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(0)William Shakespeare
1) Hamlet
"To be, or not to be: that is the question"
There is arguably no work of fiction quoted as often as William Shakespeare's Hamlet. This haunting tragedy of a troubled Danish prince devoted to avenging his father's death has captivated audiences for centuries.
This title in the Signet Classics Shakespeare series includes:
• An overview...
Much Ado About Nothing casts the lovers Benedick and Beatrice in a witty war of words while the young Claudio is tricked into believing his love Hero has been unfaithful in this play that combines robust humor with explorations on honor and shame.
This revised Signet Classics edition includes unique features such as:
• An overview of...
3) The Tempest
Prospero—sorcerer and rightful Duke of Milan—has lived a reclusive life with his daughter Miranda in the years since his position was usurped by his brother, Antonio. Now, as Antonio’s ship passes near Prospero’s island home, the sorcerer conjures up a terrible storm that will change all of their destinies....
This...
Romeo and Juliet is one of Shakespeare's early tragedies. The two young title characters fall madly in love, but are the children of feuding houses whose hatred for each other works to a devastating end. The play was immensely popular in Shakespeare's lifetime and is the most enduring of his plays along with Hamlet. Romeo and Juliet is considered one of the archetypal love stories.
Although Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar is named after the legendary Roman political leader, the central character is thought by many to be Marcus Brutus, Caesar's friend turned foe who struggles throughout the play with conflicting obligations of friendship and duty. While Caesar is warned in a prophecy to "beware the Ides of March" the Roman senators, including Brutus are secretly plotting his assassination, hoping to rid Rome of the
...7) King Lear
Full of cruelty and betrayal, King Lear is the timeless and tragic story of a kingdom held in the thrall of an aging ruler’s descent into madness. Desperate for praise, he banishes those who would guide him with honesty and surrounds himself with sycophants—an action that leads to his ultimate downfall....
This revised Signet...
Antony and Cleopatra is a tragic play by Shakespeare, which tells the ill-fated love story between Antony and Cleopatra and the antagonistic role played by Julius Caesar, future Emperor of Rome.
"I will tell you.
The barge she sat in, like a burnish'd throne,
Burn'd on the water: the poop was beaten gold;
Purple the sails, and so perfumed that
The winds were love-sick with them; the oars were silver,
Which to the tune of
One of Shakespeare's early comedies, Love's Labour's Lost follows the travails of the King of Navarre and three of his companions as they make a vow to eschew the attentions of women and devote themselves entirely to scholarship for a period of three years. In a classic case of poor timing, each of the four men soon crosses paths with their soul-mate, and hilarity ensues. Rife with witty word play, critics agree that Love's Labour's Lost
...The Taming of the Shrew is perhaps one of Shakespeare's most controversial plays by modern standards. Hinging on the courtship between the arrogant Petruchio and the "shrew" of the title Katherina, it is unclear whether Shakespeare's blatantly misogynistic themes were in earnest or tongue in cheek. The charming and tender Bianca is forbidden to marry until her elder sister, Katherine is spoken for. Bianca's suitors enlist Petruchio to woo
...The Comedy of Errors is one of Shakespeare's most popular short comedy plays. The plot is driven by two cases of mistaken identity and witty pun-drenched dialogue. Antipholus of Syracuse and his servant of Dromio of Syraceuse visit the town of Ephesus, not realizing that this is the home of Antipholus of Ephesus and Dromio of Ephesus, their twin brothers lost to them at sea years before. Before reuniting, the doppelgangers cause chaos amongst
...13) King Richard III
Richard III belongs to Shakespeare's folio of King Richard plays, and is the longest of his plays after Hamlet. It is classified variously as a tragedy and a history, showing the reign of Richard III in an unflattering light. The play's length springs in part from its reference to the other Richard plays, with which Shakespeare assumed his audience would be familiar. These references and characters are often edited out to create an abridged
...14) Macbeth
Macbeth is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and one of his best-known plays. Often referred to as an archetypal tale, it warns against lust for power and the betrayal of friends. Shakespeare based the play loosely on a King Macbeth of Scotland. The play is traditionally considered "cursed", and thus many actors refer to it as "The Scottish Play" to avoid naming it.
15) Twelfth Night
TWELFTH NIGHT, first performed around 1600, probably at the court of Queen ELizabeth I, is the tale of separated brother and sister twins - Sebastian and Viola - and their love entanglements. It also offers the rich comic colours of Sir Toby Belch, Malvolio and Sir Andrew Aguecheek,
TWELFTH NIGHT is part of Naxos AudioBooks’ exciting new series of complete dramatisations of the works of Shakespeare, in conjunction with Cambridge University
...Although originally classified as one of Shakespeare's comedies, All's Well That Ends Well is now more commonly classified as one of his ambiguous problem plays, so called because they defy neat classification as either comedy or tragedy. Helena, a servant harbors a secret love for Betram her mistresses' son. When the king becomes ill Helena promises to heal him if she is allowed to marry any man of her choosing. Helena's father is a renowned
...The Sonnets compiles 154 Sonnets written by Shakespeare on all manner of themes from love and fidelity to politics and lineage. Many of the sonnets - in particular the first 17, commonly called the procreation sonnets - were commissioned, a fact which calls a simple, romantic reading into question.
19) Othello
Believed to have been written in 1603, Shakespeare's Othello is a tragedy that puts the playwright's prodigious creative gifts on full display. Based loosely on a Renaissance-era Italian tale, Othello follows the stormy relationship of the Moorish general Othello and his lovely wife Desdemona. Addressing timeless themes of love and betrayal, as well as surprisingly contemporary concepts such as race-based stereotypes, Othello
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