Shakespeare Classics

All of the Shakespeare plays within the Argo Classics catalogue are performed by the Marlowe Dramatic Society and Professional Players. The Marlowe was founded in 1907 with a mission to focus on effective delivery of verse, respect the integrity of texts and rescue neglected plays by Shakespeare’s contemporaries and the less performed plays of Shakespeare himself. The Marlowe has performed annually at Cambridge Arts Theatre since its opening in 1936 and continues to produce some of the finest actors of their generations.

Shakespeare: The Illustrated Edition is an exquisitely illustrated, updated edition of Bill Bryson’s bestselling biography of William Shakespeare that takes the reader on an enthralling tour through Elizabethan England and the eccentricities of Shakespearean scholarship. With more than 100...

For anyone who's in love - or hopes to be - what greater celebration could there be than to hear the world's greatest love poetry read lovingly by Richard Armitage? With 13 poems by William Shakespeare, Edgar Allan Poe, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and more, Classic Love Poems is a listening treat for Valentine's Day - or any day.

The Classic Collection of William Shakespeare invites listeners on an immersive journey through the timeless power of language, love, betrayal, ambition, and imagination. Presented in rich, clear narration, this audio edition brings new vitality to the Bard's legendary works.

In Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark has recently lost his father, but his mother is in a hurry to marry her late husband's brother. Hamlet is overwhelmed with grief for his father's death but also outraged because of the hurried marriage. Most people don't realize that there are three versions of Hamlet, printed at different times. There is a considerable difference between the texts of these versions, so to have a "complete" version of this play, editors had to make some adjustments. The three texts are simply different versions of the play.

Adopting the methodology of the music charts, The Classic Hundred Poems presents the "top 100" poems of all time. The selections are illuminated by the informative notes of editor William Harmon and read by an ensemble of contemporary poets including Alfred Corn and Rita Dove.

King Lear is perhaps the most poignant character in literature. The aged, abused monarch is at once the consummate figure of authority and the classic example of the fall from majesty. He is widely agreed to be William Shakespeare's most moving, tragic hero. Award-winning writer and beloved professor Harold Bloom writes about Lear with wisdom, joy, exuberance, and compassion. He also explores his own personal relationship to the character.

Actor William Shaksper of Stratford had little education, never left England, and apparently owned no books. How could he have written the great plays and poetry attributed to him? Journalist Mark Anderson's biography offers tantalizing proof that Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, courtier, spendthrift, scholar, traveler, soldier, scoundrel, and writer, was the real "Shakespeare".

William Collins Books and Decca Records are proud to present ARGO Classics, a historic catalogue of classic prose and verse read by some of the world’s most renowned voices. Originally released as vinyl records, these expertly remastered stories are now available to download for the first time...

The tragedy of King Lear receives an outstanding performance in an all-star cast led by Britain’s senior classical actor, Paul Scofield. He is joined by Alec McCowen as Gloucester, Kenneth Branagh as The Fool, Harriet Walter as Gonerill, Sara Kestelman as Regan and Emilia Fox as Cordelia. This is the ninth recording of Shakespeare plays undertaken by Naxos AudioBooks in conjunction with Cambridge University Press, and is directed by John Tydeman. It was released to mark the 80th birthday of Paul Scofield in January 2002.

Hamlet, which dates from 1600-1601, is the first in Shakespeare's great series of four tragedies. In writing this extraordinary play, Shakespeare effectively re-invented tragedy after an interval of roughly 2,000 years - you would have to go back to the Greek dramatists of fifth century Athens to find anything of comparable depth and maturity. This production features the voice of Anton Lesser as Hamlet along with a full cast.

An enlightening and entertaining collection of the most esteemed love poems in the English canon, retold in contemporary language everyone can understand James Anthony has long enjoyed poetry with a strict adherence to beat, rhythm, and rhyming patterns, which he likens to the very best pop...

Power, excess and betrayal are played out in these tragedies that continue to hold modern resonance. Performed by an incredible array of the 20th century’s greatest actors, Marlowe alumni including Ian McKellen, Diana Rigg, Derek Jacobi and Prunella Scales can be heard in these recordings.

Politics, power and the tragedy of war are played out in these sweeping histories that continue to surprise and entertain. Performed by an incredible array of the 20th century’s greatest actors, Marlowe alumni including Ian McKellen, Derek Jacobi, Prunella Scales, William Squire and Timothy West can be heard in these recordings.

A collection of BBC Radio 3's iconic Shakespeare productions: six tragedies with all star casts including Michael Sheen, Juliet Stevenson, Kenneth Cranham, Corin Redgrave, Ken Stott, Geraldine James, Bill Wallis, Siân Phillips and Sophie Dahl.

The epic tale of Julius Caesar’s rule over Rome. Brutus and Cassius, friends and supporters of Julius Caesar, brood and worry over his increasing ambitions. Caesar’s pursuit of power leads the two men to worry that Caesar will crown himself Emperor, which would ruin Rome’s Republic of the people. Behind closed doors, Cassius and Brutus begin to concoct a scheme that will irrevocably alter the fate of the Roman empire.

Unique to this title is: a historical introduction, an overview, a study of themes, and a list of famous quotes. You may of course skip all of it and go straight to the main title if you do not want any spoilers and come back later to the beginning. William Shakespeare, the 16th-century English poet, playwright, and actor, is generally regarded as the best writer in the English language and the world's best dramatist.

An “extraordinarily brilliant” and “pleasurably naughty” (André Aciman) investigation into the Shakespeare authorship question, exploring how doubting that William Shakespeare wrote his plays became an act of blasphemy…and who the Bard might really be. The theory that Shakespeare may...

How can we look afresh at Shakespeare as a writer of sonnets? What new light might they shed on his career, personality, and sexuality? Shakespeare wrote sonnets for at least 30 years, not only for himself, for professional reasons, and for those he loved, but also in his plays, as prologues, as epilogues, and as part of their poetic texture.

The tragic story of two star-crossed lovers from different worlds. Romeo, from the Montague family, and Juliet, of the Capulet clan, fall deeply in love at first sight. Fearful of punishment from their respective factions, the two teens keep their love hidden from everyone. However, when their commitment to each other is exposed, it adds more fuel to the heated family feud between the Capulets and Montagues and puts their love and their lives at risk.