Shakespeare and the Classics [Paperback]

This book demonstrates that the classics are of central importance in Shakespeare's plays and in the structure of his imagination.Shakespeare and the Classics demonstrates that the classics are of central importance in Shakespeare's plays and in the structure of his imagination. Written by an international team of Shakespeareans and classicists, this book investigates Shakespeare's classicism and shows how he used a variety of classical books to explore such crucial areas of human experience as love, politics, ethics, and history. It offers the most rounded and comprehensive treatment of Shakespeare's classicism currently available and will be a useful first port of call for students and others approaching the subject.Shakespeare and the Classics demonstrates that the classics are of central importance in Shakespeare's plays and in the structure of his imagination. Written by an international team of Shakespeareans and classicists, this book investigates Shakespeare's classicism and shows how he used a variety of classical books to explore such crucial areas of human experience as love, politics, ethics, and history. It offers the most rounded and comprehensive treatment of Shakespeare's classicism currently available and will be a useful first port of call for students and others approaching the subject.Compiled by an international team of Shakespeareans and classicists, this study investigates Shakespeare's classicism and demonstrates how he used a variety of classical books to explore such crucial areas of human experience as love, politics, ethics, and history. It offers a comprehensive analysis of Shakespeare's classicism that will also serve as a useful introduction for students and others approaching the subject for the first time.Introduction; Part I. An Initial Perspective: 1. Shakespeare and humanistic culture Colin Burrow; Part II. 'Small Latine': 2. 'Petruchio is 'Kated'': The Taming of the Shrew and Ovid Vanda Zajko; 3. Ovid's myths and the unsmooth coul³9