M. M. Mahood

"Besides exploring the relationship between poetic and scientific responses to the green world within the context of humanity's changing concepts of its own place in the ecosphere, Molly Mahood considers the part that flowering plants played in the daily lives, and therefore in the literary work of a number of writers who could all be called poet-botanists. A concluding chapter looks closely at the meanings, old or new, that plants retained or obtained in the violent twentieth century."--BOOK JACKET.

Playing Bit Parts in Shakespeare is a unique survey of the small supporting roles - such as foils, feeds, attendants and messengers - that feature in Shakespeare's plays. Exploring such issues as how bit players should conduct themselves within a scene, and how blank verse or prose may be spoken to bring out the complexities of character-definition, Playing Bit Parts in Shakespeare brings a wealth of insights to the dynamic of scenic construction in Shakespeare's dramaturgy. M.M. Mahood explores the different functions of minimal characters, from clearing the stage to epitomizing the overall effect of the comedy or tragedy, and looks at how they can extend the audience's knowledge of the social world of the play. She goes on to describe the entire corpus of minimal roles in a selection of six plays: Richard III The Tempest King Lear Antony & Cleopatra Measure for Measure Julius Caesar This new edition comes enhanced with a new Appendix, 'Who Says What', especially designed to aid directors in making decisions about the speaking parts of the minimal characters. It also comes complete with an index of characters (including line references) as well as a detailed general index. An invaluable aid for directors and actors in the rehearsal room, this perceptive and informative volume is equally of interest to students studying and writing about Shakespeare's plays.

Molly Mahood has written a wholly original survey of the small supporting roles which abound in Shakespeare's plays. The practice of doubling enabled Elizabethan dramatists to surround their principal characters with a host of lesser Lords, Soldiers, Messengers and Servants. This book argues that Shakespeare was well aware of the contribution that can be made to a play, not only by such memorable bit parts as the Apothecary in Romeo and Juliet, or Macbeth's Porter, but also by the thoughtful and resourceful stage presentation of Second Gentlemen and Third Citizens who have been allotted only a line or two apiece. Professor Mahood explores the different purposes served by such minimal characters, from clearing the stage to epitomising the overall effect of a comedy or tragedy. She then describes the entire corpus of minimal roles in a selection of plays, ranging from the early Richard the Third to The Tempest. In describing the intricate details of each role, the possibilities for cutting or doubling parts and deploying actors around the stage, Professor Mahood has addressed not only the scholar and Shakespeare lover, but also the practical interests of actors and directors.

A study of Joyce Cary's novels, letters and political articles to show the influence upon him of his years as a colonial administrator in West Africa.

The strength of the seventeenth-century writers lies in their power to meet a challenge which later religious poets evaded. Donne and his followers are humanists, alive to all new discoveries about the physical world and the nature of man; but they are theocentric humanists, able to reconcile these discoveries with the central tenets of their faith as Christians. This book attempts to trace this reintegration in the work of the Metaphysical poets and of Milton, and suggests that in this reintegration lies the real affinity between seventeenth-century poetry and the Baroque mode in the visual arts.