£8.99
What is the play really about? Is Macbeth the plaything of a "giant malevolence"? In what sense is Macbeth a Christian play? What happens to the Macbeths' marriage? Is life "a tale told by an idiot/Signifying nothing"? How does Shakespeare create an atmosphere of evil? How sympathetic do we feel to Macbeth? Why is the relatively uneducated Macbeth's language so difficult? Is Duncan a saintly king? How good a man is Banquo? How close is the Macbeths' marriage? Is Macduff this play's real hero? What of the play's final scene? Is or isn't Macbeth triumphal? For much of the 20th century Macbeth was seen by critics as a deeply unsettling play but one in which Good finally overcomes Evil. In this concise, entertaining, easy-to-read guide, Graham Bradshaw puts these arguments in perspective. He shows that the play is much more terrifying than traditionalist critics allow, and, drawing on more than 30 years of studying Shakespeare, offers his own incisive view. This book is essential reading for students, or lovers of the stage and literature, who want to understand the fascinating critical arguments which have long raged about Macbeth, and to know what Shakespeare's great tragedy is really about.
£7.99
The Merchant of Venice has become perhaps the most contentious of all Shakespeare’s plays. This is because it deals with the dangerous issue of race, and deals with it even more controversially than Othello. Critics have always argued over whether or not the play is anti-semitic, and the extent to...
£7.99
Hamlet is the most famous literary work ever written. Millions of scholarly words have been devoted to it during the four centuries since it was performed. In this short guide, Graham Bradshaw, one of the greatest modern critics of Shakespeare, analyses the play and examines the arguments which have raged...
£7.99
All you need to know about William Shakespeare's Othello is in this advanced guide to the text. Connell Guides are advanced guide books that offer sophisticated analysis and broad critical perspectives for higher-level GCSE and A Level English Literature students. Written by leading academics, Connell Guides are clear, concise and...
£7.99
All you need to know about William Shakespeare's The Tempest is in this advanced guide to the text. Connell Guides are advanced guide books that offer sophisticated analysis and broad critical perspectives for higher-level GCSE and A Level English Literature students. Written by leading academics, Connell Guides are clear, concise...