William Shakespeare

One of the great Shakespearean tragedies, Macbeth is a dark and bloody drama of ambition, murder, guilt and revenge. Prompted by the prophecies of three mysterious witches and goaded by his ambitious wife, the Scottish thane Macbeth murders Duncan, King of Scotland, in order to succeed him on the throne. This foul deed soon entangles the conscience-stricken nobleman in a web of treachery, deceit and more murders that ultimately spells his doom.

King Lear is a prosperous but older man who plans to distribute his wealth among his three daughters in accordance to their declarations of love. Two shower him with compliments while the other is unable to participate in a false display of affection. King Lear decides to step down from the throne and gift his daughters with the spoils of his kingdom. As a test, the size of their inheritance will correlate with how well they flatter him. The two...

"This updated edition includes: newly re-edited play text and 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 scholar providing a modern perspective on the play, fresh images from the Folger Shakespeare Library's vast holdings of rare books, [and] an up-to-date annotated guide to further reading." -- Page [4]...

"Mark Antony, one of the three rulers of the Roman World, has become the thrall of the fascinating Cleopatra. Affairs of state call him to Rome, but the attractions of the Queen of Egypt prove impossible to resist."

The second play in William Shakespeare's tetralogy of plays which also includes "Richard II", "Henry IV, Part 2", and "Henry V", "Henry IV, Part 1" is believed to have been written no later than 1597. A history play, the drama concerns the unquiet reign of Henry Bolingbroke. Following the usurpation of the throne, Henry IV is plagued with guilt over his role in the imprisonment and death of King Richard II. In order to resolve himself of this internal...

"William Shakespeare's dramatic and tragic play about love and jealousy Othello is an intense drama of love, deception, jealousy and destruction. Desdemona's love for her husband Othello, the Moor, transcends racial prejudice; but his trusted ensign, the envious Iago, conspires to devastate their lives. In its vivid rendering of the savagery lurking within civilization, Othello is arguably the most topical and accessible tragedy from Shakespeare's...

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.