Emma Smith
Emma Smith is Professor of Shakespeare studies at Oxford University. Her book The Making of Shakespeare’s First Folio (2015), tells the story of the birth of the First Folio and Shakespeare’s First Folio: Four Centuries of an Iconic Book (2016) describes its reception over the four hundred years of its history.
Books by Emma Smith
This Is Shakespeare
by Emma Smith
Aimed at a general readership, Emma Smith, Professor of Shakespeare Studies at the University of Oxford, gives a refreshing 'warts and all' analysis of Shakespeare. She shows how intellectually and dramatically thrilling Shakespeare can be, demonstrating the wealth of issues and subjects with which he engages.
Interestingly, this book aims to deflate myths, point to inconsistencies and ambiguities, and to identify flaws in his work — suggesting that we might have a tendency to be too reverent of the bard. Relishing these difficult questions, it draws freely from contemporary culture to illustrate the bard's work and legacy, whether it's by invoking Tarantino or comparing Falstaff to Homer Simpson.
Emma Smith has also spoken to Five Books about her own favourite Shakespeare plays.
Interviews with Emma Smith
Shakespeare’s Best Plays, recommended by Emma Smith
Shakespearean scholar Emma Smith picks her five favourite plays of the Bard, and controversially argues that not only are some of his plays just too long, but also that the most moving moments in Shakespeare’s oeuvre are where we might not expect them
