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Necessary Shakespeare, The (2nd Edition)
by: David Bevington |
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Binding: Paperback Dewey Decimal Number: 822.33 EAN: 9780321272508 Edition: 2 ISBN: 0321272501 Label: Longman Manufacturer: Longman Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 1136 Publication Date: July 17, 2004 Publisher: Longman Studio: Longman
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  - Nice Shakespearan collectionContains all the essential plays in an accesible manner. Good book and not as bulky as some. Rating: - More Politically Correct?This is an excellent alternative to THE COMPLETE SHAKESPEARE edited by Bevington. It has all the major plays that are likely to be taught in a college course, except for Henry IV part 2. The footnotes are easily accessible, and will answer almost any question you have about Shakespeare's language, while remaining concise and not overlong and pedantic. The introductions are marvelous, discussing the most important issues of interpretation, as well as the critical history and stage and even recent movie versions. The general introductory essays are also wonderful, introducing students to Shakespeare's life and time, the historical, social, and political context, as well as the drama and theater of the era. There are also some nice color illustrations from Renaissance England. The "introductions" to individual plays in this edition have been revised and updated, in part because, Bevington explains, "Introductory essays need to be open to recent as well as more traditional critical approaches." Readers might well be afeared that Bevington has revised his introductions to be more "politically correct," as the review below suggests. I decided to test this hypothesis by comparing and contrasting 4 revised introductions with the originals. 12th Night: Bevington's revised introduction gives more attention to possible homosexual suggestions in the play, and "the socially constructed nature of sexual difference" (192). Yet even in the discussion of a possible homosexual love between Sebastian and Antonio, Bevington warns us that "expressions of warmth between men seem to have been more common in Elizabethan times than today" (192). Homophobia is a modern fear. Bevington's revisions in this case actually seem completely justified and balanced. The revised Hamlet introduction adds a valuable discussion of recent stage and film versions, but is otherwise the same. Macbeth adds a substantial and valuable paragraph on the contemporary English political context of the play, and a discussion of stage and film versions. Tempest, a new paragraph on Shakespeare's language, and a discussion of stage and film versions. Based on these four examples, I would conclude that Bevington's revisions here add substantially to the value of this edition, and do NOT succumb to the imperatives of political correctness or post-modernism. Buy this edition if you're on a budget, or THE COMPLETE WORKS OF SHAKESPEARE, also edited by Bevington, if you can afford it. They are the best! Rating:  - Professor White is upsetThis isn't my review. I heard Professor David Allen White, Shakespeare professor extraordinaire at the U. S. Naval Academy, last night on the Hugh Hewitt radio show. He was furious upon receiving the latest edition of this book to find that all of the notes and introduction have been larded with post-modernist criticism and political correctness. He says he can't teach from this book any more. He cites such nonsense as claiming that Amelia is the true heroine of Othello; As You Like It is about homoeroticism; yadda yadda yadda. He said that if Shakespeare were handed this book, he'd burn it. This review may not get published, so I have tried to contact the good Professor to post his own. Rating: - Shakespeare's Greatest HitsI always thought it was wasteful of English professors to make students buy a Complete Shakespeare when only half of the plays (at most) were studied. "The Necessary Shakespeare" provides a sensible alternative: the 20 most-often studied plays, all the sonnets, and all the critical apparatus you could want. It even has an index to characters, which you don't often see. Highly recommended. |
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