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Guide Picks - Top 10 Bard Books to Buy
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With countless books on the market devoted to Shakespeare, it is sometimes hard to know which ones will be a good investment. Here are some of the most informative and engaging books on Shakespeare's life and works that I recommend for educators, enthusiasts, and those looking for great gift ideas.
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1) Shakespeare A to Z: The Essential Reference to His Plays, His Poems, His Life and Times, and More
by Charles Boyce, 1990. This encyclopedic book has information on everything remotely related to Shakespeare and is a lifesaver when you need to know an obscure fact about the Bard. In particular, I love the detailed biographies of Shakespeare's contemporary actors -- Burbage, Kempe, Alleyn, Tarlton, etc -- because it is nearly impossible to find good books on any of these giants of the Elizabethan theatre. This is an invaluable reference book for anyone interested in Shakespeare or Elizabethan England.
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2) Tales from Shakespeare
by Marcia Williams, 1998. Breathtaking illustrations will delight children in this engaging introduction to Shakespeare's plays.
Each of the seven dramas featured - "Romeo and Juliet", "Macbeth", "Hamlet", "A Midsummer Night's Dream", "The Winter's Tale", "Julius Caesar", and "The Tempest" - is summarized in a clear modern-day retelling, using selected quotations from the play. If you enjoy this book, be sure to check out Bravo, Mr. William Shakespeare!, in which Marcia Williams presents seven more of Shakespeare's masterpieces.
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3) William Shakespeare: Sonnets & Poems
edited by Dennis Kay, 1998. In this comprehensive look at Shakespeare's poetry, noted Shakespearean scholar Dennis Kay explains why Shakespeare's sonnets have made such a profound and lasting impact. Kay's book is directed towards a wide audience and will be useful to students at both the high school and college level.
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4) The Art of Shakespeare's Sonnets
by Helen Vendler, 1997. This book is wonderful for those who need a comprehensive analysis of Shakespeare's sonnets. Vendler's commentaries are presented alongside the complete text of each poem and she masterfully helps clarify some of Shakespeare's most difficult passages. A compact disc presenting a selection of the poems comes with the book.
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5) Shakespeare's Kings: The Great Plays & the History of England in the Middle Ages, 1337-1485
by John Julius Norwich, 2000. "Shakespeare's Kings" is both an evaluation of the historical accuracy of Shakespeare's plays and a thorough survey of the events during the 150 years between the murder of Edward II and the death of Richard III. Those interested in the general background of the history plays and Shakespeare's dramatic treatment of those historical episodes will like this book.
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6) Berryman's Shakespeare: Essays, Letters & Other Writings
edited by John Haffenden, 2001. These essays reveal Berryman’s profound understanding of Shakespeare's characters and imagery, and they are peppered with amusing personal reflections, such as his memory of seeing John Gielgud play Richard II "so exquisitely, so weakly, with such self-pity, such grotesquerie, so ridiculously, that the proper young lady with me threatened to leave me in my stall if I did not stop laughing."
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7) Stories from Shakespeare
by Marchette Chute, 1959. "Stories from Shakespeare" has been a tremendously popular book since it was first released in the 1950s. Author Marchette Chute retells the plot of each Shakespearean play in wonderfully entertaining and easy-to-understand prose. This would be an ideal book for children aged 9 to 13, giving them a lifelong appreciation for the work of Shakespeare.
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8) The Shakespeare Book of Lists
by Michael LoMonico, 2001. LoMonico's book would make a great gift for Renaissance trivia buffs and will thrill those fascinated by Shakespeare's lexicon. Included is a detailed word frequency list for the major plays, the opening lines from each play, and the definitions of 80 troublesome words used by Shakespeare. He catalogues the types of food popular in Shakespeare's time, in addition to common Renaissance jobs, ailments, and even currency.
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9) From Farce to Metadrama
by Tori Haring-Smith, 1985. "From Farce to Metadrama" is a comprehensive examination of the "Taming of the Shrew" in performance from 1594 to 1983. This book traces the play's importance in both English and American theatre throughout the centuries and includes detailed information on the great Shakespearean actors that played the major roles (Shakespeare himself played the part of Vincentio). There is also an excellent chapter on commedia dell'arte, the popular style of Italian comedy, and how it relates to the Taming of the Shrew.
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10) Shakespeare's Language
by Frank Kermode, 2000. "Shakespeare's Language" is the latest book by Frank Kermode, one of Britain's most famous scholars of Renaissance literature. Kermode argues that Shakespeare's language experienced a "dynamic transformation" after 1600, and to prove his point, he focuses on sixteen of Shakespeare's dramas, including the Bard's lesser-known works, "Trolius and Cressida", "Henry VIII", and the "Two Noble Kinsmen". You can read an excerpt of the book here.
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