Shakespeare and the Idea of the Play Author:Anne Righter What was Shakespeare's attitude towards the theatre? How far did he share contemporary assumptions about the stage, and in what respects was he an experimental dramatist? — In this book Anne Righter discusses Shakespeare's plays in relation to sixteenth-century dramatic ideas, and considers how the relationship between actors and audience changed... more » after the medieval plays.
Shakespeare's plays are covered chronologically under such topics as the play metaphor and its proliferation into figures o shadows and dreams; the player king; the plot devices of deceit and disguise; and the use of the actor image in the major tragedies. Righter argues that Shakespeare finally developed a strong revulsion from the theatre which is reflected in the imagery of his last plays.« less