In writing a play, the playwright must take into account the devices & sets available to him for the optimum stage presentation of his work. In Shakespeare's day, there were very few mechanical devices, & even fewer sets, available to the playwright. The author examines the Bard's players in the light of the staging problems he faced & how he had to write his plays so that dialogue & inflection would "set the scene", express the mood of the play, & convey other meanings to the audience that a playwright of today might accomplish with scenery, lighting, musical accompaniment, mechanical devices, etc. Highly useful for English literature & theatre collections.