| Synopsis: |
The author, although an experienced teacher, has deliberately avoided an academic approach. In the world of Shakespeare he is a layman, and has written a book to appeal to laymen. William Shakespeare wrote his plays to entertain an audience, and that is how they should be seen in our own day. Nevertheless, members of such an audience may wish, at a later time, to refresh their memories and read the most memorable of those words and scenes over again. To satisfy that need, some of the best of those passages have been assembled to form this book. The plays portray human life in all its variety from the cradle to the grave, a commentary on universal moral situations which is still relevant now, for, as William's friend Ben Jonson said of him; 'he was not of an age, but for all time'. Shakespeare stands supreme as a dissector of human nature, because he describes us truthfully as a mixture of would-be-good aspirations modified by a weakness for 'cakes and ale'. As he put it; 'the web of our life is of a mingled yarn, good and ill together'. In the plays we see a panorama of characters ranging from heroes to villains, the whole shot through with a non-judgmental humour.This book is also aimed at those who know little of Shakespeare's writings, and avoid them, fearing they may be too stodgy, archaic or elitist for their taste. If they will but dip in here for a moment, they will be delighted to find excitement (war and gore galore), plus love, laughter, commonsense and entertainment as fresh now as the day it was written. |