SHAKESPEARE300

With pithy descriptions and a touch of data analysis, this app provides quick summaries of every Shakespeare play for the Bard fan on the go.

The “300” in this app’s name refers to the strict word limit creator Reese established for his discussion of each of the Bard’s 38 plays: 300 words of plot summary, plus 300 words of bullet-pointed trivia and analysis. Swipe past those pages, and each play also gets a chart (with peaceful, watercolor-textured graphics) showing what percentage of dialogue each character claims (Iago, 31 percent) and another mapping the relationships among characters. Reese’s style in the summaries is loose but informed, generally designed to help the intimidated young newbie: He describes the plotting in both Antony and Cleopatra and Titus Andronicus as a “hot mess.” The presentation is colorful and attractive; an opening page lays out each play as elements on the periodic table, and an extras page offers lighthearted glimpses into Shakespearean coinages, insults and poetic style. Wherefore, though, does this app exist? An adult about to attend a performance would get a more substantial briefing from a critical edition or even a Wikipedia page; a student will likely gain little from many of Reese’s fragmentary points without another guide at hand. For instance, The Merchant of Venice is “lumped amongst the Problem Plays,” readers are told, but the concept of problem plays isn’t explained; lines like “pastoral passes into folklore (even fairy tale) as the forest’s threats loom” (regarding As You Like It) beg for expansion the word-count limit can’t provide. Reese provides some entertaining scraps of history, essay prompts and staging tips. But though the instinct toward concision is respectable, the material sometimes cries out for more detailed commentary.

An informed and inviting gloss of the Bard’s oeuvre—but best used with some critical or classroom support. (Requires iOS 7 and above.)