Shakespeares after Shakespeare [Two Volumes]: An Encyclopedia of the Bard in Mass Media and Popular Culture: Shakespeares after Shakespeare [Two ... of the Bard in Mass Media and Popular Culture [Hardcover]

Richard Burt (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0313331162 | ISBN-13: 978-0313331169 | Publication Date: November 30, 2006

Though he wrote 400 years ago, Shakespeare is still very much alive today. This vast encyclopedia attests to that fact through hundreds of entries chronicling the presence of the Bard in contemporary popular culture, including radio, film, television, and other media to which his works have been adapted. Each section begins with an overview essay, followed by entries on individual plays, including stage histories and biographies of actors and directors. Thus the encyclopedia covers the full range of Shakespeare's presence in popular culture, with an emphasis on the past hundred years. It also offers a selected, general bibliography and an extensive index. Students will find this a handy reference for comparing Shakespeare's plays to modern adaptations of them, while general readers will treasure it as a guide to Shakespeare's enduring legacy.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

These two volumes chronicle Shakespearean references found in everything from cartoons and comic books to radi and television, theater, film, and pop music. Although it's no surprise that the greatest English writer of all time continues to influence culture high and low, the number of examples cited here is remarkable. Opening with an essay on the challenges of finding Shakespearean allusions in mass media, the first volume consists of chapters on cartoons and comic books, film adaptations, film spin-offs, citations, and pop music. The second volume covers literature and genre fiction, radio, U.S and UK television, and theater. Three appendixes follow: the first two address Shakespeare in Japanese comics and Italian television, and the third provides a list of Shakespeare companies and festivals on the Web. A bibliography and detailed index bring the work to a close.

Each chapter begins with an introductory essay and proceeds to a play-by-play listing with the adaptations listed under each title. We expect to find the great film versions of the plays, such as those directed by Kenneth Branagh, Orson Wells, and Franco Zeffirelli, and they are here, as are foreign film titles, silent films, and, in the chapter on film spin-offs and citations, a number of sexploitation and pornographic film titles. The BBC Shakespeare television productions are here as well as episodes of Babylon 5, Boston Public, Oz, and The Simpsons television programs where Shakespearean references have been detected. Also here are musicals, such as The Boys from Syracuse and West Side Story, that have been based on Shakespeare. The chapter on literature and genre fiction includes children's literature, romance novels, and mysteries.

This wide-ranging work provides enough information for an entire course on Shakespeare and popular culture, and academic as well as large public libraries will want to add it to their collections. Carolyn Mulac
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"[C]hronicles the lasting influence of Shakespeare on popular culture."

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Mail Tribune

"Literature scholars cite and describe nearly 4,000 adaptations and near-adaptations of works by Shakespeare in such genres as cartoons and comic books, film, popular music, literature and genre fiction, radio, US and British television, and even theater. The citations are arranged by the play adapted or alluded to rather than, for example, name or producer of the adaptation. A few black-and-white illustrations are included. Appendices cite adaptations in Japanese comics and Italian television, and web resources for Shakespeare companies and festivals. The two volumes are paged and indexed together."

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Reference & Research Book News

"[R]ecommended to most libraries."

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Library Journal

"Although it's no surprise that the greatest English writer of all time continues to influence culture high and low, the number of examples cited here is remarkable….This wide-ranging work provides enough information for an entire course on Shakespeare and popular culture, and academic as well as large public libraries will want to add it to their collections."

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Booklist/Reference Books Bulletin

"This ten-chapter work is divided into separate media, with a transmedia approach to Shakespeare's citations in each mass medium. Contributors had options in providing their introductions and in their inclusion of categories. Initials at the end of the entries indicate entries by contributors other than the original ones. In each chapter the entries are arranged alphabetically play by play (or poem), observing chronological order. Bibliographical information on each is then provided. Appendixes, Shakespeare in Japanese comics…, Shakespeare in Italian Television, and Web Sources for Shakespeare Companies, plus a bibliography and a comprehensive index in volume 2, enhance this useful two-volume work. Recommended. College, university, and public libraries, film studios, and TV stations; all levels."

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Choice

"The popular comic strip Get Fuzzy recently featured a dog visiting from England who talks Shakespeare, demonstrating the Bards continued and constant infiltration into all forms of media. Students should be pleased that others have done the research to collect this information for their use because much of it was not available earlier….It will take a teacher who is a true lover of Shakespeare who makes the Bard live in classes to get students to care about the resources here. But going the opposite way, it may be that starting with these resources could encourage students to be more interested. It also may point out how important it is to our culture to be able to understand the humor and this comes only with knowing about the works of Shakespeare. It is fun reading these brief entries if you do enjoy things Shakespeare."

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GALE Reference for Students

"Composed of 3,819 entries, this encyclopedia is provocatively thorough without being definitively complete (an impossible goal for a Shakespeare-related project in any event, as the editor readily admits). Instead it aims to expand the study of Shakespeare adaptations and interpretations beyond the fine arts varieties generally celebrated by scholarly journals and collections….[B]urt's encyclopedia gives students of the plays many avenues to explore their influence in modern media genres."

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VOYA

"As a research aid, this is first-rate for students and scholars at all levels. Shakespears after Shakespeare is a handsome work, with a judicious selection of illustrations. It comprises a good resource for the advanced or serious researcher."

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Reference Reviews

"This unique examination of the continuing influence of William Shakespeare explores several different mediums, including cartoons, comic books, film, television, pop music, radio, genre fiction and the stage….This groundbreaking set will find a wide audience among teachers, scholars and dramatic artists."

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Lawrence Looks at Books

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 888 pages
• Publisher: Greenwood (November 30, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0313331162
• ISBN-13: 978-0313331169
• Product Dimensions: 11.4 x 8.7 x 2.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #700,038 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)