Folger Shakespeare library (Series)

"Much of the action takes place on an almost clinically bare stage, and the fear and violence in the usurping Duke's court, where everyone wears formal black Elizabethan dress, is chilling. With his lame eye and air of festering resentment, Sandy Neilson's Duke Frederick has a touch of the psychotic about him ... Boyd ... shows us the bloody reality of rural life as the shepherd Corin (excellent Geoffrey Freshwater) slowly skins and beheads a dead...

Features a duke who is so anxious about the decline in the moral quality of his subjects' lives that he temporarily removes himself from the government of his city-state and deputizes a member of his administration.

"The lost twin sons of the old merchant Egeon--both named Antipholus--find themselves in Ephesus, without either one even knowing of the other's existence. Meanwhile, Egeon has arrived in search of the son he thinks is still alive--and has been sentenced to death for the "crime" of being from Syracuse. To add to the confusion, the two Antipholuses have twin servants, both named Dromio. As the four men unwittingly encounter each other, the play is...

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. Bassanio and Portia also face a magnificent villain, the moneylender Shylock. In creating Shylock, Shakespeare seems to have shared in a widespread prejudice against Jews. Shylock would have been regarded as a villain because...

Presents the edited text of Shakespeare's play about a man who sets out to subdue a shrewish wife, and includes commentary notes. "This updated edition includes: freshly edited text based on the best early printed version of the play ; newly revised explanatory notes conveniently placed on pages facing the text of the play ; scene-by-scene plot summaries ; a key to famous lines and phrases ; an introduction to reading Shakespeare's language ; an...

Presents Shakespeare's drama about a man who kills the king of Scotland in order to claim the throne for himself, and includes explanatory notes, plot summaries, a key to notable lines and phrases, and other reference information. "This updated edition includes: newly revised commentary notes ; scene-by-scene plot summaries ; a key to the play's famous lines and phrases ; an introduction to reading Shakespeare's language ; an essay by a leading Shakespeare...

Shakespeare's Richard II presents a momentous struggle between Richard II and his cousin Henry Bolingbroke. Richard is the legitimate king; he succeeded his grandfather, King Edward III, after the earlier death of his father Edward, the Black Prince. Yet Richard is also seen by many as a tyrant. He toys with his subjects, exiling Bolingbroke for six years. When he seizes the title and property that should be Bolingbroke's, Richard threatens the very...

Presents William Shakespeare's play in which Timon, plagued with financial difficulties and with no one to help him, takes up residence in a cave where he finds buried treasure. Includes detailed notes on facing pages, historical background, and scholarly essay.

"Freshly edited text based on the best early printed version of the play; Full explanatory notes conveniently placed on pages facing the text of the play; Scene-by-scene plot summaries; A key to the play's famous lines and phrases; An introduction to reading Shakespeare's language; An essay by a leading Shakespeare scholar providing a modern perspective on the play; Illustrations from the Folger Shakespeare Library's vast holdings of rare books; An...