Misreading Shakespeare

A dynamic new study in literary and dramatic influence, Misreading Shakespeare defines and explores the relation between two modern playsEdward Bonds Lear and Tom Stoppards Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Deadand Shakespeares King Lear and Hamlet. While some see the modern plays as derivative, others claim that they are as originalas the Shakespearean plays. The effort to define and explore this relationship is a challenge for critics and readers alike. Here, Wagdi Zeid, a playwrightand professor of Shakespeare and drama, puts fortha theoretical perspective derived from W. JacksonBate and Harold Blooms theories of influence.Zeids study manages to defi ne and explore notonly this intriguing and ambiguous relationship butthe concept of originality itself. Furthermore, whiletheorists like Bate and Bloom are wholly concernedwith just general statements and concepts, MisreadingShakespeare goes inside the dramatic texts themselves,and this practical aspect makes a big difference. Also, neither Bate nor Bloom has tried to apply his theory to dramatic texts. Misreading Shakespeareoffers readers both theory and practice. Misreading Shakespeare was written for aneclectic audience, including scholars of drama, theatre,Shakespeare, and literary theory and criticism;playwrights and other writers striving for originality;and theatrical artists and audiences alike.