Developed with advice from more than 130 scholars, The Bedford Companion to Shakespeare brings the study of Shakespeare to life by invigorating the treatment of his life, times, and work with engaging material not available in any other college-level Shakespeare text.

Shakespeare, "Shakespeare," and the problem of authorship --Performances, playhouses, and players -- "What is your text?" -- "I loved my books": Shakespeare's reading -- Theater à la mode: Shakespeare and the kinds of drama -- "To what end are all these words?": Shakespeare's dramatic language -- Town and country: life in Shakespeare's England -- Men and women: gender, family, society -- Politics and religion: early modern ideologies.