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Richard, Duke of Gloucester - the bitter, deformed brother of the King - is secretly plotting to seize the throne of England. Charming and duplicitous, powerfully eloquent and viciously cruel, he is p

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

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

A brilliant general in the service of Venice, Othello is also the new husband of the adoring - and young - Desdemona, whose innocent hero worship has blossomed into love. But can a beautiful girl, so much younger than her husband, truly be faithful? Othello's trusted ensign Iago seems to think not. Can Othello trust him? Can Othello trust anyone? Manga Classics presents Shakespeare's classic story of love, hate, vengeance, and betrayal, in its full, original glory (This volume features the complete, unabridged text from the Shakespeare Play.)

Michael Hattaway's Introduction to this bestselling edition of As You Like It accounts for what makes this popular play both innocent and dangerous. This third edition includes a new section on recent critical interpretations, including sections on ecocriticism, peace studies, and myths of gender, on recent as well as past stage productions and films of the play, as well as fresh illustrations. An appendix on an early court performance in 1599, commentary on the play's language, the book trade, and the discursive cultures of its time, as well as an updated reading list are also included.

How can we look afresh at Shakespeare as a writer of sonnets? What new light might they shed on his career, personality, and sexuality? Shakespeare wrote sonnets for at least thirty years, not only for himself, for professional reasons, and for those he loved, but also in his plays, as prologues, as epilogues, and as part of their poetic texture. This ground-breaking book assembles all of Shakespeare's sonnets in their probable order of composition. An inspiring introduction debunks long-established biographical myths about Shakespeare's sonnets and proposes new insights about how and why he wrote them. Explanatory notes and modern English paraphrases of every poem and dramatic extract illuminate the meaning of these sometimes challenging but always deeply rewarding witnesses to Shakespeare's inner life and professional expertise. Beautifully printed and elegantly presented, this volume will be treasured by students, scholars, and every Shakespeare enthusiast.

For this updated critical edition of King Lear, Lois Potter has written a completely new introduction, taking account of recent productions and reinterpretations of the play, with particular emphasis on its afterlife in global performance and adaptation. The edition retains the Textual Analysis of the previous editor, Jay L. Halio, shortened and with a new preface by Brian Gibbons. Professor Halio, accepting that we have two versions of equal authority, the one derived from Shakespeare's rough drafts, the other from a manuscript used in the playhouses during the seventeenth century, chooses the Folio as the text for this edition. He explains the differences between the two versions and alerts the reader to the rival claims of the quarto by means of a sampling of parallel passages in the Introduction and by an appendix which contains annotated passages unique to the quarto.

What he hears will change everything. Egged on by his wife, he decides to kill in order to gain the Scottish crown. How many people will have to die in Macbeth's pursuit of power? With armies, gho

The third edition of Hamlet offers a completely new introduction to this rich, mysterious play, examining Shakespeare's transformation of an ancient Nordic legend into a drama whose philosophical, psychological, political, and spiritual complexities have captivated audiences world-wide for over 400 years. Focusing on the ways in which Shakespeare re-imagined the revenge plot and its capacity to investigate the human experiences of love, grief, obligation, and memory, Heather Hirschfeld explores the play's cultural and theatrical contexts, its intricate textual issues, its vibrant critical traditions and controversies, and its history of performance and adaptation by celebrated directors, actors, and authors. Supplemented by an updated reading list, extensive illustrations and helpful appendices, this edition also features revised commentary notes explicitly designed for the student reader, offering the very best in contemporary criticism of this great tragedy.

This twelve-volume boxed set contains the complete works of William Shakespeare (154 sonnets, 6 poems, and 37 plays) in a miniature format that looks wonderful on your shelf. When arranged in order, t

A stunning foiled cover does justice to Shakespeare’s elegant sonnets in this first book of a new series of inspirational writing. The sonnets here are given space to breathe: divided thematically and

In this updated edition of King Richard II, Claire McEachern provides a fresh introductory section in which she discusses the most important productions and scholarly criticism of recent years. Paying particular attention to the focus on religion in contemporary interpretations of the play, McEachern also analyses the increasing number of performances on stage and screen. Andrew Gurr's acclaimed introduction guides the reader through the play's action and politics, providing a thorough and engaging grounding in its structure, language and staging. An updated reading list completes the edition.

Much Ado about Nothing has always been popular on the stage. This edition pays especial attention to the history and range of theatrical interpretation, in which famous actors, from the time of Garrick to the present, have appeared as the sparring lovers Benedick and Beatrice. A full commentary includes annotation of the many sexual jokes in the play that have been obscured by the complexity of Elizabethan language. In this new edition, Travis D. Williams reviews recent stage, television, film and critical interpretations of the play, considering treatment of the play's special interest in language, bodies and gender.

This third edition of Othello offers a completely new introduction by Christina Luckyj, providing readers with a nuanced understanding of early modern theatre and culture, and demonstrating how careful attention to Shakespeare's language, staging and dramaturgy can open up fresh interpretations of the play. Tracing critical and performance trends up to the present day, Luckyj shows how the drama taps into contemporary cultural paradoxes surrounding blackness, marriage, and politics to create a powerful double perspective, illuminating the creative and destructive power of stories and of human love itself. Supplemented by an updated reading list and extensive illustrations, this edition also features revised commentary notes, offering the very best in contemporary criticism of this great tragedy.

For this updated edition of one of Shakespeare's most problematic plays, Tom Lockwood has added a new introductory section on the latest scholarly trends, performance and adaptation practices which have occurred over the last two decades. Investigating the latest critical frames through which the play has been interpreted, the updated introduction also focuses on recent international performances on stage and screen (including Al Pacino's performances on film and in Daniel Sullivan's production in New York, the Habima National Theatre's production for the Globe to Globe Festival, Jonathan Munby's touring production for the Globe performed in London, New York and Venice, and Rupert Goold's production for the Royal Shakespeare Company). Finally, new forms of adaptation are considered: a performance transposed to the different generic mode of a New York auction room, and the remaking of the play in Howard Jacobson's 2016 novel, Shylock Is my Name.

The New Cambridge Shakespeare appeals to students worldwide for its up-to-date scholarship and emphasis on performance. The series features line-by-line commentaries and textual notes on the plays and poems. Introductions are regularly refreshed with accounts of new critical, stage and screen interpretations. This third edition of Twelfth Night retains the text edited and annotated by Elizabeth Story Donno for the first edition of 1985, and features an updated introduction by Penny Gay, which focuses on recent scholarship and performance history. Building on her Introduction to the second edition, Gay stresses the play's theatricality, its elaborate linguistic games and its complex use of Ovidian myths. She analyses the delicate balance Shakespeare strikes in Twelfth Night between romance and realism, and explores representations of gender, sexuality and identity in the text. A selection of new photographs completes the edition.

The New Cambridge Shakespeare appeals to students worldwide for its up-to-date scholarship and emphasis on performance. The series features line-by-line commentaries and textual notes on the plays and poems. Introductions are regularly refreshed with accounts of new critical, stage and screen interpretations. This is the third New Cambridge edition of The Taming of the Shrew, one of Shakespeare's most popular yet controversial plays. Ann Thompson considers its reception in the light of the hostility and embarrassment that the play often arouses, taking account of both scholarly defences and modern feminist criticism. For this version the editor pays lively attention to the problematic nature of debates about the play and its reception in the twenty-first century. She discusses recent editions and textual, performance and critical studies.

This revised edition preserves the play text as it was edited by Marvin Spevack for the 1988 first edition. Jeremy Lopez's new introduction provides a detailed discussion of Julius Caesar's strange and innovative form by focusing on the interpretive challenges the play has presented to audiences, scholars and theatre companies from Shakespeare's time to our own. The textual commentary has been revised and updated with an eye, and an ear, to the contemporary student reader, and the list of further reading has been updated to reflect the latest developments in Shakespearean criticism. Like the first edition, this edition concludes with an appendix containing relevant excerpts from Shakespeare's main source, Plutarch's histories of the lives of Caesar and Brutus as translated by Sir Thomas North in 1579.

The New Cambridge Shakespeare appeals to students worldwide for its up-to-date scholarship and emphasis on performance. The series features line-by-line commentaries and textual notes on the plays and poems. Introductions are regularly refreshed with accounts of new critical, stage and screen interpretations. This second edition of Troilus and Cressida, a play that has long been considered difficult but is now popular both on the stage and in criticism, features an expanded and updated introduction and reading list. The first edition has been praised for its careful rethinking of the text, excellent annotation, lively attention to performance and extensive coverage of the play's major concerns. This updated edition retains these characteristics. In addition, Gretchen Minton and Anthony B. Dawson have provided a new account of the critical and theatrical treatment of Troilus and Cressida over the last fifteen years, showing how modern audiences have become attuned to the play's sardonic

CLASSIC TAILS - the greatest works of literature, as told by the finest breeds

Shakespeare's Sonnets is the title of a collection of 154 sonnets by William Shakespeare, which covers themes such as the passage of time, love, beauty and mortality. The first 126 sonnets are address

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

The First-Ever, Fully Illustrated Collector's Edition of William Shakespeare's Celebrated Sonnets!In celebration of the momentous 400th annversary of William Shakespeare's death in April 2016, this en

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

"I would challenge you to a battle of wits, but I see you are unarmed." - William Shakespeare Arm yourself with this volume from the Knickerbocker Classic series, The Complete Works of William Shakesp

The daughter of a renowned physician pursues her passion for an elusive bridegroom through a comic maze of mistaken identities, betrayals, repentance, and dramatic revelation. This extraordinary combi

He's indisputably the greatest writer in the English language, a master of every mood from sidesplitting comedy (Twelfth Night) to profound tragedy (King Lear) to the historically majestic (Henry V).

The New Cambridge Shakespeare appeals to students worldwide for its up-to-date scholarship and emphasis on performance. The series features line-by-line commentaries and textual notes on the plays and poems. Introductions are regularly refreshed with accounts of new critical, stage and screen interpretations. For this second edition of The Tempest, David Lindley has thoroughly revised the Introduction to take account of the latest developments in criticism and performance. He has also added a completely new section on casting in recent productions of the play. The complex questions this new section raises about colonisation, racial and gender stereotypes and the nature of theatrical experience are explored throughout the introduction. Careful attention is paid to dramatic form, stagecraft, and the use of music and spectacle in The Tempest, a play that is widely regarded as one of Shakespeare's most elusive and suggestive. A revised and updated reading list completes the edition.

William Shakespeare: Complete Plays collects all thirty-seven of the immortal Bard's comedies, tragedies and historical plays. In this volume all of Shakespeare's memorable characters - star-crossed l

The New Cambridge Shakespeare appeals to students worldwide for its up-to-date scholarship and emphasis on performance. The series features line-by-line commentaries, textual notes on the plays and poems and an extensive Introduction. Since the late twentieth century, when scholarly attention began to focus on sexuality, collaboration and Shakespeare's late plays, The Two Noble Kinsmen has become an essential script. Turner and Tatspaugh's edition presents a strong case for taking the play more seriously now than ever before. A lively introduction discusses Shakespeare's craftsmanship in adapting a medieval tale for the Jacobean stage, the extent of co-authorship with John Fletcher, the rhetorical complexity of Shakespeare's late style, the themes of sexuality and friendship, and contemporary critical responses to the play. The edition demonstrates the theatrical vitality of The Two Noble Kinsmen and confirms it as a play for today.