In these four lectures Peter Hall reveals a lifetime of discoveries about classical theatre, Shakespeare, opera and modern drama. The central argument is that form and structured language paradoxically give freedom to power of thought and feeling, much as the masks of early Greek drama enabled actors to express extreme emotion. The mask may take many forms – the precise language of Beckett and Pinter, the classical form of Mozart's operas, or Shakespeare's verse.

Reprinted to form part of the Oberon Masters series, a brand new collection of attractive hardbacks on key themes within the arts written by leading lights in each subject.