William Shakespeare
1) Hamlet
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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.
2) The tempest
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Prospero, the deposed Duke of Milan, uses his skill at controlling natural forces to cause the shipwreck of his old opponents, forcing them to seek refuge on the island where he and his daughter Miranda have been living in exile, and setting the stage for Miranda to fall in love with Ferdinand, the prince of Naples. Includes explanatory notes, plot summaries, critical essay, and illustrations.
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A Midsummer Night's Dream is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, suggested by "The Knight's Tale" from Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, written around 1594 to 1596. It portrays the adventures of four young Athenian lovers and a group of amateur actors, their interactions with the Duke and Duchess of Athens, Theseus and Hippolyta, and with the fairies who inhabit a moonlit forest. The play is one of Shakespeare's most popular works for...
4) Macbeth
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A vivid graphic novel adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth. Faithful to the original text while providing a new lavish rendition. When three witches prophecy to Macbeth that he will one day become the King of Scotland, an epic of unhappiness, treachery, and blood begins. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's ambitions lead to an ever-growing path of murder as Macbeth grows ever-closer to the throne. But where will it all end? Only with death - and with madness....
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Presents the text of "The Merchant of Venice," in which a creditor demands a pound of flesh as payment for a debt, and a lover must choose among three caskets to win the hand of a wealthy lady, and includes introductory and textual notes, character lists and studies, a synopsis, teaching tools and suggestions, historical background, and biographical information about the Shakespeare.
7) Othello
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Presents the unabridged text of Shakespeare's classic tragedy in which Othello, a Moorish general, is led by a jealous and evil ensign to believe his wife, Desdemona, has been unfaithful. Includes explanatory footnotes.
13) King Lear
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Presents the text of Shakespeare's drama in which King Lear foolishly disinherits his favorite daughter when she speaks out against him and splits his kingdom between his other two daughters who are secretly plotting against him. Includes explanatory footnotes.
14) Richard III
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Believed to have been written in 1591, William Shakespeare's "Richard III" is one of the bards first plays, the first installment in a tetralogy of plays which includes "Henry IV, Part I," "Henry IV, Part II," and "Henry V." One of the longest of Shakespeare's plays and consequently rarely performed unabridged, "Richard III" is the story of the Machiavellian rise to power and subsequent short reign of King Richard III of England. The play begins with...
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Love's Labours Lost - William Shakespeare - Love's Labour's Lost is one of William Shakespeare's early comedies, believed to have been written in the mid-1590s for a performance at the Inns of Court before Queen Elizabeth I. It follows the King of Navarre and his three companions as they attempt to forswear the company of women for three years of study and fasting, and their subsequent infatuation with the Princess of Aquitaine and her ladies. In...
16) Coriolanus
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“O mother, mother! What have you done?”
—Coriolanus
Eminent Shakespearean scholars Jonathan Bate and Eric Rasmussen provide a fresh new edition of this gripping political and personal tragedy—along with more than a hundred pages of exclusive features, including
• an original Introduction to Coriolanus
• incisive scene-by-scene synopsis and analysis with vital facts about...
—Coriolanus
Eminent Shakespearean scholars Jonathan Bate and Eric Rasmussen provide a fresh new edition of this gripping political and personal tragedy—along with more than a hundred pages of exclusive features, including
• an original Introduction to Coriolanus
• incisive scene-by-scene synopsis and analysis with vital facts about...
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Contains the text of William Shakespeare's tragedy "Troilus and Cressida" accompanied by explanatory notes, a scene-by-scene plot summary, and character profiles as well as an introduction to the life and works of the author, modern perspective on the play, suggestions for further reading, and key lines and phrases.
18) King John
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First published in the "First Folio" in 1623 and likely written in the 1590s, "King John" is one of William Shakespeare's best historical plays. It centers on the events of King John's reign of England during the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries. King John, son of Henry I of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine, inherits the throne after the death of his older brother, King Richard I. John's claim to the throne is challenged by the King of...
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Antony and Cleopatra (1607) is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. Inspired by Thomas North's translation of Plutarch's Lives-a series of biographies on influential figures of the ancient world-Shakespeare wrote Antony and Cleopatra sometime between 1599 and 1601. Often considered a sequel of sorts to his earlier play Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra has served as source material for countless film and television adaptations. "Let Rome in Tiber melt,...
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Planning a school or amateur Shakespeare production? The best way to experience the plays is to perform them, but getting started can be a challenge: The complete plays are too long and complex, while scene selections or simplified language are too limited. "The 30-Minute Shakespeare" is a new series of abridgements that tell the "story" of each play from start to finish while keeping the beauty of Shakespeare's language intact. Specific stage directions...