Abstract
In class we sometimes forget just how good Shakespeare’s stories are. But not in the theatre; here the action sweeps us along. We should always remember that
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what we see in the theatre are actions performed by a set of characters.
Shakespeare’s ideas and themes are enthralling, but what makes them so is the fact that they’re acted out by characters on a stage. A useful point to remember is this:
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the story comes first.
Ideas arise out of the story. Julius Caesar is about loyalty and treachery, but those ideas emerge because we see before us a story of how a group of people kill the man who was once their friend.
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© 1998 Richard Gill
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Gill, R. (1998). What and where: stories, plots and worlds. In: Mastering Shakespeare. Macmillan Master Series. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-14551-5_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-14551-5_3
Publisher Name: Palgrave, London
Print ISBN: 978-0-333-69873-0
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-14551-5
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