Shakespeare’s Tropes

Shakespeare’s Tropes is a new book by one of New Zealand’s leading directors and teachers
of Shakespeare. Part-textbook, part-episode guide, it covers 41 plays from The Taming of the
Shrew in 1589 through to Cardenio in 1613, charting Shakespeare’s narrative development of
his recurring themes and motifs. On one level it’s an academic textbook exploring how all of
Shakespeare’s plays are fundamentally about the dead coming back to life; on another level
it’s a fun pop-culture analysis of how the whole canon can be explained by way of The Beatles,
The Simpsons, The Sopranos, the Star Wars films and the Mountain Goats. Whether you’re
a hardened director or teacher looking for new inspiration or a young student or actor
encountering the plays for the first time, this book has something for everyone.

Format: Paperback
Imprint: Small New Zealand Publisher
Publication date: 23/04/2023