TAMING OF THE SHREW, THE(ISBN=9780812969290)

Eminent Shakespearean scholars Jonathan Bate and Eric Rasmussen provide a fresh new edition of this scathing account of manners and matrimony—along with more than a hundred pages of exclusive features, including:
    ? an original Introduction to The Taming of the Shrew
    ? incisive scene-by-scene synopsis and analysis with vital facts about the work
    ? commentary on past and current productions based on interviews with leading directors, actors, and designers
    ? photographs of key RSC productions
    ? an overview of Shakespeare’s theatrical career and chronology of his plays
    Ideal for students, theater professionals, and general readers, these modern and accessible editions from the Royal Shakespeare Company set a new standard in Shakespearean literature for the twenty-first century.

William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in April 1564, and his birth is traditionally celebrated on April 23. The facts of his life, known from surviving documents, are sparse. He was one of eight children born to John Shakespeare, a merchant of some standing in his community. William probably went to the King’s New School in Stratford, but he had no university education. In November 1582, at the age of eighteen, he married Anne Hathaway, eight years his senior, who was pregnant with their first child, Susanna. She was born on May 26, 1583. Twins, a boy, Hamnet ( who would die at age eleven), and a girl, Judith, were born in 1585. By 1592 Shakespeare had gone to London working as an actor and already known as a playwright. A rival dramatist, Robert Greene, referred to him as “an upstart crow, beautified with our feathers.” Shakespeare became a principal shareholder and playwright of the successful acting troupe, the Lord Chamberlain’s Men (later under James I, called the King’ s Men). In 1599 the Lord Chamberlain’s Men built and occupied the Globe Theater in Southwark near the Thames River. Here many of Shakespeare’s plays were performed by the most famous actors of his time, including Richard Burbage, Will Kempe, and Robert Armin. In addition to his 37 plays, Shakespeare had a hand in others, including Sir Thomas More and The Two Noble Kinsmen, and he wrote poems, including Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece. His 154 sonnets were published, probably without his authorization, in 1609. In 1611 or 1612 he gave up his lodgings in London and devoted more and more time to retirement in Stratford, though he continued writing such plays as The Tempest and Henry VII until about 1613. He died on April 23 1616, and was buried in Holy Trinity Church, Stratford. No collected edition of his plays was published during his life-time, but in 1623 two members of his acting company, John Heminges and Henry Condell, put together the great collection now called the First Folio.

Introduction
   The "Taming" and the "Shrew"
   The Critics Debate
About the Text
Key Facts
The Taming of the Shrew
Textual Notes
Additional Sly Scenes and Kate's Submission Speech
   from The Taming of a Shrew (1594)
Scene-by-Scene Analysis
The Taming of the Shrew in Performance:
   The RSC and Beyond
   Four Centuries of The Shrew: An Overview
   At the RSC
   The Director's Cut: Interviews with Gregory Doran and Phyllida Lloyd
   Playing Kate: An Interview with Michelle Gomez
Shakespeare's Career in the Theater
   Beginnings
   Playhouses
   The Ensemble at Work
   The King's Man
Shakespeare's Works: A Chronology
Further Reading and Viewing
References
Acknowledgments and Picture Credits