Book

A thumbnail history of the English theater, from its ancient and medieval predecessors to its suppression by the Puritans. Using the familiar one-topic-per-spread format, this tracks theater's checkered history as it slowly developed from a religious teaching tool to secular entertainment. Morley (Entertainment, not reviewed, etc.) mixes fictional and historical characters to portray a player's often hand-to-mouth life.

Who was Shakespeare, and why has his work remained so compelling to us for so many centuries? With conversational text, informative sidebars, and full-color photographs, The Young Person’s Guide to Shakespeare makes Shakespeare’s life and work accessible to young readers.

Despite the reshifting of values that has affected every aspect of life in the 21st century, William Shakespeare still stands as the greatest writer the English language has ever produced. Even so, many people have never read him. If you have never read “the Bard”–or if you’ve tried and given up in frustration–you need Shakespeare For Beginners.

The Penguin Shakespeare Dictionary is the ideal one-stop reference for students, scholars, play and movie-goers, and general readers who want to know more about Shakespeare's life and works. Organized in an easily-accessible A-to-Z form and making full use of the latest findings of scholars, it covers all the plays, sonnets, and narrative poems, including detailed plot summaries and accompanying critical discussion, information on relevant literary and historical figures, and the staging of Shakespeare's plays from Elizabethan times to the present.

Discusses theater in sixteenth-century England, describing playwrights, plays, the audience, and Queen Elizabeth's sponsorship.