References to shakespeares works go beyond book titles and are often included as quotes in stories. A pound of flesh by thane rosenbaum chapter from rosenbaums book the myth of moral justice i. How to create brilliant book titles with examples bookfox. You can also read the full text online using our ereader. This book, also nonfiction, from the same author of breakfast at tiffanys, happens to be the first pick on the list to have a title coming from a single line in a shakespeare play. Ive split up the books into sections for titles taken from the bible, shakespeare, poetry, and other novels. The works of shakespeare have given us many things, from the sheer joy of the language to the more mundane and pragmatic, like book titles.
Words in the titles of shakespeares plays omitting roman numerals where words appear more than once in individual or across multiple titles they need only be entered once. This book is a perfect introduction to those whether young or old to know shakespeare. You could try taking a leaf out of two of the bestselling books of this year and last year which have titles inspired by shakespeare and the bible. Book titles based on lines of poetry or plays 195 books. The play, set in denmark, recounts how prince hamlet exacts revenge on his uncle claudius, who has murdered hamlets father, the king, and then taken the throne and married gertrude. But then we were taken to the theatre and they came alive. Hemingways wwi novel takes its title from a poem of the same name by george peele, an elizabethan playwright and poet best remembered for possibly collaborating with shakespeare on titus andronicus. Movie titles taken from lines in shakespeares plays dvd. Well give you author and the writer they were alluding to, you give the book title. Drama these book titles are the most dependent on context. Movie talk movie titles taken from lines in shakespeare s plays i am not talking about adaptations of shakespeare s plays, but movies that have nothing to do with shakespeare but base their titles on lines from shakespeare s plays. Huxley makes numerous references to the work of shakespeare in this dystopian novel, and the title is taken from the tempest. The titles of unpublished manuscripts, such as some doctoral dissertations, should not be italicized, even though they are complete entities. A few of christies book titles were taken from shakespeares works including.
Many an author, when searching for that justright title of a forthcoming novel, have turned to shakespeares works for inspiration. I have read 5 of the works listed as i am only in high school and havent had the vocabulary or analysis skills to read more earlier. The following is a partial list of book titles taken from literature. What are some wellknown novels whose titles are quotations from. Although hardy believed the book should be called the mellstock quire which would later be. Name book titles that are drawn from earlier works of literature or song. Shakespeare quotes are probably the most common, but yeats, donne, blake, and milton account for a lot. If you dont believe me, look up first hundred million by editor e. There are thousands of novels, plays, biographies and other books that take their titles from phrases in shakespeares works. Over the years shakespeare has proved a remarkably rich source for titles of books and plays. Shakespeares work includes 154 sonnets and 38 plays. I think it is very sad indeed that this statement these stories are several hundred years old and are no longer relevant linguistically and contextually.
References to shakespeare s works go beyond book titles and are often included as quotes in stories. William shakespeare books list of books by author william. Many an author, when searching for that justright title of a forthcoming novel, have turned to shakespeare s works for inspiration. Here he picks out his 10 favourite shakespeare books for. Many authors will use quotations from literature as the title for their works. He could basically steal from disparate sources and make something brand new. The bands name was taken from steely dan iii from yokohama, a strapon dildo from william s. Gr 7 upin this latest addition to the series, the bard comes alive for young aficionados. A good book title can mean the difference between a bestseller and a lifeless shelfdweller. How christie drew inspiration from william shakespeare.
Contact harvard book store 1256 massachusetts avenue cambridge, ma 028. Note that this is not the place to list film or television adaptations of shakespeares plays. Breaking bard how to get inspiration for your book title. Shakespearean book titles this list is a collection of books that have been named after a line shakespeare wrote. List of titles of works taken from shakespeare wikipedia. Featured author stephen henning is an exjournalist who writes the class heroes book series. Macbeth, hands down, should be number one as it is the best of shakespeare s works at least in my opinion. Apr 14, 2016 if it werent for shakespeareten book titles that quote shakespeare. Many book titles originate from other sources of literature.
He explains that changing just the book title can rocket a book from selling 6,000 copies a year to. April 23, 1616 was an english poet and playwright and is considered a key member of the english literature canon. List of titles of works taken from shakespeare wikimili. Apr 08, 2015 do you have problems finding just the right title for your book. Shakespeares influence on christie agatha christie. Similarly, its wellknown that ernest hemingways for whom the bell tolls takes. Thomas hardy originally published under the greenwood tree, the first of his wessex series, anonymously. The play synopsis reads like a short story and perfect for anybody who needs to know their shakespeare. When a single poem is published as a book, as is often done with the long poem twas the night before christmas, for instance, any citation of the title of the book version should be italicized. William shakespeare had that certain type of genius. For example, on discovery of a body in hercule poirots christmas, one of the suspects says, who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him. Similarly, its wellknown that ernest hemingways for whom the bell tolls takes its title from a sermon by john donne.
The accompanying lists are by by no means complete. A fairy tale in two acts taken from shakespeare by george. Authors have been finding book title inspiration in the bards verses for centuries. Mar 10, 2015 gr 7 upin this latest addition to the series, the bard comes alive for young aficionados. He explains that changing just the book title can rocket a book from selling 6,000 copies a year to 50,000 copies a year. The book also contains his major works with characters and a brief summary of the actions in their plays. Apr 22, 2014 shakespeare stories author andrew matthews fell in love with shakespeare when he was 11yearsold. It was first published in book form in 1922 by sylvia beach, the proprietor of the paris bookstore shakespeare and company. Oct, 2019 the chronology of shakespeare s plays remains a matter of some scholarly debate.
Shakespeare stories author andrew matthews fell in love with shakespeare when he was 11yearsold. Timon of athens, to be exact, from alcibiades speech in act iii, scene v. The following is a partially complete list of titles of works taken from shakespearean phrases. The library is grateful to john wolfson, curator of exhibitions for shakespeares globe in london, for lending three quartos from his collection. Most of the titles do have darker words and thus a darker feel to them, but some could work just as well as a title for any other genre. Many famous works of literature take their titles from a specific line in the text. He was driven to write by the desperation to develop superpowers when he was a teen, and imagining the consequences of having them in the socalled real world. Thomas dekker and john websters westward hoe, and the two plays now accepted into the shakespeare canon that were not included in the first folio, pericles and the two noble kinsmen. Words in the titles of shakespeare s plays omitting roman numerals where words appear more than once in individual or across multiple titles they need only be entered once.
Here he picks out his 10 favourite shakespeare books for children on the eve of the bards 450th. Top 10 novels inspired by shakespeare books the guardian. From hardys romantic novel under the greenwood tree, to the terrifying book something wicked this way comes by ray bradbury, shakespeares words have proved a fertile ground for those creative minds. Movie talk movie titles taken from lines in shakespeares plays i am not talking about adaptations of shakespeares plays, but movies that have nothing to do with shakespeare but base their titles on lines from shakespeares plays. List of book titles taken from literature wikipedia. Beginning with an introductory biography and short analysis of william shakespeares continued importance, the book provides a chronological according to the 2005 complete oxford shakespeare arrangement of plays, rather than the more customary categorical order.
Those two books are the fault in our stars by john green and go set a watchman by harper lee. Hamlet by william shakespeare, macbeth by william shakespeare, romeo and juliet by william shakespeare, a midsummer nights. Here are 15 movies inspired by some of the bards greatest works. If it werent for shakespeareten book titles that quote shakespeare. From a dystopian thriller to a young adult tearjerker, these are the stories shakespeare has inspired from beyond the grave. A scene from the tempest allusion to characters in the play. Often considered the greatest drama of all time, the play tells the story of the troubled titular prince of denmark. Do you have problems finding just the right title for your book. Shakespeare has been adapted in countless ways over the years, sometimes as in the case of these films rather subtly. Classic book titles that allude to other literary works everyone knows that aldous huxley borrowed the title of his bestknown novel brave new world from shakespeares the tempest. Those two books are the fault in our stars by john green and go set a.
The library is grateful to john wolfson, curator of exhibitions for shakespeare s globe in london, for lending three quartos from his collection. Oct, 2019 the titles of unpublished manuscripts, such as some doctoral dissertations, should not be italicized, even though they are complete entities. This book is available for free download in a number of formats including epub, pdf, azw, mobi and more. As our author of the day, henning tells us all about his book, london belongs to the. Authors have been finding book title inspiration in the bards verses for. Book titles based on lines of poetry or plays ive noticed there are a lot of books that use a line or phrase from a poem as their title. The full title of peele s poem is a farewell to arms to queen elizabeth. Macbeth, hands down, should be number one as it is the best of shakespeares works at least in my opinion.
What are some wellknown novels whose titles are quotations. If it werent for shakespeareten book titles that quote. Hamlet, tragedy in five acts by william shakespeare, written about 15991601 and published in a quarto edition in 1603 from an unauthorized text. Top 10 shakespeare books for children childrens books. The chronology of shakespeares plays remains a matter of some scholarly debate. Apr 30, 2014 huxley makes numerous references to the work of shakespeare in this dystopian novel, and the title is taken from the tempest. Titles taken from works by william shakespeare do not appear here. Current consensus is based on a constellation of different data points, including publication information e. Note that this is not the place to list film or television adaptations of shakespeare s plays. This may be done as a conscious allusion to the themes of the older work or simply because the phrase seems memorable. So the titles will generally relate to my first book type of titles and books with fun, but often fairly simple stories. A listing of book and play titles taken from the tempest. Not surprisingly, writers who grew up when shakespeare was still an important part of the english. Harvard book store is temporarily closed to the public through at least monday, may 18th.
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