Poetry > M Poetry > 5 GBP to 9 GBP

Advantages: Touching without being depressing
Disadvantages: None

Another pocket-sized treasure from the Scottish Poetry Library, 'Lament' accompanies 'Handfast' as a book of Scottish poetry carefully selected by Lizzie MacGregor and with a certain theme, this time 'funerals and consolation'. In common with 'Handfast', 'Lament' has contributions from a range of Scottish poets, from classic to modern. Some are written in English, some in Scots and some in Gaelic, but please don't let this deter you from at least ...
...by complete translations in English, and the Scots have glossaries alongside. As I wrote in my 'Handfast' review, anyone with any familiarity with Scots shouldn't have a problem anyway, but for those that don't this would be a nice introduction, these poems are so expressive. For those that have an interest in Scots, there are several versions of well-known texts re-written here in the language, as Richard Holloway points out in his very useful ... Read review

Advantages: Funny
Disadvantages: None

I got given this book for xmas and have read everything from cover to cover several times.Its one of those books that he probably came up with to keep himself busy but turned into something alot more meaningful and popular than he expected.Most of the poems are long and have a sort of moral behind them.There are still short poems within the book and i think that younger children could still get into the book or at leats be read the book.If you have ... Read review

Advantages: Highly entertaining, approachable, wittily-illustrated guide
Disadvantages: Purists may cringe occasionally!

William Shakespeare would weep if he could see the manner in which his works are sometimes studied today. He would surely be bemused to see the seriousness with which lines of wit from his comedies have been dissected and analysed to extract their double-or-treble-or-quadruple entendres when it is a well-known fact that humour is lost when jokes have to be explained. I wonder what he would make of some of today’s productions at the Globe Theatre, ...
...a performance by the Reduced Shakespeare Company? Or lament the irreverence shown to some of the more serious themes? There are no right or wrong answers to such hypothetical questions. I would like to think, however, that the bard would give his stamp of approval to “Shakespeare in a Nutshell”, a rhyming guide that has the ability to unite both lovers and loathers of Shakespeare in merriment. James Muirden, already known as the author of “A Rhyming ... Read review

Advantages: Powerful and gripping storyline, Great contributions of all characters
Disadvantages: None that I have found

Written by Arthur Miller in the early 1950s during the time of the McCarthyism when the government blacklisted accused communists. Miller was also summoned in court and he wrote this play as a parable and links the Salem witch-hunt and the McCarthy trials which took place nearly 250 years apart. A very powerful play and an excellent one to study for GCSE English Literature for its revoloutionary work in the theatre and its portrayal of the human ...
...man's struggle to find and do what is right by him. With just 4 Acts and 5 important characters, this truly is a masterpiece. Proctor, a hard-working family man finds in the middle of lying and confessing to witchcraft, both of which go against his newly developed religious beliefs. ... Read review

Advantages: Interesting concept behind the plot
Disadvantages: Slow paced

Author: George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright born in 1856, and who died in 1950. Although he write music as well, he most enjoying writng plays, with the prupose of putting across a social message, and making it more memorable with the use of comedy, whilst doing so. Some of his plays addressed the issue of education, religion and government, however one topic he often considered was the exploitation of the working class. As a socialist, ...
...a British socialist movement, writing brochures and leaflets for them. He even married a fellow member of the Society, called Charlotte Payne-Townshend. He was an eloquent orator, and gave speeches on equal rights in politics for men and women, how to live healthy lifestyles, and condemning the attitudes of the rich towards the poor. This socialist attitude of Bernard Shaw influenced many of his writings, including Pygmalion, which has become a classic. ... Read review