shakespeare’s life and times, which illuminates our understanding and appreciation of his works.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cul\u003e \u003cli\u003eCombines an accessible fully historicised treatment of both the life and the plays, suited to both undergraduate and popular audiences\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eLooks at 24 of the most significant plays and the sonnets through the lens of various aspects of Shakespeare’s life and historical environment\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eAddresses four of the most significant issues that shaped Shakespeare’s career:  education, religion, social status, and theatre\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eExamines theatre as an institution and the literary environment of early modern London\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eExplains and dispatches conspiracy theories about authorship\u003c\/li\u003e \u003c\/ul\u003e \u003cp\u003eNote on the Text ix\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAcknowledgments xi\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePart I The Life 1\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e1 Who was William Shakespeare? 3\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e2 Writing 23\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e3 Religion 47\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e4 Status 61\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e5 Theatre 79\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePart II The Plays 97\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e6 Comedies: Shakespeare’s Social Life 99\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Comedy of Errors 99\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Taming of the Shrew 108\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eLove’s Labour’s Lost 119\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA Midsummer Night’s Dream 125\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Merchant of Venice 132\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMuch Ado About Nothing 138\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAs You Like It 146\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTwelfth Night, Or What You Will 153\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMeasure for Measure 159\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e7 English and Roman Histories: Shakespeare’s Politics 177\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eRichard II 177\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e1 Henry IV 182\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHenry V 192\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eRichard III 198\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eJulius Caesar 204\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eCoriolanus 210\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e8 Tragedies: Shakespeare in Love and Loss 223\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eRomeo and Juliet 223\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHamlet 232\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOthello 241\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eKing Lear 252\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMacbeth 260\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAntony and Cleopatra 266\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e9 Romances: Shakespeare and Theatrical Magic 277\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Winter’s Tale 277\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Tempest 284\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIndex 295\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e“[A] highly readable introduction to the Life and Works, in the best tradition of that ancient and worthy genre. It is furthermore a piece of New Historical criticism at its sober best … With such impressive scholarly credentials, [Callaghan] is more than well equipped to provide original and perceptive introductions to Shakespeare’s life and works. But this is no mere mechanical life-and-works primer, like the dozens already available on the market and on college bookshop shelves … This [is a] substantial work of criticism, presented as an introduction to Shakespeare the man and his work, but amounting to considerably more than mere introduction. Dympna Callaghan meets admirably the challenge she set herself in the bold question of the title: who was William Shakespeare? For she shows us very well indeed who he was – and is – and why.”(\u003ci\u003eCercles\u003c\/i\u003e, 1 June 2014)\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFeatured in Times Literary Supplement - 25 October 2013\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \"Dympna Callaghan's lucid and well-structured textbook allows students to see the plays in their context.\" (\u003ci\u003eTimes Literary Supplement\u003c\/i\u003e, 25 October 2013)\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \"The book should interest readers who are curious about Shakespeare's life and the social and political history of England. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty; general readers.\" (\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e,  1 August 2013)\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eDYMPNA CALLAGHAN\u003c\/b\u003e is William L. Sa???re Professor of Modern Letters at Syracuse University and President of the Shakespeare Association of America, 2012–13. She is the editor of the Arden Shakespeare Language and Writing Series and coeditor, with Michael Dobson, of the Palgrave Shakespeare Studies series. Her publications include Shakespeare Without Women (2000), The Taming of the Shrew: A Norton Critical Edition (2009), Shakespeare's Sonnets (2007), The Impact of Feminism in English Renaissance Culture (2006), and Romeo and Juliet: Texts and Contexts (2003).   \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWHO WAS WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE?\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhat kind of world made the man who was capable of producing so many of the world's literary masterpieces, and what kind of life did he live? In this fascinating new book, Dympna Callaghan explores the question of Shakespeare's life in order to throw new light on his works. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOrganized as a series of juxtapositions between his life and writing, Who Was William Shakespeare? provides a clear guide to selected plays and sonnets, while deepening our knowledge about the writer's literary achievement and his historical moment. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShakespeare's life cannot explain his works, but it can help us to understand them.   “This is a great introduction to Shakespeare and his plays for undergraduates, in particular.  Dympna Callaghan writes lucid, lively prose, and she explains complex historical points clearly.  There is no mystification here, and students should find this an inviting guide to Shakespeare as a dramatist embedded in a particular historical moment.”—Jean Howard, Columbia University  \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“This is a thoroughly excellent book which deserves to be widely read by scholars, students and the general public”—Andrew Murphy, University of St Andrews\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e“In ‘Who Was William Shakespeare?’ one of our leading Shakespearean critics goes back to the fundamentals of Shakespearean scholarship, and rethinks the entire Shakespeare canon in the light of the world and the life from which it was fashioned. This is a book for anyone, expert or otherwise, who has ever marvelled at Shakespeare’s plays and wondered about the experiences and the assumptions that inform them.” —\u003ci\u003eMichael Dobson, University of Birmingham\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Wiley-Blackwell","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47990485778661,"sku":"NP9780470658468","price":93.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780470658468.jpg?v=1761788017","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/who-was-william-shakespeare-isbn-9780470658468","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}