A play of darkness originally conceived for daylight performance at the Globe, Macbeth is a tour de force of theatrical illusion from the supernatural to mere delusion. In this fully annotated edition, Brooke investigates the great appeal of the play's use of illusion, relating its changing theatrical fortunes to changes within society and in theatrical conditions. Offering a fresh reconsideration of textual problems, the book makes a major contribution to our understanding of the play within aesthetic history.

A rich source of primary materials and commentary about Macbeth that illuminates the historical context and draws connections to events in the 1990s.

-- Presents the most important 20th-century criticism on major works from The Odyssey through modern literature
-- The critical essays reflect a variety of schools of criticism
-- Contains critical biographies, notes on the contributing critics, a chronology of the author's life, and an index

Though written nearly 400 years ago, Shakespeare's Macbeth continues to capture the interest of modern audiences. The play has been staged countless times and has also been produced for film and television. As one of Shakespeare's most popular and most frequently studied works, it has generated an enormous amount of critical material and scholarly debate. This reference book is a comprehensive guide to Macbeth. The volume includes a discussion of the play's textual history, an overview of the various editions presently available, an examination of contexts and sources, an analysis of the play's dramatic structure, an exploration of major themes, a summary of critical approaches, and a review of stage, film, and television productions. A selected bibliography concludes the work.

When Victor Cahn's Shakespeare the Playwright was issued in 1991, it was "highly recommended for any general public library and for academic collections at all undergraduate levels" (Choice) and viewed as "a useful guide for the general reader, as well as high school and undergraduate students" Library Journal. Now Professor Cahn has revised his introduction to make the context of Shakespeare's plays more meaningful to the beginning researcher and to show how the plays have been performed from the 16th century onward. In addition, the bibliographies for each of the 37 plays have been updated to include the best new research. These updates and revisions will enhance the use of this guide for the general reader, student, and researcher, from high school onward.

Originally published in 1930, this classic of modern Shakespeare criticism proves both enlightening and innovative. Founding a new and influential school of Shakespearean criticism, Wheel of Fire was Knight's first venture in the field - his writing sparkles with insight and wit, and his analyses are key to contemporary understandings of Shakespeare.

The essays contained in this book proceed from the common conviction that Shakespeare s poetry conveys a wisdom about politics commensurate with his artistry. Well-known thinkers discuss Shakespeare's understanding of politics, the idea of the best polity, the relationship between character and political life, and the interpenetration of poetry, politics, religion, and philosophy.

Shakespeare on Masculinity is an important and original study of the way Shakespeare's plays engage with a subject that provoked bitter public dispute. Robin Headlam Wells argues that Shakespeare took a skeptical view of the militant-Protestant cult of heroic masculinity. Following a series of brilliant portraits of the dangerously charismatic warrior-hero, Shakespeare turned at the end of his writing career to a different kind of leader. Plays receiving close readings include The Tempest, Henry V, Troilus and Cressida, Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth, and Coriolanus.

Following on from the phenomenally successful Shakespeare, The Movie , this volume brings together an invaluable new collection of essays on cinematic Shakespeares in the 1990s and beyond. Shakespeare, The Movie II :*focuses for the first time on the impact of postcolonialism, globalization and digital film on recent adaptations of Shakespeare;*takes in not only American and British films but also adaptations of Shakespeare in Europe and in the Asian diapora;*explores a wide range of film, television, video and DVD adaptations from Almereyda's Hamlet to animated tales, via Baz Luhrmann, Kenneth Branagh, and 1990s' Macbeths, to name but a few;*offers fresh insight into the issues surrounding Shakespeare on film, such as the interplay between originals and adaptations, the appropriations of popular culture, the question of spectatorship, and the impact of popularization on the canonical status of "the Bard."Combining three key essays from the earlier collection with exciting new work from leading contributors, Shakespeare, The Movie II offers sixteen fascinating essays. It is quite simply a must-read for any student of Shakespeare, film, media or cultural studies.