Deciphering Shakespeare's Plays: A Practical Guide to the Twenty Best-Known and Enduring Works

"If you think Shakespeare is stuffy and impenetrable, then allow Cynthia Greenwood's new guide to take you through his greatest plays and unlock all the marvels." -- Jeffrey Bean, Veteran of the Alley Theatre and Broadway

"In her new book, Greenwood gives students and playgoers the chance to inhabit Shakespeare's plays as actors and directors do." -- Raymond Caldwell, Founder of the Texas Shakespeare Festival

"Greenwood's guide will come through with a helping hand, making sense of the language and motivations of Shakespeare's enduring characters." -- Diana Howie, playwright and author of 'Susanna & Will' and 'Susanna of Stratford'

Deciphering Shakespeare's Plays is a phenomenal resource for anyone who has an interest in Shakespeare." -- Ben Alper, PlayShakespeare.com

Go behind the curtain to better understand the comedy, tragedy, history, and romance that flowed from the quill of the legendary dramatist. Deciphering Shakespeare’s Plays: A Practical Guide to the 20 Best-Known and Enduring Works brings William Shakespeare’s 400-year-old dramas alive in a new introduction for students, playgoers, and general readers.

This guide doesn’t just dissect great soliloquies on the page—it illuminates the essence and experience of the Shakespearean spoken word. This reference tool brings you closer to the heady, behind-the-scenes world of freelance playwriting and the London theatre scene of the 1590s. It lends insight into decisions that theatre people make while acting and staging The Taming of the Shrew, The Merchant of Venice, Othello, Hamlet, Macbeth, and many other revered works by the world’s greatest playwright.

Deciphering Shakespeare’s Plays is also an invaluable reference tool for high school and university students, drama students, professional and amateur actors, teachers, playgoers, drama critics, and casual readers—or anyone who wants to discover, brush up on, or reacquaint themselves with Shakespeare’s plays.

WINNER - Foreword INDIES Gold Award (1st Prize) for REFERENCE

Cynthia Greenwood has worked as a professional interpreter of Shakespeare for newspaper readers, students, and theatregoers for thirty years. She is the author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Shakespeare's Plays, having taught Shakespeare's plays and sonnets at the college level for ten years. She served as the classical arts critic for the Houston Press, and has filed arts reports and reviews for The New York Times, Houston Chronicle, Dallas Morning News, San Francisco Chronicle, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, San Antonio Express-News, Fort Worth Star Telegram, Playbill and PlayShakespeare.com. She holds a Master's degree in English from the University of Texas at San Antonio, and a second Master's degree with an emphasis on British drama, from The University of Houston.