Published online by Cambridge University Press: 23 January 2009
My approach to textual analysis is that of a practising director and actor although I am usually fairly familiar with the main streams of commentary on a particular play or playwright. Thus, when preparing a production I do not often engage in exhaustive examination of the literature. Such reading can actually be harmful, since it may interfere with the direct and intimate contact with the material that can sometimes lead to a fresh insight or approach.
1. Twentieth Century Interpretations of The Merchant of Venice, Barnet, Sylvan (ed), Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1970, p. 79.Google Scholar
2. The Signet Classic Shakespeare, London: The New English Library, 1965, pp. xxxvi–xxxvii.Google Scholar
3. Shakesperean Comedy, London: University Paperbacks, 1969, p. 159.Google Scholar Originally, London: Methuen, 1938.