Shakespeare for Everyone offers an accessible and engaging introduction to the worlds of Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets.
By focusing on emotions, it enables readers to build the skills and confidence to understand, appreciate, and enjoy Shakespeare’s plays by getting up close and personal with the characters in them, with their emotional journeys, and with the dramatic genres—of comedy, tragedy, tragicomedy, and history—in which they are cast. It provides insights into the forces that shaped Shakespeare’s work, and includes in-depth chapters on emotions in four representative plays: love in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, hate in Othello, jealousy in The Winter’s Tale, and the manipulation of emotions in Henry V. The book also considers how emotions were conceptualised in Shakespeare’s time and are understood today by modern psychological science. Additionally, the book enables readers to get to know Shakespeare himself, and gain insights into the processes of his art.
Featuring end-of-chapter further reading sections and an invaluable glossary of key terms through which to unlock the meaning of any Shakespeare play, this practical and informative guide proves that Shakespeare is for everyone. Written in a conversational tone, this short yet compelling book is not just a series of insights into what Shakespeare’s plays mean, but a way of exploring what it is to be human.
By:
Lucy Potter
Imprint: Routledge
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions:
Height: 216mm,
Width: 138mm,
Weight: 550g
ISBN: 9780367407438
ISBN 10: 0367407434
Pages: 192
Publication Date: 21 March 2025
Audience:
General/trade
,
Primary & secondary/elementary & high school
,
College/higher education
,
ELT Advanced
,
Children's (6-12)
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Dedication........................................................................................................................................ 3 Acknowledgements.......................................................................................................................... 4 About this Book............................................................................................................................... 5 Navigating Shakespeare................................................................................................................... 7 PART 1.......................................................................................................................................... 10 Chapter 1 Shakespeare’s Worlds................................................................................................... 11 Lucy Potter Chapter 2 Love and A Midsummer Night’s Dream....................................................................... 22 Lucy Potter Chapter 3 Hate and The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice................................................. 41 Lucy Potter Chapter 4 Jealousy and The Winter’s Tale.................................................................................... 65 Lucy Potter Chapter 5 Henry V and the Manipulation of Emotion................................................................... 87 Kerrie Le Lievre and Lucy Potter PART 2........................................................................................................................................ 106 Chapter 6 Emotions Then: Understanding Emotions in Shakespeare’s Time............................. 107 Bríd Phillips Chapter 7 Emotions Now: The Psychology of Emotion.............................................................. 116 Matt Dry Chapter 8 “Past Reason Hunted”: Emotions in Shakespeare’s Sonnets...................................... 124 Aidan Coleman APPENDIX.................................................................................................................................. 133 Let’s Play! Activities and Discussions........................................................................................ 134 Lucy Potter Glossary of Key Terms................................................................................................................ 143 Bibliography................................................................................................................................ 149 Index............................................................................................................................................. 154
Lucy Potter is Associate Professor of English at the University of Adelaide, Australia.
Reviews for Shakespeare for Everyone: The Emotional Worlds of Shakespeare’s Works
‘This book is quite unlike any I have encountered in over forty years of teaching Shakespeare. Whilst very simply expressed it succeeds in taking the reader beyond mere plot and to a better understanding of Shakespeare’s craft, which can be applied to any of his plays. Language that may seem difficult at first soon becomes understandable. I think it would be an invaluable text for new teachers of Shakespeare, and I can imagine it being devoured by bright Year 12 students. I especially loved Lucy’s comment about playing Shakespeare, climbing into the sandpit. This brilliantly and aptly captured my approach to teaching Shakespeare, making it accessible and enjoyable to all students, not a tedious task to be endured.’ Wendy Dowd, inaugural Australian Shakespeare Teacher of the Year (1998, awarded by the Shakespeare Globe Centre, Australia).
