Shakespeares English

Shakespeare for Kids adapts the timeless works of Shakespeare into plain English for a younger audience. This story is that of the end of King Richard II's reign during the late 1300s. It is a story of plotting and power, and the first of Shakespeare's four plays about the house of Lancaster. This abridged version is targeted for a younger audience, toning down any violent scenes and presenting the narrative structure in plain English.

This is a plain English production of the Shakespeare's classic play Much Ado About Nothing. Set in Italy, it tells the story of a romance between Claudio and Hero that is interrupted by a devious plot. This is a full-cast production of the work adapted by Charlie Creed to plain English and condensed to a 25 minute theatrical production with music and sound effects. This makes it suitable for a younger audience, though the themes of love, trickery and heartbreak, though softened and made age-appropriate are more suitable for older children aged eight years and over.

The multi-award-winning SmartPass study guide with and without commentary options. Full-cast, unabridged performance with comprehensive commentary and analysis for any student to fully understand and appreciate the play.

"And nothing is, but what is not." Macbeth may be mystified by the Weird Sisters' words but this intense performance with incisive commentary cuts to the heart of Shakespeare's complex psychological tragedy.

Miriam's family should be rich. After all, her grandfather was the co-creator of smash-hit comics series The TomorrowMen. But he sold his rights to the series to his co-creator in the 1960s for practically nothing, and now that's what Miriam has: practically nothing. How can she afford college when her family can barely keep a roof above their heads? As if she didn't have enough to worry about, Miriam's life gets much more complicated when a cute boy shows up in town...and turns out to be the grandson of the man who defrauded Miriam's grandfather.

From William Shakespeare and Jane Austen to Gabriel García Márquez and Toni Morrison, Writers explores more than 100 biographies of the world’s greatest writers. Writers introduces key ideas, themes, and literary techniques of each figure, revealing the imaginations, and personalities behind some of the world's greatest novels, short stories, poems, and plays. A diverse variety of authors are covered, from the Middle Ages to present day, providing a compelling glimpse into the lives of the people behind the page.

William Shakespeare may have been the greatest playwright in the English language, but how does he measure up as a historian? In this brilliant comparison between the events and characters in Shakespeare's history plays and the actual events that inspired them, acclaimed historian John Julius Norwich examines the nine works that together amount to an epic masterpiece on England's most fascinating period.

This is a full-cast, unabridged performance with comprehensive commentary and analysis, enabling any student to fully understand and appreciate the play. Judge for yourself whether Lear is "a man more sinned against than sinning" in this moral tale that pits wisdom and age against ambition and youth. Experience and examine the power of Shakespeare's most cruel and violent tragedy.

The epic tale of Macbeth. Macbeth and Banquo are Scottish generals returning home from a victorious war campaign. Their journey is interrupted when three strange witches come upon them and predict their futures. They claim that Macbeth will one day become King of Scotland! Macbeth is stirred by the prophesy.

Here are the stories of 10 key Shakespeare plays: Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Twelfth Night, King Lear, King Richard III, Othello, Macbeth, The Tempest, Henry V, and A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Unravel the history, themes, and language of Shakespeare's plays, poems, and sonnets with this beautiful guide to his life and works. Comedy and romance, history, and tragedy, Shakespeare's canon has it all. Some 400 years after they were written and first performed, his works remain fresh and relevant today. Shakespeare: his life and works is an accessible and lavish celebration of the Bard himself and his 39 plays, great sonnets, and narrative poems.

The following Tales are meant to be submitted to the young learner as an introduction to the study of Shakespeare, for which purpose his words are used whenever it seemed possible to bring them in; and in whatever has been added to give them the regular form of a connected story, diligent care has been taken to select such words as might least interrupt the effect of the beautiful English tongue in which he wrote: therefore, words introduced into our language since his time have been as far as possible avoided.

This highly entertaining anthology of verse is the comic, tragic, tender, and telling story of life's seven ages, from childhood to old age. Within the framework of Shakespeare's speech, "The Seven Ages of Man," performed by Sir Ian McKellen, are 150 great poems from all ages, from Chaucer to Emily Dickinson to Walt Whitman and many others. The poem are presented by the finest cast ever assembled on one recording and includes Ralph Fiennes, Dame Judi Dench, John Cleese, Michael Caine, and more.

In life’s kitbag of essentials food and drink are right at the top. Their variety and ways to consume are a wonder, both of nature’s offerings and human creativity. For our classic poets ranging from Ancient Romans to Elinor Wylie and Rainer Maria Rilke, their recipes for verse using the simple ingredients of words and imagination are a wonderful and enduring example of their craft and art applied to the one thing mankind looks forward to each and every day.

Written in 1593, King Richard III is one of Shakespeare's earliest plays. This play differs from its predecessors, being amore structured piece, examining the development and motivations of a single character, Richard Duke of Gloucester, who will stop at nothing to gain control of the throne occupied by his brother Edward IV.

The multi-award-winning SmartPass study guide with and without commentary options. Full-cast, unabridged performance with comprehensive commentary and analysis for any student to fully understand and appreciate the play. The poetry of Shakespeare's star crossed lovers is poignantly performed and expertly explained in this unique production: "Passion lends them power."

Shakespeare, Our Contemporary is a provocative, original study of the major plays of Shakespeare. More than that, it is one of the few critical works to have strongly influenced theatrical productions.

Graeme Malcolm, Eric Stoltz, and other accomplished actors bring life to the words of the world's favorite poets, including William Shakespeare, Edgar Allan Poe, and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Also available: The Best Poems of All Time, Volume 2.

The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is set in Denmark, and recounts how Prince Hamlet exacts revenge on his uncle Claudius, who has murdered Hamlet's father, the King, and then taken the throne and married Gertrude, Hamlet's mother. The play vividly charts the course of real and feigned madness—from overwhelming grief to seething rage—and explores themes of treachery, revenge, incest, and moral corruption.

Why Shakespeare? What explains our continued fascination with his poems and plays? In Living with Shakespeare, Susannah Carson invites 40 actors, directors, scholars, and writers to reflect on why his work is still such a vital part of our culture.

In 1612, William Shakespeare gave evidence in a court case at Westminster; it is the only occasion on which his actual spoken words were recorded. The case seems routine - a dispute over an unpaid marriage dowry - but it opens an unexpected window into the dramatist's famously obscure life. Using the court testimony as a springboard, acclaimed nonfiction writer Charles Nicholl examines this fascinating period in Shakespeare's life.