The Playquot;s The Thing: Volume two

The Playquot;s The Thing: The Plays of William Shakespeare is aimed at a YA (young adult) audience as an introduction to the greatest plays ever written. Direct and personal and decidedly non-academic, each play gets its own essay, giving the reader an overview of the play with an emphasis on the relevance that the play has to the readerquot;s own life and concerns. As I wrote in the introduction, quot;The goal of this guide, then, is to turn Shakespeare from somebody you have to read into somebody that you want to read.quot; A young man struggles with his fathers unexpected death. A young couple pledges their love to each other despite their families angry disapproval. A young man rebels against his father while at the same time craving his approval. A father and his family roam across what appears to be a post-apocalyptic dystopian landscape. A Roman general kills the sons of his enemy and serves them to her baked in a pie. Two young couples escape into a forest where magic rules and nothing is quite what it seems. A group of young men decide to give up on women and dating in order to devote themselves to their studies, until a group of beautiful young women changes their minds. The latest YA novels? While they certainly sound like they can be, theyre not. Theyre just one way of looking at some of the plays of William Shakespeare (to be precise, Hamlet, Romeo amp; Juliet, Henry IV Parts I amp; 2, King Lear, Loves Labours Lost) that shows that theyre not just old-school classic plays theyre old-school classic plays that tell stories that are relevant to my life, to your lives, and to the way we all live today. These are stories of love. Of families. Of fathers and sons. Of the rise and fall of kings. Of what its like to grow old. Of what its like to love someone so much it hurts. Of treachery and revenge. Of ambition. Of jealousy. Of forgiveness. Of murder. Almost every human experience you can think of is brought to life in these plays. Which is why, for more than 400 years, they have been seen as the central glory of Western literature. And thats also why the plays of William Shakespeare are, on a daily basis, performed on stages around the world. The stories he told, the characters he created, are universal. Audiences in China, in Ghana, in India, in Brazil, in every part of the world, can appreciate and love Shakespeare as much as the British and Americans. quot;Rich, persuasive and brimming with infectious enthusiasm Even the most reluctant YA students will come away with a greater understanding and richer appreciation not only of Shakespeares plays but of his poetic imagination.quot; Steve Cole, author of Young Bond Amazing, a fantastic book that will encourage young people to take another look at the works of Shakespeare. David G. McAfee, author of quot;Disproving Christianity and other Secular Writingsquot;, quot;Mom, Dad, Iquot;m an Atheistquot;, and quot;The Belief Bookquot;. FIRST VOLUME: Índex Introduction Who Was Shakespeare? The Plays Love Stories Antony and Cleopatra As You Like It The Comedy of Errors Loves Labours Lost Much Ado About Nothing Romeo and Juliet The Taming of the Shrew . Twelfth Night Fairy Tales A Midsummer Nights Dream Cymbeline The Merry Wives of Windsor Pericles The Tempest Timon of Athens The Winters Tale SECOND VOLUME: Índex Introduction Who Was Shakespeare? The Plays Family Dramas Coriolanus Hamlet Fun Facts King Lear Fun Facts Macbeth Fun Facts Othello Titus Andronicus Fun Facts Politics and War Richard II Henry IV Parts One and Two Fun Facts Henry V Henry VI, Parts 1-3 Richard III King John Julius Caesar Troilus and Cressida Black Comedy Alls Well That Ends Well Measure for Measure The Merchant of Venice Fun Facts Two Gentlemen of Verona Glossary Bibliography