First staged in 1599, Shakespeare's history of Henry V's remarkable victory over the French at Agincourt and the subsequent peace between the two nations is also a study of war and kingship. From his
Dark and violent, Macbeth is also the most theatrically spectacular of Shakespeare's tragedies. Promised a golden future as ruler of Scotland by three sinister witches, Macbeth murders the king to ens
The Merchant of Venice is most associated not with its titular hero, Antonio, but with the complex, unforgettable figure of the money-lender, Shylock. It is Shylock who finances Antonio's friend Bassa
Othello is an intense drama of love, deception, jealousy and destruction. Desdemona's love for her husband Othello, the Moor, transcends racial prejudice; but his trusted ensign, the envious Iago, con
Controversial and sexually charged, The Taming of the Shrew is possibly Shakespeare's first play, and certainly among the most performed. Is it an examination of brute male domination or a passionate
Bring on the merriment whenever you open this collection of Shakespeare’s entertaining comedies.The comedies of William Shakespeare―including The Tempest, The Comedy of Errors, A Midsummer Night’s Dre
Twelve of Shakespeare’s most profound and moving dramas in one elegant volume.William Shakespeare’s tragedies introduced the world to some of the most well-known characters in literature, including Ro
The Taming of the Shrew is a comedy by William Shakespeare. It was one of his earlier plays, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1594. The play begins with a framing device in which a drunk
William Shakespeare's sonnets are among the best-known poems in the English language, and the verses continue to touch the hearts of readers today. In Shakespeare's Sonnets and Other Poems, readers wi
A storm strikes a ship carrying Alonso, Ferdinand, Sebastian, Antonio, Gonzalo, Stephano, and Trinculo, who are on their way to Italy after coming from the wedding of Alonso’s daughter, Claribel, to t
After winning an important victory in battle, Macbeth, a Scottish Lord, is prophesied to become king by three mysterious women. Will the prophecy be fulfilled, or is Macbeth in charge of his own desti
Gorgeous, strange and magical, A Midsummer Night's Dream is perhaps the best loved of Shakespeare's plays. A young woman flees Athens with her lover, only to be pursued by her would-be husband and her
The Sonnets of William Shakespeare, a cycle of 154 linked poems, were first published in 1609. Filled with ideas about love, beauty and mortality, the sonnets are written in the same beautiful and inn
A young prince meets with his father's ghost, who alleges that his own brother, now married to his widow, murdered him. The prince devises a scheme to test the truth of the ghost's accusation, feignin
Separated from her twin brother Sebastian after a shipwreck, Viola disguises herself as a boy to serve the Duke of Illyria. Wooing a countess on his behalf, she is stunned to find herself the object o
In Julius Caesar, William Shakespeare uses the most notorious murder in classical history to tell a tragic tale of friendship, ambition and betrayal. As the greatest figures of the Roman Republic are
Undoubtedly the greatest love story ever written, Romeo and Juliet has spawned a host of imitators on stage and screen and been adapted countless times. A young man and woman meet by chance and instan
In this thrilling and hugely influential tragedy, ageing King Lear makes a capricious decision to divide his realm between his three daughters according to the love they express for him. When the youn
Shakespeare's comedy about the fairy king and queen, Oberon and Titania, and the mischievous Puck, as they create confusion amongst the humans in the forest.Classics Illustrated tells this wonderful t
After encountering the ghost of his father on the castle parapet, Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, is convinced that his father's death was part of a foul plot to take the throne. It is up to Hamlet to
Inspired by Homer's Iliad and Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde, Shakespeare's play explores heroism, love and betrayal against the backdrop of the Trojan War. This Penguin Shakespeare edition is edited
One of Shakespeare's late, fantastical plays, Cymbeline considers human love and art through the thrilling wonder of the Renaissance theatre. This Penguin Shakespeare edition is edited with an introdu
William Shakespeare's Henry VIII is a compelling history play, recreating a crucial moment in the Tudor dynasty, and the events that marked the beginning of the English Reformation. This Penguin Shake
Considered by Thomas de Quincey to be 'perhaps the most superb work in the language', The Two Noble Kinsmen is set in Athens and was co-written by Shakespeare with John Fletcher. This Penguin Shakespe
Performed variously as escapist fantasy, celebratory fiction, and political allegory, The Tempest is one of the plays in which William Shakespeare's genius as a poetic dramatist found its fullest expr
A relentlessly witty battle of the sexes, William Shakespeare's comedy The Taming of the Shrew is edited by G.R. Hibbard, with an introduction by Margaret Jane Kidnie in Penguin Shakespeare. The beaut
Pericles was Shakespeare's first full-blown tragicomedy, the precursor to The Winter's Tale, Cymbeline and The Tempest, and one of his most popular plays in the seventeenth century. This Penguin editi
Referred to by superstitious actors as 'the Scottish play', William Shakespeare's Macbeth is a tragedy in which appalling earthly crimes have lasting supernatural repercussions. This Penguin Shakespea
Perhaps the single most influential work of English drama, William Shakespeares Hamlet is a timeless tragedy of the conflicted loyalties, madness, betrayal and terrible revenge. This Penguin Shakespea
Inexorably poisoned against the woman he loves by his trusted friend Iago, Shakespeare's Othello is a timeless tragic figure. This Penguin Shakespeare edition is edited by Kenneth Muir with an introdu
A farcical comedy of mistaken identity and outrageous trickery, William Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors is edited by Stanley Wells with an introduction by Randall Martin in Penguin Shakespeare. 'We
A peerless general is offered the consulship of Rome after his triumph over the city of Corioles. Too proud to respect the will of the people, however, he soon finds himself despised by the mob, and s
Threatened by the Duke of York, King Henry makes a deal to disinherit his own son and make the Duke his heir. Queen Margaret is so angered by her husband's weakness that she declares war on the House
Separated from her twin brother Sebastian after a shipwreck, Viola disguises herself as a boy to serve the Duke of Illyria. Wooing a countess on his behalf, she is stunned to find herself the object o
Young King Henry wages war on France. But, tainted by his father's crimes, and with enemies among his own men, he must confront the difficult responsibilities of kingship. But even with the battles wo
When it seems that Julius Caesar may assume supreme power, a plot to destroy him is hatched by the senators Brutus and Cassius, who are determined to preserve the threatened Republic. But the differen
Love's Labour's Lost is a popular text for study by secondary students the world over. This edition includes illustrations, preliminary notes, reading lists and classroom notes.
The city of Verona, torn apart by the violent feud between the families of Montague and Capulet, is a powder keg waiting to explode; the Prince of Verona, seeking to restore order, has declared any br
Bassanio, a noble but impoverished Venetian, asks his friend the merchant Antonio for a loan to impress an heiress. Antonio agrees, but is forced to borrow the sum from a cynical Jewish moneylender, S
