Why Shakespeare

Writing for a small troupe of men and boys who performed on an almost bare stage, William Shakespeare dramatized an unparalleled range of stories and emotions through his wizardry with words, his uncanny understanding of the human spirit, and his genius for maximizing the talents of his actors

Working under conditions that today we would consider primitive, he made himself into the supreme playwright

But how exactly does Shakespeare achieve his effects? Why does he continue to enthrall audiences performance after performance, night after night, century after century? Can the secrets of his success be learned?

By concentrating on a dozen of his best-known plays (though others receive attention, too), and analyzing their structural and theatrical elements as well as their distinctive language, inventive plotting, and unique characters

GERALD M. PINCISS is Professor Emeritus at Hunter College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. His books include Christopher Marlowe; Literary Creations: Conventional Characters in the Drama of Shakespeare and His Contemporaries; Forbidden Matter: Religion in the Drama of Shakespeare and His Contemporaries; and, with Roger Lockyer, Shakespeare's World (also available from Continuum). Pinciss lives in New York City