Description:
The organization of Shakespeare's plays has challenged, even baffled audiences and critics since the 17th century. Cymbeline, for example, has been dismissed as "incoherent." Hamlet "is of no clear shape." And Antony and Cleopatra "bewilders the mind."
These judgments result from an incomplete understanding of Shakespeare's constructive practice. It is not the narrative arc alone that organizes the plays but a complex structure of interwoven narrative and thematic actions. While the narrative varies from play to play, thematic actions are invariably designed in mirroring pairs around the central scene: A-B-C-B-A. This symmetrical pattern, which can be visualized as an arch with a focal keystone, is the foundation of all of Shakespeare's mature work, as shown through analysis of the 26 plays in this book. This thematic arch illuminates the structure of plays that have long been disparaged, demonstrating that they are thematically organized and rigorously crafted. It also reveals subtleties otherwise invisible.
Brief description: James Ryan has taught at the University of Cincinnati and Dominican College (Orangeburg, New York), and has been awarded the New Jersey State Council of the Arts Fellowship in poetry. His essays on Shakespeare have appeared in The Shakespeare Newsletter and Shakespeare Studies, the English-language journal of the Japan Shakespeare Society.