Review (PDF) The Bedford Introduction To Drama
With an abundance of plays, commentaries, and useful editorial features, the best-selling Bedford Introduction to Drama is the most comprehensive introductory drama resource available, giving students a diverse overview of dramatic literature and instructors a text with enough breadth and flexibility to complement a variety of approaches.
Paperback: 1872 pages
Publisher: Bedford/St. Martin's; 5th edition (February 21, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0312445768
ISBN-13: 978-0312445768
Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.9 x 2.1 inches
Shipping Weight: 4.5 pounds
Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #579,996 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #145 in Books > Reference > Writing, Research & Publishing Guides > Writing > Play & Scriptwriting #206 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Dramas & Plays > Anthologies #8326 in Books > Textbooks > Humanities > Literature
The Bedford Introduction To Drama, in its Fourth edition, has a number of virtues. Much of the selection is good, the illustrations are good and often helpful, and the introductions to each period and to individual plays are often very good. Of course, some of them are predictable: it would be nice to see some exciting Strindberg for a change; Miss Julie is really getting weary. However, it is when when we reach the second half of the Twentieth century that the quality breaks down. We find the same tired list of plays chosen for their political correctness: something on race, something for feminists, etc, etc, with very litte convincing attention paid to what has actually happened in the theatre, viewed either from the point of view of box officee appeal (which was a good enough criterion for Shakespeare), or what is likely to be historically influential. A major exception is Mamet's OLEANNA, guaranteed to stir disagreement and excitement in the classroom as it does in the theatre. Each reader will find other exceptions, but the predictability and tedium of the modern selection is disappointing. This text is widely used in classrooms, incuding my own, because there is no satisfactory alternative, but as a text for modern theatre it's a failure, and it's VERY expensive for a student's budget.
I just bought a cheap second-hand version of this book and just started reading. Here's why I like: it has more or less all of the must-read plays of the past milennia. Since I'm not a student of drama or theatre, I'm grateful Lee A. Jacobus took the time to select and collect these for me, so I can be assured of reading quality stuff. The bonus-essays add depth and are thought-provoking.I agree with one of the other reviewers that the plays of the final half of the 20th century seem to be selected for political correctness. I'll probably skip those, but given that they only take up only about 150 pages of a total of over 1100 pages, I'm more then happy with the book as a whole.So: ideal reading for the casual reader. If you can find a cheap version, like I did (really, only four euros for a book that's apparently worth a whole lot more? How could I NOT buy this one?), be sure to buy it.
I don't know how much this book goes for anymore but while in college I've shelled out up to $150 for a book i used once. I used this book for several different theatre classes. 3 of the classes I used this book for most of the plays we had to study. for a couple others i was able to use it to fill in the blanks for other books.Only drawback is this thing is the size of a phone book.If you have to pick this book up for a class do not sell afterwards, chances are you will be able to use in another.
This book remains first and foremost the most comprehensive anthology available: a collection of 48 important plays that have shaped dramatic literature from the time of the early Greek dramatists to the present.The book covers the great ages of drama, the genres of drama and elements of drama. The great ages of drama include: Greek drama, Roman drama, Medieval drama, Renaissance drama, late seventeenth & eighteenth century drama, nineteenth century drama through the turn of the century, drama in the early and mid-twentieth century and contemporary drama.
My teacher suggested we buy this book because many of the mandatory play readings we have are in this book. The newer version of this book online was over $100. This cost be less than $10 and it's the same thing! Great buy
I love this book and how it gives the history of the plays, the period it was created in and information about the playwrights. I bought this book because my granddaughter is studying theatre and was having problems understanding the language usage of plays dating back to the Roman/Greco period and medieval times. Together we correspond over our webcams and go over the text. I actually enjoy it more than she does. Perhaps it is because I don't have to take the tests or write the papers.
Thanks a million bucks!! When I told a few of my classmates what I spent on a 1125 page required book, one guy said "If you get in the mail, I'm gonna scream!!!!!!!!!!!!- I paid big bucks for my book $#@@*%!". Thank you, Thank you, THANK YOU. Oh by the way, did I say thank you.PS. I had an earlier version of text book, and everything I needed was there. I took a chance. In fact the book looked brand spankin new!!!
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