Zuesse's translation is understandable, while still retaining Shakespeare's original message. While reading MacBeth, I could comprehend the literature and imagine what was happening in the play better than the other works by Shakespeare I have read. Eric Zuesse has mastered the ART of translation.

Eric Zuesse is doing for Shakespeare today what the Bard would be doing for himself today: making his plays accessible to everyone.

Shakespeare's appeal 400 years ago was due not only to his profound insight into the workings of the human heart and to his ability to express the range of universal human emotion from agony to joy in unforgettable words BUT ALSO TO HIS USE OF THE COMMON MAN'S LANGUAGE--the vernacular. However, some of today's Shakespeare is no long available to the average reader because some of his language has become archaic.

Is there a solution? Enter Eric Zuesse.

His translation of MACBETH avoids the pitfalls of today's would-be modernizers: bowdlerizing, simplifying, and paraphrasing.

In contrast, Eric Zuesse has remained so failthful to the meter, rhyme pattern, and content of every line of the original text that Shakespeare himself himself would have given his endorsement!

Reading "The Masks of Hamlet" is like sitting next to a brilliant, and somewhat disorganized, Hamlet scholar at a dinner party. Rosenberg describes in wonderful detail issues in Hamlet that you may not even have given a moment's thought to. Did you know that Gertrude, the emotional heart of the play, has only 157 lines, less than even Ophelia? Or that the "foolish" epigraph that Olivier included in his film version of Hamlet that "Hamlet was the story of a man who could not make up his mind" came from a Gary Cooper movie Olivier had just seen?

But just as at a dinner party, enjoying this book is going to require a fair bit of previous knowledge and a good deal of patience. You are not going to find here a lot of careful background clarification nor is it going to be easy to find out how Rosenberg would resolve any specific issues. There is not a subject index, nor does the chronological and character organization of the book provide any one central place to review a particular theme.

If you know the play well Rosenberg will uncover layers and layers of meanings or alternative interpretations you may not have considered. The book draws on both critical writing about the play and on the possibilities explored in thousands of different actual performances of the play. This not only multiplies the possibilities of interpretation (is Claudius large and forward moving, or bent over and withdrawn); it also reminds the reader at every moment of the theatrical power of the play.

I do think this book would also be wonderful for someone deeply involved in a production of Hamlet. Hamlet is one of the most analyzed and performed plays in history. Rather than come at the play with a narrow notion of what a character or a scene is about, reading this book will open the actor/director up to the incredible range of possible ways of interpreting and understanding what does happen in Hamlet. Have a nice glass of wine and enjoy the meal.

But this is not a good book for someone who is either impatient or new to Hamlet criticism. For in its thoroughness and acknowledgment of the "polyphonies" in each character, the book is overwhelming and without organizing themes.

Of the countless thousands of volumes of Shakespeareana published in the last 400 years, this monumental work must rank among the very best. Compressing a century's worth of literary and theatrical analysis of the world's greatest play into a too-brief 971 pages Rosenberg has provided the "Hamlet" aficionado with an inexhaustibly rich resource for exploring its infinite complexities. Even at seventy smackers, it's a bargain

If you love this play and are thrillled by the stage history and staging minutiae, the this book will send you reeling! The historical reasearch is encyclopediac and captivating. Your rude sea will grow civil with its song.

I thought that the book was fantastic and delight. I couldn't put it down. I loved every minute of the book.

In a Midsummer Night's Dream, Shakespeare's loveliest comedy, the world of four lovers collides in a magical woods one night during midsummer with hilarious results. Pandemonium reigns and misunderstandings abound; nothing is as it seems, or should be, and that is what makes this play so perfect.

In A Midsummer Night's Dream, Shakespeare's extraordinary talent for creating poetry that is unrivaled is effective in both establishing character and demonstrating the theme. The characters of this play all speak in poetic form with the exception of the English rustics who speak in prose. This helps to place the fairies and the lovers on a higher and more transcendental plane that the artisans. The artisans, as a result, become even more comical and serve to heighten the misunderstandings of love.

The poetry of Shakespeare's genius also helps to clarify the play^s theme of the extreme confusion and blinding power of love. The rhythmic words help to create a magical setting while the rhyming scheme serves to portray the confusion each character feels while under the power of love.

Those who think that love is only a blissful dream, will find that Shakespeare, in this play of clever intrigue, shows also that love can be a place of extreme confusion. As the audience ponders the revelry they have just seen on stage, Puck steps forth to conclude the confusion:

If we shadows have offended/ Think but this, and all is mended/ That you have but slumbered here/ While these visions did appear/ And this weak and idle theme/ No more yielding than a dream.

The audience is left in as much ambiguity as it felt throughout the performance; the play appropriately ends in a puzzling state of confusion.

The majority of events is this play take place during the night, even the rehearsal for the farcical play-within-a-play. All of the mishaps occur during the nighttime hours and the confusion is not cleared up until the next morning when the four lovers are discovered. This setting of night allows the audience to drift into the idea that the entire play could well have been nothing more than a fantastic dream.

Sleep in another theme that threads its way throughout the play. All of the mishaps and mistakes occur through the guise of sleep. One of the major influences of sleep is that it allows Puck and Oberon to make use of the magic love flower whose power is only effective if its intended victim is fast asleep. The flower, however, causes an hilarious love triangle that is not set straight until Oberon once again finds all of the confused lovers asleep. When they are discovered the next morning and asked to explain their crazy night, the only explanation that can be given is that it was all a dream.

There seems to be no other way for Shakespeare to end this riotous entanglement of lovers, mythological beings, fairies and artisans but to explain it as a dream. Throughout the play, with its nighttime atmosphere and frequent occurrences of sleep, the dreamy state of the characters is passed on to the audience. The play itself is still in an inconclusive state when the characters leave the stage and many questions remain in the mind of the audience. Puck's closing monologue, however, explains that puzzlement is the appropriate emotion to be felt during the course of the play. Puck then goes on to persuade the audience that the only logical explanation for the ambiguity of the play, itself, is that, just as the characters themselves experienced, the audience has just awakened from a comical and fantastic dream.

Yes, Shakespeare has a sense of humor; he proved it in A Midsummer Night's Dream. I have enjoyed all of his books, especially Romeo and Juliet and MacBeth, but A Midsummer Night's Dream is, in my opinion, his best work. There are many love stories in this book, one of which is about Hermia and Lysander. They hide in the woods because Hermia's father wants her to marry Demetrius, a wealthy man. In order to win over Hermia's father, a woman named Helena tells him where Hermia is, and they immediately go after the two lovers. What happens to Hermia and Lysander? Does she marry Demetrius? You'll have to read it in order to find out. There are other great stories in this book, including the one of Theseus and Hippolyta -- two royals that are about to get married. With Shakespeare's ability to write a beautiful love story with a touch of poetry and precise comic timing, this is a classic that everyone should read. I highly recommend it!

this book is an excellt book. i reccomend it to any one who would like to escape the real world and get a glimpse of Sheakspears magical make believe world, i reccomend this book to people of all ages.

I think this book is the best, I'm not going to tell you about it. Buy it and see. If you like to escape the real world this is the book for you!

This book is attractive, sturdy and is formatted well. That being said, the content is equally stellar. The author knows a lot about each piece, and provides the background you need to make the character come alive at an audition, or just in your mind for reading. There are footnotes to the language that are useful, and the speeches themselves are constructed nicely and are good choices for any level of Shakespeare performer. MY only complaint, which isn't that important, is that the characters are not studied with as much depth as you would like if you were reading this book for literary pleasure. But it does give this book as an actors guide a sense of poetic freedom and freedom of creativity. Also good is the previous volume "Alternative Shakespeare Auditions for Women." Don't expect Juliet scenes or Beatrice monologues--- the "alternative" characters and speeches of Shakespeare get their 15 minutes! Recommended for anyone who has every wanted to be a Shakespeare "snob" at auditions and freshen up your Bard inventory. :O)

Like its counterpart, "Alternative Shakespeare Auditions for Women", this book is an excellent resource for the actress. It provides unconventional monologues that, while not as well-known as Juliet's balcony or Viola's ring scene, are Shakespearean gems and are sure to spark the interest of the director. There are good choices for older actresses, as well as some teen/twenties pieces that break the ingenue mold or put a different spin on the stereotypes. Also included are good, solid tips on auditioning for and acting in Shakespeare. This is a wonderfully useful book.

This is one of the best layouts for unabridged books imaginable! I would highly recommend!

This has to be the perfect gift, to give or receive. It's timeless. A complete Shakepeare play on one, elegant page.

I've had mine framed; it hangs in the hallway, and draws people like a magnet. Needless to say, I shall buy further editions for friends and family. Great idea!

This book is a great way to read the paramount of english literature. I read him for fun. It provides seven plays, most or maybe all of the sonnets, and some excerpts from other works. If you have the money I recommend a collected works edition, but if you can't afford it, or you are not sure you're that interested in Shakespeare, then read this first. This series is in general a good way to read the classics. I often get the "portables" to get to know an author's work and some of the modern commentary on the author.

I was so glad this came out, as a lover of shakespeare i wanted to find something that had many of his works in one volume, but not the two huge volumes like "the complete works." This book is a good starter for those not familiar with his writing. It covers all the subjects he wrote (example: tragedy, comedy, sonnets etc), the selections are chosen well, all his popular writngs are included (macbeth, romeo and juliet, hamlet)some in full length. This is also good for lovers of shakespeare or students who want to save money, instead of buying plays individualy. However i do miss the mini lexicon that comes in other copies of his plays and hope that one is included in further editions.

OK Shakespeare fans, this is the one reference book you will ever need for all you would ever want to know about the Bard. It covers everything related to Shakespeare minus information on whether he wore briefs or boxers. (Everything else, though, is covered here--trust me!)

And one thousand pages for $15? C'mon, this is well worth the price of a pizza! Of course, this is not something you would read word for word, but I have used it more than once to help me understand a play that I was about to see. However, you need to set aside the better part of an hour to read the article on the history and background of any one of his plays. There is also plenty of info on his other writings, including the sonnets. Besides visiting the reconstructed Globe theatre (which I have had the privilege of doing), owning this book is the only other requirement for the serious Shakespearean student/fan.

My sole complaint is that the lettering is rather small (is is 7 pt or 8 pt? my eyes couldn't tell--ouch!). But hey, what do you expect for $15? A 2,000-page book?

If you want a comprehensive understanding of Shakespeare this is a must buy! I used this book constantly while taking a Shakespeare class. I have already reccomended it to numerous others and they found it just as useful. I'm now on my second copy because I wore the other one out!

Don Nardo's "Readings on Othello" is the most readable book of essays on this play that I've ever come across. The book is geared toward students, but it's not dumbed-down; instead of a plot summary, you'll find intriguing essays on different themes and issues in Othello. The essays are all written by Shakespeare teachers/scholars, and they are thought-provoking without being too complex to grasp.

I especially liked the chapter in the beginning that deals with Othello's origins (the source that Shakespeare used for inspiration), offers background information on the locales and peoples in the play, and gives a brief yet thorough overview of Shakespeare's life.

If you are interested in some in-depth study of Othello, or need to write a paper on this play, I highly recommend that you read this book. It will make you see the play from so many different angles, and guide you towards better understanding of what Shakespeare was trying to say.

As in his Readings on Hamlet, which I have also reviewed for Amazon, literary scholar Don Nardo has compiled an impressive collection of articles by well-known Shakespearean scholars and critics. In this case, they include Charles and Mary Lamb, D.A. Traversi, the great Harley Granville-Baker, and film critic Roger Manvell. I was especially intrigued with the article titled "Iago the Poisoner," an original and insightful piece by George W. Williams, of Duke University. Mr. Nardo must be commended for his own insights and skill in putting together this outstanding volume.