Las flores de William Shakespeare

Alan Dent, crítico dramaturgo, se ha dado a la tarea de rescatar el significado de las flores y plantas mencionadas en las obras de Shakespeare, recopilación lograda en las 126 páginas de su libro: World of Shakespeare : Plants, de la editorial Osprey, perfectamente logrado con la introducción de Sir Michael Redgrave, quien transcribiré textualmente:

How many kinds of flowers, trees and other plants does Shakespeare mention? What does he say about them, and what do they mean to him? Which play contains most references to flora? Does Shakespeare ever make a mistake? Wheter writing about plants descriptively or metaphorically, does he share the feelings about them that we have today?

This gem of a book answers these questions and many more. there are hundreds of quotations from the plays and poems, linked by a commentary whose liveliness almost conceals its scholarship. Every plant mentioned in Shakespeare`s works is contained in this book.

It will appeal, first, to any lover of Shakespeare who whishes to view his work from a fresh angle, and to naturalists and gardeners interested to know how to much their enthusiasms werw shared by the world´s greatest poet. It is recommended as an introduction to Shakespeare for schoolchildren and others who believe he is only for an intellectual minority. It will find a considerable use among public speakers and journalist seeking inspiration and quotation. Finally it will be a useful reference book which will not become outdated as long as Shakespeare is read.