Table of Contents
Preface 1
Part 1 The Chiastic Design
1 The Chiastic Design 5
2 Isolating the Chiastic Design 20
3 Shakespeare's Scene Division 26
4 Shakespeare in Nine Scenes 36
5 Richard II: Thematic Arch and Imagery 44
6 The Merchant of Venice: Thematic Arch, Scene Division and Imagery 52
Part 2 Reading the Chiastic Design
7 The Thematic Arch of Julius Caesar: Sacrifice 58
8 The Construction (and Catholicism) of King John 69
9 Henry IV: The Structural Similarity of Parts One and Two 84
10 The Thematic Arch of The Merry Wives of Windsor: Role-Playing 92
11 Instinct and Artifice in As You Like It 99
12 The Thematic Arch of Henry V 107
13 The Anomalous Arch of Hamlet 116
14 The Stories in Troilus and Cressida 125
15 The Thematic Arch of All's Well That Ends Well: Hubris and Humiliation 135
16 Act Division and Feeding Actions in Othello 142
17 The Thematic Arch of Folio King Lear: Evidence for the Quarto as a Draft 155
18 The Thematic Arch of Macbeth: Reconsidering Hecate 164
19 The Triple Arch of Antony and Cleopatra 170
20 The Thematic Arch of Coriolanus: Action and Eloquence 178
21 The Thematic Arch of Cymbeline: Sacrifice 186
22 The Parallel Plays of The Winter's Tale: Entertainment 195
23 The Thematic Arch of The Tempest: A Hand for Prospero 202
Appendix: Narrative Analyses 221
Chapter Notes 223
Bibliography 233
Index 237