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SHAKESPEARE'S LANGUAGE
Keys To Understand It   by Stuart Griffiths

Pontcanna Press UK.         ISBN 978-0-9533476-0-5    150 pages.
Children and adults often have difficulty in understanding the way Shakespeare framed and built his sentences. His language has a strong Latin base, which can deter people.
This book aims to make Shakespeare's debt to Latin grammar more accessible to senior pupils at school, university students, the general reader and theatre-goers. Following an account of the research and thinking behind the book, the author sets out his system of keys to understand the structure of Shakespeare's language. The keys and the background essay, studied carefully, should prove valuable to anyone who reads or watches a Shakespeare play. The book should also help young actors embarking on Shakespeare.

THE AUTHOR
Stuart Griffiths was a former senior Script Editor of classic plays for BBC television. He has also been an editor and director in BBC radio drama. He was a Fleet Street leader writer and theatre critic. He was a former President of the Oxford Union. Stuart sadly passed away on the 19th of May 2015.

HOW PLAYS ARE MADE   by Stuart Griffiths
A Guide to the Technique of Play Construction and the Basic Principles of Drama.
Pontcanna Press UK.         ISBN 978-0-9533476-1-2    123 pages.

A standard work on play writing , this book has been steadily in demand since its first publication in 1982 by Heinemann Educational Books.
It combines sound practical advice for aspiring and practising playwrights with very illuminating insights on drama already written, from the Greeks to the present day, including film and television scripts. Almost every aspect of play construction is covered. The book has indeed proved useful not only for playwrights but for many who are interested in the theatre, whether as students, teachers or playgoers.

Taken from the "How Plays Are Made" Foreword:

"This book is an expansion of a set of notes on play construction Stuart Griffiths originally wrote for writers when he joined BBC Television. For many years he was the senior Script Editor of classic plays, the television equivalent of a theatre Dramaturg or Literary Manager. He has also been much involved in advising and guiding writers.
Peggy Ramsay, for decades the leading British play agent, read his set of notes in their pamphlet form, was enthusiastic about them, and was instrumental in bringing about the book's publication by Heinemann Educational Books. Since then the book has been steadily in demand in Britain, the USA, and other countries around the world."

The layout of How Plays Are Made is very similar to that of the previous edition published by Heinemann Educational Books.

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