William Shakespeare

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Title: King Henry V (cambridge School Shakespeare S.): Description:
*PAPERBACK* 2000 by Cambridge University Press.

Title: King Richard Ii (wordsworth Classics): Description:
One of Shakespeare's finest history plays, Richard II deals with one of the most sensitive and politically explosive issues of its day--the rights and wrongs of deposing a legitimately appointed king. Forerunner to the two parts of Henry IV, the play deals with the abdication of King Richard II in 1399, the subsequent succession of Bolingbroke, the future King Henry IV, and Richard's death in the spring of 1400. But the play has been celebrated above and beyond its stature as historical drama. Richard II begins with a portrait of Richard as a pompous, arrogant and self-regarding sovereign, with little sense of his people or his political responsibilities. As he consistently miscalculates in his attempts to destroy Bolingbroke, and watches his own power wane, he becomes a far more appealing, Hamlet-like figure, more interested in "talk of graves, of worms and epitaphs", and "sad stories of the death of kings". Richard's speeches become increasingly lyrical and poetic as his supporters desert him, until he finally takes on the stature of the pilloried Christ in the climax of the play, the deposition scene, one of the most politically risky scenes in all of Shakespeare. The play remains most famous for John of Gaunt's "This royal throne of kings, this sceptred isle" speech, but historians believe that the play was also performed in the streets of London in 1601 in support of the Earl of Essex's attempt to depose Elizabeth I. Whilst the plot failed, it showed the power of the theatre of the time, and the politically controversial nature of Shakespeare's play. --Jerry Brotton

Title: Much Ado About Nothing (penguin Popular Classics): Description:
Complete and unabridged.

Title: Macbeth (penguin Popular Classics): Description:
Macbeth is a feat of dramatic genius compelling as it does, the audience to sympathize with a cold-blooded murderer.

Title: Hamlet (penguin Popular Classics): Description:
Undoubtedly the most famous of all of Shakespeare's plays, Hamlet remains one of the most enduring but also enigmatic pieces of western literature. The story of Hamlet, the young Prince of Denmark, his tortured relationship with his mother, and his quest to avenge his father's murder at the hand of his brother Claudius has fascinated writers and audiences ever since it was written around 1600. For many years interest focused on both Hamlet's inability to avenge his father's death, claiming that "the native hue of resolution / Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought", and, according to none other than Freud, his oedipal fixation with his mother. However, more recently critics have turned their attention to Hamlet's bold theatrical self-reflexivity (most famously reflected in the performance of "The Mousetrap"), its fascination with issues of theology and Renaissance humanism, and its dense, complex poetic language. What is so remarkable about the play is the way in which it tends to uncannily reflect the concerns of different epochs. As a result, Hamlet has been at different moments defined as a romantic rebel, an angst-ridden existentialist, a paralysed intellectual and an ambivalent New Man. Whatever subsequent generations make of Hamlet, they are unlikely to exhaust the possibilities of this most extraordinary play. --Jerry Brotton

Title: The Tempest (new Penguin Shakespeare S.): Description:
One of Shakespeare's most famous but also enigmatic plays, for many years the story of Prospero's exile from his native Milan, and life with his daughter Miranda on an unnamed island in the Mediterranean, was seen as an autobiographical dramatisation of Shakespeare's departure from the London stage. The Epilogue, spoken by Prospero, claims that "now my charms are all o'erthrown", appeared to reflect Shakespeare's own renunciation of his magical dramatic powers as he retired to Stratford. But The Tempest is far more than this, as recent commentators have pointed out. The dramatic action observes the classical unities of time, place and action, as Prospero uses his "rough magic" to lure his wicked usurping brother, Antonio, and King Alonso of Naples to his island retreat to torment them before engineering his return to Milan. However, the play is full of extraordinary anomalies and fantastic interludes, including Gonzalo's fantasy of a utopian commonwealth, Prospero's magical servant Ariel, and the "poisonous slave" Caliban. The creation of Caliban has particularly fascinated critics, who have noticed in his creation a colonial dimension to the play. In this respect Caliban can be seen as an American Indian or African slave, who articulates a particularly powerful strain of anti-colonial sentiment, telling Prospero that "this island's mine, by Sycorax my mother,/ Which thou tak'st from me". This has led to an intense reassessment of the play from a post-colonial perspective, as critics and historians have debated the extent to which the play endorses or criticises early English colonial expansion. --Jerry Brotton

Title: Comedies (modern Library): Description:
comedies of shakespeare, lovely book with gold leaf edge pages.

Title: King Richard Iii (arden Shakespeare): Description:
The Arden Shakespeare, founded in the 1890's has, with a continuing process of revision, established itself as the standard scholarly edition of Shakespeare's works. Each play appears in a separate volume with critical notes, apparatus, appendices giving extracts from the relevant sources, and a full introduction. For the general reader and the students who want something more substantial than school texts or a one volume Shakespeare, the Arden edition, edited to the highest standards of modern scholarship has continued to prove invaluable.

Title: William Shakespeare (illustrated Poets S.): Description:
A selection of poems introduced by peter porter. Some well known others less so.

Title: The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare (wordsworth Royals): Description:
This volume is a reprint of the Shakespeare Head Press edition, and it presents all the plays in chronological order in which they were written. It also includes Shakespeare's Sonnets, as well as his longer poems "Venus and Adonis" and "The Rape of Lucrece".

Title: Hamlet (new Penguin Shakespeare): Description:
Part of "The New Penguin Shakespeare" series, this text looks at "Hamlet" with an introduction, a list of further reading, commentary and a short account of the textual problems of the play. The series is used and recommended by the Royal Shakespeare Company. About the Author G. R. Hibbard is dead

Title: The Merchant Of Venice (the New Penguin Shakespeare): Description:
Part of "The New Penguin Shakespeare" series, this text looks at "The Merchant of Venice" with an introduction, a list of further reading, commentary and a short account of the textual problems of the play. The series is used and recommended by the Royal Shakespeare Company. From the Back Cover Although this play is a romantic comedy, as the story of a young merchant who cannot repay a debt to vindictive money lender, it has a very dark obstacle in the character of Shylock, one of the most vivid and memorable characters in Shakespeare's works. The CliffsComplete The Merchant of Venice is a revised and expanded study edition. It contains Shakespeare's original play, a glossary, and expert commentary in a unique, 2-column format. To enhance your learning, notes and definitions appear directly opposite the line in which they occur, and a review section follows the play. This edition also introduces you to the life, works, and times of William Shakespeare. About the Author Jay L. Halio is Professor of English, University of Delaware

Title: Richard Iii (3rd): Description:
Part of "The New Penguin Shakespeare" series, this text looks at "King Richard III" with an introduction, a list of further reading, commentary and a short account of the textual problems of the play. The series is used and recommended by the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Title: Macbeth (new Penguin Shakespeare): Description:
Part of "The New Penguin Shakespeare" series, this text looks at "Macbeth" with an introduction, a list of further reading, commentary and a short account of the textual problems of the play. The series is used and recommended by the Royal Shakespeare Company. About the Author Nicholas Brooke is Emeritus Professor of English Literature at the University of East Anglia.

Title: Julius Caesar (wordsworth Classics): Description:
This book is edited, introduced and annotated by Cedric Watts, research Professor of English, University of Sussex. "Julius Caesar" is among the best of Shakespeare's historical and political plays. Dealing with events surrounding the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 B.C., the drama vividly illustrates the ways in which power and corruption are linked. The cry 'Peace, freedom and liberty!' is used to exculpate brutal realities, while personal ambitions taint public actions. Rich in characterization and replete with eloquent rhetoric, "Julius Caesar" remains engrossing and topical: a play for today. From the Author It's two, two, two plays in one!Shakespeare's play "Julius Caesar" is the only tragedy he wrote where the title character dies in the third act. The real "tragic hero" is Brutus, who is the last to die in the play.It's also interesting to note Marc Antony, a minor character in the first two acts, who comes to the forefront in his funeral oration. But his nobility declines in Act 4, where Shakespeare shows him to be influenced by power.There is no direct confrontation between the protagonists and the antagonists in the play. Both Cassius and Brutus come to their ends by their own hands. --This text refers to the Paperback edition. From the Back Cover Dramatizing the political battles in Rome during the height of the Pax Romanum, Shakespeare pits Caesar against an untold number of conspirators and lets the daggers fly. Antony comes in at the end to clean up the mess and carry on the rule of the Caesars. The CliffsComplete Julius Caesar is a revised and expanded study edition. It contains Shakespeare's original play, a glossary, and expert commentary in a unique, 2-column format. To enhance your learning, notes and definitions appear directly opposite the line in which they occur, and a review section follows the play. This edition also introduces you to the life, works, and times of William Shakespeare. --This text refers to the Paperback edition. About the Author Arthur Humphreys is Emeritus Professor of English at the University of Leicester. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Title: Hamlet (arden Shakespeare): Description:
An arden classic

Title: Othello (new Penguin Shakespeare): Description:
Part of "The New Penguin Shakespeare" series, this text looks at "Othello" with an introduction, a list of further reading, commentary and a short account of the textual problems of the play. The series is used and recommended by the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Title: King Henry V (the New Cambridge Shakespeare): Description:
This new edition of Shakespeare's most celebrated war play points to the many inconsistencies in the presentation of Henry V. Andrew Gurr's substantial introduction explains the play as a reaction to the decade of war which preceded its writing, and analyses the play's double vision of Henry as both military hero and self-seeking individual. Professor Gurr shows how the patriotic declarations of the Chorus are contradicted by the play's action. He places the play's more controversial sequences in the context of Elizabethan thought, in particular the studies of the laws and morality of war written in the years before Henry V. He also studies the variety of language and dialect in the play. The appendices summarise Shakespeare's debt to his dramatic and historical sources, while the stage history shows how subsequent centuries have received and adapted the play on the stage and in film. About the Author Gary Taylor is Professor of English, Brandeis University. Associate Editor of the Complete Oxford Shakespeare, he is also the author of several critical studies of Shakespeare and his works. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Title: Othello (new Cambridge Shakespeare) (the New Cambridge Shakespeare): Description:
Lively, instructive access to Shakespeare's rich and complex works. Professor Sanders provides a full analysis of the textual problem and theories of transmission of Othello, and offers possible solutions to the stylistic and racial problems which face modern readers and spectators. His edition includes contemporary maps of Venice and Cyprus, photographs of famous actors who have played the leading roles, and reconstructions of staging at the Globe and Blackfriars Theatres. For this updated edition, Scott McMillin has added a new section on the key events in both scholarship and theatre since the 1980s, including political, feminist and postcolonial treatments in various parts of the world. The influence of new historicism and cultural materialism are also taken into account, and a description of performances of the play on stage, film and television tackles the issue of black/white casting of the main characters.

Title: The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare: Description:
Every word bard none!

Title: Romeo And Juliet (penguin Popular Classics): Description:
A young man and woman meet by chance and fall instantly in love. But their families are bitter enemies, and in order to be together, the two lovers must be prepared to risk everything. Set in a city torn apart by feuds and gang warfare, "Romeo and Juliet" is a dazzling combination of passion and hatred, bawdy comedy and high tragedy.

Title: Romeo And Juliet (penguin Shakespeare): Description:
Part of "The New Penguin Shakespeare" series, this text looks at "Romeo and Juliet" with an introduction, a list of further reading, commentary and a short account of the textual problems of the play. The series is used and recommended by the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Title: Hamlet (arden Shakespeare): Description:
The text of the classic tragedy about the struggle of Prince Hamlet to avenge his father's murder is accompanied by extensive critical notes and historical commentary. About the Author G. R. Hibbard is dead --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Title: As You Like It (arden Shakespeare): Description:
William Shakespeare's play.

Title: King Lear (penguin Popular Classics): Description:
An ageing king makes a capricious decision to divide his realm among his three daughters according to the love they express for him. When the youngest daughter refuses to take part in this charade, she is banished, leaving the king dependent on her manipulative and untrustworthy sisters. In the scheming and recriminations that follow, not only does the king's own sanity crumble, but the stability of the realm itself is also threatened.

Title: York Notes Hamlet: Description:
York Notes Advanced offer a fresh and accessible approach to English Literature. This market-leading series has been completely updated to meet the needs of today's A-level and undergraduate students. Written by established literature experts, York Notes Advanced intorduce students to more sophisticated analysis, a range of critical perspectives and wider contexts. From the Author How this book came into existence.I have been running teacher-training workshops on Shakespeare for years and was talking to a British Council Conference in Oxford about the highs and lows. I mentioned the sad prevalence of study AIDS amongst A-level students and how hard one had to work to steer students clear of pre-digested responses to the plays, their characters and Shakespeare's methods. A tactful publisher observed to me afterwards that since study AIDS wouldn't go away why didn't I try to write a goodish one to help limit the damage? This book was the result of that attempt: the most author-demanding textbook Lynn & I have written. Pruning seven hundred pages to just a hundred a fifty... What is there? As accurate a synopsis as we could manage, scene summaries and commentaries which attempt to point the way discussion might develop; some preliminary textual analyses for students to build on. We hope this will be a useful workbook for students to access alongside their studies of the play rather than read only at the revision stage (or instead of working the text at all). --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Title: Macbeth & Areopagitica.: Description:
Readings for dicussion. First year course.

Title: King Lear (arden Shakespeare: Third): Description:
In this edition, R.A. Foakes brings to bear a number of historical perspectives and critically addresses recent explorations of "King Lear" as a play of redemption, a play of despair and a play that destabilises all commentary. Included is a composite text of Quarto and Folio versions, which allows readers to make their own editorial judgements.

Title: Macbeth (new Swan Shakespeare): Description:
Macbeth

Title: Othello (cambridge School Shakespeare): Description:
A prose retelling of Shakespeare's play in which a jealous general is duped into thinking that his wife has been unfaithful, with tragic consequences.

Title: The Oxford Shakespeare: Hamlet (oxford World's Classics): Description:
Hamlet's combination of violence and introspection is unusual among Shakespeare's tragedies. It is also full of curious riddles and fascinating paradoxes, making it one of his most widely discussed plays. Professor Hibbard's illuminating and original introduction explains the process by which variant texts were fused in the eighteenth century to create the most commonly used text of today. Drawing on both critical and theatrical history, he shows how this gusion makes Hamlet seem a much more 'problematic' play than it was when it originally appeared in the First Folio of 1623. The Oxford Shakespeare edition presents a radically new text, based on that First Folio, which printed Shakespeare's own revision of an earlier version. The result is a 'theatrical' and highly practical edition for students and actors alike. About the Author G. R. Hibbard is dead

Title: The History Of King Lear (oxford Shakespeare): Description:
The Oxford Shakespeare offers authoritative texts from leading scholars in editions designed to interpret and illuminate the plays for modern readers - a new, modern-spelling text, based on the Quarto text of 1608 - on-page commentary and notes explain meaning, staging, allusions and much else - detailed introduction considers composition, sources, performances and changing critical attitudes to the play - illustrated with production photographs and related art - includes 'The Ballad of King Lear' and related offshoots - full index to introduction and commentary - durable sewn binding for lasting use 'not simply a better text but a new conception of Shakespeare. This is a major achievement of twentieth-century scholarship.' Times Literary Supplement About the Author Stanley Wells ran the Oxford Shakespeare Department within OUP while the Complete Works was in preparation. He is a former Director of the Shakespeare Institute, Stratford-upon-Avon.

Title: Hamlet (wordsworth Classics): Description:
Edited, Introduced and Annotated by Cedric Watts, Professor of English Literature, University of SussexHamlet is not only one of Shakespeare's greatest plays, but also the most fascinatingly problematical tragedy in world literature. First performed around 1600, this a gripping and exuberant drama of revenge, rich in contrasts and conflicts. Its violence alternates with introspection, its melancholy with humour, and its subtlety with spectacle. The Prince, Hamlet himself, is depicted as a complex, divided, introspective character. His reflections on death, morality and the very status of human beings make him ' the first modern man'. About the Author G. R. Hibbard is dead

Title: Hamlet (new Swan Shakespeare): Description:
These editions of Shakespeare's plays are designed especially for students at Senior Secondary and University level. Each edition includes the General Editor's preface, the introduction, the text of the play and a glossary. The introduction explains the historical, social and philosophical background to the play and the Elizabethan theatre, and certain points are clarified by illustrations taken from contemporary sources. The text of the play has a general note on each scene and detailed notes are set facing the text to which they refer. The glossary at the back gives the location of all the difficult or unusual words in the text together with a brief explanation of their meaning. The treatment of the play is detailed, but throughout the aim has been to ensure that the reader fully understands and appreciates the play itself.

Title: King Henry Iv Part 2 (arden Shakespeare): Description:
Paperback

Title: Illustrated Stratford Shakespeare: Description:
All of his plays as well as sonnets