Shakespearean Afterlives: Ten Characters with a Life of Their Own

By John O'Connor

Book Overview

From art to advertising, psycology to politics, opera to cinema, Shakespeare's stories and characters have found an enduring place in our consciousness, enjoying 'afterlives' as rich and varied as their original incarnations in the playhouse. This book is a cultural biography of Shakespeare's most famous characters. From Shylock to the Shrew, Richard the Third to Romeo - via Shakespeare in Love and West Side Story - it charts the many and various existences that these characters have led outside the pages of the First Folio. Each chapter offers an original perspective on a well-known character, examining their role in the play, their history in performance and their intriguingly kaleidoscopic life in the popular consciousness. Featuring interviews with actors and directors, this book is for 'the great Variety of Readers' who enjoy their Shakespeare and are intrigued by the seemingly endless capacity of his characters for re-invention and reincarnation.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 184046643X
• ISBN13: 9781840466430
• Release Date: April 2001
• Publisher: Icon Books
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.2" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

This Man Gets Modern Shakespeare!

"Reading a script and not wanting to see it acted is, for me, like reading a recipe for apple pie and being reluctant to cook the dish because the reality can never match the platonic pie that exists in our imaginations." This is the umpteenth quote in this book that made me "Ha!" in agreement and surprise. John O'Connor has woven a study of ten of Shakespeare's characters as they have been percieved in performance and criticism since they were created and have now become icons and major pop-culture references. While at times a tad tangental, O'Connor makes his case clearly and with a wide range of examples from interviews with RSC greats or accounts of performances during the Restoration, to "ripped from the headlines" examples or vivid descriptions of filmic interpretation. He understands what it is to read, see, and perform Shakespeare in the modern day. His study is both rational and humorous and would, I hope, be embraced by both actors and scholars of Shakespeare's characters.