Hilary K. Justice

A Groundling's Guide to Shakespeare's Hamlet Hilary K. Justice 1. izdevums

A Groundling's Guide to Shakespeare's Hamlet provides an "infectiously readable" and conversational introduction to reading and understanding Shakespeare in the 21st century; an analysis of Hamlet, the play, and Hamlet, the man; an examination of the myriad decisions that directors and actors must make in staging the play; and a guide for teachers of Shakespeare who wish to help their students engage fearlessly with the play and its characters.  The book offers curious and passionate readers, actors, and directors several avenues for self-directed study, including sections on Drama, Shakespeare's Language, and Character and a complete scene-by-scene study guide with questions and interludes designed to spark deeper exploration of the play's many mysteries.  It includes a glossary of dramatic and poetic terms illustrated by familiar examples from Shakespeare's plays. 

David Bevington, editor of The Complete Works of Shakespeare and Chair of Theater and Performance Studies at the University of Chicago, has pronounced this volume "excellent." He writes, "The title, A Groundling's Guide to Shakespeare's Hamlet, catches the wit and theatrical savvy of this book's author. The groundlings (Shakespeare's own invented term, apparently) were those who stood in the pit at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, close to the action and avidly involved in the actions they witnessed. The ground-level point of view is perfectly suited to a book like this, in which Justice explores with the reader how the characters in Hamlet speak to one another, and why, and who they are..."

• A companion guide to Bantam Classics' Four Tragedies: Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth (David Bevington and David Scott Kastan, editors).