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正在检索... Science | Book | 822.33 SH15 D NO, 1999 | 1 | Stacks | 正在检索... 未知 | 正在检索... 不可借阅 |
正在检索... Science | Book | PR2982 .N67 1999 | 1 | Stacks | 正在检索... 未知 | 正在检索... 不可借阅 |
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摘要
摘要
Both compelling history and a crucial contribution to Shakespeare studies, Shakespeare's Kings examines the real events behind the bard's history plays. of full-color photos.
评论 (5)
出版社周刊评论
This is a painstakingly sensible book, suitable for die-hard Shakespeare lovers. The author of the massive, three-part Byzantium turns here to the equally byzantine world of late medieval England, providing a complex context for the bard's nine Histories (including the recently authenticated Edward III) and asking: How accurate were Shakespeare's royal portraits? The canvas stretches from the Hundred Years War to the end of the Wars of the Roses. Norwich, structuring his book as political narrative, helpfully fills in gaps between the action of the plays. The book will be useful as a historical primer for those already familiar with the plays (or films: many will associate Henry V with Kenneth Branagh, or Richard III with Ian McKellen), but it lacks intellectual muscle, and the awkwardly intermittent analyses of accuracy obscure the natural flair of the author's prose. Norwich is conscientious in reconstructing detail, but his larger claims are meager. We learn, for instance, that Shakespeare has a "cavalier approach to chronology" and that his portraits sometimes fall prey to personal prejudice, but that with the great exception of Richard III (already vilified by Thomas More), the bold historical outlines are generally on the money. In his epilogue, the author briefly places the Histories against the backdrop of new Elizabethan self-confidence: England, "the only possible hero" in this long, sordid drama, craved the telling of its tale in the most accessible literary form of the day. Yet the elusive intellectual prey--the making of national identity--escapes through the thickets of history. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus评论
Noted historian Norwich (Byzantium, 1989, etc.) takes a brilliantly nuanced look at the relations between England's kings and Shakespeare's plays. Studying only the plays known collectively as the 'histories' (and thus omitting King John), he uses his immense knowledge of English and European history to illuminate the historical background of the plays and to offer an intriguing look at England in the years of Shakespeare's writing. Norwich's analysis of Richard II, Henry IV, Henry V, Henry VI, and Richard III emphasizes factors Shakespeare added for dramatic effect (such as the famed 'winter of our discontent' speech, written for Richard III to deliver during the summer of 1477) and his equally strategic omissions (e.g., the bands of idle soldiers roaming through the English countryside in 1414 whom Henry V would have to employ in a war so as to avert the unrest they would otherwise cause at home). Norwich notes other realities Shakespeare recast more subtly, transforming France's Charles VI from a doddering fool to a wise voice of reason against the rash voice of Louis, the Dauphin, for example, in order to portray Henry V's war against France as just and reasonable. And he reminds us that the historical Richard III was not the hunchback of Shakespeare but a 'great and good man of perfectly normal physique, the fine administrator and far-sighted law giver.' Entrancing historical interpretation, perfectly cast. (Color and b&w illus.)
《书目》(Booklist)书评
Fascinated by the drama and intrigue enveloping the royal court during the Middle Ages, William Shakespeare penned nine plays chronicling the fortunes of the Plantagenet rulers. Although featuring authentic historical figures and grounded in real events, the plays represent the creative union of actual fact and poetic license. Norwich offers illuminating overviews of Edward III; Richard II; Henry IV, parts 1 and 2; Henry V; Henry VI, parts 1, 2, and 3; and Richard III, examining each play through the lens of history. In addition to providing the necessary historical commentary, he also fills in the gaps between the plays, enabling readers to thoroughly comprehend the entire series in the proper historical context. Both historians and literary scholars will welcome this intelligent examination of a significant portion of the Shakespearean canon. --Margaret Flanagan
Choice 评论
Beautifully illustrated and engagingly combining daring candor, charming imagination, and fascinating facts, this volume strives to bridge the gap between England's royal history of 1337-1485 and Shakespeare's nine-part epic, the plays from Edward III through Henry VI, Part 3. Norwich acknowledges that purpose--to establish how close the dramatist came to historical accuracy without making that his principal aim: the play is always the thing. Like Norwich's trilogy on Byzantium (Byzantium: The Early Centuries, CH, Sep'89; ... The Apogee, 1991; ... The Decline and Fall, 1996) and books on Venice and Sicily, Shakespeare's Kings is designed for cultivated readers with cosmopolitan interests and thus lacks the full critical apparatus scholars expect (source citations, for instance). Still, it deserves a place in academic libraries, particularly those serving undergraduates, for its exemplary and inspirational value to students learning to write about history and literature. J. H. Sims; emeritus, University of Southern Mississippi
《图书馆杂志》(Library Journal )书评
Having conquered Byzantium in a celebrated trilogy, Norwich heads north to probe the connection between Shakespeare's historical plays and the events they represented. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.