Classic plays / drama
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Shakespeare's Imaginary Constitution: Late Elizabethan Politics and the Theatre of Law
a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.
£90.25
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC As You Like it
Book SynopsisIn a period during which a play previously staged very traditionally was represented in a variety of original ways, Robert Smallwood looks at what we could call the 'Seven Ages of As You Like It' by considering just what directors, designers and actors did differently to make their vision original. How are the environments of the court and the Forest of Arden presented; bleak and chilling or welcoming and celebratory? What does each actress bring to the crucial role of Rosalind that will help show the journey from her relationship with Celia to that with Orlando? How are the anti-romantic Touchstone and Jaques portrayed? How successfully is Hymen, the god of marriage, brought to the stage? This engaging volume celebrates the rich performance history of an always popular play. In a period during which a play previously staged very traditionally was represented in a variety of original ways, Robert Smallwood looks at what we could call the 'Seven Ages of As You Like It' by considering just what directors, designers and actors did differently to make their vision original. How are the environments of the court and the Forest of Arden presented; bleak and chilling or welcoming and celebratory? What does each actress bring to the crucial role of Rosalind that will help show the journey from her relationship with Celia to that with Orlando? How are the anti-romantic Touchstone and Jaques portrayed? How successfully is Hymen, the god of marriage, brought to the stage? This engaging volume celebrates the rich performance history of an always popular play.
£30.39
Aurora Metro Publications Classic Plays by Women: From 1600 - 2000
Book SynopsisStaged in theatres by successive generations and proving relevant to contemporary audiences, the plays demonstrate the wit, theatrical skill and innovation of their creators in exploring timeless topics from marriage, morality and money to class conflict, rage and sexual desire. An essential resource for students, playwrights, colleges, universities and libraries, this collection also provides theatres with the opportunity to programme a range of theatrical classics by women. Plays from: 'Paphnutius' by Hroswitha (extract);'The Tragedy of Mariam' by Elizabeth Cary (extract); 'The Rover' by Aphra Behn; 'A Bold Stroke For A Wife' by Susanna Centlivre; 'De Montfort' by Joanna Baillie; 'Rutherford and Son' by Githa Sowerby; 'The Chalk Garden' by Enid Bagnold; 'Top Girls' by Caryl Churchill (extract); 'Stones in his Pockets' by Marie Jones.Table of ContentsIntroduction Susan Croft Paphnutius (circa 960) extract Hrotswitha The Tragedy of Mariam (1613) extract Elizabeth Cary The Rover (1677) Aphra Behn A Bold Stroke for a Wife (1718) Susanna Centlivre De Monfort (1800) Joanna Baillie Rutherford and Son (1912) Githa Sowerby The Chalk Garden (1955) Enid Bagnold Top Girls (1982) extract Caryl Churchill Stones in his Pockets (1996) Marie Jones Bibliography
£16.14
John Catt Educational Ltd Hour-Long Shakespeare Volume III (A Midsummer
Book SynopsisAbridged specifically for all those interested in Shakespeare's plays, especially teachers and students of English and drama, these one-hour performance scripts maintain the arcs of Shakespeare's plots without compromising the integrity of his original language. What remains are manageable performance texts and the essential elements needed for an introduction to three of Shakespeare's most popular plays.Trade Review'Matthew Jenkinson's careful alterations of some of Shakespeare's most important history plays may give us less than 50% of each play's lines, but they convey far more than that percentage of each play's theatrical power. Moreover, they belong 100% to the highest traditions of both teaching and performing Shakespeare's plays.'; Professor Michael Dobson, Director of the Shakespeare Institute, Stratford-upon-Avon, and Professor of Shakespeare Studies, University of Birmingham
£13.27
Howgill House Books Shakespeare Tales: Tragedies
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£7.46
Howgill House Books Shakespeare Tales: Roman Tales
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£7.46
Chiltern Publishing King Lear
Book SynopsisChiltern Publishing creates the most beautiful editions of the World's finest literature. Your favourite classic titles in a way you have never seen them before; the tactile embossed layers, fine details and beautiful colours of these remarkable covers make these titles feel extra special and will look striking on any shelf.
£18.75
Books on Demand La Farce de Maître Pathelin: une pièce de théâtre
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£11.50
de Gruyter Das lateinische Drama der Frühen Neuzeit
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£136.80
Broadview Press Ltd The Winter's Tale (1610, 1623): Broadview
Book SynopsisNeither comedy nor tragedy, The Winter’s Tale contains elements of each genre, and defies easy classification. It experiments, like many of Shakespeare’s late plays, with different styles and tones, and draws on a wide range of sources and inspirations. Full of mysteries and miracles, grief and dark humour, this strange play has fascinated critics and theatregoers for centuries.Theatrical and cinematic productions have tried to capture the range of interpretations and staging possibilities presented by The Winter’s Tale, and the introduction to this edition explores the play’s long histories in performance and in criticism. Illustrations and extended notes interleaved throughout the text discuss the echoes of religious, scientific, and mythological texts found in the play.Trade Review“This superb new edition of Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale is another excellent entry in the relatively new Broadview/Internet Shakespeare Editions series. Its virtues are many: a beautifully organized introduction; very fine glosses with extremely useful enlarged notes and illustrations; excellent sources; very useful analogues; and a superb bibliography. Hardin Aasand’s is now, for me, the teaching edition; I can’t wait to own it and teach from it.” — Peter Platt, Barnard CollegeTable of ContentsFOREWARDACKNOWLEDGEMENTSINTRODUCTIONSHAKESPEARE’S LIFESHAKESPEARE’S THEATERWILLIAM SHAKESPEARE: A BRIEF CHRONOLOGYA NOTE ON THE TEXTABBREVIATIONSTHE WINTER’S TALEAPPENDIX A: SOURCES Robert Greene, Pandosto (1588) From Ovid, Metamorphoses Pygmalion Ceres and Proserpina Callisto APPENDIX B: ANALOGS From James VI of Scotland, Basilikon Doron (1599) From Robert Greene, The Second and Last Part of Coney-Catching and the Third and Last Part of Coney-Catching (1592) From God’s Handi-Work in Wonders (1615) WORKS CITED AND BIBLIOGRAPHY
£16.10
Broadview Press Ltd The Roaring Girl
Book SynopsisThe titular “Roaring Girl” of Thomas Middleton and Thomas Dekker’s comedy is Moll Cutpurse, a fictionalized version of Mary Frith, who attained legendary status in London by flouting gendered dress conventions, illegally performing onstage, and engaging in all manner of transgressive behavior from smoking and swearing to stealing. In the course of The Roaring Girl’s lively and complex plot of seduction and clever ruses, Moll shares her views on gender and sexuality, defends her honor in a duel, and demonstrates her knowledge of London’s criminal underworld. This edition of the play offers an informative introduction, thorough annotation, and a substantial selection of contextual materials from the period.Trade Review“With its uncompromising cross-dressed heroine, and its cheerful disregard for conventional sexual mores, The Roaring Girl offers a winning specimen of early modern London’s screwball comedy. Kelly Stage’s terrific edition brings the play’s rollicking schemes into sharp focus through clear accounts of its colorful language and historical references, juxtaposed with contemporary writings on cross-dressing, criminals, tobacco, and the real Moll Frith. This is a welcome resource for first-time readers and scholars alike.” — Tanya Pollard, Brooklyn College and the Graduate Center, City University of New York“Providing a nuanced and contextually sensitive introduction, Kelly Stage’s excellent edition of The Roaring Girl will prove immensely valuable to undergraduate and graduate students alike. Especially useful is Stage’s careful discussion of clothing transgression in relation to the complex gender and socioeconomic dynamics that shaped the play’s composition and staging. The text includes extensive and detailed explanatory notes that will help students and newcomers unpackage what can be a challenging play. The edition concludes with an array of contemporary historical documents that offer contextual background on issues relating to cross-dressing, theater life, criminality, and material culture.” — Matthew Kendrick, William Paterson University Table of Contents Introduction The Roaring Girl or Moll Cutpurse In Context A. On Mary Frith’s Life 1. from the Consistory Court of London Correction Book, 27 January 1611/12 2. The Last Will and Testament of Mary Markham, Alias Mary Frith (1659) B. On Theater, Gender, and Cross-Dressing 1. from Stephen Gosson, Plays Confuted in Five Actions, Proving that they are not to be suffered in a Christian Commonweal (1582) 2. from anonymous, The Life of Long Meg of Westminster, containing the mad merry pranks she played in her lifetime, not only in performing sundry quarrels with diverse ruffians about London: but also how valiantly she behaved herself in wars of Boulogne (1620, revised 1635) 3. from anonymous, Hic Mulier: or, The Man-Woman: Being a Medicine to Cure the Coltish Disease of the Staggers in the Masculine-Feminines of our Time (1620) 4. anonymous, Haec-Vir: or, The Womanish-Man (1620) C. On Criminals 1. from Thomas Harman, A Caveat for Common Cursitors, Vulgarly Called Vagabonds (1566, revised 1567/68) 2. from Thomas Dekker, The Bellman of London Bringing to Light the Most Notorious Villainies That Are Now Practised in the Kingdom (1608) D. On Tobacco 1. from anonymous, “A Merry Progress to London to see Fashions, by a young Country Gallant, that had more Money than Wit” (1615) 2. from King James I, A Counterblast to Tobacco (1604) Further Reading
£15.95
Spark Romeo and Juliet (No Fear Shakespeare)
Book SynopsisNo Fear Shakespeare gives you the complete text of Romeo and Juliet on the left-hand page, side-by-side with an easy-to-understand translation on the right. Each No Fear Shakespeare contains: The complete text of the original play A line-by-line translation that puts Shakespeare into everyday language A complete list of characters with descriptions Plenty of helpful commentary. The famous tale of star-crossed lovers.
£7.99
Oxford University Press The History of King Lear The Oxford Shakespeare
Book SynopsisThis new edition is based on the quarto, the version closest to the original manuscript. The introduction illminates the plays' origins and practicalities of composition, its reception and influence. Detailed notes pay especial attention to language and staging, and the volume includes King Lear's first derivative, a contemporary ballad, and guides to appreciation of the play and its multiple offshoots.Trade Review'This is a supremely student-friendly edition that will have far-reaching implications. Teachers throughout the English-speaking world will soon begin adopting Wells's edition for their courses.' * Eric Rasmussen, Shakespeare Survey *
£11.52
E-Kitap Projesi & Cheapest Books The Comedy of Errors
£18.44
Oxford University Press The Merry Wives of Windsor
Book Synopsis''Here will be an old abusing of God''s patience and the King''s English.''The Merry Wives of Windsor is the only Shakespeare play named entirely after female characters and his only comedy set in England. These features underscore some of its most immediately appealing qualities -- its contemporary realism; its depiction of everyday life; its interest in status and gender; and the language and physicality of its comedy. This edition''s introduction focuses on these elements of Merry Wives, setting out their historical contexts but also thinking about what they offer audiences and readers today. It addresses the place of the play within Shakespeare''s career and canon and the enduringly popular figure of Falstaff, before thinking about its generic peculiarities as a mixture of city comedy and domestic comedy. The edition gives readers a rich breadth of historical context and real-life examples through which to understand and appreciate the text. It also addresses Merry Wives''s popular
£6.99
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Shakespeare and Feminist Theory
Book SynopsisMarianne Novy is a Professor of English at the University of Pittsburgh, USA and has been teaching Shakespeare from a feminist perspective there since 1971.Trade ReviewUsing close reading, social context, and some intriguing nuggets of performance history, Novy's book is as illuminating as it is readable. It is also rendered all the more urgent by her inclusion of current gender issues. * Times Literary Supplement *Table of Contents1. Introduction 2. Likeness and Difference 3. Desire 4. Marriage 5. Motherhood 6. Language 7. Between Women 8. Work Bibliography Index
£25.99
Taylor & Francis Shakespeares Feminine Endings Disfiguring Death in the Tragedies Feminist Readings of Shakespeare
a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.
£37.99
Richard Schober D/B/A Tough Poets Press Sarpedon A Play by Gregory Corso
£7.63
Broadview Press Ltd Julius Caesar (1599)
Book SynopsisJulius Caesar is a key link between Shakespeare’s histories and his tragedies. Unlike the Caesar drawn by Plutarch in a source text, Shakespeare’s Caesar is surprisingly modern: vulnerable and imperfect, a powerful man who does not always know himself. The open-ended structure of the play insists that revealing events will continue after the play ends, making the significance of the history we have just witnessed impossible to determine in the play itself.John D. Cox’s introduction discusses issues of genre, characterization, and rhetoric, while also providing a detailed history of criticism of the play. Appendices provide excerpts from important related works by Lucretius, Plutarch, and Montaigne.A collaboration between Broadview Press and the Internet Shakespeare Editions project at the University of Victoria, the editions developed for this series have been comprehensively annotated and draw on the authoritative texts newly edited for the ISE. This innovative series allows readers to access extensive and reliable online resources linked to the print edition.Trade Review“John Cox’s edition of Julius Caesar is very user-friendly—it has copious and concise explanatory notes, generous selections from Shakespeare’s sources, and a critical introduction that does a remarkable job of highlighting the main lines of interpreting the play over the centuries.” — Paul A. Cantor, Clifton Waller Barrett Professor of English, University of VirginiaTable of ContentsFOREWORDACKNOWLEDGEMENTSINTRODUCTIONSHAKESPEARE’S LIFESHAKESPEARE’S THEATREWILLIAM SHAKESPEARE AND JULIUS CAESAR:A BRIEF CHRONOLOGYA NOTE ON THE TEXTSCHARACTERS IN THE PLAYJULIUS CAESARAPPENDIX A: PLUTARCH’S LIVES From Life of Caesar From Life of Brutus From Life of Marcus Antonius APPENDIX B: MONTAIGNE ON STOICISM AND EPICUREANISM
£16.10
Hackett Publishing Co, Inc Philoctetes
Book SynopsisFirst published in Peter Meineck and Paul Woodruff's Sophocles: Four Tragedies, this riveting translation by Peter Meineck of Sophocles' Philoctetes features a new Introduction by Paul Woodruff. "Peter Meineck has given us a superbly vivid rendering of the play, informed throughout by his practical experience in the theater. His is a Philoctetes that is supremely alive, from start to finish. . . . [I]deal for classroom use . . . accompanied by a new and thoughtful introduction from philosopher and classicist Paul Woodruff. Woodruff anchors the play in the complex web of fears and anxieties of 409 BCE, as both Sophocles' life and Athens' imperial heyday drew to a close. . . . [A]n exceptionally fine work of translation and scholarship that will go far toward demolishing dismissals of the play as inaccessible or unengaging for the modern reader. Sophocles, Meineck and Woodruff eloquently remind us, speaks to every age, not least our own."—Thomas R. Keith, Loyola University Chicago in CJ-OnlineTrade Review"An excellent translation of this always intriguing play: clear, simple, up-to-date English. . . . Clearly designed for stage performance as well as reading. Woodruff gives a good account of why the Athenian audience would have been on the edge of their seats. This translation would be appropriate for anyone doing a Classics or drama course, with or without the language. No prior knowledge of the mythological background is assumed; everything one needs to know is explained in the introduction and notes." —Colin McDonald, Journal of Classics Teaching"This translation makes a strong case for the use of Philoctetes both in the classroom and in performance. . . . A lively and energetic play with quick and exciting language. . . . The struggle of young Neoptolemus to find his way within the heroic world comes across as timely and relevant. The otherworldliness of Philoctetes' pain is perfectly rendered. . . . Paul Woodruff's Introduction is excellent. I have read this play many times and know the myth well, yet I still found myself thoroughly captivated by Woodruff’s narrative. . . . The bibliography would be a tremendous resource for an undergraduate student. All in all, this is among the best in Hackett's excellent and expanding series of Greek tragedy in translation. The combination of Meineck's skillful translation with an eye to performance and Woodruff’s enthusiastic and intelligent introduction makes this particular volume a great pleasure." —Kathryn Mattison, McMaster University, in Mouseion
£10.44
Flying Chipmunk Publishing Tales from Shakespeare
£22.52
Focus Publishing/R Pullins & Co Philoktetes
Book SynopsisThis is an English translation of Sophocles' tragedy of Philoctetes, an archer who had been abandoned on Lemnos by the rest of the Greek fleet while on the way to Troy. Focus Classical Library provides close translations with notes and essays to provide access to understanding Greek culture.
£12.34
The Gresham Publishing Co. Ltd Romeo and Juliet - The Student's Shakespeare:
Book SynopsisThe drama of Romeo and Juliet is one of the most famous of all tragedies. It tells the story of two 'star-crossed' lovers whose young lives are cruelly cut short because of a bitter feud between their families. Since it was published in 1597, Romeo and Juliet has been performed all round the world, made into box office recordbreaking films, ballets and adapted by Leonard Bernstein for his world-famous musical, West Side Story. Shakespeare was young when he wrote the play, and the exquisite language captures his sympathy for the lovers. This new edition includes the complete text with explanatory notes and a full introduction that describes the setting, summarises the plot and profiles the main characters. It discusses Shakespeare's language and the play's themes, and it gives typical essay and test questions to help students prepare for exams. Includes: Introduction The Story of Romeo and Juliet The Play's Characters Themes and Language Examining the Play The Play NotesTable of ContentsIntroduction The Story of Romeo and Juliet The Play's Characters Themes and Language Examining the Play The Play Notes
£8.56
Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group Inc Playing Shakespeare
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£14.88
WW Norton & Co 1 Henry IV
Book SynopsisThe text, with few departures, is that of the First Quarto (1598) edition of the play.Table of ContentsPreface A Note on the Text Abbreviated Genealogy of the Mortimers and the House of Lancaster The Text of 1 Henry IV Contexts and Sources COMPOSITION AND PUBLICATION Excerpt from the 1598 Quarto ONE PLAY OR TWO? Harold Jenkins – The Structural Problem in Shakespeare’s “Henry the Fourth” Paul Yachnin – History, Theatricality, and the “Structural Problem” in the Henry IV Plays FALSTAFF OR OLDCASTLE? Gary Taylor – The Fortunes of Oldcastle David Scott Kastan – [Reforming Falstaff] ORIGINS Peter Saccio – [Shakespearean History and the Reign of Henry IV] Edward Hall – Henry, Prince of Wales Raphael Holinshed – Elizabeth and the Uniting of the Two Houses Anonymous – An Homilee against disobedience and wylful rebellion Raphael Holinshed – The Chronicles of England Samuel Daniel – The Ciuile Wars The Famous Victories of Henry the Fifth Criticism John Dryden – The Composition of a Character Samuel Johnson – [Falstaff] Elizabeth Montagu – [Hal, Falstaff, and Taste] Maurice Morgann – An Essay on the Dramatic Character of Sir John Falstaff John Dover Wilson – The Falstaff Myth Arthur C. Sprague – Gadshill Revisited E.M.W. Tillyard – The Second Tetralogy Henry Ansagar Kelly – [Providence and Progaganda] Graham Holderness – [Tillyard, History, and Ideology] Sigurd Burckhardt – [Symmetry and Disorder] John Wilders – [Knowledge and Misjudgement] Stephen Greenblatt – [Theater and Power] Scott McMillin – [Performing 1 Henry IV] David Scott Kastan – “The King Hath Many Marching in His Coats,” or, What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? C. L. Barber – [Mingling Kings and Clowns] Michael Bristol – [The Battle of Carnival and Lent] Samuel Crowl – [Welles and Falstaff] Patricia Parker – [Fat Lady Falstaff] Coppélia Kahn – [Masculine Identities] Gus Van Sant – [My Own Private Idaho] Susan Wiseman – [Shakespeare in Idaho] Jean E. Howard and Phyllis Rackin – [Gender and Nation] Christopher Highley – [Defining the Nation] Barbara Hodgdon – [Endings] Selected Bibliography
£13.99
Penguin Putnam Inc Troilus and Cressida
Book SynopsisThe acclaimed Pelican Shakespeare series, now repackaged in award-winning modern covers to inspire Shakespearians of all ages.
£8.54
Cambridge University Press The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare and War
Book SynopsisWritten by a team of leading international scholars, The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare and War illuminates the ways Shakespeare''s works provide a rich and imaginative resource for thinking about the topic of war. Contributors explore the multiplicity of conflicting perspectives his dramas offer: war depicted from chivalric, masculine, nationalistic, and imperial perspectives; war depicted as a source of great excitement and as a theater of honor; war depicted from realistic or skeptical perspectives that expose the butchery, suffering, illness, famine, degradation, and havoc it causes. The essays in this volume examine the representations and rhetoric of war throughout Shakespeare''s plays, as well as the modern history of the war plays on stage, in film, and in propaganda. This book offers fresh perspectives on Shakespeare''s multifaceted representations of the complexities of early modern warfare, while at the same time illuminating why his perspectives on war and its consequences continue to matter now and in the future.Trade Review'The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare and War is much more than an overview of a field or guide to an area and performs valuable intellectual work in bringing together diverse perspectives on a subject that embarrasses as well as attracts readers, many of whom want a straightforward understanding of a complicated subject that will inevitably resist mastery.' Andrew Hadfield, Times Literary SupplementTable of Contents1. Beyond shallow and silence: war in the age of Shakespeare Paul E. J. Hammer; 2. Just war theory and Shakespeare Franziska Quabeck; 3. Shakespeare on civil and dynastic wars David Bevington; 4. Foreign war Claire McEachern; 5. War and the classical world Maggie Kilgour; 6. 'The question of these wars': Shakespeare, warfare, and the chronicles David Scott Kastan; 7. Instrumentalizing anger: warfare and disposition in the Henriad Gail Kern Paster; 8. War and Eros David Schalkwyk; 9. Shakespeare's language and the Rhetoric of war Lynne Magnusson; 10. Staging Shakespeare's wars in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries Michael Hattaway; 11. Reading Shakespeare's wars on film: ideology and montage Gregory Semenza; 12. Shakespeare and World War II Garrett A. Sullivan Jr; 13. Henry V and the pleasures of war Paul Stevens; 14. Macbeth and Trauma Willy Maley; 15. Coriolanus and the use of power Catherine M. S. Alexander.
£22.79
Focus Publishing/R Pullins & Co Roman Comedy: Five Plays by Plautus and Terence:
Book SynopsisThis anthology contains English translations of five plays by two of the best practitioners of Roman comedy, Plautus and Terence. The plays, Menaechmi, Rudens, Truculentus, Adelphoe, and Eunuchus, provide an introduction to the world of Roman comedy. As with all Focus translations, the emphasis is on a handsomely produced, inexpensive, readable edition that is close to the original, with an extensive introduction, notes and appendices.
£18.89
Hackett Publishing Co, Inc Prometheus Bound
Book SynopsisThis is an outstandingly useful edition of Prometheus Bound. The translation is both faithful and graceful, and the introduction to this difficult play is a model of clarity, intelligence, and a profound familiarity with the workings of Greek myth, Greek literature, and literature in general. --Rachel Hadas, Department of English, Rutgers UniversityTrade ReviewThis is the best Prometheus Bound in English. Deborah Roberts' translation is accurate, readable, and true to the original in idiom, imagery, and the combination of a high style with occasional colloquialism. The informative notes and perceptive Introduction will help readers to experience the play with heightened pleasure and understanding. --Seth L. Schein, Professor of Comparative Literature, University of California, Davis
£11.99
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Double Falsehood: Third Series
Book SynopsisOn December 1727 an intriguing play called Double Falshood; Or, The Distrest Lovers was presented for production by Lewis Theobald, who had it published in January 1728 after a successful run at the TheatreRoyal, Drury Lane, London. The title page to the published version claims that the play was 'Written Originally by W.SHAKESPEARE'. Double Falsehood's plot is a version of the story of Cardenio found in Cervantes's Don Quixote (1605) as translated by Thomas Shelton, published in 1612 though in circulation earlier. Documentary records testify to the existence of a play, certainly performed in 1613, by John Fletcher and William Shakespeare, probably entitled The History of Cardenio and presumed to have been lost. The audience in 1727 would certainly have recognised stage situations and dramatic structures and patterns reminiscent of those in Shakespeare's canonical plays as well as many linguistic echoes. This intriguing complex textual and performance history is thoroughly explored and debated in this fully annotated edition, including the views of other major Shakespeare scholars. The illustrated introduction provides a comprehensive overview of the debates and opinions surrounding the play and the text is fully annotated with detailed commentary notes as in any Arden edition.Trade Review‘The publication of Theobald's adaptation in the Arden Shakespeare series is to be welcomed.' * Jonathan Bate, Daily Telegraph *‘For most of the three centuries since its debut, Double Falsehood; or, the Distrest Lovers has been ridiculed as a hoax or just disregarded. Yesterday that changed when The Arden Shakespeare, one of the best regarded scholarly editions of Shakespeare's plays, published Double Falsehood, endorsing its credentials and making it available for the first time in 250 years.' * The Times *‘The play's ‘bardic provenance' has been given fresh credibility by publishers Arden, who have included it in a new series of Shakespeare's work. The publication of the play, which is bound to spark heated scholarly discussion, comes after a ten year mission to crack a literary mystery by Professor Brean Hammond, of Nottingham University.' * Daily Mail *‘Professor Brean Hammond will publish compelling new evidence next week that the play is.. substantially based on a real Shakespeare play called Cardenio. Hammond has been backed in his assertion by the Shakespeare published Arden...' * The Guardian *‘This week, British publishers Arden Shakespeare published the play for the first time in 250 years with evidence Hammond has gathered over the past decade that shows Shakespeare's hand in the work, which was co-written by John Fletcher.' * CNN.com *‘Play, possibly reworked from Shakespeare, is added to a literary collection:: A play from the 1700s contains reworked material of Shakespeare's has gained a qualified endorsement from the Arden Shakespeare, a scholarly anthology of that playwright's work.' * New York Times *'...a thorough and judicious account of the relevant scholarship....Brean Hammond's excellent edition is indispensable.' * Times Literary Supplement (May 2010) *'The play was recently published by the Arden Shakespeare, for the first time in 250 years, with evidence Prof Hammond has gathered over the past decade that shows Shakespeare's hand in the work.' * Birmingham Post (July 2010) *'It is brilliant and unusual; the Bard's style and influence seemed irrefutable...even though there is a darker twist to the dialogue and plot than one might expect from him immediately.' * The Observer (January 2011) *
£17.99
The Gresham Publishing Co. Ltd Twelfth Night - The Student's Shakespeare: With
Book SynopsisWilliam Shakespeare's Twelfth Night is a comedy. In medieval and Tudor times, the 'Twelfth Night' was the end of a winter festival that started on 31 October (All Hallows Eve, or as we know it today, Halloween). Mulled cider was drunk, and special pastries baked, and a king and queen (who could have been servants in charge for the night) ruled the festival until the clock struck midnight. People expected a topsy-turvy evening, with singing and clowning about, when the normal order of things was reversed, and the Lord of Misrule symbolised the world turning upside down. Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, with its rebellious gender jokes, crossdressing, practical jokes, daft costumes, moonstruck lovers and comic revenge would have been amusing for audiences. Today we study the play to understand the language and appreciate the play's entertaining nature, and we enjoy the farcical mixing- up of men and women, and the funny characters such as Malvolio. This new edition includes the complete text with explanatory notes, Shakespeare's language, and themes, and also explores typical exam themes and questions.Table of ContentsIncludes: Introduction The Story of Twelfth Night The Play's Characters Themes and Language Examining the Play The Play Notes throughout
£8.56
Stanford University Press Shakespeare's Mad Men: A Crisis of Authority
Book SynopsisThis book is about a mad king and a mad duke. With original and iconoclastic readings, Richard van Oort pioneers the reading of Shakespeare as an ethical thinker of the "originary scene," the scene in which humans became conscious of themselves as symbol-using moral and narrative beings. Taking King Lear and Measure for Measure as case studies, van Oort shows how the minimal concept of an anthropological scene of origin—the "originary hypothesis"—provides the basis for a new understanding of every aspect of the plays, from the psychology of the characters to the ethical and dialogical conflicts upon which the drama is based. The result is a gripping commentary on the plays. Why does Lear abdicate and go mad? Why does Edgar torture his father with non-recognition? Why does Lucio accuse the Duke in Measure for Measure of madness and lechery, and why does Isabella remain silent at the end? In approaching these and other questions from the perspective of the originary hypothesis, van Oort helps us to see the ethical predicament of the plays, and, in the process, makes Shakespeare new again.Trade Review"This is criticism of the highest order, whose long, careful readings of King Lear and Measure for Measure are in dialogue with the finest readers of Shakespeare for the past century." —Blair Hoxby, Stanford University"A rigorous yet highly readable attempt to understand Shakespeare and neoclassical drama in general in new terms, Shakespeare's Mad Men demonstrates in admirable detail the analytical power of generative anthropology wielded by a powerful intelligence."—Eric Gans, University of California, Los Angeles"Attentive to both the ruses of bad faith and the truths disclosed by Shakespeare's language, van Oort addresses our human predicament as symbol-making creatures whose search for love is troubled by the ceaseless drive for mastery."—Julia Reinhard Lupton, University of California, Irvine"van Oort's reading is nothing less than a stunning provocation."—Amir Khan, Shakespeare Quarterly"[R]eaders... will find value and pleasure in van Oort's compelling readings, and his clear style makes complex concepts pleasingly accessible."—Molly G. Yarp, Times Literary Supplement"Eminently readable, Shakespeare's Man Men attempts to engage and explain the larger questions the plays raise, particularly why characters behave the way they do and make the choices they do. The readings are original and offer exciting ways to engage with the plays. Highly recommended."—K. J. Wetmore Jr., CHOICETable of ContentsIntroduction 1. The King's Last Potlatch 2. The Judge, the Duke, His Wife, and Her Lover Conclusion
£23.39
Hackett Publishing Co, Inc Black Protagonists of Early Modern Spain: Three
Book SynopsisRemarkable products of a nation deeply implicated in the Atlantic slave trade, the seventeenth-century Spanish plays Juan Latino, The Brave Black Soldier, and Virtues Overcome Appearances appear together in English for the first time in this volume. The three protagonists not only defy the period’s color-based prejudices but smash through its ultimate social barrier: marriage into the white nobility. Michael Kidd’s fluid translations and extensive critical introduction, bibliography, and glossary are enhanced by Hackett’s title support webpage. Black Protagonists of Early Modern Spain is essential reading for students of theater history, Spanish literature, and the African diaspora.Trade Review"Kidd’s book on Black protagonists in early 17th century Spain is a remarkable introduction to a little-known world of drama that explores the racial realities of a society of Christians, Muslims, and Africans. His three specimen plays include the slave Juan Latino, a Black scholar, whose learning earns him a noble white wife and a university chair. Juan de Merida is The Brave Black Soldier who captures Prince William of Orange, thus ending the war in Flanders. He is a free man and wins his woman. Filipo, the accidental prince of Virtues Overcome Appearances, is an aberration, the result of coitus during which his father, Lisandro, imagines the Ethiopian Queen Saba. Filipo, the Black prince, is immured until he frees himself and proves his worth by his virtue. The play ends with his becoming the king and acting like an absolute monarch. Kidd’s scholarly commentary is illuminating and his analyses are a great aid in understanding the complexities of the racial content of the plays. I found this an extraordinary eye-opening read that will be exciting to use in a classroom." —Lee A. Jacobus, Professor Emeritus of English, University of Connecticut
£20.69
Liverpool University Press Aristophanes Clouds
Book SynopsisClouds has always fascinated students of philosophy because of its portrayal of Socrates as an atheist and a teacher of dishonest rhetoric, justly punished by the agents of the gods whom he refuses to recognise. [Greek text with facing translation, commentary and notes. 2007 reprint of the 1991 third edition, with addenda and a new bibliography.]Trade Review‘For an overall series of the entire corpus, including critical text, commentary, translation, and full introduction, all subsumed to one man’s intelligent analysis and wide-ranging scholarship, Sommerstein stands triumphantly alone. [...] Aristophanes is lucky to have so devoted, erudite, and witty a modern celebrant.’Scholia‘This work is a fine and unpretentious introduction to Aristophanic comedy.’Journal of Hellenic Studies'Sommerstein has exercised throughout the refreshing independence of judgement, backed by learning.’JACTTable of ContentsPrefaceAddenda 2007Select BibliographyBibliography to CloudsReferences and AbbreviationsCLOUDS Introductory Note Select Bibliography Note on the Text Sigla Text and Translation Notes
£34.88
Focus Publishing/R Pullins & Co The Theban Plays: Antigone, King Oidipous and
Book Synopsis
£18.99
Focus Publishing/R Pullins & Co Acharnians
Book SynopsisAnother in the Focus Classical Library modern translations of works from the Classical world. This series of translations is noted for the clarity of translation and fidelity to the intent of the original work, with notes and an introduction that provide the student with access to the intent of the author in the original. As such these works are outstanding for their ability to provide the reader with the sense of the original as it was understood in its time and an excellent starting point for any interpretation or adaptation. The Acharnians is one of Aristophanes' anti-war comedies.
£12.34
Pan Macmillan Shakespeare for Every Day of the Year
Book SynopsisFrom Allie Esiri, editor of the bestselling A Poem for Every Day of the Year and A Poem for Every Night of the Year, comes this beautiful audio anthology of Shakespeare's works.William Shakespeare wrote at least 37 plays, 154 sonnets and a handful of longer poems and you can discover them all here. Each track of this unique collection contains an extract, which might be a famous poem, quote or scene, matched to the date, performed by leading actors such as Sir Simon Russell Beale, Helen McCrory, and Damian Lewis. Allie Esiri's introductions give her readers a new window into the work, time and life of the greatest writer in the English language. Shakespeare for Every Day of the Year is perfect for listening or sharing and brings you Shakespeare’s best-known and best-loved classics alongside lesser known extracts read by a range of award-winning Shakespearean actors. Esiri’s entertaining and insightful thoughts on each entry will fill your year with wonder, laughter, wisdom and wit.The complete cast of performers are: Sir Simon Russell Beale, Helen McCrory, Damian Lewis, Hattie Morahan, Pappa Essiedu, Jade Anouka, Ben Allen and Jot Davies.
£20.39
Oxford University Press Cymbeline
Book Synopsis''I see a man''s life is a tedious one.''Set in Ancient Britain, Cymbeline is a play of deceit, disguise, banishment, and fidelity against the backdrop of a Roman invasion. When the King of Britain Cymbeline discovers his daughter''s secret marriage, he banishes her husband to Rome, who then accuses Innogen of being unfaithful. Innogen must evade deadly plots and homicidal jealousy to restore her name. Long recognised as a response to James VI and I''s project to unite England and Scotland, the play conjures ancient British history at a moment when that history was eroding, revealed as a medieval invention. This sense of historical endings is entangled with Cymbeline as a late play, and its numerous apparent callbacks across Shakespeare''s career.The New Oxford Shakespeare offers authoritative editions of Shakespeare''s works with introductory materials designed to encourage new interpretations of the plays and poems. Using the text from the landmark The New Oxford Shakespeare Complete Works: Modern Critical Edition, these volumes offer readers the latest thinking on the authentic texts (collated from all surviving original versions of Shakespeare''s work) alongside innovative introductions from leading scholars. The texts are accompanied by a comprehensive set of critical apparatus to give readers the best resources to help understand and enjoy Shakespeare''s work.ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World''s Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford''s commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.
£7.59
Oxford University Press The Tragedy of Coriolanus
Book SynopsisCoriolanus is perhaps the most brilliant political play ever written. Set in Ancient Rome, it remains a gripping psychological study of the relationship between personality and politics. The introduction to this new edition considers Shakespeare''s adaptation of his historical material (Plutarch''s Lives) in relation to the social and political conditions in London and Stratford at the time of the play''s composition, also offering new evidence that it was written in 1608. Professor Parker examines the play''s history and particularly its staging at the Blackfriars theatre, where it was probably the first of Shakespeare''s plays to be presented and for which it may have been written. A thorough commentary pays special attention to the needs of actors and directors. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World''s Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford''s commitment to scholarship, providing the mostTrade Review'Stanley Wells' OUP Complete Works of Shakespeare is now eight years old and has spawned a new Oxford Shakespeare which appears now in splendidly affordable volumes in that nonpareil of libraries of good reading The World's Classics.' The Oxford Times * English Studies Offprint from vol.77 Number 1, January 1996 *
£8.54
Oxford University Press Henry V The Oxford Shakespeare
Book SynopsisHenry V, the climax of Shakespeare''s sequence of English history plays, is an inspiring, often comic celebration of a young warrior-king. But it is also a study of the costly exhilarations of war, and of the penalties as well as the glories of human greatness.Introducing this brilliantly innovative edition, Gary Taylor shows how Shakespeare shaped his historical material, examines controversial critical interpretations, discusses the play''s fluctuating fortunes in performance, and analyses the range and variety of Shakespeare''s characterization. The first Folio text is radically rethought, making original use of the First Quarto (1600). ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World''s Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford''s commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to c
£8.54
Oxford University Press Troilus and Cressida The Oxford Shakespeare
Book SynopsisTrade Review`authoritatively tackles one of the most textually troubling plays' Sunday Times'Stanley Wells' OUP Complete Works of Shakespeare is now eight years old and has spawned a new Oxford Shakespeare which appears now in splendidly affordable volumes in that nonpareil of libraries of good reading The World's Classics.' The Oxford Times
£8.54
Hachette Children's Group Stories from Shakespeare
Book SynopsisTen of Shakespeare's greatest plays, retold for children by multi-award winning author Geraldine McCaughrean.From love, jealousy, greed and betrayal to mad kings, magic and murder, Geraldine McCaughrean retells some of Shakespeare's best-known stories, including Romeo and Juliet, Henry the Fifth, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Julius Caesar, Hamlet, Twelfth Night, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth and The Tempest.With easy to follow prose punctuated with well-known quotations and featuring a cast list for each play, this accessible collection will delight and entertain readers of all ages.Trade ReviewThe contents are not only a pleasing translation, as it were, but written with the hallmarks of a craftsman: skilful simplicity and a well trained eye for the telling phrase. - Theatre Magazine
£6.99
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC King Henry IV Part 1: Third Series
Book SynopsisDavid Scott Kastan lucidly explores the remarkable richness and the ambitious design of King Henry IV Part 1 and shows how these complicate any easy sense of what kind of play it is. Conventionally regarded as a history play, much of it is in fact conspicuously invented fiction, and Kastan argues that the non-historical, comic plot does not simply parody the historical action but by its existence raises questions about the very nature of history. The full and engaging introduction devotes extensive discussion to the play's language, indicating how its insistent economic vocabulary provides texture for the social concerns of the play and focuses attention on the central relationship between value and political authority.Trade Review'It is the superbly generous girth of Shakespeare's Henry IV plays that makes them so remarkable' * Charles Spencer, Daily Telegraph, 15.07.10 *'Shakespeare's story of a troubled usurper, a rebel age, a dissolute prince and his Falstaff.' * Libby Purves, The Times, 16.07.10 *'This is Shakespeare's masterpeice where diseaeses are turned to commodity, the hostess is eaten out of house and home, citizens are urged to construe the time to their neccessities, and white hairs ill become a fool and jester.' * Michael Coveney, Independent, 16.07.10 *
£11.99
Classical Comics A Midsummer Night's Dream the Graphic Novel:
Book SynopsisThe entire play translated into plain English! "The course of true love never did run smooth;" With its mix of real people who stumble into a fairy kingdom (with it's own problems!) it's little wonder that this play is one of the best loved and most performed of all Shakespeare's masterpieces.
£11.99
Oxford University Press The Oxford Shakespeare Cymbeline
Book SynopsisOne of Shakespeare's final works, Cymbeline uses virtuoso theatrical and poetic means to dramatize a story of a marriage imperilled by mistrust and painfully rebuilt, in a context of international conflict. This edition emphasizes the play's theatrical impact and pays close attention to its complex, evocative language.Table of ContentsList of Illustrations ; Introduction: Theatricality; Theatrical Perspectives: Experiment and Intimacy; Romance; A Retrospective Play; Style; The Wager Story; Widening the Wager Story; 'In a great pool a swan's nest': Rome and Britain; 'none but Milford way': From Court to Country; Innogen by Cloten's Corpse; Posthumus-and Jupiter; The Final Scene-and James I; Date; The Text ; Editorial Procedures; Abbreviations and References ; Cymbeline ; Appendix A: The Characters' Names ; Appendix B: The Music, edited by James Walker ; Appendix C: Alterations to Lineation ; Index
£28.49
Dover Publications Inc. King Lear
Book Synopsis
£6.83
Cambridge University Press The First Part of King Henry VI
a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.
£57.94
Christian Publishers LLC Scenes from Shakespeare
Book SynopsisShakespeare in easy-to-use segments for high school and college students. Now students are able to sample a variety of his plays and come to a more complete understanding. Scenes only require from 2-7 characters and are 15-25 minutes in length, making them ideal for classroom performance or for contests, auditions and acting workshops. Each scene is preceded by a brief description of the characters and a plot synopsis.
£15.29
