The essays in this volume examine a range of topics related to Shakespeare's plays. Over 70 famous quotations from Shakespeare's plays appear as separate boxed elements and are fully explained within the context of the play's plot.

The essays in this single, affordable volume compile the essentials for any person interested in Shakespeare, whether a student approaching his works for the first time or a habitual theatergoer about to witness a new production of one of the plays. These essays have appeared over the years in multiple Salem Press/Magill reference publications. In addition, four of the essays?one on a play newly attributed to Shakespeare, Edward III, and three others on poetic works never before addressed in Salem's reference books?have been written expressly for this volume. The result is a set of essays that record the history of Shakespeare the man, the dramatist, and the poet, and that analyze each work attributed to his pen.