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laz_'s review against another edition
5.0
“so, this is shakespeare—permissive, modern, challenging, gappy, frustrating, moving, attenuated, beautiful, ambiguous, resourceful, provoking, necessary. yours. i hope you enjoy it as much as i do.”
oh, this was wonderful. encapsulates everything i adore about shakespeare and brings so much wonderful commentary and interpretation to each of the plays it discusses. emma smith nation!!
oh, this was wonderful. encapsulates everything i adore about shakespeare and brings so much wonderful commentary and interpretation to each of the plays it discusses. emma smith nation!!
lc200's review against another edition
5.0
Utterly brilliant. Hugely useful for English teachers, and really interesting for anyone who wants to learn more or to think more deeply about Shakespeare.
clairewilsonleeds's review
4.0
I read a chapter of this every few days: it’s a good book to dip in and out of.
I found it useful as a little refresher - I personally found it had nothing groundbreaking (as a Literature student I had many better Shakespeare lectures) but it was helpful to read a mini critical approach to many Shakespeare plays I hadn’t studied in detail, and some I knew nothing about.
I think it’s a must read in particular for people who didn’t get the opportunity to study Shakespeare at University level but teach (or have a general interest in) his plays.
I found it useful as a little refresher - I personally found it had nothing groundbreaking (as a Literature student I had many better Shakespeare lectures) but it was helpful to read a mini critical approach to many Shakespeare plays I hadn’t studied in detail, and some I knew nothing about.
I think it’s a must read in particular for people who didn’t get the opportunity to study Shakespeare at University level but teach (or have a general interest in) his plays.
toniclark's review against another edition
5.0
I thoroughly enjoyed this study of Shakespeare at his best, his most ambiguous, and most interesting. Covering 20 plays, Smith discusses many questions raised by Shakespeare’s take on well-known stories of the day and the “gaps” in his versions — holes in the plots or places where missing information makes the Bard’s intentions unknowable. Smith is a delightful writer with a fascinating take on her subject. Actually, I think she’s just brilliant. I found myself most interested in the plays I’m more familiar with. I’ve read them all, but too many decades ago to remember characters and details of plot (e.g., Coriolanus, The Winter’s Tale, etc.).
I just learned from another reviewer that Emma Smith produced a podcast called Approaching Shakespeare. It ended in 2017, but there are 31 episodes available.
I listened to the audiobook and Smith speaks very well. I was, though, often distracted by her odd pronunciations. Even allowing for possible British alternatives, many of them were jarring — e.g., biopic, locus, maelstrom, treatise, chagrin, deus ex machina. . . .
I just learned from another reviewer that Emma Smith produced a podcast called Approaching Shakespeare. It ended in 2017, but there are 31 episodes available.
I listened to the audiobook and Smith speaks very well. I was, though, often distracted by her odd pronunciations. Even allowing for possible British alternatives, many of them were jarring — e.g., biopic, locus, maelstrom, treatise, chagrin, deus ex machina. . . .