Reviews (1)

Shakespeare on the danger of messing with prophecy
William Shakespeare's tragedy "Macbeth" was performed at the Globe Theater in 1605-06. The "Scottish" play was a calculated to be pleasing to James I, who took the throne of England after the death of Elizabeth Tudor in 1603. It was not simply that the play was set in the homeland of the Stuarts, but also that when Banquo's royal descendants are envisioned the last of them is the new King. (Note: Shakespeare does a similar sort of tribute to Queen Elizabeth when in the final act of "Henry VIII" the the Archbishop prophesizes great things for the infant Elizabeth. However, not only is there doubt that Shakespeare was the sole author of that particular history, it was not produced until 1612-13, ten years after Elizabeth's death.)
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Subjects:  1. 11th cent.    2. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 10-12)    3. Drama    4. Drama (Young Adult)    5. Juvenile Nonfiction    6. King of Scotland,    7. Macbeth,    8. Plays / Drama    9. Shakespeare    10. Drama / Shakespeare    11. English    12. English literature: Shakespeare criticism    13. English literature: Shakespeare texts    14. Literature/English | Drama | Shakespeare   

Reviews (1)

To read or not to read
I recently read the book Hamlet by William Shakespeare and I loved it. It contains all of the characteristics needed for a good story Such as murder, revenge, friendship, trust, life, and death. Hamlet also expresses how many different emotions people can have such as love, hate, anger, sadness, and much more. This story shows how important family and love are. Read more

Subjects:  1. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Nonfiction    2. Children: Grades 4-6    3. Death    4. Drama    5. Fathers    6. Hamlet (Legendary character)    7. Juvenile Nonfiction    8. Murder victims' families    9. Drama / British & Irish    10. English literature: Shakespeare texts    11. Literature/English | Drama | Shakespeare   

Reviews (1)

A good edition to teach from
I've taught with this series in small classes of teens and find it useful. First, the page layout is good: ample margins, notes in a separate column alongside the text so they are easy to refer to, and a font that is not too small.
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Subjects:  1. 1387-1422    2. Drama    3. General    4. Great Britain    5. Henry    6. Henry V, 1413-1422    7. Historical drama    8. History    9. King of England,    10. Performing Arts/Dance    11. Plays / Drama    12. Shakespeare    13. Designed / suitable for National Curriculum    14. Drama / Shakespeare    15. English    16. English literature: Shakespeare criticism    17. English literature: Shakespeare texts    18. Literature/English | Drama | Shakespeare    19. Shakespeare plays, texts    20. Shakespeare studies & criticism   

Subjects:  1. Athens (Greece)    2. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 10-12)    3. Comedies    4. Courtship    5. Drama    6. Fairy plays    7. General    8. Juvenile Nonfiction    9. Performing Arts/Dance    10. Plays / Drama    11. Shakespeare    12. Drama / Shakespeare    13. English    14. English literature: Shakespeare criticism    15. English literature: Shakespeare texts    16. For National Curriculum Key Stage 4 & GCSE    17. Literature/English | Drama | Shakespeare   

Subjects:  1. Drama    2. Juliet (Fictitious character)    3. Literature - Classics / Criticism    4. Plays    5. Romeo (Fictitious character)    6. Shakespeare    7. Vendetta    8. Drama / Shakespeare    9. English literature: Shakespeare texts    10. For National Curriculum Key Stage 3    11. Literature/English | Drama | Shakespeare   

Reviews (2)

Perfection
THE MERCHANT OF VENICE is a perfect play, a romantic comedy with a memorable tragic hero and a fairy tale element, as well.Venetian merchant Antonio and his best friend, Bassanio, find themselves in trouble with the Jewish moneylender Shylock over a sizeable unpaid debt.Bassanio had borrowed the money on his friend's credit, and Antonio had been confident that he would be able to repay Shylock.But when Antonio's ships miscarry at sea, and when Shylock's daughter, Jessica, elopes with Lorenzo, a Christian, taking much of her father's gold with her, the moneylender vows revenge:he will insist on his right to extract, in court, "a pound of flesh" from Antonio.Bassanio had used the money to woo Portia, a witty and beautiful lady who lives in idyllic Belmont and who must, according to her late father's wishes, marry whichever suitor chooses the one casket out of three that contains her portrait.One of the caskets is made of gold, another of silver, and the third of lead.Bassanio's realization that the leaden casket is the one with Portia's picture in it proves the old maxim that appearances are deceiving and that "[a]ll that glisters is not gold."In the end, it is Portia who saves the day by impersonating a lawyer in court and using the letter of the law itself to defeat Shylock and save Antonio's life.
The Merchant of Venice
The Merchant of Venice, by William Shakespeare, is a play that many readers will enjoy. Although this play may seem lighthearted, it addresses important themes and reflects societal views. The theme of appearances versus reality is depicted through the gold, sliver, and lead caskets that Portia's suitors pick from, illustrating the clich� that "all that glitters is not gold". This theme is revisited when Portia dresses as a man and cleverly solves the conflict between Bassanio, Antonio, and Shylock. Shakespeare also addresses the anti-Semitic views of the Elizabethan society though the antagonistic interaction between Antonio and Shylock. At the conclusion of the play, all the conflicts are happily resolved: Bassanio and Portia are reunited and Shylock converts to Christianity. The audience leaves the play with that warm and happy feeling. I would highly recommend this play. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1564-1616.    2. Drama    3. General    4. Italy    5. Jews    6. Merchant of Venice    7. Moneylenders    8. Performing Arts/Dance    9. Plays / Drama    10. Shakespeare    11. Shakespeare, William,    12. Venice (Italy)    13. Designed / suitable for National Curriculum    14. Drama / Shakespeare    15. English    16. English literature: Shakespeare criticism    17. English literature: Shakespeare texts    18. Literature/English | Drama | Shakespeare    19. Shakespeare plays, texts    20. Shakespeare studies & criticism   

Subjects:  1. Drama    2. Plays    3. Plays / Drama    4. Shakespeare    5. Drama / Shakespeare    6. English literature: Shakespeare texts    7. For National Curriculum Key Stage 3    8. Literature/English | Drama | Shakespeare   

Reviews (41)

The Tragedy of the Tragically Unaesthetically Pleasing Review
"The Tragedy of Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare proves to be an amazing read if one thoroughly enjoys the challenge of deciphering the selective form of writing and occasionally complicated dialect. This classic play is based on the true, factual account of the assassination of Julius Caesar as it truly took place in 44 B.C. Of course, Shakespeare has completely made the story his own through the use of comic relief, characterization, and wonderful original composition. Julius Caesar, the ambitious and prideful dictator of Rome, has returned home from a victorious battle against his fellow Triumvirate, Pompey. As he celebrates and relishes his absolute power, little does he suspect the growing opposition of conspirators, some of whom he would never expect. This read is certainly worthwhile if one has a good taste for tragedy and does not mind a challenge.

Great edition of a great play
I really enjoyed reading this edition of the play. Each scene is proceded by a summary of the secene and followed by commentary on the scene, and there are notes alongside the text explaining unusual words/phrases. As an actor, I have been reading Shakespeare for quite awhile, and I still found this book very helpful. If you are new to reading Shakespeare, I particularly recommend this because you will find it very helpful.

Excellent Shakespeare Classic
Shakespeare wrote Julius Caesar in about 1599. The play was the first of three Roman plays. Shakespeare based the source material for the play on a translation of a work by the Greek philosopher and biographer Plutarch, called "The lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans". Shakespeare, like Plutarch, praises and criticises the actions of the main characters in the assassination of Julius Caesar. However, the historical events in the play are fairly accurate, although the playwright sometimes changed the sequence and timing of events and added his limitless imagination to produce a timeless play that has been enacted and enjoyed by millions of people worldwide over the centuries.
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Subjects:  1. Assassination    2. Assassins    3. Caesar, Julius    4. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 10-12)    5. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    6. Conspiracies    7. Drama    8. General    9. Juvenile Nonfiction    10. Plays / Drama    11. Shakespeare    12. Tragedies    13. Drama / Shakespeare    14. English    15. English literature: Shakespeare criticism    16. English literature: Shakespeare texts    17. For National Curriculum Key Stage 4 & GCSE    18. Literature/English | Drama | Shakespeare   

Subjects:  1. Brothers and sisters    2. Children: Grades 2-3    3. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 10-12)    4. Drama    5. General    6. Illyria    7. Juvenile Nonfiction    8. Mistaken identity    9. Plays / Drama    10. Shakespeare    11. Survival after airplane accide    12. Survival after airplane accidents, shipwrecks, etc.    13. Drama / Shakespeare    14. English    15. English literature: Shakespeare criticism    16. English literature: Shakespeare texts    17. For National Curriculum Key Stage 4 & GCSE    18. Literature/English | Drama | Shakespeare   

Subjects:  1. 1564-1616.    2. As you like it    3. Comedies    4. Drama    5. English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh    6. Exiles    7. Fathers and daughters    8. Pastoral drama    9. Plays    10. Plays / Drama    11. Shakespeare    12. Shakespeare, William,    13. Drama / British & Irish    14. English literature: Shakespeare texts    15. Literature/English | Drama | Shakespeare   

Subjects:  1. Literary Criticism    2. Literature - Classics / Criticism    3. Shakespeare    4. Drama / Shakespeare    5. Literature/English | Drama | Shakespeare   

Subjects:  1. Drama    2. Italy    3. Jews    4. Literature - Classics / Criticism    5. Moneylenders    6. Plays    7. Shakespeare    8. Drama / Shakespeare    9. English literature: Shakespeare texts    10. For National Curriculum Key Stage 3    11. Literature/English | Drama | Shakespeare   

Subjects:  1. Children: Grades 4-6    2. Drama    3. English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh    4. General    5. Jealousy    6. Juvenile Fiction    7. Muslims    8. Othello (Fictitious character)    9. Plays / Drama    10. Shakespeare    11. Venice (Italy)    12. Drama / British & Irish    13. English literature: Shakespeare texts    14. Literature/English | Drama | Shakespeare   

Reviews (1)

TOTS
We had to do this book for school, and i found it quite interesting. I had trouble understanding all the names because they all sound the same. It helps if you watch the movie with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. It kind of gives you an insight. The monalouge in the book helps to so you know which person is saying what. It helps if you act it out urself with a class or by your self.
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Subjects:  1. Performing Arts/Dance    2. Plays / Drama    3. Shakespeare    4. General    5. Designed / suitable for National Curriculum    6. Drama / Shakespeare    7. English    8. English literature: Shakespeare criticism    9. English literature: Shakespeare texts    10. Literature/English | Drama | Shakespeare    11. Shakespeare plays, texts    12. Shakespeare studies & criticism    13. Sex role    14. Man-woman relationships    15. Drama    16. Married people    17. Padua (Italy)   

Reviews (37)

The storms that lead us to "ourselves."
I recently re-read THE TEMPEST prior to attending The Colorado Shakespeare Festival's performance of this play under the summer stars here in Boulder. Shakespeare (1552-1616) produced this emotionally-moving, poetic romance at the end of his career, in 1611, and published it in the First Folio in 1623. In fact, it was his last play.
A 'God' Who Learns to Forgive.
This review is dedicated to my father. Along with "Midsummer Night's Dream" and "Macbeth," "The Tempest" was one of my father's favorite plays. This play begins with an unfortunate ship caught in a storm. In the next scene, we move from the ocean to a nearby island. There we learn that the tempest was not from natuaral causes, but from the magic of our hero Prospero. Prospero has a grudge against certain members of the ship. Prospero tells his daughter Miranda the story of his past. (Miranda must be in her late teens at least, but she often sounds a lot younger. Quite possibly due to the fact that she has lead such a sheltered life.) His brother Antonio usurped his dukedom and handed control over to King Alonso. Prospero and his daughter were banished, and the benevolent Gonzalo furnished Prospero with books he loved. Prospero has been called the greatest representation of Shakespeare himself. We may also note that while Prospero is the hero of this play, he does have one notable fault. He does enjoy playing God. One example is when his fairy servant Ariel begs the promised 'freedom of air.' Rather than asking politely for just a little extra time, (which is certainly not unheard of between friends), Prospero reminds Ariel that he rescued Ariel from imprisonment by Sycorax and he threatens Ariel with consequences if Ariel brings up the matter again before it is time. Moving on, we meet the deceased Sycorax's remaining son Caliban. Prospero tried to be nice to Caliban, but Caliban crossed the line by trying to rape his daughter Miranda. (Again, Prospero plays God. Rather than using his magic to destroy Caliban, he keeps him alive and makes Caliban perform services that he finds disagreeable. 'Disgrace is more painful than death.') We later meet Ferdinand. (The son of the King on the ship.) He sees Miranda and loves her. Prospero feels he can not let his daughter be won too easily, and like Caliban, Ferdinand is subjected to manual labor. Onto Act 2. The crew of the boat from 1.1 has survived and made it to the island.Shakespeare uses an interesting technique here. Through Prospero's passages, we see the king as his enemy. But we are allowed generous sympathy for him when he is struck with sorrow over his missing son. And even Ariel (Prospero's loyal servant) thwarts an attempt by Anotnio and Sebastian to kill the king. Caliban then meets Stephano and Trinculo. The three become friends (through the comical use of some wine) and join together to defeat Prospero and take over the island. Onto Act 3. Ferdinand and Miranda express their love for each other, and Prospero (watching from an unseen location) is pleased. Anotnio and Sebastian make another plan to kill Alonso. At this point, we can infer that Ariel has warned Prospero of the Caliban/Stephano/Triculo conspiracy. But Prospero sees yet another chance to play God. Antonio, Sebastian, Alonso, and Gonzalo are starving. So Prospero and Ariel create an image of banquet long enough to tantalize them before they make it vanish. (Some people may find this funny, but it is somewhat below the belt, and it does prove my point that Prospero likes playing God.) Onto Act 4. Prospero shows his gentler side when he tells Ferdinand that he consents to the marriage of Miranda to him. (Like a reasonable father, he asks that Ferdinand 'wait' until the marriage is performed.) In a beautiful "Midsummer Night's Dream" nostalgia moment, there is a dance of fairies. One interesting thing we notice here is yet another reason why Miranda sounds a lot younger than she is. (She must be in her late teens. But as I said before, she sounds much younger. A little too sweet and innocent. Well, Prospero does NOT confide in her. Prospero DID not tell her of the conspiracy against him.One reason may be that Prospero who likes playing God thought the attempt on his life was laughable. It may also be that Prospero realizes that the concept of a conspiracy against his life would be beyond the scope of this gentle and kind but too sheltered Miranda. Recall, Miranda was still an infant in exile.) Moving on, Prospero gives the famous and beautiful passage: 'Our revels now have ended.' It is tempting to believe that Shakespeare is getting ready to say farewell to his art seeing that "The Tempest" was his 2nd last play. Well, the joy of the moment is broken as Prospero realizes his enemies are still out there. In 5.1, Prospero gives yet another beautiful passage on his accomplishments. And with the help of Ariel, Prospero realizes that revenge is not a virtue. (Rather forgiveness is. Interesting that someone who enjoyed playing God finally realizes that forgiveness is the true merit of a God.) Well, Prospero reconciles with the King, Antonio, and Sebastian and forgives them. Soon afterwards Prospero informs the king that his son Ferdinand is safe and happily getting ready to marry Miranda. Even Caliban, Stephano, and Trinculo are forgiven. The play ends in utter happiness. Some people like to think that Prospero 'breaking his staff' is an indication that Shakespeare will write no more. But as Isaac Asimov said: "This is too sentimental...a compulsive writer like Shakespeare could not deliberately plan to give up writing while he was still capable of holding a pen." And in support of Isaac Asimov, Shakespeare did afterwards write "Henry VIII" as well as parts of "The Two Noble Kinsmen."

Simple
So not only is this a great play by Shakespeare but it's also an easy version to read right along side the original text. No need to get out the old dictionary for those words that you stumble across trying to guess the actual meaning of because it's right there next to you. This doesn't take away from the play at all either. Speaking of the play, this is a wonderful romance that reminds us how naive people can be if they aren't exposed to all of the harsh realities of life. The lady in this play practically falls in love with the first man she lays eyes on that she hasn't grown up with! It may have something to do with the magic that her father possesses. Better yet, it has everything to do with her father and the spirits that are under his spell. After you're done with the book, try to find a live performance of this play! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    2. Juvenile Nonfiction    3. Literary Criticism & Collections    4. Plays / Drama    5. Shakespeare    6. Drama / British & Irish    7. English    8. English literature: Shakespeare criticism    9. English literature: Shakespeare texts    10. For National Curriculum Key Stage 4 & GCSE    11. Literature/English | British Literature | Shakespeare   

Subjects:  1. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 10-12)    2. Conspiracies    3. Courtship    4. Juvenile Nonfiction    5. Juvenile drama    6. Literary Criticism & Collections    7. Plays    8. Plays / Drama    9. Rejection (Psychology)    10. Shakespeare    11. Drama / Shakespeare    12. English    13. English literature: Shakespeare criticism    14. English literature: Shakespeare texts    15. Literature/English | Drama | Shakespeare   

Subjects:  1. Drama    2. General    3. Plays    4. Plays / Drama    5. Shakespeare    6. Designed / suitable for National Curriculum    7. Drama / Shakespeare    8. English    9. English literature: Shakespeare criticism    10. English literature: Shakespeare texts    11. Literature/English | Drama | Shakespeare    12. Shakespeare plays, texts    13. Shakespeare studies & criticism   

Reviews (18)

A Hero With A Swollen Ego. But Still A Decent Play.
This is a darker comedy of Shakespeare's that was never so popular (except briefly in the 1700s). If you're willing to see past the fact that the hero (the Duke) is essentially playing God, it is an interesting play. Duke Vincentio is supposedly leaving for awhile, and he leaves Angelo in charge. Well, in comes the case of Claudio. Claudio has gotten his fiance Juliet pregnant before the wedding. (They still love each other, but they are not married yet. Some of you may know, the master Shakespeare himself was in this situation. He got his to be wife pregnant, and he had to marry her. It would seem that Shakespeare himself had something of a shotgun wedding.) Well, back to the play. Angelo is merciless and feels that only death is a suitable punishment. Claudio's sister Isabella (who is in the process of becoming a nun) pleads for mercy, and Angelo says he will consider it if Isabella agrees to sleep with him. Naturally, Isabella refuses. One character flaw is that when Isabella tells this to her doomed brother, he humanly asks her to at least consider it, and Isabella rebukes him in a fierce manner. Asimov put it best when he said: "She might not give into Claudio, but she might at least sympathize with his fear of death and forgive him his human weakness. She does not...Isabella shrieks out at her brother." Disguised as a friar, the duke calms Isabella down and tells her Claudio may still be saved. He tells her to agree to Angelo's demands, but Mariana (a girl Angelo desserted sometime ago) will go in her place. At the end of 3.2, the duke gives an interesting passage on the hypocrisy of people: "Shame to him whose cruel striking /kills for faults of his own liking" (3.2.270-271). Later there is an element of dark comedy when the Duke plans to have an older prisoner Barnadine killed in Claudio's place, but Barnadine is so drunk and he comically refuses the directions that will lead to his execution. (So much for that plan.) One thing I found somewhat repulsive in the duke is that he knows he is going to save Claudio, but he decides to play God and tell Isabella that Claudio is dead but she will be satisfied. By the end of the 4th act, we learn that Angelo has slept with Mariana (thinking she was Isabella) and he starts to show some elements of a conscience. (Though not quite as convincingly as Macbeth or Claudius do so.) By the 5th act, the duke is still playing god by allowing Isabella to think Claudio is dead, and pretending to go along with Angelo's accusations of Isabella. But eventually, all is revealed. Claudio is still alive and even Barnadine will be pardoned. Angelo must also marry Mariana. Many people feel that Angelo got off too easy, but remember, this is suppose to be a comedy, and Isaac Asimov put it best when he said: "...many critics (as savage as Angelo) condemn the play because they want to see the man hanged. Yet is it only for those we sympathize that mercy is to be sought?...It is precisely to those whom we hate that we must show mercy if the word is to have any meaning at all."

bad version great play
The foot notes in this play are dreadful most often defining what you don't need to know and leaving out what you do.Unfourtanlly i cant make another recomendation but no fear is great in the plays it's avaliable and the internet is great for looking up those ever nagging words.And outstanding play easily applied to modeern issues of abortion andgay marriage. What is love? What is virtue, and what is just being a snob or a prude? I'm a teen and would recomend this play to any teen who thnks who things shakespheare is either dull dated or melodramtic.pompey is the orginal example of its hard out here for a hoe.Real moral struggles real humor if most kids understood the bard you bet they'd be barred from reading him.

If music be the food of love, play on
One pleasure of reviewing books on Amazon is going back and looking again at books read years ago, seeing how I understood or misunderstood them, answering now questions I had in my mind then and left unanswered at the time.
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Subjects:  1. 1564-1616.    2. Brothers and sisters    3. Chastity    4. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 10-12)    5. Comedies    6. Drama    7. Examinations    8. General    9. Juvenile Fiction    10. Measure for measure    11. Performing Arts/Dance    12. Plays / Drama    13. Shakespeare    14. Shakespeare, William,    15. Study guides    16. Vienna (Austria)    17. Drama / Shakespeare    18. English    19. English literature: Shakespeare criticism    20. English literature: Shakespeare texts    21. For National Curriculum Key Stage 4 & GCSE    22. Literature/English | Drama | Shakespeare   

Subjects:  1. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 10-12)    2. Drama    3. English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh    4. General    5. Juvenile Nonfiction    6. Plays    7. Plays / Drama    8. Shakespeare    9. Drama / Shakespeare    10. English literature: Shakespeare texts    11. For National Curriculum Key Stage 3    12. Literature/English | Drama | Shakespeare   

Reviews (47)

Good value for your money
Although this edition is not quite as exhaustive as the Arden Shakespeare paperbacks, it does have good commentary and even includes a fair bit of criticism. It's not expensive and the print is clear and readable, not small or cramped like some Shakespeare editions. The comments, which largely explain difficult words in the text, are printed on the same page as the text, which is helpful. I use a copy of this for studying Shakespeare - at such a good prize, you don't feel bad for scribbling notes in the margins.

Difficult to understand
It is not easy to understand the old style Eglish to non-native foreigner like me. But I read it cover to cover.

North Korean dictator Kim Jung Ill and King Lear?
Some have said that there are no memorable lines in the King Lear play.I would beg to differ.I am including a few:"Speak what we feel, not what we ought to say." -- King Lear (Act 5, Scene 3), Shakespeare. "This is the excellent foppery of the world : that when we are sick in fortune -- often the surfeits of our own behaviour -- we make guilty of our disasters the sun, the moon, and stars, as if we were villains on necessity, fools by heavenly compulsion, knaves, thieves, and treachers by spherical predominance, drunkards, liars and adulterers by an enforced obedience of planetary influence." ---- William Shakespeare; spoken by Edmond in *King Lear*, act 1 scene 2.
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Subjects:  1. Drama    2. Fathers and daughters    3. General    4. Inheritance and succession    5. Lear, King (Legendary character)    6. Performing Arts/Dance    7. Plays / Drama    8. Shakespeare    9. Designed / suitable for National Curriculum    10. Drama / Shakespeare    11. English    12. English literature: Shakespeare criticism    13. English literature: Shakespeare texts    14. Literature/English | Drama | Shakespeare    15. Shakespeare plays, texts    16. Shakespeare studies & criticism