William Shakespeare

Shakespeare's history of Henry V's remarkable victory over the French at Agincourt and the subsequent peace between the two nations is also a study of war and kingship. From his wild youth, Henry comes to embody all of the kingly virtues: courage, justice, integrity and honour. Ironically these qualities are brought to the fore by the realities of war. Written at the end of the life of Elizabeth I, Henry V told the British people that with strong leadership, they had little to fear at a time of uncertainty.

The Merchant of Venice is perhaps most associated not with its titular hero, Antonio, but with the complex figure of the money-lender, Shylock. The play was described as a comedy in the First Folio but its modern audiences find it more problematic to categorize. The vilification of Shylock 'the Jew' can be very uncomfortable for a post-holocaust audience, and debates continue as to whether Shakespeare's portrayal of this complex man is sympathetic or anti-semitic. A exacting and controversial comedy, The Merchant of Venice explores prejudice and the true nature of justice.

This is an intense drama of love, deception, jealousy and destruction. Desdemona's love for Othello, the Moor, transcends racial prejudice; but the envious lago conspires to devastate their lives. In its vivid rendering of racism, sexism, contested identities, and the savagery lurking within civilisation, Othello is arguably the most topical and accessible tragedy from Shakespeare's major phase as a dramatist. The play raises uncomfortable questions about ongoing questions of not only racial identity but also sexuality, as Othello and Desdemona's sexual relationship becomes the voyeuristic site of lago's attempt to destroy them.

Separated from her twin brother Sebastian after a shipwreck, Viola disguises herself as a boy to serve the Duke of Illyria. Wooing a countess on his behalf, she is stunned to find herself the object of his beloved's affections. With the arrival of Viola's brother, and a trick played upon Malvolio, the countess' steward, confusion reigns in this romantic comedy of mistaken identity. The gentle melancholy and lyrical atmosphere of Twelfth Night, enlivened by a comic sub-plot of considerable accomplishment, have long made the play a favourite with Shakespearian audiences.

A vivacious woman and a high-spirited man both claim that they are determined never to marry. But when their friends trick them into believing that each harbours secret feelings for the other, they begin to question whether their witty banter and sharp-tongued repartee conceals something deeper. Schemes abound, misunderstandings proliferate and matches are eventually made in this sparkling and irresistible comedy.

An ageing king makes a capricious decision to divide his realm among his three daughters according to the love they express for him. When the youngest daughter refuses to take part in this charade, she is banished, leaving the king dependent on her manipulative and untrustworthy sisters. In the scheming and recriminations that follow, not only does the king's own sanity crumble, but the stability of the realm itself is also threatened.

HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. 'All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players'. Featuring Rosalind, one of Shakespeare's most likeable and strong female protagonists, As You Like It is a comedic play centred around concealed identity, love, exile and artifice. Banished from the court by her uncle, Rosalind flees to the forest with her cousin Celia and her jester, joining her already exiled father, and disguising herself as a boy. In the guise of a young man, she instructs her would-be lover Orlando in the ways of love and in doing so allows Shakespeare to explore the dynamics of the city and the country as well as the sexual politics of the time.

HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. 'Though this be madness, yet there is method in it'. Considered one of Shakespeare's most rich and enduring plays, the depiction of its hero Hamlet as he vows to avenge the murder of his father by his brother Claudius is both powerful and complex. As Hamlet tries to find out the truth of the situation, his troubled relationship with his mother comes to the fore, as do the paradoxes in his personality. A play of carefully crafted conflict and tragedy, Shakespeare's intricate dialogue continues to fascinate audiences to this day.

HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. 'The better part of valour is discretion'. King Henry IV's son, Prince Harry is quick-witted yet idle and irresponsible and lives a roguish existence keeping dubious company. However, when the kingdom is threatened, Prince Harry shows his true worth and heroism and begins a journey of transformation from layabout to noble leader.

HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. 'Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more!' Henry V is the final and most celebrated play of Shakespeare's 'history plays'. Prince Harry reigns over England after the death of his father King Henry IV, uniting his country with his valiant leadership in the face of war against France. Featuring one of the most rousing and infamous speeches ever written by Shakespeare, Henry V remains one of his most powerful plays.

HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. 'Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! rage! blow!' Epic and tragic in its scope, King Lear explores a king's demise into madness and insanity when he is betrayed by two of his manipulative and scheming daughters. It is Cordelia, the third and only daughter who refuses to flatter her father to deceive, who is banished from the kingdom, leading to dramatic and tumultuous events.

HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. 'My Oberon! what visions have I seen! Methought I was enamoured of an ass'. When four young lovers flee from Athens and become lost in an enchanted wood, they stumble into a fairy world where King Oberon, and Queen Titania, are feuding over ownership of a young Indian prince. Seeking his revenge on Titania, Oberon and his servant Puck begin a magical, yet farcical chain of events where all become interwoven in a comedic and mischievous play about the difficulties of love.

HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. 'Thou and I are too wise to woo peaceabl'. One of Shakespeare's most witty and enjoyable comedies, Much Ado About Nothing is a play that explores courtship, romance and marriage through a number of relationships. Most famously, that of the irrepressible Beatrice and Benedick as they trade their wits against one another, criticising the notion or marriage, yet slowly falling in love with one another as they do so.

HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. 'O, beware, my lord, of jealousy! It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock The meat it feeds on'. Dramatic and powerful in its scope, Othello explores the perils of suspicion and jealousy and the ensuing breakdown of relationships and disaster that can arise from such emotions. Othello, a revered soldier, secretly marries Desdemona, the daughter of a Venetian senator, but is led to believe that she has been unfaithful to him by his ensign, Iago, leading to tragic events.

HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. 'Bear you well in this new spring of time, Lest you be cropp'd before you come to prime'. King Richard II rules England in a wasteful and short-sighted way, spending money unwisely and selecting his counselors foolishly. His manner ostracises him from his people and his country and it's not long before both commoners and noblemen feel Richard has gone too far. When Richard seizes land that rightfully belongs to his cousin Henry Bolingbroke, Bolingbroke retaliates by invading England while Richard is at war in Ireland. More popular with the commoners, Henry is eventually crowned King Henry IV. One of Shakespeare's 'history plays', Richard II explores the notion of the shadow that is cast over a king's reign if the throne is gained in underhand ways.

HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. 'Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight! For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night'. Arguably the greatest love story ever told, Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet continues to touch modern audiences with its passionate depiction of the tragic romance between two young lovers. With a bitter feud between their respective families, Romeo and Juliet's love is troubled from the start, and through their relationship, Shakespeare shows the fine line between love, hatred, comedy and tragedy.

HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. 'We are such stuff As dreams are made on; and our little life Is rounded with a sleep'. Magical and dreamlike in its tone, Shakespeare's The Tempest begins with a storm of epic proportions and a shipwreck. Banished from Italy, Prospero lives on a remote island with his daughter. Using his magic, he vows to seek revenge on the injustice dealt to him by his brother, but in doing so, Shakespeare questions the difficulty of distinguishing 'men' from 'monsters', and the realities of justice.

HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. 'If music be the food of love, play on; Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting, The appetite may sicken, and so die'. A comedic romance of mistaken identity, Twelfth Night begins with a shipwreck, splitting up Viola and her twin brother, Sebastian. Alone in a strange land, Viola disguises herself as a male servant, Cesario, in order to work for the Duke Orsino. Orsino is in love with Lady Olivia, but it is Cesario that Olivia falls for. A farcical tale of misplaced love, confusion, gender-swapping and aspiration, Twelfth Night remains one of Shakespeare's best-loved and inventive comedies.

This edition of Shakespeare's Complete Works contains all the plays and poems. The plays are arranged in the chronological order of their composition rather than gathered into comedies, histories and tragedies, the traditional method dating from the first folio; the volume also contains a sketch of Shakespeare's life, a biography of Sir John Gilbert, and an extensive glossary. The book is bound in real cloth, with head and tail bands, a ribbon marker, top edge gilt with a gold-blocked jacket, and has been completely reset. It is illustrated throughout with Sir John Gilbert's superb woodcuts. As the Magazine of Art wrote when the edition was first published, 'It is a virtue of Gilbert's achievements in black and white that he takes his place among the few masters, not only of his own age and country, but of all time'.

From the Royal Shakespeare Company — a fresh new edition of two of Shakespeare's classical plays. This book includes: — Illuminating introductions to Titus Andronicus and Timon of Athens by award-winning scholar Jonathan Bate; — The two plays — with clear explanatory notes on each page; — Helpful scene-by-scene analyses and key facts about both plays; — An introduction to Shakespeare's career and the Elizabethan theatre; — Rich explorations of approaches to staging both plays featuring photographs of key productions of each. The most enjoyable way to understand a Shakespeare play is to see it or participate in it. This book presents a historical overview of two of Shakespeare's classical plays Titus Andronicus and Timon of Athens in performance, recommends film versions, takes a detailed look at specific productions and includes interviews with three leading Directors — Gregory Doran, Yukio Ninagawa and Michael Pennington — 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 his death.

»»They do not love that do not show their love.»» Two Gentlemen of Verona « « Eminent Shakespearean scholars Jonathan Bate and Eric Rasmussen provide a fresh new edition of the classic comedy of courtship and delicious rivalry. THIS VOLUME ALSO INCLUDES MORE THAN A HUNDRED PAGES OF EXCLUSIVE FEATURES: — an original Introduction to «Two Gentlemen of Verona» — incisive scene-by-scene synopsis and analysis with vital facts about the work — commentary on past and current productions based on interviews with leading directors, actors, and designers — photographs of key RSC productions — an overview of Shakespeare's theatrical career and chronology of his plays Ideal for students, theater professionals, and general readers, these modern and accessible editions from the Royal Shakespeare Company set a new standard in Shakespearean literature for the twenty-first century.

A fresh new edition of Shakespeare's magical late play, developed by and for the RSC, includes new interviews with acclaimed directors Dominic Cooke and Emma Rice, looks at specific productions in the play's history, and an illuminating introduction to the play by acclaimed scholar Jonathan Bate.

A fresh new edition of Shakespeare's ambiguous, bittersweet fairy tale, developed by and for the RSC, includes new interviews with acclaimed directors Gregory Doran and Stephen Fried, and actor Guy Henry, looks at specific productions in the play's history, and an illuminating introduction by acclaimed scholar Jonathan Bate.

Hamlet's combination of violence and introspection is unusual among Shakespeare's tragedies. It is also full of curious riddles and fascinating paradoxes, making it one of his most widely discussed plays. Professor Hibbard's illuminating and original introduction explains the process by which variant texts were fused in the eighteenth century to create the most commonly used text of today. Drawing on both critical and theatrical history, he shows how this gusion makes Hamlet seem a much more 'problematic' play than it was when it originally appeared in the First Folio of 1623. The Oxford Shakespeare edition presents a radically new text, based on that First Folio, which printed Shakespeare's own revision of an earlier version. The result is a 'theatrical' and highly practical edition for students and actors alike.