William Shakespeare, A Very Peculiar History by Morley, Jacqueline -- Read -- Imperial Library of Trantor

Index

Cover Front Matter

Title Page Publisher Information Dedication

Shakespeare

Quotes Introduction: Who was Shakespeare, anyway?

Shakespeare myth no. 1

CHAPTER ONE: Stratford days

Shakespeare myth no. 2 A worthy townsman Shakespeare myth no. 3 England in 1564 Will goes to school A first taste of the stage The companies Out into the world Brothers and sisters The family man Shakespeare myth no. 4

CHAPTER TWO: The lost years

Catholic and Protestant

CHAPTER THREE: Settling in

Shakespeare’s London The Theatre Getting started Dating Shakespeare’s plays: an inexhaustible scholarly pastime The plays in brief: The Two Gentlemen of Verona, c.1589–1590 Top of the bill no. 1: Will Kempe Heroines in disguise Getting a toe in the stage door The plays in brief: The Taming of the Shrew, c.1590 The plays in brief: Henry VI Parts I, II and III, 1590–1592 The upstart crow Revenge, revenge! The plays in brief: Titus Andronicus, c.1593 The plays in brief: The Comedy of Errors, 1591–1594 The plays in brief: Richard III, 1592-1593

CHAPTER FOUR: Getting into his stride

From hired man to sharer Shakespeare’s rivals The plays in brief: Love’s Labour’s Lost, 1594–1595 Will’s way with words Shakespeare myth no. 5 The plays in brief: Romeo and Juliet, 1595–1596 Top of the bill no. 2: William Shakespeare The plays in brief: Richard II, 1594–1595 The plays in brief: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 1595–1596 Shakespeare myth no. 6 A hope lost The plays in brief: King John, 1595–1597 The plays in brief: The Merchant of Venice, 1596–1597 More disappointed hope A house fit for a gentleman The plays in brief: Henry IV Parts I and II, 1596, 1598 The plays in brief: The Merry Wives of Windsor, 1597–1598 Some Shakespearean insults

CHAPTER FIVE: At The Globe

Apparel An afternoon at The Globe The plays in brief: Julius Caesar, 1599 Why do Shakespeare’s characters talk in verse? The plays in brief: Much Ado about Nothing, 1598–1599 The plays in brief: As You Like It, 1599–1600 The plays in brief: Twelfth Night, 1601–1602

CHAPTER SIX: The great tragedies

Tragedy and comedy The plays in brief: Hamlet, c. 1600 Soliloquy Shakespeare, director The plays in brief: Othello, c.1603-1604 The plays in brief: King Lear, 1605-1606 Top of the bill no. 3: Richard Burbage From Tudor to Stuart The plays in brief: Macbeth, c.1606 The Scottish play The plays in brief: Antony and Cleopatra, 1606–1607

CHAPTER SEVEN: The problem plays

A brush with treason Neither one thing nor the other? The plays in brief: Troilus and Cressida, 1601–1602 The plays in brief: Measure for Measure, 1603–1604 Shakespeare myth no. 7: Shakespeare couldn’t spell The plays in brief: All’s Well that Ends Well, 1604–1605 The plays in brief: Timon of Athens, 1605–1608

CHAPTER EIGHT: The King’s Men

Under new management Quite an evening By royal command The plays in brief: Pericles, Prince of Tyre, 1607–1608 The plays in brief: Coriolanus, 1608–1609 The sonnets: Shakespeare’s great conundrum The plays in brief: The Winter’s Tale, 1609–1611 The plays in brief: Cymbeline, 1610–1611 The plays in brief: The Tempest, 1610–1611 Shakespeare myth no. 8 Too late!

CHAPTER NINE: After Shakespeare

Gone missing: the plays that fell through the net Times change Setting Shakespeare straight Bardolatry Anti-Stratfordians A new Globe A Shakespeare quiz

Shakespeare Timeline Glossary

End matter

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