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Death of a Salesman: Certain Private Conversations in Two Acts and A Requiem (Penguin Modern Classics)

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Poetry- Drama and Criticism
by: Arthur Miller

March 30, 2000
Having studied this play for GCSE, I can safely say it was one of the better texts, although the characters are not easy to relate to the reader can identify with many of their traits and it is from this that the reader can sympathise with the characters and their situation.

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Othello (Penguin Shakespeare)

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Poetry- Drama and Criticism
by: William Shakespeare

April 07, 2005
Having studied this play for GCSE, I can safely say it was one of the better texts, although the characters are not easy to relate to the reader can identify with many of their traits and it is from this that the reader can sympathise with the characters and their situation.

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Top Girls (Methuen Student Editions) (Student Editions)

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Poetry- Drama and Criticism
by: Caryl Churchill

January 28, 1991
This offering from feminist playwright Caryl Churchill is an uncompromising critique of the capitalist mode of feminism as advocated by the model of the eighties power women, most obviously personified by Margaret Thatcher.

'Top Girls' deploys an interesting technique whereby characters narratives overlap leading to complicated scenarios wherein meaning is lost in the melee of competing voices. It certainly makes for difficult listening or reading but acts uniquely as a physical representation of the interupted and disjointed histories of the women whose situation it aims to ameliorate.

The play is split into three main sections. The first act witnesses the meeting of various fictional and non-fictional characters from history, ... Read More:

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Literary Theory: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Poetry- Drama and Criticism
by: Jonathan Culler

February 24, 2000
If only every book in the Very Short Introduction-series was written as lucidly as this volume I would buy them all without hesitation.

The author does a miraculous job of sorting out the maze of the field of Litterary Science which has argurably been to eager in its choice of theory for the past 50-60 years. After reading this volume, however, you will have an adequate overview of the field and it will be within your possession to choose amongst the theories which interest you.

Highly recommended!

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York Notes on "Macbeth" by William Shakespeare (York Notes)

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Poetry- Drama and Criticism
by: James Sale

September 03, 2002
I was looking for a revision book for GCSE that accompanied the play 'MACBETH', I of course found hundreds! I decided to refer back to a previous purchase I made when I was looking for a revision book for the play 'Death of a Salesman'. I then searched for a book on 'Macbeth' by the same company/author and came across 2, this GCSE version and the advanced a-level version. I purchased both and I have never regretted it, I would highly recommend both for different reasons. The GCSE book provides you with everything you need for a basic understanding and the majority of the demands GCSE has. The a-level book provides you with that little extra which if used appropriately will push that little bit more to get a top grade. Between both books almost every issue is clearly ... Read More:

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The Tempest (Penguin Popular Classics)

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Poetry- Drama and Criticism
by: William Shakespeare

August 25, 1994
I studied this for my A-levels, which either increases my enjoyment of a book due to greater understanding, or removes some of the magic. For me The Tempest was difficult to quantify, was it merely an allegory for Shakespeare's life, a masterpiece; Shakespeare's only truly original work, or just bland. There are some interesting pieces, mostly the relations between characters, Caliban and Prospero for example. The themes which are raised are the most successful part of the play, particularly the nature/nurture debate, and the question of to what degree human behaviour is governed by habitat. However the plot is thin. Some people arrive on an island, two fall in love and they all get off it again. I found it hard to care what happeened to any of them, though ... Read More:

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Contatti: Activity Book v.1: A First Course in Italian: Activity Book Vol 1 (Contatti)

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Poetry- Drama and Criticism
by: Mariolina Freeth, Giuliana Checketts

May 30, 2003
This book has a lot of useful exercises to do at home between classes to practise all the new grammar that's been introduced in the different chapters. It also has a key to all the exercises so you can check them yourself.

A word of warning though. The instructions aren't always very clear, particularly not to beginners, so you might need a teacher to explain them to you. There are also no explanations so it's not always easy to see what you've done wrong and why it's wrong. Furthermore, there's a lot of typos, both in the main part of the book and in the answer section so don't always accept something as wrong, do ask your teacher if you think it's supposed to be right.

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Othello (Arden Shakespeare)

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Poetry- Drama and Criticism
by: William Shakespeare

February 14, 2001
In some respects I think it'd be rather presumptuous of me to attempt to review Shakespeare. Someone so well known and influential wouldn't benefit from my opinions on their work, plus there are more scholarly and concise reviews out there. But I can comment on these Arden versions. Of all the Shakespeare I've read I've always found the Arden copies to be well laid out and to have excellent commentary and notes on the text. They really add to your understanding of Shakespeares outstanding plays and introduce you to the depth in his work. They have superb paper quality and are bound well, withstanding repeated readings and intensive study. For your collection of Shakespeare you can't do much better than Arden publications, some are quite hard to get hold of but it's ... Read More:

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The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism (Norton Anthology)

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Poetry- Drama and Criticism
by: V Leitch

August 13, 2001
This is one of those massive tomes that you will drag out in the wee desperate hours of essay writing. Unfortunately because there is so much information the hard cover version is printed in tiny, tiny type on wafer-thin paper. Very hard on the eyes and it could have been structured a bit more coherently.

Many of the collected writings are purposefully obtuse and seemingly out of date. The feminist section could use a bit of revising and updating. Not that useful for the section on Freud either - his work can be found in easier to read formats and many times free.

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Hamlet (Cambridge School Shakespeare)

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Poetry- Drama and Criticism
by: William Shakespeare

November 17, 2005
Has anyone noticed that the cover picture is actually a painting of Romeo & Juliet? It struck me as a bit bizarre really, but otherwise it's a really brilliant edition.