The Arden Introduction to Reading Shakespeare: Close Reading and Analysis

by Jeremy Lopez

Shakespeare's plays are works of art made out of words. To read the plays closely, that is, to pay careful attention to the multiple, shifting meanings of and relationships between their words, is to gain a deep and lasting appreciation for the complex artistry of their construction and of their effects. In fourteen chapters, the book takes readers on a guided tour through some of the most productive sites in Shakespeare's plays for analysis, providing an introduction to the practice of reading Shakespeare's plays closely, and some examples of the interpretive work that such close reading can enable. Topics of analysis include verbal patterning, dramatic structure, staging and stage directions, soliloquies and character-construction and poetic meter.This is an ideal teaching text for introductory courses on Shakespeare. Offering a wide range of examples from nearly all of Shakespeare's plays, it will give students the analytical tools they need to develop sustained close readings of their own.

Genres: Shakespeare

176 pages, Hardcover

Published November 1, 2018

About the author

Jeremy Lopez teaches and writes about the drama of Shakespeare and his contemporaries. His most recent book is Constructing the Canon of Early Modern Drama (Cambridge 2014), a history of the early modern dramatic canon from the eighteenth century to the present. He is the general editor of the Routledge Anthology of Early Modern Drama (forthcoming 2019), which will be the first entirely revisionary anthology of its kind in over a century. Other current work in progress includes a monograph on the life and work of John Fletcher. In January 2018 he will succeed Gail Kern Paster as the editor of Shakespeare Quarterly.

Reviews

[Brian Page · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jeremy Lopez’s The Arden Introduction to Reading Shakespeare: Close Reading and Analysis is an interesting but uneven guide to critical analysis of Shakespeare’s plays (with a couple of sonnets thrown in for good measure). It’s interesting because, as a scholar who has devoted his career grappling with the nuances of the plays, Lopez certainly makes worthwhile observations. At other times, one wonders if he is completely off the mark. For instance, a chapter is devoted to the potential subtext and underlying meanings of the titles of the plays. It is likely that Shakespeare had nothing to do with the titles under which the printed plays appeared. Printers chose the titles they thought best to attract buyers. Likewise, he makes much of the scene and act distinctions, when, as we know, these somewhat arbitrary divisions were later imposed. He also writes as if the stage directions were written with intentional ambiguity to permit alternative staging interpretations. That stage directions exist at all is entirely a matter of chance & circumstance. Shakespeare had no need to provide stage directions for himself. He directed as he saw fit at the time. Surprisingly, Lopez confesses to uncertainty with 1 Henry IV on whether the play is about Prince Hal, Hotspur, or Falstaff. Does such “close reading” inevitably lead to such confusion? His understanding of the Dauphin’s gift of tennis balls as “intended to remind Henry V of his misspent youth” (p. 84) is unique, to say the least. I’m not sure that many share his interpretation of the final scene of R & J as reigniting the Capulet/Montague feud. Nor interpreting Prince Hal’s slaying of Hotspur as “a slightly comic moment.” (p. 102) It was news to me that All’s Well That Ends Well “is a play explicitly about sickness and health…” (p. 117)

So now that I’ve lambasted Lopez, why did I keep reading? Here’s why, in Lopez’s words: “The work of interpretation involves tracing a pattern in as much detail as possible, and trying to articulate a relation between any one element and any other, and between any one or more elements and the larger expository and thematic concerns of the play.” (p. 122) The plays are incredibly sophisticated and nuanced, with much intentional ambiguity, shades of meaning, symbolism, and innuendo. That honest readers can reach differing conclusions is no surprise. It’s part of what makes the plays of timeless value. Still, this book can serve as a cautionary tale of what happens when one gazes too deeply into one’s own navel.

[John Fredrickson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I struggled to read and enjoy this book. Having said that, I'm not sure whether the issue is that my knowledge of the plays is not deep enough, or whether the treatment that Lopez gives his subjects is not compelling enough.

Much of the early material in this book deals with the inherent structures of the plays, beginning with the play Titles, the Stage Directions, and the divisions of the plays into our current Scenes and Acts. While Lopez makes interesting points along the way, I did not feel that this material elucidated enough about the plays to keep my interest up.

In the latter part of the book, Lopez explores things like the Last Act, the Last Words, and Patterned Language. These chapters were more appealing; these chapters explored points and questions that challenge this reader to attend more closely to the dynamics of the actions and word of the play(s). As an example, Lopez highlights patterns of bird imagery in Macbeth and images of health/disease in All's Well, and this was very interesting material. This is true of the chapter on Characters as well. Even in plays as well-known as Hamlet and Romeo, Lopez points out aspects of some of the characters that have passed unnoticed by me for years.

[Chuck · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this for my Shakespeare class at NCSU. I've worked with and performed with a predominantly Shakespeare based company for over thirteen years and felt that I had a decent foundation of knowledge concerning the Bard's works. This book is FANTASTIC! A wonderful insight into Shakespeare's plays concerning his characters, the five-act structure, his use of plot parallels along with repetitions and variations. If you are a Shakespeare buff, this is a MUST read.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great little book on reading Shakespeare! Very useful for the classroom -- literature and/or drama. Planning to write a longer review for an academic journal in the near future.