David M Bevington

Believed to have been written in 1591, William Shakespeare's "Richard III" is one of the bards first plays, the first installment in a tetralogy of plays which includes "Henry IV, Part I," "Henry IV, Part II," and "Henry V." One of the longest of Shakespeare's plays and consequently rarely performed unabridged, "Richard III" is the story of the Machiavellian rise to power and subsequent short reign of King Richard III of England. The play begins with...

Although one of his lesser known plays, Shakespeare's considerable abilities as a playwright are readily apparent in "Troilus and Cressida." This historical and tragic 'problem play', thought to be inspired by Chaucer, Homer, and some of Shakespeare's history-recording contemporaries, is initially a tale of a man and woman in love during the Trojan War. When Cressida is given to the Greeks in exchange for a prisoner of war, Troilus is determined to...

The Genius of the Bard of Avon, in Lyric Form. Besides his notorious plays, William Shakespeare wrote many poems throughout his life, including 154 sonnets plus many lyric descriptions from the Greek and Roman mythology like Venus and Adonis or The Rape of Lucrece. In all of them, the Bard of Avon twisted and bent the rules of the Old English language creating a unique and stupendous lyric masterpiece that awe us to this day.

Without question the most influential, brilliant and beloved writer in the English language, William Shakespeare began as a simple poet and would-be actor, but after joining the Lord Chamberlain's Men acting company in London (later, the King's Men), he began writing plays and his works would go on to become the most performed theatrical pieces on the planet. It is difficult to encapsulate the scope and impact of Shakespeare's writings. Entire...

"King Lear, one of Shakespeare's darkest and most savage plays, tells the story of the foolish and purblind Lear, who divides his kingdom, as he does his affections, according to vanity and whim. Lear's failure as a father engulfs himself and his world in turmoil and tragedy." "Eminent linguist and translator Burton Raffel offers generous help with vocabulary, pronunciation, and prosody and provides alternative readings of phrases and lines. His on-page...

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.

Presents the original text of Shakespeare's play side by side with a modern version, with marginal notes and explanations and full descriptions of each character.