Jeremy Lopez is Professor of English at Montclair State University, USA, and the Editor of Shakespeare Quarterly.

• Acknowledgements Preface Part 11 The Title 2 Stage Directions 3 Scenes 4 The Whole Play Part 25 First Words 6 The First Act 7 Act Three 8 Acts Two and Four 9 The Last Act 10 Last Words Part 311 Patterned Language 12 Characters Part 413 Meter 14 Textual Variation Epilogue Suggested further reading Index

Jeremy Lopez’s Arden Introduction to Reading Shakespeare succeeds brilliantly as an Introduction for students – to every conceivable element of a play, from "The Title” to “Last Words,” with topics in between as diverse and as essential as “Stage Directions” and “Patterned Language.” The kinds of questions he poses for students will be of interest to – and adopted by – even the most experienced teachers, as he models a way of thinking about literature. And for specialists in the period, his own illustrative close readings are compelling and provocative. Lopez has created a wonderfully useful book.