Shakespeare's Shakespeare: How the Plays Were Made

Tragic that Meagher will never finish his planned longer work of this type; he died in 2003. Nevertheless, this is a valuable and enlightening approach to Shakespeare's works. Full of terrific insights and revelations, it is of value to anyone interested in a deeper appreciation of the plays. Directors would do well to study and adopt Meagher's method. Though his analysis is necessarily limited to a handful of works, his theories and commentaries shed new light on all the plays and bring out the richest nuances. Should be part of any Shakespeare fan's library. Highly recommended.

Meagher's approach to analyzing seven of Shakespeare's plays (he claims this is the introduction to a larger work he is planning that will examine the entire canon) is a terrific new way of examining Shakespeare. In much the same way as a theatrical director would, Meagher searches the text for clues as to the original performance, explaining many of the inconsistencies and editorial confusions that have abounded since the 17th century. Quite readably, this book examines Shakespeare's treatment of place and time, his approach to his sources, and most interestingly - his use of the common theatrical practice of role-doubling to have fewer actors play many parts. Reading this book with a good facsimile of Shakespeare's First Folio (the first collected works of Shakespeare, published in 1623) is helpful, but not necessary. I highly recommend this to any student or teacher who thinks they understand Shakespeare.