
Appreciating Shakespeare
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed

Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $29.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Gideon Rappaport
-
By:
-
Gideon Rappaport
About this listen
In "Appreciating Shakespeare" a master teacher and theatrical dramaturge makes the essentials for deeply appreciating the meaning in Shakespeare's works easily understandable for listeners and playgoers of all ages. Part 1 provides background on Shakespeare's life, language, poetic and dramatic techniques, theatrical context, and historical and cultural background. Part 2 offers short essays on twenty-two plays and one on selected sonnets.
Founded on the best scholarship and responding to requests from listeners to his "Appreciating Shakespeare with Doctor Rap" podcasts, this book is written for all listeners interested in bettering their appreciation of the meaning in Shakespeare's works. Whatever your level of experience with Shakespeare, this book will guide you toward deep appreciation of some of the greatest and most moving works in the English language.
The author addresses questions like "What's so great about Shakespeare?" "Did people really talk like that?" "Why all the footnotes?" and "Whose interpretation is right?" Included is a chapter on how studying Shakespeare can illuminate the nature of all art. The essays in Part 2 point readers to the universally meaningful thematic heart of each play.
"Appreciating Shakespeare" delivers in an easily understandable way what is most essential to know for deep appreciation of the plays without overwhelming listeners with more information and literary argument than are needed for that appreciation. It can be listened to straight through, but also arranges the essentials according to the most commonly asked questions, making it easy for listeners to pinpoint their areas of interest.
©2022, 2024 Gideon Rappaport (P)2024 Gideon RappaportPeople who viewed this also viewed...
-
Everyday Shakespeare
- Lines for Life
- By: Ben Crystal, David Crystal
- Narrated by: Ben Crystal, David Crystal, Hillary Crystal
- Length: 10 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Shakespeare had an ear and hand that was able to capture our everyday thoughts and emotions, pin them to a page, and express them so well that still today they can make us feel stunned to be seen. With a quote for every day of the year, this beautiful book gathers the finest lines from the lesser-known corners of Shakespeare's plays and poems. While you may not be familiar with these 400-year-old phrases, you will be surprised by the immediate, easy resonance they have with modern day-to-day life.
By: Ben Crystal, and others
-
Shakespeare: The Histories
- Henry IV Part I, Henry IV Part II, Henry V, Henry VI Part I, Henry VI Part II, Henry VI Part III, Henry VIII, King John, Richard II, Richard III
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Ian McKellen, Derek Jacobi, Prunella Scales, and others
- Length: 27 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Politics, power and the tragedy of war are played out in these sweeping histories that continue to surprise and entertain. Performed by an incredible array of the 20th century’s greatest actors, Marlowe alumni including Ian McKellen, Derek Jacobi, Prunella Scales, William Squire and Timothy West can be heard in these recordings.
-
-
Missing Act V of King John
- By picky buyer on 06-17-24
-
This Is Shakespeare
- By: Emma Smith
- Narrated by: Emma Smith
- Length: 9 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A genius and prophet whose timeless works encapsulate the human condition like no other. A writer who surpassed his contemporaries in vision, originality, and literary mastery. A man who wrote like an angel, putting it all so much better than anyone else. Is this Shakespeare? Well, sort of. But it doesn't tell us the whole truth. So much of what we say about Shakespeare is either not true, or just not relevant.
-
-
Excellent and accessible listen
- By Amanda L. Hughes on 01-05-21
By: Emma Smith
-
Shakespeare's Restless World
- By: Neil MacGregor
- Narrated by: Neil MacGregor
- Length: 4 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What was life like for Shakespeare's first audiences? In a time of political and religious unrest and economic expansion, how did Elizabethan play-goers make sense of their changing world? What did the plays mean to the public when they were first performed? In this fascinating series, Neil MacGregor attempts to answer these questions by examining 20 objects from that turbulent period. There are grand objects such as a communion chalice, a Venetian goblet, and Dr Dee's mirror, as well as everyday items.
-
-
Entertaining
- By PixelBrine on 08-14-12
By: Neil MacGregor
-
The Crime Book
- Big Ideas Simply Explained
- By: DK, Peter James
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 13 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From Jack the Ripper to the modern-day drug cartels, discover the most notorious crimes and criminals in history. With a foreword written and narrated by best-selling crime author Peter James, The Crime Book explores over 100 crimes and examines the science, psychology and sociology of criminal behavior. Hear the gory details of each crime and how they were solved, with renowned quotes and detailed criminal profiles letting you delve into the criminal mind.
-
-
It covers a huge span of time. But what is covered is shallow rather than in depth.
- By DJ on 12-06-23
By: DK, and others
-
Shakespeare's Sisters
- How Women Wrote the Renaissance
- By: Ramie Targoff
- Narrated by: Hannah Curtis
- Length: 11 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In an innovative and engaging narrative of everyday life in Shakespeare’s England, Ramie Targoff carries us from the sumptuous coronation of Queen Elizabeth in the mid-sixteenth century into the private lives of four women writers working at a time when women were legally the property of men.
By: Ramie Targoff
-
Everyday Shakespeare
- Lines for Life
- By: Ben Crystal, David Crystal
- Narrated by: Ben Crystal, David Crystal, Hillary Crystal
- Length: 10 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Shakespeare had an ear and hand that was able to capture our everyday thoughts and emotions, pin them to a page, and express them so well that still today they can make us feel stunned to be seen. With a quote for every day of the year, this beautiful book gathers the finest lines from the lesser-known corners of Shakespeare's plays and poems. While you may not be familiar with these 400-year-old phrases, you will be surprised by the immediate, easy resonance they have with modern day-to-day life.
By: Ben Crystal, and others
-
Shakespeare: The Histories
- Henry IV Part I, Henry IV Part II, Henry V, Henry VI Part I, Henry VI Part II, Henry VI Part III, Henry VIII, King John, Richard II, Richard III
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Ian McKellen, Derek Jacobi, Prunella Scales, and others
- Length: 27 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Politics, power and the tragedy of war are played out in these sweeping histories that continue to surprise and entertain. Performed by an incredible array of the 20th century’s greatest actors, Marlowe alumni including Ian McKellen, Derek Jacobi, Prunella Scales, William Squire and Timothy West can be heard in these recordings.
-
-
Missing Act V of King John
- By picky buyer on 06-17-24
-
This Is Shakespeare
- By: Emma Smith
- Narrated by: Emma Smith
- Length: 9 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A genius and prophet whose timeless works encapsulate the human condition like no other. A writer who surpassed his contemporaries in vision, originality, and literary mastery. A man who wrote like an angel, putting it all so much better than anyone else. Is this Shakespeare? Well, sort of. But it doesn't tell us the whole truth. So much of what we say about Shakespeare is either not true, or just not relevant.
-
-
Excellent and accessible listen
- By Amanda L. Hughes on 01-05-21
By: Emma Smith
-
Shakespeare's Restless World
- By: Neil MacGregor
- Narrated by: Neil MacGregor
- Length: 4 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What was life like for Shakespeare's first audiences? In a time of political and religious unrest and economic expansion, how did Elizabethan play-goers make sense of their changing world? What did the plays mean to the public when they were first performed? In this fascinating series, Neil MacGregor attempts to answer these questions by examining 20 objects from that turbulent period. There are grand objects such as a communion chalice, a Venetian goblet, and Dr Dee's mirror, as well as everyday items.
-
-
Entertaining
- By PixelBrine on 08-14-12
By: Neil MacGregor
-
The Crime Book
- Big Ideas Simply Explained
- By: DK, Peter James
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 13 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From Jack the Ripper to the modern-day drug cartels, discover the most notorious crimes and criminals in history. With a foreword written and narrated by best-selling crime author Peter James, The Crime Book explores over 100 crimes and examines the science, psychology and sociology of criminal behavior. Hear the gory details of each crime and how they were solved, with renowned quotes and detailed criminal profiles letting you delve into the criminal mind.
-
-
It covers a huge span of time. But what is covered is shallow rather than in depth.
- By DJ on 12-06-23
By: DK, and others
-
Shakespeare's Sisters
- How Women Wrote the Renaissance
- By: Ramie Targoff
- Narrated by: Hannah Curtis
- Length: 11 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In an innovative and engaging narrative of everyday life in Shakespeare’s England, Ramie Targoff carries us from the sumptuous coronation of Queen Elizabeth in the mid-sixteenth century into the private lives of four women writers working at a time when women were legally the property of men.
By: Ramie Targoff