Screening Shakespeare Understanding the Plays Through Film, 2nd Edition

Screening Shakespeare provides the background and analytical tools to become an informed, critical viewer of film adaptations of Shakespeare's plays. Focused on a dozen of the most frequently taught plays, this brief guide encourages students to explore multiple film versions of each play, with discussion and writing prompts that move from formal analysis to historical and cultural contexts for each film.

Preface 

How to Use This Book 

1. Shakespeare on Film

From Play to Film

From Script to Screenplay 

Experiencing Drama and Film 

Three Approaches to Studying Shakespeare Films 

Questions for Analyzing Films 

2. The Comedies 

Comic Form and Structure

The Comedies on Film 

The Taming of the Shrew

A Midsummer Night’s Dream 

The Merchant of Venice 

Much Ado about Nothing 

Twelfth Night; or, What You Will 

3. The Histories 

The Importance of History to Elizabethan England 

Interpreting the Past 

The Histories on Film 

Richard III 

Henry V

A Chronology of Shakespeare’s History Plays

4. The Tragedies 

Tragic Form and Structure 

The Tragedies on Film

Titus Andronicus 

Romeo and Juliet

Hamlet 

Othello 

King Lear

Macbeth 

5. Transformations 

Ran

Throne of Blood 

Scotland, Pa. 

O 

10 Things I Hate about You

Hamlet 2 

Additional Resources 

Shakespeare’s Life and Works 

Internet Resources

General Film Resources 

Shakespeare and Film 

Select Filmography 

Projects for Writing and Research 

Glossary 

References