To Make Shakespeare Comprehensible To The Eager Student Is A Challenging Task And This Is What The Present Work Sets Out To Do. It Provides The Reader With The Life And Short Notes On The Works Of Shakespeare As Well As His Socio-Political And Literary Background. A Scene-Wise Critical Summary Of The Tempest Is Given So As To Make The Reader Familiar With The Play. Numerous Quotations Have Been Given From The Text That Enable The Reader To Have An Acquaintance With Shakespeare S Poetry. There Are Analyses Of The Different Dramatic Elements Accompanied With The Views Of Renowned Critics, And This Makes The Book Valuable To The Teacher As Well As The Student Of English Literature. Along With Recent Critical Views, The Classical Theories Also Have Been Explained, Together With A Lucid Exposition Of Elizabethan Dramatic Conventions. A Select Bibliography And Index Completes The Book.

While The Tempest has always been one of Shakespeare's most entertaining and enchanting plays, it continues to stir up passionate debate throughout the world because of its ideas and attitudes toward race, class, political power, and colonialism. This casebook systematically examines these issues, as well as several others, from dramatic and historical perspectives and through parallel contemporary applications. Readers are first introduced to the play with a dramatic analysis that situates the work within Shakespeare's canon and within the romantic tradition. This fresh interpretation also casts much light on the use of imagery and language in setting, character, and thematic development. This casebook draws on the themes and issues introduced, and examines each one in turn with insightful original essays and primary documents. The shipwreck that sets the play in motion is examined in terms of the discovery of the new world, and the prevailing attitudes toward colonialism. A brief chronology of New World events helps situate the historical excerpts. Another intriguing topic explored in the casebook is the diverging Elizabethan views on science and religion, with a particular focus on the role of magic. Primary documents that help readers appreciate the significance of matters of sorcery and the supernatural include excerpts from Reginald Scott's 1584 The Discovery of Witchcraft, James I's Demonology (1597) as well as Marlowe's Doctor Faustus. Other topic chapters examine political power and treachery, as well as society in terms of marriage and the court. A full chapter is also devoted to performance and interpretation of the play. The final Contemporary Applications section investigates current global concerns that parallel those in the play, and help readers appreciate Shakespeare's play in relation to the world around us. Readers are shown dramatically contrasting perspectives on colonialism in Zimbawe. The casebook concludes with a fascinating discussion of the parallel elements of fantasy in The Tempest and in literary works by popular contemporary writers J.R.R. Tolkien and J. K. Rowling. Understanding The Tempest follows the successful casebook format developed specifically for the Literature in Context series. Following a dramatic analysis, each topic chapter presents an important historical issue in the play, with insightful narrative essays supported by primary documents. In several chapters, brief chronologies of significant related events help readers understand the historical context of the play and its thematic concerns. As a tool for student research and classroom work, educators will appreciate the numerous topics for written and oral discussion suggested at the conclusion of each unit. Suggested readings further complement the content and research applications of the casebook.

The Heinemann Advanced Shakespeare series specifically focuses on preparing students for their exams. Teachers find that the accessible notes and end-of-act activities really help students understand the text and encourage them to develop their own insights.

This book challenges a longstanding and deeply ingrained belief in Shakespearean studies that The Tempest--long supposed to be Shakespeare's last play--was not written until 1611. In the course of investigating this proposition, which has not received the critical inquiry it deserves, a number of subsidiary and closely related interpretative puzzles come sharply into focus. These include the play's sources of New World imagery; its festival symbolism and structure; its relationship to William Strachey's True Reportory account of the 1609 Bermuda wreck of the Sea Venture (not published until 1625)--and the tangled history of how and why scholars have for so long misunderstood these matters. Publication of some preliminary elements of the authors' arguments in leading Shakespearean journals (starting in 2007) ignited a controversy that became part of the critical history. This book presents the case in full for the first time.

A literary analysis of the play The Tempest. Includes information on the history and culture of Elizabethan England. Introduction by Joseph Sobran.

Provide just the right balance for the study of language, imagery and theatricality, and of character and context, enabling students to gain a clear understanding of the text. Contains introductory essays focussing on topics related to social, cultural and historical context. Introductions to each scene pointing out a central feature and ensuring that students understand the plot. Extensive notes and well-placed illustrations provide clear explanations of words and phrases, and a general overview of the meaning for easy reference. Accompanying support packs provide clearly structured and easily manageable resource materials for Assessment Objective-driven coursework assignments.