Kenneth McLeish was a prolific translator and author, deeply engaged with classical Greek drama and the broader theatrical canon. His extensive output encompassed all surviving classical Greek plays, alongside significant works by Ibsen, Feydeau, and a host of other notable playwrights. McLeish's scholarly expertise shone through in his critical studies and translations, which made ancient drama accessible to contemporary audiences. He also contributed a substantial body of children's literature, demonstrating a wide-ranging literary versatility.
More than 350 major authors, from Margaret Atwood to Mile Zola, through Bruce Chatwin, Aldous Huxley, and Nevil Shute, are arranged in alphabetical order, each with a short article on style, influences, settings, theme, along with a list of their salient works. At the end of each entry, a Read On" section directs readers to similar works by other authors."
One of the best-known, most frequently performed of modern plays, A Doll's House richly displays the genius with which Henrik Ibsen pioneered modern, realistic prose drama. In the central character of Nora, Ibsen epitomized the human struggle against the humiliating constraints of social conformity. Nora's ultimate rejection of a smothering marriage and life in "a doll's house" shocked theatergoers of the late 1800s and opened new horizons for playwrights and their audiences. But daring social themes are only one aspect of Ibsen's power as a dramatist. A Doll's House shows as well his gifts for creating realistic dialogue, a suspenseful flow of events and, above all, psychologically penetrating characterizations that make the struggles of his dramatic personages utterly convincing. Here is a deeply absorbing play as readable as it is eminently playable, reprinted from an authoritative translation. A selection of the Common Core State Standards Initiative.
The Oxford First Companion to Music is the first comprehensive music book for children under thirteen. Some of its special features are: * Content arranged by topic so that is can be read for interest as well as used for reference * "More about" boxes, referring to pages on related topics, to help with looking up facts * Numerous photographs and line drawings in full color, especially chosen to be informative rather than merely decorative * Over 50 short music examples, many easy enough to be picked out on a recorder or piano * Covers all kinds of music including music of the Far East and Africa as well as pop and jazz * Suggestions for music to listen to, a reminder that music is not just facts but an aural experience This is a book for all children who want to find out more about the music they enjoy through records, radio, television, or playing instruments.
Recreates the theater of Dionysos in Athens in the fifth century, B.C., the production and performance of Aristophanes' plays, and the conventions of acting at that time