Helena Bertram


Book Description

Reprint of the original, first published in 1859. The publishing house Anatiposi publishes historical books as reprints. Due to their age, these books may have missing pages or inferior quality. Our aim is to preserve these books and make them available to the public so that they do not get lost.







All's Well That Ends Well Annotated


Book Description

Set in France and Italy, All's Well That Ends Well is a story of one-sided romance, based on a tale from Boccaccio's The Decameron. Helen, orphaned daughter of a doctor, is under the protection of the widowed Countess of Rossillion. In love with Bertram, the countess' son, Helen follows him to court, where she cures the sick French king of an apparently fatal illness. The king rewards Helen by offering her the husband of her choice. She names Bertram; he resists. When forced by the king to marry her, he refuses to sleep with her and, accompanied by the braggart Parolles, leaves for the Italian wars. He says that he will only accept Helen if she obtains a ring from his finger and becomes pregnant with his child. She goes to Italy disguised as a pilgrim and suggests a 'bed trick' whereby she will take the place of Diana, a widow's daughter whom Bertram is trying to seduce. A 'kidnapping trick' humiliates the boastful Parolles, whilst the bed trick enables Helen to fulfil Bertram's conditions, leaving him no option but to marry her, to his mother's delight.




Shakespeare's Courtly Mirror


Book Description

"A leading premise of Haley's book is that modern psychological constructs are inadequate for understanding the courtly humanism dramatized by Shakespeare down to 1604. Renaissance culture knows nothing of the bourgeois subject of Locke, Freud, and Lacan. Shakespeare defines aristocratic identity in epic terms and presents not an autonomous individual but a hero whose persona is determined publicly in the "courtly mirror." That exemplary mirror, from Henry IV to Measure for Measure, reflects the heroic actions of rulers and courtiers. The historical self-awareness of Henry, Hal, and Brutus assumes a more contemporary aspect in the courtly self-consciousness of Hamlet, Duke Vincentio, and the three main characters of All's Well That Ends Well: Bertram, Helena, the King." "The "reflexivity" in the title does not indicate the self-referentiality of language, nor does it refer to the traditional paradigm of consciousness implying stable self-knowledge. Courtly reflexivity is oriented toward praxis rather than introspection. Before taking action, the courtier or cortigiana - Helena is a good example - knows only that (s)he is not what (s)he is. The courtier's deliberation is guided by a reflexive, self-regulating prudence that is usually identified with honor or love. In All's Well, Shakespeare contrasts this self-providence or heroic prudence with Divine Providence, but he does so obliquely. While focusing exclusively upon a court which prizes worldly action, he sustains his contrast through a series of ironical allusions to Scripture." "Beginning with a prologue on the problems raised by structural and theatrical interpretations of Bertram's role, Haley goes on to introduce his concept of reflexivity by way of an exchange with the new literary historicism. Chapters 1 to 3 follow the courtly debate over providence and honor, through Helena's triumph in act 2 to Bertram's deserting her. The collapse of her providential design coincides with the crisis of the sick King's honor - a crisis which Shakespeare describes alchemically, implying that alchemy, understood as reflexive chemistry, offers another mirror of the courtier's self-providence." "Chapter 4, the center of the book, brings together historical providence and Boccaccian prudence (avvedimento) in the figure of Ahab, with whom Shakespeare compares both Bertram and the Hal of Henry V. Chapters 5 to 7 pursue Shakespeare's ironic parallel between biblical Providence and courtly prudence, examining specific scenes of self-judgment and self-betrayal in the Henriad and Measure for Measure, as well as in All's Well."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved




Gender and Performance in Shakespeare's Problem Comedies


Book Description

"This is exactly the kind of work, with its synthesis of theory, close reading, and deconstructive performance criticism that many of us in the profession have been looking for." -- Joel B. Altman, University of California, Berkeley "McCandless's book represents an inventive and illuminating account that not only produces a theoretically activated text but also explores a range of options for staging it, turning theoretical into theatrical meanings." -- Barbara Hodgdon, Drake University "The writing is clear, snappy, wonderfully informed with a vivid and experienced theatrical imagination... a book that taught me a good deal about the problem comedies, especially from the vantage point of performance, though the insights into performance are fully and incisively integrated with, and they richly illuminate, formal, thematic, and psychological vantage points on the play." -- Richard P. Wheeler, University of Illinois Composed at a critical moment in English history, All's Well That Ends Well, Measure for Measure, and Troilus and Cressida -- Shakespeare's problem plays -- dramatize a crisis in the sex-gender system. They register a male dread of emasculation and engulfment, a fear of female authority and sexuality. In these plays males identify desire for a female as dangerous and unmanly, females contend and confound traditional femininity. David McCandless's book is a unique and invigorating example of performance criticism that illuminates these difficult, sometimes-overlooked tragicomedies. It is an original and timely contribution to Shakespearean theater scholarship.




Occult Knowledge, Science, and Gender on the Shakespearean Stage


Book Description

Belief in spirits, demons and the occult was commonplace in the early modern period, as was the view that these forces could be used to manipulate nature and produce new knowledge. In this groundbreaking study, Mary Floyd-Wilson explores these beliefs in relation to women and scientific knowledge, arguing that the early modern English understood their emotions and behavior to be influenced by hidden sympathies and antipathies in the natural world. Focusing on Twelfth Night, Arden of Faversham, A Warning for Fair Women, All's Well That Ends Well, The Changeling and The Duchess of Malfi, she demonstrates how these plays stage questions about whether women have privileged access to nature's secrets and whether their bodies possess hidden occult qualities. Discussing the relationship between scientific discourse and the occult, she goes on to argue that as experiential evidence gained scientific ground, women's presumed intimacy with nature's secrets was either diminished or demonized.




Shakespeare's Problem Plays


Book Description

This New Casebook offers a wide-ranging selection of contemporary critical readings of Shakespeare's three 'problem plays': All's Well that Ends Well, Measure for Measure and Trolius and Cressida. Together, they reflect the diversity of late twentieth-century theory and the controversy that continues to be generated by the plays, and discuss a variety of key issues. These include the meaning of the term 'problem play', the historical context and political and cultural significance of the plays, as well as issues of staging and theatre history. The volume also provides a helpful introduction which guides the reader through the critical approaches, terms and debates, as well as explanatory notes for each essay and a useful section on further reading.




The Ring of Truth


Book Description

Why are sex and jewelry, particularly rings, so often connected? Why do rings continually appear in stories about marriage and adultery, love and betrayal, loss and recovery, identity and masquerade? What is the mythology that makes finger rings symbols of true (or, as the case may be, untrue) love? The cross-cultural distribution of the mythology of sexual rings is impressive--from ancient India and Greece through the Arab world to Shakespeare, Marie Antoinette, Wagner, nineteenth-century novels, Hollywood, and the De Beers advertising campaign that gave us the expression, "A Diamond is Forever." Each chapter of The Ring of Truth, like a charm on a charm bracelet, considers a different constellation of stories: stories about rings lost and found in fish; forgetful husbands and clever wives; treacherous royal necklaces; fake jewelry and real women; modern women's revolt against the hegemony of jewelry; and the clash between common sense and conventional narratives about rings. Herein lie signet rings, betrothal rings, and magic rings of invisibility or memory. The stories are linked by a common set of meanings, such as love symbolized by the circular and unbroken shape of the ring: infinite, constant, eternal--a meaning that the stories often prove tragically false. While most of the rings in the stories originally belonged to men, or were given to women by men, Wendy Doniger shows that it is the women who are important in these stories, as they are the ones who put the jewelry to work in the plots.




Delphi Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Illustrated)


Book Description

Finally, the world’s greatest writer receives the scholarly Delphi treatment. This incredible eBook offers every Shakespearean play, poem, apocryphal work and much, much more! Now you can truly own all of Shakespeare’s works and a wealth of BONUS material on your eReader, and all in ONE well-organised file. (Version 6) * concise introductions to the plays and other works * images of how the plays first appeared in print, giving your eReader a taste of the Elizabethan texts * ALL 38 plays and each with their own contents table – navigate easily between acts and scenes – find that special quotation quickly! * even includes 17 apocryphal plays available nowhere else * contains a special LOST PLAYS section, with concise information on Shakespeare’s lost works * includes the special bonus play of DOUBLE FALSEHOOD * ALL the sonnets and other poetry, with excellent formatting, in their own special contents table – find that special sonnet quickly and easily! * packed full of hundreds of beautiful images relating to Shakespeare’s life, locations and works * EVEN includes a special SOURCES section – spend hours discovering rare medieval texts that shaped Shakespeare’s greatest works. * INCLUDES no less than 5 biographies – explore the bard’s mysterious life from multiple sources across history * the SPECIAL literary criticism section boasts 11 works by writers as varied as Samuel Johnson, Coleridge, Pope, Bernard Shaw and Tolstoy * scholarly ordering of texts into chronological order and literary genres * includes a special ‘Glossary of Elizabethan Language’, which will aid your comprehension of difficult words and phrases * UPDATED with line numbers to all 38 plays, in response to customers’ requests * UPDATED with a special Quotations section, with hundreds of famous quotations from the plays and poetry This eBook is quite simply stunning and deserves a place in the digital library of all lovers of literature. CONTENTS The Plays ALL 38 PLAYS The Lost Plays LOVE’S LABOUR’S WON CARDENIO DOUBLE FALSEHOOD The Sources LIST OF THE PLAYS’ SOURCES The Apocryphal Plays ARDEN OF FAVERSHAM THE BIRTH OF MERLIN KING EDWARD III LOCRINE THE LONDON PRODIGAL THE PURITAN THE SECOND MAIDEN’S TRAGEDY SIR JOHN OLDCASTLE THOMAS LORD CROMWELL A YORKSHIRE TRAGEDY SIR THOMAS MORE FAIR EM MUCEDORUS THE MERRY DEVIL OF EDMONTON EDMUND IRONSIDE THOMAS OF WOODSTOCK VORTIGERN AND ROWENA The Adaptations TALES FROM SHAKESPEARE BY CHARLES AND MARY LAMB The Poetry THE SONNETS VENUS AND ADONIS THE RAPE OF LUCRECE THE PASSIONATE PILGRIM THE PHOENIX AND THE TURTLE A LOVER’S COMPLAINT The Apocryphal Poetry TO THE QUEEN A FUNERAL ELEGY FOR MASTER WILLIAM PETER SONNETS TO SUNDRY NOTES OF MUSIC The Criticism PREFACE TO SHAKESPEARE AND NOTES ON PLAY BY SAMUEL JOHNSON NOTES TO COMEDIES BY SAMUEL JOHNSON A STUDY OF SHAKESPEARE BY ALGERNON CHARLES SWINBURNE and many more! The Biographies SHAKESPEARE: HIS LIFE, ART, AND CHARACTERS BY HENRY NORMAN HUDSON and many more! Shakespeare’s Last Will and Testament Resources: Quotations Glossary of Elizabethan Language




A Study Guide for William Shakespeare's "All's Well that Ends Well"


Book Description

A Study Guide for William Shakespeare's "All's Well that Ends Well," excerpted from Gale's acclaimed Shakespeare for Students. This concise study guide includes plot summary; character analysis; author biography; study questions; historical context; suggestions for further reading; and much more. For any literature project, trust Shakespeare for Students for all of your research needs.