"Shakespeare's All's Well That Ends Well is the story of its heroine, Helen, more so than the story of Bertram, for whose love she yearns. Helen wins Bertram as her husband despite his lack of interest and higher social standing, but she finds little happiness in the victory as he shuns, deserts, and attempts to betray her. The play suggests some sympathy for Bertram. As a ward to the French king, he must remain at court while his friends go off to...
The original play by Shakespeare's drama telling how Demetrius and Lysander love Hermia, Hermia loves Lysander but is betrothed to Demetrius, much to her dismay. And no one loves Helena, though her heart belongs to Demetrius. When Hermia and Lysander escape escape through the forest to elope, Demetrius chases them, and Helena chases Demetrius. With the magic of the forest bewitching the hand of fate, perhaps their dream of love will come true.
Presents the original text of Shakespeare's play side by side with a modern version, with marginal notes and explanations and full descriptions of each character.
Exiled royals--including a duke's daughter, disguised as a man--and country folk, learn lessons about class and gender through a series of love triangles in the Forest of Arden.
Shakespeare's late tragedy about the Roman leader who ascends to power has much to say about politics, leadership, and government that still applies to our world today.
Cymbeline tells the story of a British king, Cymbeline, and his three children, presented as though they are in a fairy tale. The secret marriage of Cymbeline's daughter, Imogen, triggers much of the action, which includes villainous slander, homicidal jealousy, cross-gender disguise, a deathlike trance, and the appearance of Jupiter in a vision. Kidnapped in infancy, Cymbeline's two sons are raised in a Welsh cave. As young men, they rescue a starving...
Henry IV, Part 2 is a Shakespeare play that is a "sequel," in the modern sense, to an earlier play of his. Like most sequels, it repeats many elements from the previous work, Henry IV, Part 1. This play again puts on stage Henry IV's son, Prince Hal, who continues to conceal his potential greatness by consorting with tavern dwellers, including the witty Sir John Falstaff. As in Part 1, Prince Hal and Falstaff seek to best each other in conversation,...
"Contains the text of the English history play that dramatizes the fifteenth-century conflict between the royal families of York and Lancaster, and includes full explanatory notes on pages facing the text, an introduction to Shakespeare's language, and essays about his life, theater, and the publication of his works."-- Provided by the publisher.
The first play of Shakespeare's "War of the Roses Tetralogy", which includes "Henry VI, Part 2", "Henry VI, Part 3", and "Richard III", "Henry VI, Part 1" is set during the lifetime of King Henry VI and deals with the loss of England's French territories and the political events that lead to the War of the Roses. The play was, written sometime, before 1591 and is, among some of the Bard's earliest works. "Henry VI, Part 1" was, published in the "First...
The second play in Shakespeare's "War of the Roses Tetralogy", this work continues Shakespeare's account of King Henry VI's reign. It commences with the marriage of Henry VI with the French noblewoman Margaret of Anjou, whose influence in court is, challenged by Duke Humphrey, the King's Protector. There is a large amount of aristocratic subversion in this play, in which the good Duke Humphrey is fatally, ensnared. Richard, the Duke of York, emerges...
The third play of Shakespeare's "War of the Roses Tetralogy", this "Part III" is widely regarded as the best of the three works on Henry VI. The Bard's skill in producing scenes of moving drama is readily apparent, for Queen Margaret journeys to France in search of military aid, after King Henry brokers a deal with his enemy Richard, Duke of York, for physical protection. Many bloody and heart-rending battles take place in this play as the War of...
King Henry VIII schemes to divorce his wife Katherine of Aragon in order to marry the beautiful Anne Boleyn, even as political intrigues disrupt the court. Includes explanatory notes, scene-by-scene plot summaries, a key to famous lines and phrases, scholarly essay, and illustrations.
30-Minute Shakespeare plays three action-packed scenes from this tale of King Navarre and his three lords, who have vowed to retire from women for three years. Naturally, the Princess of France and her three ladies arrive, and comedic courtship ensues. The cutting includes the ridiculous dance of the lords disguised as Russians, the hysterical "Pageant of the Nine Worthies," and a dramatic, bittersweet ending that leaves the King and the three lords...
These updated editions of classic plays feature new cover art along with the complete text of each work, full explanatory notes, scene-by-scene plot summaries, a key to famous lines and phrases, and illustrations from the Folger Shakespeare Library's vast holdings of rare books. Reissue. (Plays/Drama).
The story of Pericles of Tyre who flees his homeland to escape King Antiochus, wins the love of Thaisa, daughter of Simonides, and through a series of fateful events eventually reunites with Thaisa and their daughter, Marina.
Presents a collection of 154 of Shakespeare's sonnets and includes detailed notes on the sonnets and an overview of Shakespeare's life and literary impact.
"The lost twin sons of the old merchant Egeon--both named Antipholus--find themselves in Ephesus, without either one even knowing of the other's existence. Meanwhile, Egeon has arrived in search of the son he thinks is still alive--and has been sentenced to death for the "crime" of being from Syracuse. To add to the confusion, the two Antipholuses have twin servants, both named Dromio. As the four men unwittingly encounter each other, the play is...
"Family relationships are at the center of Henry IV, Part 1. King Henry IV and Prince Hal form one major father-son pair, with Henry in despair because Hal lives a dissolute life. The father-son pair of Hotspur (Lord Henry Percy) and his father, the Earl of Northumberland, is in seeming contrast; the king envies Northumberland 'his Harry,' wishing he could claim the gallant Hotspur as his own. Meanwhile, Hal has entered into a quasi-father-son relationship...
The Life and Death of King John, a history play by William Shakespeare, dramatises the reign of John, King of England (ruled 1199-1216), the son of Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine and the father of Henry III of England.
