Special Collections
Wonderful William Shakespeare
Description: All his literature in all its many versions!
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King Lear
by R. A. Foakes and William ShakespeareA tragedy concerning a petulant king and his three daughters. Amid much other, more political action, Lear is taken in by false avowals of love from two of his daughters, and disinherits a third because of her refusal to flatter him. This volume is a treasure-trove of precise information and stimulating comments on practically every aspect of the Lear-universe. Well recommended to students, professional colleagues and also the 'educated public'.
King Henry V
by Andrew Gurr and William ShakespeareFor this updated edition of Shakespeare's most celebrated war play, Professor Gurr has added a new section to his introduction which considers recent critical and stage interpretations, especially concentrating on the 'secret' versus 'official' readings of the play. An updated reading list completes the edition. For this updated edition of Shakespeare's most celebrated war play, Professor Gurr has added a new section to his introduction which considers recent critical and stage interpretations, especially concentrating on the 'secret' versus 'official' readings of the play. He 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. The play's more controversial sequences are placed in the context of Elizabethan thought, in particular the studies of the laws and morality of war written in the years before Henry V. Also studied is the exceptional variety of language and dialect in the play. The appendices provide a comprehensive collection of source materials, while the stage history shows how subsequent centuries have received and adapted the play on the stage and in film. An updated reading list completes the edition.
Cymbeline
by William ShakespeareWhen Imogen, daughter to King Cymbeline, falls in love with and secretly marries Posthumus, the two lovers are punshied by the king and must struggle to preserve their love.
Sonnets
by William ShakespeareWritten primarily in four-line stanzas and iambic pentameter, William Shakespeare's 154 sonnets address such themes as love, beauty, honesty, and the passage of time, and are now recognized as some of the most enduring poetry of all time.
As You Like It
by William ShakespeareAs You Like It follows its heroine Rosalind as she flees persecution in her uncle's court, accompanied by her cousin Celia to find safety and, eventually, love, in the Forest of Arden. In the forest, they encounter a variety of memorable characters, notably the melancholy traveller Jaques who speaks many of Shakespeare's most famous speeches (such as "All the world's a stage", "too much of a good thing" and "A fool! A fool! I met a fool in the forest").
Much Ado About Nothing
by William ShakespeareTwo couples—Benedick and Beatrice, and Hero and Claudio—must overcome deception, gossip, and, occasionally, their own misplaced pride if their love is to persevere.
The Comedy of Errors
by William ShakespeareIdentical twins separated at birth provides the foundation for humour in one of Shakespeare's earlier plays. The young twin sons of Egeon, alongside another set of young twin boys, purchased as slaves, are lost to one another during a tempest at sea. As each searches for the other, the stage is set for a romp that revolves around mistaken identity, physical mishaps, and the comedy of errors referenced in the title.
Antony and Cleopatra
by William ShakespeareAntony, the soldier of Rome, and Cleopatra, the queen of Egypt, struggle with tragic consequences against the power and authority of the emerging Roman Empire.
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 Taming of the Shrew
by William ShakespeareShakespearean comedy in which a woman rebels against the man she is forced to marry.
Hamlet
by William ShakespeareOne of the greatest plays of all time, the compelling tragedy of the tormented young prince of Denmark continues to capture the imaginations of modern audiences worldwide. Confronted with evidence that his uncle murdered his father, and with his mother’s infidelity, Hamlet must find a means of reconciling his longing for oblivion with his duty as avenger. The ghost, Hamlet’s feigned madness, Ophelia’s death and burial, the play within a play, the “closet scene” in which Hamlet accuses his mother of complicity in murder, and breathtaking swordplay are just some of the elements that make Hamlet an enduring masterpiece of the theater.
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.
Sueño de una noche de verano
by William ShakespeareAl bosque mágico de Atenas, en el que reinan Titania y Oberon (enfrentados en agria disputa), y donde unos artesanos ensayan una obra para celebrar la boda de Teseo e Hipolita, llega un par de amantes en fuga, Lisandro y Hermia. Demetrio, el desairado prometido de Hermia, acude allí por Helena, a su vez enamorada de él. Entra en acción Puck, un malicioso duende acolito de Oberon, provisto de un filtro de amor que supuestamente zanjará todo conflicto entre los amantes, no sin antes desatar numerosas confusiones de amor y equívocos. Con la estructura onírica de una extravagante mascarada, Sueño de una noche de verano es una pieza de rigor formal y sofisticación, en la que el mundo de los amantes nobles y los artesanos -basado en la realidad histórica inglesa de la época- coexiste con el mundo fantástico de las hadas, arraigado al folclore y la mitología céltica.
King Henry VIII (PDF)
by Gordon Mcmullan and William ShakespeareKing Henry VIII has one of the fullest theatrical histories of any play in the Shakespeare canon, yet has been consistently misrepresented, both in performance and in criticism. This edition offers a new perspective on this ironic, multi-layered, collaborative play, revealing it as a complex meditation on the progress of Reformation which sees English life since Henry VIII's day as a series of bewildering changes in national and personal allegiance and represents 'history' as the product of varied and contradictory testimony. McMullan makes a powerful claim for the rehabilitation of Henry VIII, providing the fullest performance history of any edition to date and reading the work not as a marginal 'late' Shakespeare play but as a play which is paradigmatic of the achievement of Renaissance drama as a whole.
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.
A Midsummer Night's Dream
by William Shakespeare and Shane WellerIn this most famous of Shakespeares comedies four mismatched lovers and a troupe of actors become tangled in a quarrel between the fairy king and queen. Love portions and transformed identities create a night of confusion that must be set right.
Oxford School Shakespeare
by William ShakespeareOxford School Shakespeare is an acclaimed edition especially designed for students, with accessible on-page notes and explanatory illustrations, clear background information, and rigorous but accessible scholarly credentials.
Oxford School Shakespeare
by Roma Gill and William ShakespeareOxford School Shakespeare is an acclaimed edition especially designed for students, with accessible on-page notes and explanatory illustrations, clear background information, and rigorous but accessible scholarly credentials. Julius Caesar is a popular text for study by secondary students the world over. This edition includes illustrations, preliminary notes, reading lists (including websites) and classroom notes.
Macbeth
by Linzy Brady and David James and Rex Gibson and Vicki Wienand and Richard Andrews and William Shakespeare
Cambridge School Shakespeare
by William Shakespeare and Rex Gibson and Jane Coles and Richard Andrews and Vicki Wienand3rd / third edition. An improved, larger-format edition of the Cambridge School Shakespeare plays, extensively rewritten, expanded and produced in an attractive new design. An active approach to classroom Shakespeare enables students to inhabit Shakespeare's imaginative world in accessible and creative ways. Students are encouraged to share Shakespeare's love of language, interest in character and sense of theatre. Substantially revised and extended in full colour, classroom activities are thematically organised in distinctive 'Stagecraft', 'Write about it', 'Language in the play', 'Characters' and 'Themes' features. Extended glossaries are aligned with the play text for easy reference. Expanded endnotes include extensive essay-writing guidance for 'Othello' and Shakespeare. Includes rich, exciting colour photos of performances of 'Othello' from around the world.
The Taming of the Shrew (Cambridge School Shakespeare) (PDF)
by Michael Fynes-Clinton and William Shakespeare and Perry MillsCambridge School Shakespeare editions offer an active approach to the Bard's works, treating each play as a script to be acted, explored and enjoyed.nbsp;
A Midsummer Night's Dream
by William Shakespeare and Rex Gibson and Richard Andrews and Vicki Wienand and Linda BuckleAn active approach to classroom Shakespeare enables students to inhabit Shakespeare's imaginative world in accessible and creative ways. Students are encouraged to share Shakespeare's love of language, interest in character and sense of theatre. Substantially revised and extended in full colour, classroom activities are thematically organised in distinctive 'Stagecraft', 'Write about it', 'Language in the play', 'Characters' and 'Themes' features. Extended glossaries are aligned with the play text for easy reference. Expanded endnotes include extensive essay-writing guidance for 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' and Shakespeare. Includes rich, exciting colour photos of performances of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' from around the world. An improved, larger-format edition of the Cambridge School Shakespeare plays, extensively rewritten, expanded and produced in an attractive new design.nbsp;
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.