Rex Gibson
4) King John
Author
Language
English
Description
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...
Author
Series
Language
English
Description
"While the word "gentlemen" suggests that its heroes are adults, The Two Gentlemen of Verona is more intelligible if we think of them as boys, leaving home for the first time. One has a crush on a girl, Julia, though he hasn't yet told her. Sent to court to learn to be "perfect gentlemen," Valentine and Proteus are derailed by their attraction to Sylvia, the ruler's daughter. Valentine's mental denseness does not deter Sylvia from returning his love,...
7) The tempest
Author
Language
English
Description
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.
Author
Language
English
Description
The Tempest is a comedy that was written by William Shakespeare. The action centers around a sorcerer named Prospero, who is the rightful Duke of Milan, as he plans to restore his daughter's place in society through manipulation. Though The Tempest was listed as a comedy in Shakespeare's First Folio it is now often considered to be a tragicomedy.
Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare is a delightful comic love story. The play begins with a shipwreck,...
9) Hamlet
Author
Series
Language
English
Description
The most famous of all of Shakespeare's plays, Hamlet tells the story of the ghost of the King of Denmark who tells his son Hamlet, to avenge his murder by killing the new king, Hamlet's uncle. Hamlet pretends to be affected by madness, contemplates life and death, and seeks revenge. His uncle, fearing for his life, also devises plots to kill Hamlet.
10) Othello
Author
Language
English
Description
This edition of Othello has a new, illustrated introduction by leading American scholar Ayanna Thompson, which addresses such key issues as race, religion and gender, as well as looking at ways in which the play has been adapted in more recent times. Othello is one of Shakespeare's great tragedies-written in the same five-year period as Hamlet, King Lear, and Macbeth. The new introduction attends to the play's different meanings throughout history,...
11) Romeo and Juliet
Author
Series
Language
English
Description
"For this updated critical edition of Romeo and Juliet, Hester Lees-Jeffries has written a completely new Introduction. It draws on recent research in theatre to set Romeo and Juliet in its mid-1590s context,making connections with other plays by Shakespeare and other literature of the period, as well as with the social and cultural contexts of the day, with discussions of London and Italy; dancing and duelling; marriage, gender and sexuality. It...
12) As you like it
Author
Pub. Date
[2008]
Language
English
Description
Includes a plot summary by Brenda Williams, and introduction to Shakespeare by Leon Garfield, and Shakespeare today by Rex Gibson, all read by Simon Russell Beale. The music is by Shakespeare's English contemporaries and is arranged by Peter Hutchins.
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