Shakespeare through Letters

In Shakespeare through Letters, David M. Bergeron analyzes the letters found within Shakespeare's comedies, histories, and tragedies, arguing that the letters offer the principal intertextual element in the plays as text in their own right. Bergeron posits that Shakespeare's theater itself exists at the intersection of oral and textual culture, which the letters also exhibit as they represent writing, reading, and interpretation in a way that audiences would be familiar with, in contrast with the illustrious culture of kings, queens, and warriors. This book demonstrates that the letters, profound or perfunctory, constitute texts that warrant interpretation even as they remain material stage props, impacting narrative development, revealing character, and enhancing the play's tone. Scholars of literature, theater, and history will find this book particularly useful.

David M. Bergeron is professor emeritus of English at University of Kansas.

Preface
To the Reader
Chapter 1: Comedies
Two Gentlemen of Verona
Love's Labor's Lost
Much Ado about Nothing
As You Like It
The Merry Wives of Windsor
The Merchant of Venice
Twelfth Night
All's Well That Ends Well
Measure for Measure
Troilus and Cressida
Pericles
Cymbeline
The Winter's Tale
Chapter 2: Histories
1 Henry VI
2 Henry VI
3 Henry VI
Richard III
King John
Richard II
1 Henry IV
2 Henry IV
Henry VIII
Chapter 3: Tragedies
Titus Andronicus
Romeo and Juliet
Julius Caesar
Hamlet
Macbeth
Othello
King Lear
Timon of Athens
Antony and Cleopatra
Coriolanus
Appendix: Further Reading
References
About the Author