Loose ends and red herrings are the stuff of detective fiction, and under the scrutiny of master sleuths John Sutherland and Cedric Watts Shakespeare's plays reveal themselves to be as full of mysteries as any Agatha Christie novel. Is it summer or winter in Elsinore? Do Bottom and Titania make love? Does Lady Macbeth faint, or is she just pretending? How does a man putrefy within minutes of his death? Is Cleopatra a deadbeat Mum? And why doesn't Juliet ask 'O Romeo Montague, wherefore art thou Montague?'
As Watts and Sutherland explore these and other puzzles Shakespeare's genuius becomes ever more apparent. Speculative, critical, good-humoured and provocative, their discussions shed light on apparent anachronisms, perfromance and stagecraft, linguistics, Star Trek and much else. Shrewd and entertaining, these essays add a new dimension to the pleasure of reading or watching Shakespeare.
Author(s): John Sutherland, Cedric Watts, Stephen Orgel
Series: Oxford World's Classics
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Year: 2000
Language: English
Commentary: 34550
Pages: 242
Cover......Page 0
Copyright page......Page 6
Contents......Page 7
Acknowledgements......Page 10
Introduction by Stephen Orgel......Page 11
Note on Editions Used......Page 19
Cleopatra—deadbeat mum? (Anthony and Cleopatra)......Page 21
The watch on the centurion's wrist (Julius Caesar)......Page 27
'Too much i' the sun': is it summer in Elsinore? (Hamlet)......Page 34
Where is the Ghost from? Is he stupid? and: Is Hamlet really Hamleth? (Hamlet)......Page 37
Desdemona's posthumous speeches (Othello)......Page 51
'Great thing of us forgot!': Albany's amnesia or Shakespeare's? (King Lear)......Page 59
Poor Tom's a yokel? (King Lear)......Page 66
How ancient is Lear? How youthful is Juliet? (King Lear • Romeo and Juliet)......Page 71
What's in a name? Why does Juliet confuse 'Montague' with 'Romeo'? (Romeo and Juliet)......Page 78
Real or Pretend I: Lady Macbeth: feint or faint? (Macbeth)......Page 85
Real or Pretend II: Hamlet's knock-knees (Hamlet)......Page 89
Real or Pretend III: Does Cleopatra really care about her 'petty things'? (Anthony and Cleopatra)......Page 92
Real or Pretend IV: Othello's magical handkerchief (Othello)......Page 96
How much time did Richard waste? (Richard II)......Page 105
Who killed Woodstock? (Richard II)......Page 112
Hal and Francis: what's the issue? (Henry IV Part I)......Page 119
Henry V, war criminal? (Henry V)......Page 128
Henry V's claim to France: valid or invalid? (Henry V)......Page 137
What happens to Viola's 'eunuch' plan? (Twelfth Night)......Page 146
Malvolio: vengeful or reconciled? (Twelfth Night)......Page 151
Does Bottom cuckold Oberon? (A Midsummer Night's Dream)......Page 157
Never act with dogs and babies (A Midsummer Night's Dream)......Page 163
Why is Shylock unmusical? (The Merchant of Venice)......Page 168
Is Portia a virgin at the end of the play—and will she stay one? (The Merchant of Venice)......Page 174
Muddle or method? (Troilus and Cressida)......Page 182
The mystery of the putrefièd corpse (Troilus and Cressida)......Page 188
Shakespeare's feminist play? (Love's Labour's Lost)......Page 194
Why does the Duke leave town? (Measure for Measure)......Page 204
Why Barnardine? and: Angelo: guide to sanity? (Measure for Measure)......Page 210
How many Shakespearian cannibals? (Titus Andronicus)......Page 217
'Too much i' the sun': is it summer in Elsinore? (Hamlet)......Page 223
'Great thing of us forgot!': Albany's amnesia or Shakespeare's? (King Lear)......Page 224
How ancient is Lear? How youthful is Juliet? (King Lear • Romeo and Juliet)......Page 225
What's in a name? Why does Juliet confuse 'Montague' with 'Romeo'? (Romeo and Juliet)......Page 226
Real or Pretend III: Does Cleopatra really care about her 'petty things'? (Anthony and Cleopatra)......Page 227
Real or Pretend IV: Othello's magical handkerchief (Othello)......Page 228
Who killed Woodstock? (Richard II)......Page 229
Henry V's claim to France: valid or invalid? (Henry V)......Page 230
What happens to Viola's 'eunuch' plan? (Twelfth Night)......Page 231
Does Bottom cuckold Oberon? (A Midsummer Night's Dream)......Page 232
Why is Shylock unmusical? (The Merchant of Venice)......Page 234
Muddle or method? (Troilus and Cressida)......Page 235
The mystery of the putrefièd corpse (Troilus and Cressida)......Page 236
Shakespeare's feminist play? (Love's Labour's Lost)......Page 237
Why does the Duke leave town? (Measure for Measure)......Page 238
How many Shakespearian cannibals? (Titus Andronicus)......Page 239
