Women of Will: Following the Feminine in Shakespeare’s Plays

Shakespeare is well-known playwright, performed the world over. His works have been analyzed by generations of literature professors, actors, and directors. A lot of attention is focused on specific plays, or just the comedies, or the tragedies. But this book looks at the feminine, the roles of the women, in Shakespeare’s plays. Tina Packer, a well-known director at the Shakespeare & Co., brings to life the roles of the women in his plays, from the very first ones to Shakespeare’s final plays, when he was approaching the end of his life. Along the way, we get a look at his life, the people he was around, and the conditions he was living in; the constant working and being away from his family. All of this influenced his plays and especially the way he portrayed women. ||Even though this is a book written with the actor in mind, it is a book that anyone with an interest in the plays of Shakespeare will be able to understand and enjoy. It brings us a point of view that many of us might have missed if we were just watching the plays. The writing does not get too technical, which can happen.