Description
Discover the captivating world of William Shakespeare through 'Mapping Shakespeare's World', a beautifully illustrated book that delves into the geographical and historical settings of his timeless plays. Explore how Shakespeare transported audiences from Greece, Turkey, and Syria to England, while never explicitly placing his narratives in Elizabethan London. Curious about the vibrant cities like Verona, Elsinore, and ancient Troy featured in his works? This comprehensive guide examines what contemporaries understood about the foreign locales and the expectations that filled Elizabethan theatres.
Uniquely illustrated with contemporary maps, geographical texts, and captivating artwork, 'Mapping Shakespeare's World' invites you to ponder intriguing questions. Why does 'Love's Labour's Lost' unfold in Navarre? Is the Forest of Arden genuinely in Warwickshire? This enlightening book challenges the notion that settings are superfluous, revealing essential cultural and psychological connections that resonate with the audience. With its detailed analysis, it uncovers how these settings provided profound insights into human nature and society, enriching the experience of Shakespeare's narratives. Get ready to embark on a scholarly yet accessible journey into the geographical context that shaped one of the most significant figures in English literature.
Condition: BRAND NEW
ISBN: 9781851242573
Year: 2016
Publisher: Bodleian Library Publishing
Note: Shipping for this item is free. Please allow up to 6 weeks for delivery. Once your order is placed, it cannot be cancelled.
Note: Shipping for this item is free. Please allow up to 6 weeks for delivery. Once your order is placed, it cannot be cancelled.
Condition: BRAND NEW
ISBN: 9781851242573
Year: 2016
Publisher: Bodleian Library Publishing
Description:
The locations of Shakespeare's plays range from Greece, Turkey and Syria to England, and they range in time from 1000 BC to the early Tudor age. He never set a play explicitly in Elizabethan London, which he and his audience inhabited, but always in places remote in space or time. How much did he - and his contemporaries - know about the foreign cities where the plays took place? What expectations did an audience have if the curtain rose on a drama which claimed to take place in Verona, Elsinore, Alexandria or ancient Troy?
This fully illustrated book explores these questions, surveying Shakespeare's world through contemporary maps, geographical texts, paintings and drawings. The results are intriguing and sometimes surprising. Why should Love's Labour's Lost be set in the Pyrenean kingdom of Navarre? Was the Forest of Arden really in Warwickshire? Why do two utterly different plays like The Comedy of Errors and Pericles focus strongly on ancient Ephesus? Where was Illyria? Did the Merry Wives have to live in Windsor? Why did Shakespeare sometimes shift the settings of the plays from those he found in his literary sources?
It has always been easy to say that wherever the plays are set, Shakespeare was really writing about human psychology and human nature, and that the settings are irrelevant. This book takes a different view, showing that many of his locations may have had resonances which an Elizabethan audience would pick up and understand, and it shows how significant the geographical and historical background of the plays could be.
Uniquely illustrated with contemporary maps, geographical texts, and captivating artwork, 'Mapping Shakespeare's World' invites you to ponder intriguing questions. Why does 'Love's Labour's Lost' unfold in Navarre? Is the Forest of Arden genuinely in Warwickshire? This enlightening book challenges the notion that settings are superfluous, revealing essential cultural and psychological connections that resonate with the audience. With its detailed analysis, it uncovers how these settings provided profound insights into human nature and society, enriching the experience of Shakespeare's narratives. Get ready to embark on a scholarly yet accessible journey into the geographical context that shaped one of the most significant figures in English literature.
Condition: BRAND NEW
ISBN: 9781851242573
Year: 2016
Publisher: Bodleian Library Publishing
Note: Shipping for this item is free. Please allow up to 6 weeks for delivery. Once your order is placed, it cannot be cancelled.
Note: Shipping for this item is free. Please allow up to 6 weeks for delivery. Once your order is placed, it cannot be cancelled.
Condition: BRAND NEW
ISBN: 9781851242573
Year: 2016
Publisher: Bodleian Library Publishing
Description:
The locations of Shakespeare's plays range from Greece, Turkey and Syria to England, and they range in time from 1000 BC to the early Tudor age. He never set a play explicitly in Elizabethan London, which he and his audience inhabited, but always in places remote in space or time. How much did he - and his contemporaries - know about the foreign cities where the plays took place? What expectations did an audience have if the curtain rose on a drama which claimed to take place in Verona, Elsinore, Alexandria or ancient Troy?
This fully illustrated book explores these questions, surveying Shakespeare's world through contemporary maps, geographical texts, paintings and drawings. The results are intriguing and sometimes surprising. Why should Love's Labour's Lost be set in the Pyrenean kingdom of Navarre? Was the Forest of Arden really in Warwickshire? Why do two utterly different plays like The Comedy of Errors and Pericles focus strongly on ancient Ephesus? Where was Illyria? Did the Merry Wives have to live in Windsor? Why did Shakespeare sometimes shift the settings of the plays from those he found in his literary sources?
It has always been easy to say that wherever the plays are set, Shakespeare was really writing about human psychology and human nature, and that the settings are irrelevant. This book takes a different view, showing that many of his locations may have had resonances which an Elizabethan audience would pick up and understand, and it shows how significant the geographical and historical background of the plays could be.