内容简介
Unique features of the Signet Classic Shakespeare
An extensive overview of Shakespeare's life, world, and theater by the general editor of the Signet Classic Shakespeare series, Sylvan Barnet
A special introduction to the play by the editor, Sylvan Barnet, Tufts University
Source from which Shakespeare derived Macbeth—selections from Raphael Holinshed's The Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland
Dramatic criticism from the past and present: commentaries by A. C. Bradley, Elmer Edgar Stoll, Mary McCarthy, Joan Larsen Klein, Alan Sinfield
A comprehensive stage and screen history of notable actors, directors, and productions of Macbeth, then and now
Text, notes, and commentaries printed in the clearest, most readable type
Up-to-date list of recommended readings
作者简介
William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in April 1564, and his birth is traditionally celebrated on April 23. The facts of his life, known from surviving documents, are sparse. He was one of eight children born to John Shakespeare, a merchant of some standing in his community. William probably went to the King's New School in Stratford, but he had no university education. In November 1582, at the age of eighteen, he married Anne Hathaway, eight years his senior, who was pregnant with their first child, Susanna. She was born on May 26, 1583. Twins, a boy, Hamnet ( who would die at age eleven), and a girl, Judith, were born in 1585. By 1592 Shakespeare had gone to London working as an actor and already known as a playwright. A rival dramatist, Robert Greene, referred to him as "an upstart crow, beautified with our feathers." Shakespeare became a principal shareholder and playwright of the successful acting troupe, the Lord Chamberlain's Men (later under James I, called the King' s Men). In 1599 the Lord Chamberlain's Men built and occupied the Globe Theater in Southwark near the Thames River. Here many of Shakespeare's plays were performed by the most famous actors of his time, including Richard Burbage, Will Kempe, and Robert Armin. In addition to his 37 plays, Shakespeare had a hand in others, including Sir Thomas More and The Two Noble Kinsmen, and he wrote poems, including Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece. His 154 sonnets were published, probably without his authorization, in 1609. In 1611 or 1612 he gave up his lodgings in London and devoted more and more time to retirement in Stratford, though he continued writing such plays as The Tempest and Henry VII until about 1613. He died on April 23 1616, and was buried in Holy Trinity Church, Stratford. No collected edition of his plays was published during his life-time, but in 1623 two members of his acting company, John Heminges and Henry Condell, put together the great collection now called the First Folio.
精彩书评
"Based on an HBO animated series, these condensations emphasize the dramatic content of some of Shakespeare's best known works. As abridged by Garfield in consultation with a panel of scholars, the books on the whole retain the magic of Shakespeare's vision and remain true to his poetics. Linguistic fluidity is perforce sacrificed (omitted lines are presented as italicized summaries interspersed throughout the dialogue), but these versions should still fire children's imaginations. Though the artwork varies in quality, the Eastern European illustrators generally capture the underlying theatrics. Palettes are subdued for the dramas, and appropriately brighter for the comedies (though the tone reproductions frequently seem off). Several plays' illustrations have a cartoony appearance; a few exhibit the stilted look of old Classics Comics. While the plays forgo their complexities--many subplots are omitted--as they become more linear in their themes (Macbeth loses much of his humanity, Romeo and Juliet is pared of its politics), their nobility shines through in these visualized introductions. One hopes that readers will be encouraged to move on to the originals."
--Publishers Weekly
"Tempting readers into this dramatic retelling, the introduction calls this a "horrific tale of witches, murder, ghosts and revenge." Coville (William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, 1996, etc.) repeats most of the play's famous phrases (condensing the "Double double, toil and trouble" incantation to six lines) and expertly captures the original's lurid supernatural manifestations and dark tone. Lady Macbeth's motives for murdering Duncan are never clear, and the porter's scene--along with some others--is dropped, so the plotting may be even patchier than Shakespeare's; still, as with Coville's previous adaptations of Shakespeare, children unfamiliar with the original will get a good idea of what awaits them. Kelley gives the entire cast a ghostly look in his shadowy, atmospheric paintings; except for the deliciously hideous Weird Sisters, figures are erect and dignified, generally posed at rest with eyes downcast or directed away from the viewer--and despite all the play's gory deeds, there is no blood to be seen. A volume for those who are certain that this kind of adaptation--reduces an intense psychological study to a slim story of multiple murders--will not prejudice children against future encounters with the Bard."
--Kirkus Reviews
前言/序言
经典文学的永恒回响:精选文学名著导读 本书简介 本卷精选了多部跨越不同时代和地域的文学瑰宝,旨在为读者提供一次深入探索人类经验、社会变迁与艺术表达的旅程。我们精心挑选的作品,不仅在文学史上占据着重要的地位,更因其深刻的思想内涵和卓越的艺术成就,持续引发着一代又一代读者的共鸣与反思。 第一部分:启蒙之光与社会批判 本部分聚焦于十八世纪末至十九世纪中叶的欧洲文学,这一时期是思想解放与工业革命交织的时代,文学作品成为审视社会弊病、探讨人与自然关系的有力工具。 《傲慢与偏见》(Pride and Prejudice) 简·奥斯汀的这部不朽之作,以其精妙的讽刺笔触和对人际关系细致入微的观察,描绘了英国摄政时期乡绅阶层的日常生活。故事围绕着班内特家的五位女儿及其追求婚姻的曲折过程展开。伊丽莎白·班内特,一个机智、独立、充满活力的女性形象,与高傲自负的达西先生之间的误解与和解,构成了全书的核心张力。 奥斯汀巧妙地探讨了财富、阶级、婚姻观念在当时社会中的决定性作用,但她笔下的人物绝非扁平的符号。她通过精准的对话和内心独白,展现了人物性格的复杂性——偏见的形成与消除,傲慢的根源及其对判断力的影响。阅读此书,如同在那个光影交错的时代里,参与一场关于体面、爱情与自我认知的优雅辩论。作品的魅力在于其对人性永恒弱点的洞察,即便在两百年后的今天,我们依然能从伊丽莎白和达西的互动中,看到自己在面对他人和自我评价时的影子。 《悲惨世界》(Les Misérables) 维克多·雨果的史诗巨著,以法国大革命后波澜壮阔的社会为背景,构建了一幅关于救赎、正义、贫困与爱的宏大画卷。故事的主角是冉阿让,一个因偷窃一块面包而背负沉重刑期的前囚犯。他的生命轨迹,充满了苦难、挣扎、以及对善的执着追求。 雨果以极富激情和感染力的笔触,刻画了底层人民的悲惨境遇,控诉了法律的僵化与社会的不公。书中形形色色的人物,如善良却最终走向毁灭的芳汀、充满理想主义的青年革命者马吕斯、以及代表着法律与秩序却内心挣扎的警长安德烈,共同构成了一个复杂的人性群像。作品的核心主题在于“爱”能否战胜“罪”,以及个体在宏大历史洪流中的道德抉择。雨果的叙事充满着对理想社会的渴望,其磅礴的气势和深沉的人文关怀,使《悲惨世界》超越了单纯的小说范畴,成为一部关于人类精神不屈的赞歌。 第二部分:现代主义的觉醒与内心探索 二十世纪初,世界格局剧变,文学思潮也随之转向对个体意识、潜意识以及时间本质的深入挖掘。 《追忆似水年华》(À la recherche du temps perdu) 马塞尔·普鲁斯特的这部鸿篇巨制,被誉为现代主义文学的里程碑。它以第一人称叙事,通过对“我”——马塞尔——童年、青春、成年乃至暮年的记忆碎片进行结构重构,探讨了时间、记忆、艺术与身份认同等终极哲学命题。 全书并非遵循传统线性叙事,而是依赖于“非自愿记忆”的触发机制,如著名的“玛德莱娜蛋糕”事件,瞬间将叙述者带回过去某个精确的时刻。普鲁斯特的文字极其细腻、冗长而华丽,如同对每一个感官体验进行化学分析。他剖析了沙龙社交的虚伪、爱情的嫉妒与占有欲、艺术家的创作过程,以及记忆如何构筑我们对现实的理解。这部作品挑战了读者对叙事清晰度的传统期待,要求读者沉浸于意识流的细密结构之中,体验时间在主观感受中的弹性与流动性。 《尤利西斯》(Ulysses) 詹姆斯·乔伊斯以其革命性的写作手法,将荷马史诗的结构巧妙地嫁接到了1904年6月16日都柏林一天之内发生的故事上。主人公利奥波德·布鲁姆,一个普通的广告推销员,其一天的游荡、思考与遭遇,被乔伊斯以极其丰富的语言风格、双关语、典故和意识流技巧进行了前所未有的记录。 《尤利西斯》的伟大在于其对语言的极致实验和对日常生活的史诗化处理。书中囊括了从古典希腊语到爱尔兰俚语的各种语言层面,几乎每换一个章节,叙事风格都会发生翻天覆地的变化,模仿了不同的文学体裁和思维模式。这部作品是对现代都市人精神困境的深度描绘,揭示了在传统价值观崩塌后,个体如何在琐碎的现实中寻找意义和连接。它要求读者具备极大的耐心和对语言的敏感度,每一次重读都可能揭示出新的层次和奥秘。 第三部分:美国文学的拓荒与反思 二十世纪中叶的美国文学,深刻反思了“美国梦”的本质,以及个体在广袤而疏离的社会环境中可能面临的困境。 《了不起的盖茨比》(The Great Gatsby) F. 斯科特·菲茨杰拉德的这部中篇小说,被誉为“爵士时代”的挽歌。尼克·卡拉威作为叙述者,记录了神秘富豪杰伊·盖茨比对逝去爱情的执着追逐。盖茨比通过一系列看似合法实则可疑的暴富手段,试图重建与上流社会中美丽的黛西·布坎南的往昔恋情。 小说以其无可匹敌的忧郁美感,揭示了二十年代美国社会中金钱、欲望与腐朽的本质。盖茨比所代表的,是对“美国梦”——即通过个人奋斗实现阶级跨越和幸福——的理想化投射,但他所爱慕的“彼岸”早已被物质主义和道德沦丧所侵蚀。菲茨杰拉德的文字如同一杯精心调制的鸡尾酒,表面光鲜亮丽,内里却充满了幻灭的苦涩。绿灯,这一贯穿全书的象征,凝结了人类对遥不可及的希望的永恒向往。 《愤怒的葡萄》(The Grapes of Wrath) 约翰·斯坦贝克的这部作品,是对美国大萧条时期农民悲剧命运的深刻记录。乔德一家,一群来自俄克拉荷马州的佃农,因恶劣的经济环境和环境灾难而被迫背井离乡,踏上了前往加州寻找“希望之地”的漫长旅程。 斯坦贝克以现实主义的手法,细致描绘了他们历经的艰辛:饥饿、歧视、剥削和道德的考验。小说不仅是个体的悲歌,更是对集体主义和人类互助精神的赞扬。在极端困境中,乔德一家逐渐学会了放下私有观念,将自己视为“人民”的一部分,团结起来抵抗不公。作品的语言朴实有力,充满了泥土的芬芳和底层人民坚韧的生命力,深刻地探讨了尊严、家庭的意义以及资本主义对人性的扭曲。 本卷精选的作品,横跨了浪漫主义的激情、现实主义的批判、到现代主义的内省,它们共同构筑了一部关于人类精神探索的百科全书,为每一位寻求深度阅读体验的读者提供丰富的滋养。