Lectures on Shakespeare (W.H. Auden: Critical Editions)

Auden is hilarious, at times brilliant and others a little scholarly for his takes on the plays. You will not always agree with everything he has to say, but it makes for some thought provoking and interesting ideas on his take of the work. High points: when he rips Taming of the Shrew apart (what he thinks is the worse play written by Shakespeare), when he talks what he loves in the Henry V Cycle (including Henry IV and V and references to Richard II). Another tool to add to your Shakespeare shelf. As an actor, I found it interesting and inspiring, but not overall useful because at the end of the day these are Auden's opinions and they tend to very biased against the writing and characters he likes or doesn't like. Worth the read and definitely a great addition to my trove of Shakespeare bookshelf.

The Shakespeare lectures in the book are a wonderful way to get an understanding and appreciation of the plays before reading them.

In 1945-46 Auden gave a course of lectures on Shakespeare, and, of course, it is a very interesting reading. There is a "small" problem: Auden never wrote this book - it was "reconstructed and edited" by professor Arthur Kirsch in 2000 from thoroughly recorded lectures by Auden's students. Therefore, a question of authenticity remain and cannot be resolved.

Helping my niece who teaches Shakespeare at a girls school

Reading the lectures was as if I was in the room having the priviledge of hearing this brilliant and insightful man speak! I would highly recommend this book to anyone with even the slightest interest in Shakespeare. Auden's insights are sometimes enlightening, other times challenging, but always entertaining to consider!

Imagine trying to assemble lectures made close to 50 years ago from assorted notes and other papers. This is what Kirsch has managed to achieve in an excellent book that is superbly edited and written. W.H. Auden appears as a sensible and balanced critic of Shakespeare and his observations are always telling. I really like his chapter on Macbeth even though Auden claims that he has nothing to offer. I am just so pleased that Kirsch took the time to research and compile this book. An intense labour of love that will repay countless readings.

How fortuitous we are to have such a book! I just happened to stumble upon it browsing a discount book store and it is now one of my most precious finds. Who would have thought! W.H. Auden announces in "The New York Times" in late September, 1946, that he will offer a course on Shakespeare, lecturing once weekly, commencing in October and continuing through May, 1947. The lectures were held at the New School for Social Research in Greenwich Village in the neighborhood where W. H. Auden lived. The lectures were enormously popular; tickets were sold at the door, and as many as 500 people attended, some coming quite a distance to hear the great poet speak. Auden's material for these lectures is not available, but several students, one in particular, took very good notes, and the editor of this compilation, Arthur Kirsch, has done an outstanding job obtaining and editing the notes, making the collection a coherent, fascinating look at both W.H. Auden and Shakespeare. Auden lectured on all the plays except "Titus Andronicus" and "The Merry Wives of Windsor," as well as on the "Sonnets." The essays vary in length, some very short, and some quite long. It would be interesting to know if the lectures themselves varied in length; if so, some lectures might have been quite short. I would strongly recommend reading Auden's lecture notes after one has a good understanding of the play being considered. These are not Cliffs Notes. These are essays on Shakespeare's plays by one of literature's foremost poets and critics. Alongside similar works by Harold Bloom, these essays are absolutely superb. Others have alluded to Auden's lecture on "The Merry Wives of Windsor." The student's notes - W. H. Auden's comments - are precious: "The Merry Wives of Windsor is a very dull play indeed. We can be grateful for its having been written, because it provided the occasion of Verdi's "Falstaff," a very great operatic masterpiece. Mr. Page, Shallow, Slender, and the Host disappear. I have nothing to say about Shakespeare's play, so let's hear Verdi."

Not an easy read but once the reader adopts the tenor and sweep of the writer, this book provides an invaluable resource you'll consult again and again. He provides commentary and analysis on every Shakespeare play. The concluding lecture (pages 308-319) is classic genius when considered by itself. W. H. Auden (1907-1973) was an English-American poet who was bred by English education. He subsequently moved to American and became a citizen in 1946. The extraordinary text of this book was provided from extensive notes taken by one Alan Ansen (later the author's friend and secretary) who took the course Auden taught at the New School (NYC) during the 1946-1947 term. This is a worthy addition to those few books you maintain in your collection about the works of the monumental Bard of Avon.

An invaluable supplement for the student Shakespearean. May be cross-referenced whilst reading the (also recommended) Norton Edition.

Interesting