(Love and marriage are the concerns of Shakespeare’s The T...)
Love and marriage are the concerns of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew. Lucentio’s marriage to Bianca is prompted by his idealized love of an apparently ideal woman. Petruchio’s wooing of Katherine, however, is free of idealism. Petruchio takes money from Bianca’s suitors to woo her, since Katherine must marry before her sister by her father’s decree; he also arranges the dowry with her father. Petruchio is then ready to marry Katherine, even against her will. Katherine, the shrew of the play’s title, certainly acts much changed. But have she and Petruchio learned to love each other? Or is the marriage based on terror and deception?
(Two sets of twins are separated at birth by a storm at se...)
Two sets of twins are separated at birth by a storm at sea: a pair of masters (both named Antipholus) and a pair of servants (both named Dromio). Years later, the Antipholus-and- Dromio pair raised in Syracuse happen to visit Ephesus, where the respective twins reside — providing the basis for ongoing incidents of mistaken identity, within a lively plot of quarrels, arrests, and a grand courtroom denouement.
(Considered one of Shakespeare's greatest history plays, T...)
Considered one of Shakespeare's greatest history plays, The Tragedy of King Richard II concerns the ill-fated reign of a king whose eventual overthrow marks the beginning of Shakespeare's history cycle, including Henry IV, Part I, Henry IV Part II; and Henry V.
(In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare creates a violent world,...)
In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare creates a violent world, in which two young people fall in love. It is not simply that their families disapprove; the Montagues and the Capulets are engaged in a blood feud. In this death-filled setting, the movement from love at first sight to the lovers’ final union in death seems almost inevitable.
(Named for the twelfth night after Christmas, the end of t...)
Named for the twelfth night after Christmas, the end of the Christmas season, Twelfth Night plays with love and power. The Countess Olivia, a woman with her own household, attracts Duke (or Count) Orsino. Two other would-be suitors are her pretentious steward, Malvolio, and Sir Andrew Aguecheek. Onto this scene arrive the twins Viola and Sebastian; caught in a shipwreck, each thinks the other has drowned. Viola disguises herself as a male page and enters Orsino’s service. Orsino sends her as his envoy to Olivia—only to have Olivia fall in love with the messenger. The play complicates, then wonderfully untangles, these relationships.
(As You Like It is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespear...)
As You Like It is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare. As You Like It follows its heroine Rosalind as she flees persecution in her uncle's court, accompanied by her cousin Celia to find safety and, eventually, love, in the Forest of Arden. In the forest, they encounter a variety of memorable characters, notably the melancholy traveller Jaques who speaks many of Shakespeare's most famous speeches (such as "All the world's a stage" and "A fool! A fool! I met a fool in the forest"). Jaques provides a sharp contrast to the other characters in the play, always observing and disputing the hardships of life in the country. Historically, critical response has varied, with some critics finding the work of lesser quality than other Shakespearean works and some finding the play a work of great merit.
(In Othello, Shakespeare creates powerful drama from a mar...)
In Othello, Shakespeare creates powerful drama from a marriage between the exotic Moor Othello and the Venetian lady Desdemona that begins with elopement and mutual devotion and ends with jealous rage and death.
(In The Merchant of Venice, the path to marriage is hazard...)
In The Merchant of Venice, the path to marriage is hazardous. To win Portia, Bassanio must pass a test prescribed by her father’s will, choosing correctly among three caskets or chests. If he fails, he may never marry at all.
("A Midsummer Night's Dream", one of Shakespeare's earlies...)
"A Midsummer Night's Dream", one of Shakespeare's earliest comedies is a spectacular tale of fantasy. The story revolves around two couples (Hermia and Lysander and Helena and Demetrius) who escape to a fairyland forest ruled by Oberon and Titania, the King and Queen of the Fairies. "A Midsummer Night's Dream", is light-hearted fare that exhibits some of Shakespeare's greatest comedic and lyrical work.
("The Tempest," written in 1611, was the final play that S...)
"The Tempest," written in 1611, was the final play that Shakespeare wrote on his own. It is also one of only two Shakespeare plays that are entirely original. Because of those two facts, many assume that Prospero, one of the major characters in the play, is an amalgamation of Shakespeare himself.
(The greatest sonnets ever written, by the greatest poet a...)
The greatest sonnets ever written, by the greatest poet and playwright in the English language - now in a handsome edition featuring exquisite color illustrations.
(The complete works of Shakespeare have to be considered a...)
The complete works of Shakespeare have to be considered among the greatest works in all of English literature. This book contains Shakespeare's complete plays and complete poems in a new, easy-to-read and easy-to-navigate format.
The English playwright, poet, and actor William Shakespeare is generally acknowledged to be the greatest of English writers and one of the most extraordinary creators in human history.
Background
William was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, England and baptised on April 26, 1564 there. He was the third child of eight and the eldest surviving son. His mother, born Mary Arden, was the daughter of a landowner from a neighboring village. His father, John, son of a farmer, was a glove maker and trader of farm products; he had achieved a position of some eminence in the prosperous market town by the time of his son's birth, holding a number of responsible positions in Stratford's government and serving as mayor in 1569.
Education
Shakespeare presumably received a sound Classical training at the Stratford Grammar School, one of the best in rural England, which offered free education to the sons of Stratford citizens. Like other Elizabethan schoolboys, he studied Latin grammar during the early years, then progressed to the study of logic, rhetoric, composition, oration, versification, and the monuments of Roman literature.
A plausible tradition holds that William had to discontinue his education when about 13 in order to help his father.
Career
Talking about the style that Shakespeare adopted for his work, he was extremely innovative. He adapted the traditional and convention style in his own way by adding metaphors and rhetorical phrases. However, the additions hardly ever aligned to the plot or the characters of the story.
Most of his plays have the presence of a metrical pattern consisting of lines of unrhymed iambic pentameter, or blank verse. Furthermore, there are passages in all the plays that deviate from this and use forms of poetry or simple prose.
In the initial years of his writing, i. e. during the 1590s, Shakespeare mostly took the theme of his work from history, 'Richard II', 'Henry V', 'Henry VI' and so on. The only work which was an exception during this phase was 'Romeo and Juliet'.
Versatility crept in later as Shakespeare tried to touch various genres with his extensive work. While 'A Midsummer Night’s Dream' was his take on witty romance, 'Merchant of Venice' depicted the romance quotient.
'Much Ado About Nothing' showed the importance of wit and wordplay while 'As You Like It' and 'Twelfth Night' were an out-and-out comedy. Some of the other works of this time include, 'Titus Andronicus', 'The Comedy of Errors', 'The Taming of the Shrew' and 'The Two Gentlemen of Verona'.
In his later years, Shakespeare touched the genre of tragedy. In his character-representation, Shakespeare presented an intense account of human behaviour and actions. Several of human emotions like betrayal, retribution, incest and moral failure were classically defined in the works including 'Hamlet', 'King Lear', 'Othello' and 'Macbeth'. Most of these works had tragic endings and thus came under the genre of dark tragedies.
It was in the last league of his works that Shakespeare mixed tragedy and comedy to come up with tragicomedies that though had a sad story to tell, but by the expiration of the play, had a happy ending. 'Cymbeline', 'The Winter's Tale' and 'The Tempest' are classic examples of such plays written by Shakespeare.
After 1610, the number of plays written by Shakespeare reduced astronomically to the point that after 1613, there are no plays attributed to him. It is speculated that his last three written plays were in collaboration with John Fletcher, who succeeded as the playwright after Shakespeare for the theatre group, King’s Men.
Some scholars say that members of Shakespeare's family were Catholics. Shakespeare's mother, Mary Arden, certainly came from a pious Catholic family. Others claim he was a confirmed member of the Church of England, where he was married, his children were baptized, and where he is buried. Scholars find evidence both for and against Shakespeare's Catholicism, Protestantism, or lack of belief in his plays, but the truth may be impossible to prove.
Views
Quotations:
"A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool."
"Good night, good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow, that I shall say good night till it be morrow."
"When a father gives to his son, both laugh; when a son gives to his father, both cry."
"If you prick us do we not bleed? If you tickle us do we not laugh? If you poison us do we not die? And if you wrong us shall we not revenge?"
"To be, or not to be, that is the question."
Personality
William Shakespeare's personality rotated around creativity, spirituality and art. He was always quiet, reserved and a little bit secretive. Throughout his writing career, it was observed that he was very alert and inquisitive. He always reflected about life and its sorrows. William was humorous as shown by his great love and affection towards his father.
Connections
At 18, William married 26-year-old Anne Hathaway, who was pregnant. Susanna, the first of their three children, was born six months later on 26 May 1583. Shakespeare showed concern for his family's reputation and financial security, although he often lived apart from them.
Shakespeare: Modern Essays in Criticism
These thirty essays reflect contemporary interest in poetic language, the aesthetics of drama, the Elizabethan theater, and Renaissance modes of thought. The selections provide an excellent sampling of both contrasting and complementary viewpoints and have been drawn from the work of such distinguished modern critics as H. Granville-Barker, Northrop Frye, L.L. Barber, Robert Ornstein, Mark Van Doren, and Reuben Brower.
The Wheel of Fire: Interpretations of Shakespearian Tragedy
Standing head and shoulders above all other Shakespearean interpretations, this is the masterwork of the brilliant English scholar, G. Wilson Knight. Founding a new and influential school of Shakespearean criticism, Wheel of Fire was Knight's first venture in the field - his writing sparkles with insight and wit, and his analyses are key to contemporary understandings of Shakespeare.
Shakespearean Tragedy: Lectures on Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth
Approaching the tragedies as drama, wondering about their characters as he might have wondered about people in novels or in life, Bradley is one of the most liberating in the line of distinguished Shakespeare critics. His acute yet undogmatic and almost conversational critical method has—despite fluctuations in fashion—remained enduringly popular and influential.
1904
Shakespeare
This legendary book by an esteemed poet and beloved professor at Columbia University features a series of smart, witty, deeply perceptive essays about each of Shakespeare's plays, together with a further discussion of the poems. Writing with an incomparable knowledge of his subject but without a hint of pedantry, Van Doren elucidates both the astonishing boldness and myriad subtleties of Shakespeare's protean art.