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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...
2) The Tempest
The Tempest is thought by many to be Shakespeare's greatest and most perfect play. When the magician Prospero deliberately summons a storm to overcome his enemy King Alonso of Naples ship the passengers are washed ashore on a fantastical island. Prospero manipulates the king, his entourage, apparitions and fiends as he schemes revenge on the hapless Alonso. Prospero's daughter and the King's son Ferdinand fall in love and their fraught lover
...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.
Shakespeare's comedy play Much Ado About Nothing pivots around the impediments to love for young betrothed Hero and Claudio when Hero is falsely accused of infidelity and the "lover's trap" set for the arrogant and assured Benedick who has sworn of marriage and his gentle adversary Beatrice. The merry war between Benedick and Beatrice with the promptings of their friends soon dissolves into farcical love, while Hero's supposed infidelity
...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
...7) 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.
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
...10) As you like it
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
...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
...Another case of mistaken identity from the king of the plot twist, Twelfth Night tells the tale of the beautiful young Viola who is separated from her twin brother, Sebastian, when their ship is lost at sea. Believing Sebastian to be dead Viol poses as a man and enters service with the Duke Orisino. When Olivia, the woman that Orisino loves, falls for his messenger "boy" Viola and she in turn falls for the Duke the stage is set for a classic
...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
...Poetry is a fascinating use of language. With almost a million words at its command it is not surprising that these Isles have produced some of the most beautiful, moving and descriptive verse through the centuries. In this volume we look through the eyes and minds of our most gifted poets to bring you a guide to the day—and night—of Halloween. A time of Witches, Ghouls and Hauntings and all kinds of scary things that come out the evening
...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.