The Fools of Shakespeare an Interpretation of Their Wit, Wisdom and Personalities (Classic Reprint) - Couverture souple

Frederick Warde

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 1330793544 ISBN 13 : 9781330793541

Editeur : Forgotten Books, 2018

Synopsis

Discover the hidden voices in Shakespeare’s plays—the fools who reveal truth with wit that stings and warmth that endears.

This volume explores how jesters and clowns illuminate character, motive, and social dynamics in the bard’s world. Drawing on dramatic moments and historical context, it shows how the fool’s humor and wisdom work together to heighten drama and humanity. The book foregrounds the actor’s viewpoint, tracing how these figures function on stage and what their roles reveal about Shakespeare’s writing and its enduring appeal.

Highlighted passages include vivid analyses of characters like Launcelot Gobbo from The Merchant of Venice and the Fool in King Lear, with careful attention to their speech, behavior, and relationships. The discussion blends literary insight with performance history to illuminate how fools speak truth through comedy and how their loyalty, cunning, or folly shapes the plays’ emotional arcs.

• Close readings of key fools and their moments of truth-telling versus folly


• Insights into stagecraft, acting choices, and how the fool drives dramatic tension


• Context about medieval and Renaissance ideas of wit, wisdom, and social role


• Examples from major plays to show how humor and tragedy intersect on stage

Ideal for readers who love Shakespeare, theatre history, or actor’s perspectives on classic drama.

The Fools of Shakespeare: an Interpretation of Their Wit, Wisdom and Personalities

A propos du livre

Présentation de l'éditeur

Excerpt from The Fools of Shakespeare an Interpretation of Their Wit, Wisdom and Personalities

Foolery, sir, does walk about the orb like the sun; it shines everywhere.

How far the above epigram may apply to the compiler of this work, may be a matter of opinion.

Among the legion of books dealing with the characters of Shakespeare, I have found the majority to be devoted to his tragic and serious creations, a few to his humorous types, but none to his fools.

In the course of a lengthy career upon the stage, which has been chiefly devoted to the plays of Shakespeare, I have witnessed the performance of these fools by accomplished actors whose skill has illuminated the text, and whose abilities have vitalized the poet's creations till they lived in my mind, not as imaginary beings, but as real men who walked, talked, and gamboled before me.

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com

This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Présentation de l'éditeur

Foolery, sir, does walk about the orb like the sun; i: shines everywhere. How far the above epigram may apply to the (ompiler of this work, may be a matter of opinion. A mong the legion of books dealing with the characters of Shakespeare, I have found the majority to be devoted to his tragic and serious creations, a few to his humorous types, but none to lis fools. In the course of a lengthy career upon the stage, which has been chiefly devoted to the plays cf Shakespeare, I have witnessed the performance cf these fools by accomplished actors whose skill 1as illuminated the text, and whose abilities have italized the poets creations till they lived in my riind, not as imaginary beings, but as real men vho walked, talked, and gamboled before me.
(Typographical errors above are due to OCR software and don't occur in the book.)

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books is a publisher of historical writings, such as: Philosophy, Classics, Science, Religion, History, Folklore and Mythology.

Forgotten Books' Classic Reprint Series utilizes the latest technology to regenerate facsimiles of historically important writings. Careful attention has been made to accurately preserve the original format of each page whilst digitally enhancing the aged text. Read books online for free at www.forgottenbooks.org

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Forgotten Books
• Date d'édition: 2018
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 1330793544
• ISBN 13: 9781330793541
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 248
• Coordonnées du fabricant: Copytech (UK) Ltd, Trading as Printondemand-worldwide.com; gpsr@podww.com; ; 9 Culley Court; Orton Southgate; Peterborough; Cambridgeshire; PE2 6WA; Royaume-Uni
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