 | The Meaning of Shakespeare, Volume 1 (Phoenix Books) by Harold C. Goddard
Buy new: $16.03 / Used from: $1.36 Forget Bloom, THIS is the place for anyone to start to understand the themes of Shakespeare.
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 | The Meaning of Shakespeare (Volume 2) by Harold C. Goddard
Buy new: $16.24 / Used from: $5.40 See above. I cannot stress enough how good these books are.
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 | Prefaces to Shakespeare: Hamlet by Harley Granville Barker
Buy new: $8.95 / Used from: $0.87 Granville-Barker is amazing and his prefaces are just incredible to read. All of them are good, but this one particularly so.
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 | Shakespeare: An Oxford Guide
Buy new: $42.95 / Used from: $4.90 Okay, this really wants to be a textbook, but it's much better written and much more engaging than any textbook.
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 | Shakespeare: For All Time (Oxford Shakespeare) by Stanley Wells
Buy used from: $3.99 More cursory than many, this is a good primer. But you'll probably want more. But that's okay. There are 17 more recommendations to come.
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 | The Age of Shakespeare (Modern Library Chronicles) by Frank Kermode
Buy used from: $0.55 Wonderfully written and insightful.
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 | The Riverside Shakespeare, 2nd Edition by William Shakespeare
Buy new: $90.36 / Used from: $38.40 You need a collected works. Riverside is considered one of the best. Or you might consider ....
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 | William Shakespeare: The Complete Works (The Oxford Shakespeare) by William Shakespeare
Buy new: $30.36 / Used from: $6.22 Yet another collected works.
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 | William Shakespeare: The Problem Plays (Twayne's English Authors Series) by Richard Hillman
Buy used from: $0.46 Twayne's has a number of single play volumes as well. These are collections of essays about each of the plays in question.
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| English Authors Series - William Shakespeare: The Comedies by MacDonald
Buy new: $35.00 / Used from: $3.44 See above. You may have to opt for the used book stores for these, but they are worth the look.
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 | Studying Shakespeare: A Guide to the Plays by Laurie Maguire
Buy new: $34.95 / Used from: $12.99 Some interesting thematic studies, as well as some enlightening insights.
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 | Shakespeare's Kings: The Great Plays and the History of England in the Middle Ages: 1337-1485 by John Julius Norwich
Buy new: $14.45 / Used from: $2.45 Invaluable for separating fact from fiction. One warning, he considers "Edward III" part of the canon.
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 | What Happens in Hamlet by J. Dover Wilson
Buy used from: $6.97 An absolutely amazing book that will give you insights on the variety possible in each text. A must read!
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 | Shaw on Shakespeare by George Bernard Shaw
Buy new: $14.95 / Used from: $7.00 No Bardolotry allowed. Shaw has definite bones to pick with Shakespeare, but it's a fascinating read.
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 | Shakespeare Survey 25 Shakespeare's Problem Plays : An Annual Survey of Shakespearian Study and Production (v. 25)
Buy used from: $0.01 While pricey, these are wonderful collections of the best essays and articles on Shakespearean scholarship. There have been 57, so find the topic you're interested in and dig in.
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 | Shakespeare Survey: Volume 36, Shakespeare in the Twentieth Century
Buy used from: $3.15 Yet another in the Shakespeare Survey line. They recently re-released the first 50 volumes in paperback. Perfect if you want to know more about a particular portion of Shakespearean scholarship.
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 | Script Analysis for Actors, Directors, and Designers, Second Edition by James Thomas
Buy used from: $0.80 Okay, not Shakespeare per se, but important if you want to be able to read Shakespeare with a deep understanding. A wonderful beginner's guide to the art of dramaturgy.
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 | Northrop Frye on Shakespeare by Northrop Frye
Buy new: $17.85 / Used from: $2.88 Hardly complete, this focuses on only the "biggies", but it still offers a lot. Good for those just beginning to dip their toes into the waters of Shakespearean scholarship.
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 | Shakespearean Tragedy: Lectures on Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth (Penguin Classics) by A. C. Bradley
Buy new: $11.56 / Used from: $3.95 One of the classics. You may not agree with all he has to say, but he will get you thinking.
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 | The Oxford Companion to Shakespeare
Buy new: $29.40 / Used from: $9.85 It may not be the type of thing you consult everyday, but it's very handy to have it on the shelf for when you do have questions.
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 | Henry V, War Criminal?: and Other Shakespeare Puzzles (Oxford World's Classics) by John Sutherland
Buy used from: $2.09 A fun and thought-provoking book with some interesting essays.
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 | Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human by Harold Bloom
Buy new: $14.96 / Used from: $1.34 Okay, now that you've made it through all of those, you are now allowed to read Bloom (and probably make fun of many of his ideas). But don't start with this, no matter what you do.
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