One of William Shakespeare's most farcical comedies, "The Comedy of Errors" is notable for its use of mistaken identity to achieve a slapstick comedic effect. Ripe with the bard's characteristic word play, the comedy concerns the lives of two sets of identical twins that were accidentally separated shortly after their birth. The play begins by the elderly Syracusian trader Egeon relating the back-story of his family. When Egeon was young, he married...

"This book presents a historical overview of The Tempest in performance, recommends film versions, takes a detailed look at specific productions and includes interviews with three leading directors - Peter Brook, Sam Mendes and Rupert Goold - so that we may get a sense of the extraordinary variety of interpretations that are possible, a variety that gives Shakespeare his unique capacity to be reinvented and made 'our contemporary' four centuries after...

Critical commentary accompanies the story of Antonio, who risks his life to borrow money from his enemy, Shylock, and is saved by Portia, an heiress posing as a lawyer.

William Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night," is a classic comedy of mistaken identities, a device employed in a number of the bard's plays, which is believed to have been written sometime between 1601 and 1602. When Viola is shipwrecked on the coast of Illyria she is separated from her twin brother Sebastian, who she mistakenly believes to be dead. With the help of the ship captain who rescues her, she enters into the service of Duke Orsino, who has fallen...

Presents the original text of Shakespeare's play side by side with a modern version, discusses the author and the theater of his time, and provides quizzes and other study activities.

William Shakespeare's "King Lear" stands as a towering masterpiece, a tragic tale of power, betrayal, and the human condition. This timeless play delves into the complexities of familial relationships and the consequences of unchecked ambition. At its core, "King Lear" tells the story of an aging monarch who, in a moment of misguided judgment, divides his kingdom among his three daughters based on their flattery. The consequences of this rash decision...

One 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...

Presents Shakespeare's tragedy about Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet, two young people from noble Veronese houses whose love for one another is doomed by the long-standing feud between their families; and includes textual notes, a scene-by-scene analysis, an overview of Shakespeare's life and career, and more.

Presents the unabridged text of Shakespeare's classic tragedy in which Othello, a Moorish general, is led by a jealous and evil ensign to believe his wife, Desdemona, has been unfaithful.

Antony and Cleopatra (1607) is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. Inspired by Thomas North's translation of Plutarch's Lives-a series of biographies on influential figures of the ancient world-Shakespeare wrote Antony and Cleopatra sometime between 1599 and 1601. Often considered a sequel of sorts to his earlier play Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra has served as source material for countless film and television adaptations. "Let Rome in Tiber melt,...