Shakespeare's dramatic structures /

Using a large sampling of Shakespeare's plays, Brennan analyzes the effect of visual patterns of repetition, echo, and contrast (in body movement, in development of scenes, even in linked characters' separation from one another) on the theater audience's response to those plays. Refreshingly, this is a structuralist approach that sees many patterns, that pays careful attention to the text, and that is sensitive to individual nuance in each play. Experienced in the theater and the library, Brennan wears his learning lightly. Everything is referenced to its practical effect in the theater. This book will open fresh avenues of appreciation for anyone involved in the study of Shakespeare: professional theater people, professors, teachers, and good undergraduates. It is written simply and clearly. No bibliography or notes. Sturdy cloth binding.-J.R. Howe, University of Vermont