Most plays of Shakespeare are flushed with dramatic embellishing devices, such as music, dance, masque, pageant, ghost, apparition, dumb-show, clowning, jesting, etc., not only his romantic plays or comedies but also his tragedies and histories. Are these inessential ancillaries to the plays? Do they devalue the plays' purported objectives, or do they enhance their desired impact on the audience? Are they mere diversions to calm down the unruly moronic groundlings? These and such many other questions hover over Shakespeare's plays.

This book is an endeavour to answer some of these knotty questions.

SUNIL KUMAR SARKER holds M.As. in four subjects (English, Philosophy, Psychology, and History) and Ph.Ds. in two (English and Philosophy). In 2004, he retired as a college reader. Till date, he has published 16 books (20 volumes) in English (all but three are on literature and all published by Atlantic Publishers and Distributors Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi) and four books in Bengali. So far, he has published two books on Shakespeare (which are included in the catalogue of the Folgar Shakespeare Library, New York) and several articles on Shakespeare. Shakespearean Drama is his third book on Shakespeare. Presently he is working on another book on Shakespeare. He is a life member of Shakespeare Society of India and Asian Shakespeare Association.