Shakespeares English

Macbeth and his wife show how bad the evil that can possess human souls is. But evil is not all powerful. On the one hand, Macbeth is the gloomiest of the great Shakespeare's tragedies; on the other hand, it's more encouraging than Hamlet, Othello or King Lear. In no other tragedy as in Macbeth the evil is confronted by so many people, and nowhere else they are so active. Shakespeare is the author of the world famous sonnets and plays: Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Macbeth and Othello, as well as comedies Twelfth Night, A Midsummer's Night Dream, Love's Labour's Lost, etc.

King Ferdinand's plan to ban ladies from his court to focus on his studies seems like a great one—until the Princess of France and her friends arrive and he falls in love! Can Ferdinand and his friends break their own law?

This CliffsNotes study guide on William Shakespeare's King Lear supplements the original literary work, giving you background information about the author, an introduction to the work, and critical commentaries, all for you to use as an educational tool that will allow you to better understand the work.

A romance between a Roman general and the Queen of Egypt was never going to be easy. Marc Antony has abandoned his duties since he has fallen in love with Cleopatra. But as war looms, their union shifts from difficult to doomed...

The King of Naples and the Duke of Milan are shipwrecked on a strange, enchanted island. Little do they know that the lord of the island is Prospero, the old duke of Milan who they betrayed many years ago—and he has been plotting his revenge ever since...

When two sets of long-lost twins turn up in the same town on the same day, confusion and hilarity ensue. Antipholus and Dromio of Syracuse are looking for their brothers—but they accidentally end up living their lives instead!

King Lear demands that his three daughters tell him how much they love him. When his youngest, Cordelia, refuses, he casts her out and divides his kingdom between the other two. But when those two reject him, he descends into despair and madness...

Prince Hamlet's father is dead. Hamlet believes he was murdered, and that he knows the culprit. The only problem is it's his uncle, the new king—and Hamlet has no proof.

Helena, a low-born girl, is desperately in love with Bertram, a nobleman. When she is allowed to choose anyone in the kingdom to marry, she chooses Bertram. He swears he will never be her husband. Can Helena ever convince Bertram to love her back?

A shipwreck separates twins Viola and Sebastian on the shores of an unknown land. Viola disguises herself as a male servant, but soon falls in love with her master. He is in love with a countess, who in turn falls in love with Viola! And it only gets more complicated when Sebastian turns up...

Their battles of wits are legendary, but Benedick has sworn off women and Beatrice has vowed that she will never marry a man. It's a good job that they don't like each other then... or might they be persuaded with a little help from their friends?

The greatest love story ever told. When Romeo and Juliet meet, they fall in love—but how can they ever be together when all their families know is hate for one another?

Macbeth is riding home from war when he is met by three witches. They tell him a prophecy, in which he will be king of Scotland. Macbeth decides to make it come true by killing the current king—but he soon comes to be haunted by his bloody choice.

When young Orlando searches the forest for his banished lady love, Rosalind, he doesn't realise that he's met her in disguise. Dressed up as a boy, Rosalind sees a chance to train Orlando to be the sort of partner she'd like—and she has some laughs along the way!

General Othello is the best soldier in Venice. But when he marries the beautiful Desdemona, one of the senator's daughters, he begins to discover that he is surrounded by enemies.

King Leonte's jealousy causes his sweet wife, Hermione to die and their baby daughter, Perdita to be exiled. Can the king learn the error of his ways? Will he ever get to meet Perdita again?

Four young lovers escape into the woods outside Athens, each hoping to find true love and happiness. Instead, they find fairy mischief and love potions! Everyone is confused about who likes who—and has the Queen of the Fairies fallen in love with a donkey?

Following his divorce, down-and-out writer and Mississippi exile Lee Durkee holed himself up in a Vermont fishing shack and fell prey to a decades-long obsession with Shakespearian portraiture. It began with a simple premise: despite the prevalence of popular portraits, no one really knows what Shakespeare looked like. That the Bard of Avon has gotten progressively handsomer in modern depictions seems only to reinforce this point.

Every year, over 10,000 letters addressed to Juliet Capulet arrive in Verona, Italy, the famous hometown of Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet. These handwritten letters come from people all over the world, seeking guidance and support from Juliet herself. Capturing the pain, joy, humor, and confusion of love, the 60 letters in this book offers encouragement, comfort, hope - and a nod to the human condition. Including responses from Juliet herself, this romantic and relatable, and perfect as a Valentine's Day gift, Dear Juliet proves that love is the universal language.

In As You Like It, a wicked Duke expels his virtuous brother, the lawful ruler, from his domains. The banished Duke takes refuge with his followers in the Forest of Arden, where they live as free a life as did Robin Hood and his merry men.