Best Selling Books by William Shakespeare

This edition tells the story of Hamlet in production, from Burbage at the Globe to Branagh on film, relating stage interpretations to developments in the theatre, in literary criticism and in society. The detailed stage history records an ongoing process of discovery, as successive performers have found what it is in the play that will speak most powerfully to the audiences of their own times. The introduction focuses not only on star Hamlets, but on whole productions of the play including supporting players and, in this century, direction and design.

Much Ado About Nothing is one of Shakespeare''s great festive comedies. The men are back from the war, and everyone is ready for romance. The dashing young Claudio falls for Hero, the daughter of Leonato, governor of Messina, and his friend Don Pedro helps him secure her affection. These youthful lovers are contrasted with the more experienced Benedick and Beatrice, who have to be tricked into falling in love. Don Pedro''s bastard brother, Don John, provides the intrigue, and the dimwitted constable Dogberry provides the laughs. Life of William Shakespeare is a biography of William Shakespeare by the eminent critic Sidney Lee. This book was one of the first major biographies of the Bard of Avon. It was published in 1898, based on the article contributed to the Dictionary of National Biography. William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616) was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world''s pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England''s national poet and the "Bard of Avon". His extant works, including some collaborations, consist of about 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and a few other verses, the authorship of some of which is uncertain. Sir Sidney Lee (1859 – 1926) was an English biographer and critic. He was a lifelong scholar and enthusiast of Shakespeare. His article on Shakespeare in the fifty-first volume of the Dictionary of National Biography formed the basis of his Life of William Shakespeare. This full-length life is often credited as the first modern biography of the poet.

As You Like It has sometimes seemed a subversive play that exposes the instability of gender roles and traditional values. In other eras it has been prized - or derided - as a reliable celebration of conventional social mores. The play''s ability to encompass these extremes tells an interesting story about changing cultural and theatrical practices. This edition provides a detailed history of the play in production, both on stage and on screen. The introduction examines how changing conceptions of gender roles have affected the portrayal of Rosalind, one of Shakespeare''s greatest comic heroines. The striking differences between the British tradition and the freer treatment the play has received abroad are discussed, as well as the politics of court versus country. The commentary, printed alongside the New Cambridge Shakespeare edition of the text, draws on primary sources to illuminate how costuming, stage business, design, and directorial choices have shaped the play in performance.

The Tempest is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1610–11, and thought by many critics to be the last play that Shakespeare wrote alone. It is set on a remote island, where Prospero, the rightful Duke of Milan, plots to restore his daughter Miranda to her rightful place using illusion and skilful manipulation. He conjures up a storm, the eponymous tempest, to lure his usurping brother Antonio and the complicit King Alonso of Naples to the island. There, his machinations bring about the revelation of Antonio''s lowly nature, the redemption of the King, and the marriage of Miranda to Alonso''s son, Ferdinand. There is no obvious single source for the plot of The Tempest, but researchers have seen parallels in Erasmus''s Naufragium, Peter Martyr''s De orbe novo, and eyewitness reports by William Strachey and Sylvester Jordain of the real-life shipwreck of the Sea Venture on the islands of Bermuda, and the subsequent conflict between Sir Thomas Gates and Sir George Somers. In addition, one of Gonzalo''s speeches is derived from Montaigne''s essay Of the Canibales, and much of Prospero''s renunciative speech is taken word for word from a speech by Medea in Ovid''s poem Metamorphoses. The masque in Act 4 may have been a later addition, possibly in honour of the wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Frederick V in 1613. The play was first published in the First Folio of 1623. The story draws heavily on the tradition of the romance, and it was influenced by tragicomedy, the courtly masque and perhaps the commedia dell''arte. It differs from Shakespeare''s other plays in its observation of a stricter, more organised neoclassical style. Critics see The Tempest as explicitly concerned with its own nature as a play, frequently drawing links between Prospero''s "art" and theatrical illusion, and early critics saw Prospero as a representation of Shakespeare, and his renunciation of magic as signalling Shakespeare''s farewell to the stage. The play portrays Prospero as a rational, and not an occultist, magician by providing a contrast to him in Sycorax: her magic is frequently described as destructive and terrible, where Prospero''s is said to be wondrous and beautiful. Beginning in about 1950, with the publication of Psychology of Colonization by Octave Mannoni, The Tempest was viewed more and more through the lens of postcolonial theory—exemplified in adaptations like Aimé Césaire''s Une Tempête set in Haiti—and there is even a scholarly journal on post-colonial criticism named after Caliban. The Tempest did not attract a significant amount of attention before the ban on the performance of plays in 1642, and only attained popularity after the Restoration, and then only in adapted versions. In the mid-19th century, theatre productions began to reinstate the original Shakespearean text, and in the 20th century, critics and scholars undertook a significant re-appraisal of the play''s value, to the extent that it is now considered to be one of Shakespeare''s greatest works. It has been adapted numerous times in a variety of styles and formats: in music, at least 46 operas by composers such as Fromental Halévy, Zdeněk Fibich and Thomas Adès; orchestral works by Tchaikovsky, Arthur Sullivan and Arthur Honegger; and songs by such diverse artists as Ralph Vaughan Williams, Michael Nyman and Pete Seeger; in literature, Percy Bysshe Shelley''s poem With a Guitar, To Jane and W. H. Auden''s The Sea and the Mirror; novels by Aimé Césaire and The Diviners by Margaret Laurence; in paintings by William Hogarth, Henry Fuseli, and John Everett Millais; and on screen, ranging through a hand-tinted version of Herbert Beerbohm Tree''s 1905 stage performance, the science fiction film Forbidden Planet in 1956, Peter Greenaway''s 1991 Prospero''s Books featuring John Gielgud as Prospero, to Julie Taymor''s 2010 film version which changed Prospero to Prospera (as played by Helen Mirren), and Des McAnuff''s 2010 Stratford Shakespeare Festival production which starred Christopher Plummer.

Shakespeare’s cautionary tale about the dangers of upending democracy, Julius Caesar, which recently ran at the Public Theater’s Shakespeare in the Park. Winner of the 2016 AIGA + Design Observer 50 Books | 50 Covers competition This edition of Julius Caesar is edited by William Montgomery with an introduction by Douglas Trevor and was recently repackaged with cover art by Manuja Waldia. Waldia received a Gold Medal from the Society of Illustrators for the Pelican Shakespeare series. The legendary Pelican Shakespeare series features authoritative and meticulously researched texts paired with scholarship by renowned Shakespeareans. Each book includes an essay on the theatrical world of Shakespeare’s time, an introduction to the individual play, and a detailed note on the text used. Updated by general editors Stephen Orgel and A. R. Braunmuller, these easy-to-read editions incorporate over thirty years of Shakespeare scholarship undertaken since the original series, edited by Alfred Harbage, appeared between 1956 and 1967. With stunning new covers, definitive texts, and illuminating essays, the Pelican Shakespeare will remain a valued resource for students, teachers, and theater professionals for many years to come. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Shakespeare''s famous tragedy is helpfully annotated and framed within several exciting contexts: contemporary accounts of a spirit world, purgatory, revenge, and suicide, and reports of readers and critics fascinated with the character and dramatic performance of this most famous of Shakespeare''s heroes. Elaborating upon the historical setting and the cultural ideas that helped shape "Hamlet", Constance Jordan summons the issues and anxieties of the early sixteenth century to show why the play, and especially its hero, speaks so powerfully and so vitally to our own time. -- From publisher''s description.

Romeo and Juliet (1597) is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. Inspired by an Italian tale adapted for an English audience in 1562 by Arthur Brooke and in 1567 by William Painter, Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet sometime between 1591 and 1595. Alongside Hamlet, it is one of Shakespeare’s most performed plays and has served as source material for countless film and television adaptations. “Two households, both alike in dignity, / In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, / From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, / Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.” For his wit and wordplay alone, William Shakespeare is often considered the greatest writer to ever work in the English language. Where he truly triumphs, however, is in his ability to portray complex human emotions, how these emotions contribute to relationships, and how these relationships interact with politics, culture, and religion. In Romeo and Juliet, a “pair of star-cross’d lovers” risk their lives for one another. Because Romeo is a Montague, he cannot love Juliet, a Capulet, the sworn enemies of his family and their major rival in the city of Verona. As is often the case, their hearts refuse the limits of history, leading them to their tragic, unforgettable end. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is a classic of English literature reimagined for modern readers.

Modern editions of a popular and trusted series.

Describes the volatile courtship between the shrewish Katherine and the canny Petruchio, who is determined to subdue Katherine''s legendary temper and win her dowry.

William Shakespeare''s A Midsummer Night''s Dream (1595 or 1596) is a romantic comedy about love, dreams, and the creative imagination. Mostly set in the realm of Fairyland, the play''s main plot concerns two couples, Hermia and Lysander and Helena and Demetrius, who flee into the woods. Hermia has refused to marry the man chosen by her father. In the woods, the King of the fairies recruits the mischievous Puck to change the couples'' feelings for each other through magic.

Henry VI, Part 3 (often written as 3 Henry VI) is a history play by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1591, and set during the lifetime of King Henry VI of England. Whereas 1 Henry VI deals with the loss of England''s French territories and the political machinations leading up to the Wars of the Roses, and 2 Henry VI focuses on the King''s inability to quell the bickering of his nobles, and the inevitability of armed conflict, 3 Henry VI deals primarily with the horrors of that conflict, with the once ordered nation thrown into chaos and barbarism as families break down and moral codes are subverted in the pursuit of revenge and power. Although the Henry VI trilogy may not have been written in chronological order, the three plays are often grouped together with Richard III to form a tetralogy covering the entire Wars of the Roses saga, from the death of Henry V in 1422 to the rise to power of Henry VII in 1485. It was the success of this sequence of plays which firmly established Shakespeare''s reputation as a playwright. Henry VI, Part 3 features the longest soliloquy in all of Shakespeare (3.2.124–195), and has more battle scenes (four on stage, one reported) than any other of Shakespeare''s plays.

When the feud between the Montagues and Capulets spills into the streets of Verona, a great love must be kept secret--that of Romeo, son of Montague, and Juliet, daughter of the sworn enemy. But only a tragic twist of fate can promise peace. When Shakespeare staged Romeo and Juliet in 1594, it was already a centuries-old Italian tale that had been translated and adapted in verse and prose by a number of poets and storytellers. Out of the common threads of those now-forgotten works, Shakespeare created not only one of his most popular plays, but one that would become the archetypal love story of the English language. Revised edition: Previously published as Romeo and Juliet, this edition of Romeo and Juliet (AmazonClassics Edition) includes editorial revisions.

William Shakespeare[a] (bapt. 26 April 1564 - 23 April 1616)[b] was an English poet, playwright, and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world''s greatest dramatist.He is often called England''s national poet and the "Bard of Avon" (or simply "the Bard").[c] His extant works, including collaborations, consist of some 39 plays, [d] 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright

Shakespeare''s romantic comedy takes on vivid life with these brilliant images by one of the 20th century''s leading illustrators. Includes the complete play, along with 40 full-color and numerous black-and-white illustrations.

Macbeth is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. Set mainly in Scotland, the play dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those who seek power for its own sake. The play is believed to have been written between 1599 and 1606. The earliest account of a performance of what was probably Shakespeare''s play is April 1611, when Simon Forman recorded seeing such a play at the Globe Theatre. It was first published in the Folio of 1623, possibly from a prompt book. It was most likely written during the reign of James I (of England), who had already been crowned James VI of Scotland before he succeeded to the English throne as well in 1603. James VI/I was a patron of Shakespeare''s acting company, and of all the plays Shakespeare wrote during James''s reign, Macbeth most clearly reflects the playwright''s relationship with the sovereign. Macbeth is Shakespeare''s shortest tragedy, and tells the story of a brave Scottish general named Macbeth who 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, and he soon becomes a tyrannical ruler as he is forced to commit more and more murders to protect himself from enmity and suspicion. The bloodbath and consequent civil war swiftly take Macbeth and Lady Macbeth into the realms of madness, and death.

Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately reconcile their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare''s most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with Hamlet, is one of his most frequently performed plays. Today, the title characters are regarded as archetypal young lovers. Romeo and Juliet belongs to a tradition of tragic romances stretching back to antiquity. Its plot is based on an Italian tale, translated into verse as The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet by Arthur Brooke in 1562 and retold in prose in Palace of Pleasure by William Painter in 1567. Shakespeare borrowed heavily from both but, to expand the plot, developed supporting characters, particularly Mercutio and Paris. Believed to have been written between 1591 and 1595, the play was first published in a quarto version in 1597. This text was of poor quality, and later editions corrected it, bringing it more in line with Shakespeare''s original. Shakespeare''s use of his poetic dramatic structure, especially effects such as switching between comedy and tragedy to heighten tension, his expansion of minor characters, and his use of sub-plots to embellish the story, has been praised as an early sign of his dramatic skill. The play ascribes different poetic forms to different characters, sometimes changing the form as the character develops. Romeo, for example, grows more adept at the sonnet over the course of the play.

Henry VI Part 3 by William Shakespeare

Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written by: William Shakespeare early in his career about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately reconcile their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare''s most popular plays during his lifetime and along with Hamlet, is one of his most frequently performed plays. Today, the title characters are regarded as archetypal young lovers. Romeo and Juliet belongs to a tradition of tragic romances stretching back to antiquity. The plot is based on an Italian tale translated into verse as The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet by Arthur Brooke in 1562 and retold in prose in Palace of Pleasure by William Painter in 1567. Shakespeare borrowed heavily from both but expanded the plot by developing a number of supporting characters, particularly Mercutio and Paris. Believed to have been written between 1591 and 1595, the play was first published in a quarto version in 1597. The text of the first quarto version was of poor quality, however, and later editions corrected the text to conform more closely with Shakespeare''s original.

The acclaimed Pelican Shakespeare series, now in a dazzling new series design Winner of the 2016 AIGA + Design Observer 50 Books | 50 Covers competition This edition of Twelfth Night is edited with an introduction by Jonathan Crewe and was recently repackaged with cover art by Manuja Waldia. Waldia received a Gold Medal from the Society of Illustrators for the Pelican Shakespeare series. The legendary Pelican Shakespeare series features authoritative and meticulously researched texts paired with scholarship by renowned Shakespeareans. Each book includes an essay on the theatrical world of Shakespeare’s time, an introduction to the individual play, and a detailed note on the text used. Updated by general editors Stephen Orgel and A. R. Braunmuller, these easy-to-read editions incorporate over thirty years of Shakespeare scholarship undertaken since the original series, edited by Alfred Harbage, appeared between 1956 and 1967. With stunning new covers, definitive texts, and illuminating essays, the Pelican Shakespeare will remain a valued resource for students, teachers, and theater professionals for many years to come. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Macbeth by William Shakespeare