Product Description

Shakespeare: Criticism and Theory is an anthology of the most significant essays and book chapters published on Shakespeare in the second half of the twentieth century.

• An anthology of about 50 of the most significant essays and book chapters published on Shakespeare in the second half of the twentieth century.
  
• Introduces students to the variety of theoretical positions, thematic claims, methodologies, and modes of argument in Shakespeare criticism over the last 50 years.
  
• Critical views represented range from the old style historicism of E.M.W. Tillyard and the new criticism of William Empson to the new historicism of Stephen Greenblatt and the feminist perspective of Catherine Belsey.
  
• Pieces are organised into categories of critical thought and introduced in clear language.
  
• Most pieces are reproduced in their entirety.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #76233 in Books
• Published on: 2003-12-02
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 952 pages

From the Back Cover
Shakespeare: An Anthology of Criticism and Theory 1945–2000 contains many of the most significant essays and book chapters published on Shakespeare in the second half of the twentieth century. It introduces students of Shakespeare to the variety of theoretical positions, thematic claims, methodologies, and modes of argument that have contributed to the current critical landscape. The collection consists of 49 essays written by a broad range of authors, from E. M. W. Tillyard and William Empson, who represent old–style historicism and a version of New Criticism respectively, to Stephen Greenblatt and Catherine Belsey, who respond to and refute the insights of their predecessors. The essays are organized into categories of critical thought and introduced in clear and accessible language. Taken together, they chronicle a particularly stimulating period in the history of literary study.

About the Author
Russ McDonald is Professor of English at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He has written extensively on Shakespeare and early modern literature and culture, most recently in Shakespeare and the Art of Language (2001) and The Bedford Companion to Shakespeare (Second Edition, 2001).