This engaging book draws on all of Shakespeare's plays to show they can still be used as a guide to life. Introduces beginning students and general readers to Shakespeare's plays by highlighting the connections between the issues addressed by the plays and those of our own time. Focuses on the characters, situations and stories in Shakespeare which are still familiar today. Shows how Shakespeare's plays illustrate some of life's most familiar stories - love and obsession, parents and children, sex and politics, suffering and revenge Makes Shakespeare's plays accessible to the widest possible audience.