Special Collections
Wonderful William Shakespeare
Description: All his literature in all its many versions!
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A Midsummer Night's Dream
by William ShakespeareThe fairies of the forest interfere with the lives of mortals attending the wedding feast of Theseus, Duke of Athens, and Hipployta, and the realms of mortals and fairies collide on one magical midsummer night.
A Midsummer Night's Dream
by William Shakespeare and Carl Heap"...in the night, imagining some fear, How easy is a bush supposed a bear!"With all the dark undercurrents of the traditional fairytale, Shakespeare weaves farce, slapstick, romance and revelry to create what is perhaps his most joyous play. Primary Classics, produced by the National Theatre's Discover programme, aims to introduce children aged 7 to 11 to Shakespeare. This version of A Midsummer Night's Dream, adapted and originally directed by Carl Heap, preserves the core of Shakespeare's plot, retains the original langauge, yet is presented very much with the target age group in mind. Carl Heap's introduction will help readers, teachers and practitioners alike to imagine or produce their own version.
A Midsummer Night's Dream
by William Shakespeare and Arthur Quiller-Couch and John Dover WilsonJohn Dover Wilson's New Shakespeare, published between 1921 and 1966, became the classic Cambridge edition of Shakespeare's plays and poems until the 1980s. The series, long since out-of-print, is now reissued. Each work is available both individually and as a set, and each contains a lengthy and lively introduction, main text, and substantial notes and glossary printed at the back. The edition, which began with The Tempest and ended with The Sonnets, put into practice the techniques and theories that had evolved under the 'New Bibliography'. Remarkably by today's standards, although it took the best part of half a century to produce, the New Shakespeare involved only a small band of editors besides Dover Wilson himself. As the volumes took shape, many of Dover Wilson's textual methods acquired general acceptance and became an established part of later editorial practice, for example in the Arden and New Cambridge Shakespeares.
A Midsummer Night's Dream
by William Shakespeare and Edward Hall and Roger WarrenOne of Shakespeare’s most original and eloquent plays, A Midsummer Night’s Dream brilliantly interweaves four contrasting groups of characters to present a many-sided view of love in all its aspects: its joys and sadness, its idealism and selfishness, its physical and spiritual elements. This performing edition was prepared for Propeller’s all-male company of twelve actors, at the Watermill Theatre, Newbury, and toured the West End in 2003. Propeller’s markedly contemporary approach to Shakespeare brought great success for Rose Rage, their version of the Henry VI plays, whichwon the TMA/Barclays Theatre Award for the best touring production of 2001.
The Merry Wives of Windsor
by William ShakespeareMistress Page and Mistress Ford set out to have some fun at the expense of John Falstaff, who courts both in the hopes of securing their fortunes.
The Merchant of Venice (PDF)
by William Shakespeare and Cedric WattsThe Wordsworth Classics' Shakespeare Series presents a newly-edited sequence of William Shakespeare's works. The textual editing takes account of recent scholarship while giving the material a careful reappraisal. The Merchant of Venice is one of Shakespeare's most popular comedies, but it remains deeply controversial. The text may seem anti-Semitic; yet repeatedly, in performance, it has revealed a contrasting nature. Shylock, though vanquished in the law-court, often triumphs in the theatre. In his intensity he can dominate the play, challenging abrasively its romantic and lyrical affirmations. What results is a bitter-sweet drama. Though The Merchant of Venice offers some of the traditional pleasures of romantic comedy, it also exposes the operations of prejudice. Thus Shakespeare remains our contemporary. Suitable for all secondary level study up to GCSE/Standard Grade, this edition contains two sets of differentiated activities at the end of each act. The activities are designed to develop student understanding of the play and its themes.
The Merchant Of Venice
by William ShakespeareWorking in partnership with the RSC, this brand new series is ideal for introducing students to Shakespeare's plays. Using trusted and established RSC approaches, Shakespeare's plays come to life in the classroom and establish a deeper understanding and lasting appreciation of his work. Comprising the most popular plays used in schools, these full-colour editions include the RSC's active approaches to exploring the text, vibrant RSC performance photographs, page summaries, glosses, contextual information and much more. This unique series aims to motivate and inspire students in their early encounters with Shakespeare's plays whilst giving students confidence for all stages of their study of Shakespeare.
The Merchant of Venice
by William ShakespeareVenetian nobleman Antonio stands to lose a pound of flesh when he is unable to repay a loan due to the Jewish moneylender Shylock.
The Merchant of Venice
by William ShakespeareShakespearean play with two subplots 1) Antonio defaults on a loan from Shylock the Jew, who demands his life as bond 2) Portia must marry the man who passes a test her father arranged.
The Merchant of Venice
by William Shakespeare and Cedric WattsThe Wordsworth Classics' Shakespeare Series presents a newly-edited sequence of William Shakespeare's works. The textual editing takes account of recent scholarship while giving the material a careful reappraisal. The Merchant of Venice is one of Shakespeare's most popular comedies, but it remains deeply controversial. The text may seem anti-Semitic; yet repeatedly, in performance, it has revealed a contrasting nature. Shylock, though vanquished in the law-court, often triumphs in the theatre. In his intensity he can dominate the play, challenging abrasively its romantic and lyrical affirmations. What results is a bitter-sweet drama. Though The Merchant of Venice offers some of the traditional pleasures of romantic comedy, it also exposes the operations of prejudice. Thus Shakespeare remains our contemporary. Suitable for all secondary level study up to GCSE/Standard Grade, this edition contains two sets of differentiated activities at the end of each act. The activities are designed to develop student understanding of the play and its themes.
Measure for Measure
by William ShakespeareWhen the Duke of Vienna leaves the city under the governance of Angelo, a strict judge, Claudio and Juliet find themselves in violation of Vienna's severe morality laws. With Claudio's life at risk, Isabella, his sister and a novice nun, agrees to plead the case before Angelo. The duke, disguised as a friar, helps Isabella when it becomes apparent Angelo will only help if she compromises herself, and her beliefs. One of Shakespeare's more complex comedies, Measure for Measure examines ethical and moral issues that still resonate today.
Macbeth (Shakespeare Stories) (PDF)
by William Shakespeare and Andrew MatthewsThis series gives young readers the chance to discover Shakespeare for themselves. The stories come originally from the highly successful gift collection The Orchard Book of Shakespeare Stories. Also included are useful notes on the themes within the stories and a background to the Globe theatre.
Macbeth (Livewire Shakespeare) (PDF)
by William Shakespeare and Marilyn Pettit and Philip PageThese highly illustrated books provide lower ability pupils or pupils with special educational needs access to the true text of Shakespeare's plays
Macbeth (Cambridge School Shakespeare) (1st edition) (PDF)
by William Shakespeare and Rex GibsonA new look at Shakespeare's play in accordance with the work of the Shakespeare and Schools Project, the National Curriculum for English, developments at GCSE and A-level, and the probable development of English and Drama throughout the 1990s. Cambridge School Shakespeare considers the play as theatre and the text as script, enabling pupils to inhabit the imaginative world of the play in an accessible, meaningful and creative way. Cambridge School Shakespeare approaches the plays in a new way, encouraging students to participate actively in examining them, to work in groups as well as individually, to treat each play as a script to be re-created, and to explore the theatrical/dramatic qualities of the text. The editorial comments cater for pupils of all ages and abilities, providing clear, helpful guidelines for school study. The format of the plays is also designed to help all teachers, whether experienced or inexperienced. Please note: This title is also available to purchase or loan in hard copy Uncontracted and Contracted Unified English Braille. Please contact the RNIB Helpline on 0303 123 9999 to buy through our Braille on Demand service or loan through our Library.
Macbeth
by William Shakespeare and Rex Gibson and David James and Richard Andrews and Vicki Wienand and Linzy Brady
Macbeth
by William Shakespeare and Carl HeapWhat's done cannot be undone' Three weird sisters, an eerie prophecy and a lust for power start a spiral of betrayal which has disastrous consequences. Primary Classics, produced by the National Theatre's Discover programme, aims to introduce children aged 7 to 11 to Shakespeare. This version of Macbeth, adapted and originally directed by Carl Heap, preserves the core of Shakespeare's plot, retains the original langauge, yet is presented very much with the target age group in mind. Carl Heap's introduction will help readers, teachers and practitioners alike to imagine or produce their own version.
Macbeth
by William ShakespeareMacbeth dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those who seek power for its own sake. A brave Scottish general named Macbeth receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders King Duncan and takes the Scottish throne for himself. He is then wracked with guilt and paranoia. Forced to commit more and more murders to protect himself from enmity and suspicion, he soon becomes a tyrannical ruler. The bloodbath and consequent civil war swiftly take Macbeth and Lady Macbeth into the realms of madness and death.
Love's Labour's Lost
by William ShakespeareWhen Ferdinand, the king of Navarre, and his companions swear off of the company of women for three years in order to study and fast, they find themselves wholly unprepared for the lack of female company. By the time Princess of France and her ladies arrive, the men find themselves utterly beguiled by the women. 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. The play draws on themes of masculine love and desire, reckoning and rationalization, and reality versus fantasy.
Love's Labour's Lost
by William ShakespeareAt first glance, Shakespeare’s early comedy Love’s Labor’s Lost simply entertains and amuses. Four young men (one of them a king) withdraw from the world for three years, taking an oath that they will have nothing to do with women. The King of Navarre soon learns, however, that the Princess of France and her ladies are about to arrive. Although he lodges them outside of his court, all four men fall in love with the ladies, abandoning their oaths and setting out to win their hands. The laughter triggered by this story is augmented by subplots involving a braggart soldier, a clever page, illiterate servants, a parson, a schoolmaster, and a constable so dull that he is named Dull. Letters and poems are misdelivered, confessions are overheard, entertainments are presented, and language is played with, and misused, by the ignorant and learned alike. At a deeper level, Love’s Labor’s Lost also teases the mind. The men begin with the premise that women either are seductresses or goddesses. The play soon makes it clear, however, that the reality of male-female relations is different. That women are not identical to men’s images of them is a common theme in Shakespeare’s plays. In Love’s Labor’s Lost it receives one of its most pressing examinations.
A Lover's Complaint
by William Shakespeare"A Lover's Complaint" is a narrative poem published as an appendix to the original edition of Shakespeare's Sonnets. It is given the title "A Lover's Complaint" in the book, which was published by Thomas Thorpe in 1609.
Although published as Shakespeare's work, the poem's authorship has become a matter of critical debate. The majority opinion is that it is by Shakespeare, though of inferior quality to his other works.
The poem consists of forty-seven seven-line stanzas written in the rhyme royal (with the rhyme scheme ababbcc), a metre and structure identical to that of Shakespeare's poem The Rape of Lucrece. After a scene-setting introduction, the poem takes the form of a lengthy speech by an abandoned young woman, including a speech within her speech, as she recounts the words by which she was seduced.
A Lover's Complaint
by William ShakespeareA young woman tells of her seduction and abandonment by a young man who proves to be unworthy of her charm and beauty. After a scene-setting introduction, the poem takes the form of a lengthy speech by the abandoned young woman, including a speech within her speech, as she recounts the words by which she was seduced.