Shakespeare and Macbeth: The Story Behind the Play - Hardcover

Stewart Ross

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0670856290 ISBN 13: 9780670856299

Publisher: Viking Childrens Books, 1994

Synopsis

Blending historical research and contemporary literary criticism, this fascinating look at one of Shakespeare's most famous plays explains how the playwright conceived and wrote Macbeth and brings to life a production of the play.

About this title

From School Library Journal:

Grade 6-9?A unique approach to theater history. Ross presents a quick view of Jacobean London, Shakespeare's life, the king's patronage and prejudices, the troupe of actors, and the physical layout of the Globe, and shows how these factors influenced the structure of the play. Readers are first set down in London, then introduced to the Globe during a performance of Hamlet. Afterwards, they move backstage to meet the actors. There is a bit of fictionalizing?Shakespeare talks to Burbage and the guys about his idea for a new play over wine at the Boar's Head Inn?but the device contributes to the relaxed feel of the book. The story then moves to the historical background of Macbeth, explaining the changes the playwright made and his possible reasons. This seeming overload of material is skillfully packaged, with explanatory information carried in concise sidebars. The endpapers feature a sketch of London by Wenceslaus Hollar; internally, Karpinski's vibrant paintings are reminiscent of the Dutch masters' work in their rich colors and strong light, and create dramatic impact with their unusual perspectives. Ambrus's lively sketches achieve a shift of focus for an end segment representing a performance of the new play for King James. The perpetual grouse by Shakespeare buffs that a book can't give young people the true sense of a stage production is at least partly countered by this dynamic gem.?Sally Margolis, Deerfield Public Library,
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist:

Gr. 5^-8. It's a perennial question: How do you make Shakespeare interesting to young people? Recent attempts have gone the historical route. Stanley and Vennema's Bard of Avon (1992) placed the playwright in the vividly rendered raucousness of Elizabethan England. Ross and Karpinski take the same tack but focus on the circumstances surrounding the composition and first performance of a single play, Macbeth. As does Bard of Avon, this book works because it's grounded in the ordinariness of daily life. We discover that the so-called immortal bard was driven mainly by commercial considerations: Macbeth, about a Scottish king, was written to appeal to King James, another Scottish king, in hopes that he would want it performed at court--the best gig going for a drama troupe in seventeenth-century England. Ross also shows how Shakespeare adapted his source material to appeal specifically to James and how the company set about rehearsing and staging the new play. Karpinski's illustrations, appropriately dark-hued in various shades of brown, red, and black, add texture, especially in the onstage pieces. Will kids read this for fun? No, but while they're using it as background material for reports, they might just be surprised to notice they're enjoying it. Also, high-schoolers studying Shakespeare may appreciate this picture-book approach. Bill Ott

About this edition

• Publisher: Viking Childrens Books
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 0670856290
• ISBN 13: 9780670856299
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 44
• Illustrator: Tony Karpinski, Victor Ambrus