Shakespeare's Imitations [Hardcover]

Mark Taylor (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Clearly based on knowing these plays inside out, Taylor's study combines exemplary close reading and revitalized source study." -- Barbara Hodgdon, "Recent Studies in Tudor and Stuart Drama," SEL 43:2, Spring 2003.

"This well-written book presents a major reevaluation ... in Shakespeare. [Taylor] illuminates the [plays'] construction and ... [Shakespeare's] language." -- Choice Magazine

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: University of Delaware Press (June 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0874137756
• ISBN-13: 978-0874137750
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,445,101 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No Limitations on Shakespeare's Imitations, September 29, 2002

By 

Laury Magnus (Port Washington, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shakespeare's Imitations (Hardcover)

As an open partisan of Mark Taylor's scholarhip, I was delighted to find that he has outdone himself in SHAKESPEARE'S IMITATIONS. His prose sparkles with a bravura wit truly inspired by the verbal and structural play of Shakespeare's own invention. SHAKESPEARE IMITATIONS tackles the best of the best: A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, HENRY IV, PART 1, HAMLET, and THE TEMPEST. With great yet unassuming erudition and with an unflagging perceptiveness, Taylor pursues the kaleidoscopic question of Shakespeare's mirrorings of antiquity, of contemporary literature, and of his own creations. Even on the rare occasions when I find myself disagreeing with him, Taylor's arguments compel a re-thinking of these four great plays and a renewed appreciation of the infinite capacity of Shakespeare's (to say nothing of Taylor's) imagination.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Shakespeare a la Gide, August 21, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Shakespeare's Imitations (Hardcover)

Andre Gide's concept of the mise en abyme which has become a wide-ranging and controversial tool in literary understanding is deftly applied here by Mark Taylor to four of Shakespeare's most complex plays. Although the theoretical background is French and thus somewhat elliptical in expression, Taylor's prose is fresh, clear, and a pleasure to read. Difficult matter gracefully communicated.