The Pocket Companion to Shakespeare Play's will quickly enlighten readers and enhance their enjoyment of both the written word and the plays in performance. For each of Shakespeare's 39 plays there is a synopsis of the plot, a list of characters and notes on the chief figures, and a resume of the performance history. The book also includes a critique on the poems and sonnets, a history of the Shakespearean theatre and the early players, a background to the Apocrypha of plays attributed to Shakespeare, and a selected glossary of Elizabethan English. The book is user-friendly, accessible, and readily consultable on the spot. It will enhance the enjoyment of any Shakespeare production.