Shakespeare for Dummies

Rating:
Summary: A Shakespeare dummy no more
Review: "Exquisite," as Judi Dench writes in her forward, a treat for anyone who enjoys Shakespeare and an accessible guide for those who want to learn more about him and his work. Authors John Doyle and Ray Lischner are acutely attune to the difficulties one faces when encountering Shakespeare, whether for pleasure or required reading, and pare down the excesses of language into a digestible, humorous guide.

Act-by-act summaries of the plays form the bulk of this book, but a biography and introduction to the Elizabethan era (Chapter 2, "Will's World") as well as the essentials to understanding Shakespeare's work receive a fair amount of attention. Part II is devoted entirely to language, with a small glossary of commonly used words and keys to the many puns and jokes in the plays. Particularly helpful is Chapter 6, "How to Read Shakespeare's English." In Part III, the authors introduce structure, themes, and common character types and explore the actual staging of a play. In addition to his dramatic works, the book also discusses Shakespeare's sonnets and various other poems.

You'll find these elements in many introductory works, but few contain as much information and are as easy to read. The authors do all they can to facilitate modern readers - scorecards to track characters and their actions, video suggestions, photos from stage and film productions, and international festivals. After reading this book, you'll be ready to discuss any topic on Shakespeare, from the ten greatest Shakespearean performers to the Dark Lady of the sonnets to whether "Cymbeline" is a comedy, tragedy, or history.

Rating:
Summary: A Shakespeare dummy no more
Review: "Exquisite," as Judi Dench writes in her forward, a treat for anyone who enjoys Shakespeare and an accessible guide for those who want to learn more about him and his work. Authors John Doyle and Ray Lischner are acutely attune to the difficulties one faces when encountering Shakespeare, whether for pleasure or required reading, and pare down the excesses of language into a digestible, humorous guide.

Act-by-act summaries of the plays form the bulk of this book, but a biography and introduction to the Elizabethan era (Chapter 2, "Will's World") as well as the essentials to understanding Shakespeare's work receive a fair amount of attention. Part II is devoted entirely to language, with a small glossary of commonly used words and keys to the many puns and jokes in the plays. Particularly helpful is Chapter 6, "How to Read Shakespeare's English." In Part III, the authors introduce structure, themes, and common character types and explore the actual staging of a play. In addition to his dramatic works, the book also discusses Shakespeare's sonnets and various other poems.

You'll find these elements in many introductory works, but few contain as much information and are as easy to read. The authors do all they can to facilitate modern readers - scorecards to track characters and their actions, video suggestions, photos from stage and film productions, and international festivals. After reading this book, you'll be ready to discuss any topic on Shakespeare, from the ten greatest Shakespearean performers to the Dark Lady of the sonnets to whether "Cymbeline" is a comedy, tragedy, or history.

Rating:
Summary: To be or not to be... a Dummy!
Review: For those of us who didn't pay too much attention when Shakespeare was taught in school, this book is for us. It definately helps out any late bloomers who suddenly become interested in the bard. There are many other books on Shakespeare. And they are probably more precise and intelligent but also a demanding read. Shakes for Dummies is as simple to read as any other in the series and well thought out by its creator, John Doyle... Shakespeare scholar. The book includes a basic history of Will and his homeland... and the state of the world at the time of his writings... This helps in understanding the storylines as well... Also in the book is a brief synopsis and commentary on each of his plays, whether they be his comedies, tragedies or histories. One of the best elements of the book is the introduction of "Scorecards". Shakespeares stories can be compared to sporting events but instead of 'getting struck out at third', the player would be 'banished from his kingdom'. So, DUMMIES gives you a fun format for keeping score of all the plays. I guess Shakespeare was not as boring as Miss Garcia made it sound.

Rating:
Summary: Fun, funny, and informative!
Review: Shakespeare isn't dull when you read Shakespeare for Dummies. It starts with an overview of Shakespeare's life and world. It tells you what you need to know about Shakespeare's language, plays, and poetry, without burdening you with stuffy academic claptrap. Summaries of every play tell you about the play prior to watching it on stage or on screen. This book is for everyone--Lit. majors, actors, or if you just want to know more about Shakespeare.

Rating:
Summary: Many trees but not much forest.
Review: There are 2 main reasons for purchasing one of the books in this series: you're a "dummy" with respect to the subject, or you're knowledgeable and either wish to test your smarts against the author's or to acquire some ideas about how to communicate your knowledge to others. If I may be so presumptuous as to place myself in the latter category, I'd be hard-pressed to recommend this book. It provides comparatively brief summaries of each of the plays, but little perspective on what makes one play more profound, more respected, more "required" reading than another. A reader might just as easily conclude that *Titus Andronicus* is as important as *Hamlet*; that *Romeo and Juliet* is no less a tragedy than *Lear*; that *Henry 6 or 8* is as well written as *Henry's 4 and 5*. Moreover, the book-cover blurb promises to teach the reader how to read the Sonnets (totalling 154), yet the authors provide no more than 2 glib paragraphs about the sonnet cycle.

The authors' recommendations about films and editions are too succinct or limited to be of much help. (Only the Arden Complete Edition is recommended, an edition with numerous problems.) And there's the question of just how much justice you can do the Bard with language that, unlike his, is unremittingly "flip." But if you enjoy this style, I'd recommend reading first the section on Shakespeare in *An Incomplete Education* to get a better sense of which readings are truly indispensable and most worthy of a reader's time. And if you want more detailed summaries of plays, try SparkNotes, the website created by Harvard students.

Rating:
Summary: Many trees but not much forest.
Review: There are 2 main reasons for purchasing one of the books in this series: you're a "dummy" with respect to the subject, or you're knowledgeable and either wish to test your smarts against the author's or to acquire some ideas about how to communicate your knowledge to others. If I may be so presumptuous as to place myself in the latter category, I'd be hard-pressed to recommend this book. It provides comparatively brief summaries of each of the plays, but little perspective on what makes one play more profound, more respected, more "required" reading than another. A reader might just as easily conclude that *Titus Andronicus* is as important as *Hamlet*; that *Romeo and Juliet* is no less a tragedy than *Lear*; that *Henry 6 or 8* is as well written as *Henry's 4 and 5*. Moreover, the book-cover blurb promises to teach the reader how to read the Sonnets (totalling 154), yet the authors provide no more than 2 glib paragraphs about the sonnet cycle.

The authors' recommendations about films and editions are too succinct or limited to be of much help. (Only the Arden Complete Edition is recommended, an edition with numerous problems.) And there's the question of just how much justice you can do the Bard with language that, unlike his, is unremittingly "flip." But if you enjoy this style, I'd recommend reading first the section on Shakespeare in *An Incomplete Education* to get a better sense of which readings are truly indispensable and most worthy of a reader's time. And if you want more detailed summaries of plays, try SparkNotes, the website created by Harvard students.

Rating:
Summary: Shakespeare for you and I
Review: This book is brought to you by the same folks who publish all the ". . . For Dummies" books for learning computer programs. I have been known to snicker at these books, as I'm rather computer-dweebic, and don't need computer-dummy books.

It turns out that my next screenplay involves Shakespeare, and before I started writing, I needed to do some research on the bloke and his works. At the local library, I found "Shakespeare for Dummies." I scanned the book, then nearly choked on swallowing a dollop of pride as I toted the book through the checkout.

It's not easy to be expert at something and at the same time to be able to explain it clearly to beginners (or dummies). These authors definitely do have that talent.

Open the cover, and first thing, there's a listing of all of the dude's plays with a one or two sentence summary -- the lay of the land!

The book goes on to cover the life and times of William; explanations of his brand of English, the theatrical world he worked in, etc. Deeper into the book, there are two- to three-page summaries of each play, with recommendations for videos of each play.

The authors' wholistic approach is very informative, and they take a good-natured approach to a topic that could be oh-so-scholarly.

My screenplay, by the way, is titled Learning Shakespeare. The irony of it all.

Rating:
Summary: Shakespeare for you and I
Review: This book is brought to you by the same folks who publish all the ". . . For Dummies" books for learning computer programs. I have been known to snicker at these books, as I'm rather computer-dweebic, and don't need computer-dummy books.

It turns out that my next screenplay involves Shakespeare, and before I started writing, I needed to do some research on the bloke and his works. At the local library, I found "Shakespeare for Dummies." I scanned the book, then nearly choked on swallowing a dollop of pride as I toted the book through the checkout.

It's not easy to be expert at something and at the same time to be able to explain it clearly to beginners (or dummies). These authors definitely do have that talent.

Open the cover, and first thing, there's a listing of all of the dude's plays with a one or two sentence summary -- the lay of the land!

The book goes on to cover the life and times of William; explanations of his brand of English, the theatrical world he worked in, etc. Deeper into the book, there are two- to three-page summaries of each play, with recommendations for videos of each play.

The authors' wholistic approach is very informative, and they take a good-natured approach to a topic that could be oh-so-scholarly.

My screenplay, by the way, is titled Learning Shakespeare. The irony of it all.

Rating:
Summary: Shakespeare for you and I
Review: This book is brought to you by the same folks who publish all the ". . . For Dummies" books for learning computer programs. I have been known to snicker at these books, as I'm rather computer-dweebic, and don't need computer-dummy books.

It turns out that my next screenplay involves Shakespeare, and before I started writing, I needed to do some research on the bloke and his works. At the local library, I found "Shakespeare for Dummies." I scanned the book, then nearly choked on swallowing a dollop of pride as I toted the book through the checkout.

It's not easy to be expert at something and at the same time to be able to explain it clearly to beginners (or dummies). These authors definitely do have that talent.

Open the cover, and first thing, there's a listing of all of the dude's plays with a one or two sentence summary -- the lay of the land!

The book goes on to cover the life and times of William; explanations of his brand of English, the theatrical world he worked in, etc. Deeper into the book, there are two- to three-page summaries of each play, with recommendations for videos of each play.

The authors' wholistic approach is very informative, and they take a good-natured approach to a topic that could be oh-so-scholarly.

My screenplay, by the way, is titled Learning Shakespeare. The irony of it all.

Rating:
Summary: You CAN understand Shakespeare
Review: Who says Shakespeare has to be boring? Bill was actually a fun and funny guy who just happened to be the greatest playwright the world has ever known.

Shakespeare for Dummies is your friendly, easy-to-read guide to the life and works of the Bard of Stratford-upon-Avon: Read a short summary of each play and meet the key characters--use the summaries to refresh your memory before you watch or read a play. Keep track of who's winning, who's losing, and who married whom with the unique Shakespeare Scorecards. You can't tell who's winning without a scorecard!