Screening Shakespeare: Using Film to Understand the Plays

Screening Shakespeare gives students the background and analytical tools to become informed, critical viewers 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. Students are introduced to a wide range of cinematic adaptations, from Laurence Olivier to Baz Luhrmann, with an emphasis on critical analysis of the films as both adaptations of the plays and as cultural texts in their own right. Can only be packaged with: Bevington, The Necessary Shakespeare, 3/e 0-205-65216-6 and Bevington, The Complete Works of Shakespeare, 6/e 0-205-60628-8.