
Shakespeare and the Problem Play
Complex Forms, Crossed Genres and Moral Quandaries
E.L. Risden(Author)
McFarland & Co Inc (Publisher)
Will be published approx. on 22. October 2012
Book
Paperback/Softback
232 pages
978-0-7864-7243-7 (ISBN)
Description
Shakespeare's plays provide a rich source of genre variation as well as moral or ethical issues that invite deep study. The genre issue often proves the very moral crux where Shakespeare raises the most complex questions. He aimed to build good plays, not simple fulfillments of genre demands. To him "good plays" meant leaving his audience with problems to consider.
This book begins with those works most commonly appearing in studies of problem plays, The Merchant of Venice, Troilus and Cressida, All's Well That Ends Well, Measure for Measure; moves to some comedic problem plays, Much Ado About Nothing, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Twelfth Night; and then to tragic problem plays, Hamlet, Othello, and King Lear. It concludes with some problems in the history and romance genres for the issues they raise in love, adventure, and governance: Henry IV, Part 1, Henry V, Cymbeline, The Tempest, and Love's Labor's Lost.
This book begins with those works most commonly appearing in studies of problem plays, The Merchant of Venice, Troilus and Cressida, All's Well That Ends Well, Measure for Measure; moves to some comedic problem plays, Much Ado About Nothing, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Twelfth Night; and then to tragic problem plays, Hamlet, Othello, and King Lear. It concludes with some problems in the history and romance genres for the issues they raise in love, adventure, and governance: Henry IV, Part 1, Henry V, Cymbeline, The Tempest, and Love's Labor's Lost.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Jefferson, NC
United States
Target group
Adult education
Interest Age: From 18 years
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
notes, bibliography, index
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 14 mm
Weight
387 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-7864-7243-7 (9780786472437)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
E.L. Risden, emeritus professor of English at St. Norbert College, lives in De Pere, Wisconsin, where he continues to write literary and movie scholarship, speculative fiction, and occasional poetry.
Content
Table of Contents
Preface: The Idea of the Problem Play
1. The Merchant of Venice: Does Anybody Know the Quality of Mercy?
2. Troilus and Cressida and the Consummate Anti-Genre
3. All's Well That Ends Well: Not Really
4. Straining the Quality of Mercy: Measure for Measure
5. Comedic Problem Plays
6. Tragic Problem Plays
7. History and Romance: Problems of Love, Adventure and Language
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index
Preface: The Idea of the Problem Play
1. The Merchant of Venice: Does Anybody Know the Quality of Mercy?
2. Troilus and Cressida and the Consummate Anti-Genre
3. All's Well That Ends Well: Not Really
4. Straining the Quality of Mercy: Measure for Measure
5. Comedic Problem Plays
6. Tragic Problem Plays
7. History and Romance: Problems of Love, Adventure and Language
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index