Shakespeares English

William Shakespeare has been lauded for his mastery of poetic expression, his insight into the human condition, and his deep exploration into the psyche and motivations of his characters. Shakespeare's monologues are short distillations of his larger themes—love and loss, fairness and inequity, power and envy, lust and purity. Here are the best of Shakespeare's greatest monologues, each of which captures a shining, brilliant moment from his plays that gives us a deeper understanding of each character, whether flattering, damning, or inspiring.

Shakespeare's King Lear ranks with Sophocles' Oedipus as a tragic hero destroyed by his own good intentions. From the moment when Lear unfolds his darker purpose, we are drawn into an ineluctable chain of events that leads through betrayal, deceit, destructive family conflict, reconciliation, despair, and death. Considered by many to be the most grueling of Shakespeare's tragedies.

Between the comedy of a gaggle of men running around wildly to attempt to wed Bianca and the over-the-top portrayal of Katherina’s “taming”, The Taming of the Shrew is a humorous play that offers a fascinating look at the 16th century’s views on women, marriage, and domesticity.

King Richard II rules England in a wasteful and short-sighted way, spending money unwisely and selecting his counsellors foolishly. His manner ostracises him from his people and his country and it’s not long before both commoners and noblemen feel Richard has gone too far. When Richard seizes land that rightfully belongs to his cousin Henry Bolingbroke, Bolingbroke retaliates by invading England while Richard is at war in Ireland. More popular with the commoners, Henry is eventually crowned King Henry IV.

Othello follows the story of the Moor through love, jealousy and deceit. Iago is furious about being overlooked for promotion and plots to take revenge against his general; Othello, the Moor of Venice. Iago manipulates Othello into believing his wife, Desdemona, is unfaithful, stirring Othello's jealousy. Othello allows jealousy to consume him, murders Desdemona and then kills himself.

It’s 1984. Patricia Vickers returns like a phantom to deliver an unwelcome revelation. Jayne Thornhill is reminded of those spiteful 1960s schooldays: bullying, Charlie the skeleton, séances, strip poker, and sexual encounters with the school’s handymen. Jayne’s confessions have now been whitewashed from lavatory walls, only to be unearthed in a third school friend’s 1969 diary.

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.

Questions of what happens after death were vital in Shakespeare's time, as it is today. And, like today, the answers were by no means universally agreed upon. Exploring how particular texts and characters answer these questions, Shakespeare and the Afterlife showcases the vitality and originality of the author's language and thinking. We encounter characters with very personal visions of what awaits them after death, and these visions reveal new insights into these individuals' motivations and concerns as they navigate the world of the living.

How can a high school girl deal with a megalomaniac? What would you do if Richard III manipulated your thoughts and took you places you didn’t want to go? Would that be any easier to take if you had a chance to meet Romeo and Juliet and Mercutio? Beth has magical powers, but will she learn how to use them in time? The immortal wizard Merlin transports high school actor Beth Owens to Shakespeare's London and the world of Shakespeare's characters in search of a missing play about King Arthur.

Nine of the bard’s most tragic plays, from Hamlet to Romeo and Juliet, abridged and novelised for young listeners. Hours of audio fun to keep children entertained while on the move! Introduce your children to the world of Shakespearean tragedies with these abridged stories, written especially for children. Filled with atmospheric sound effects, your children will come away with a newfound love for these classic stories!

William Shakespeare, long hailed as history's greatest dramatic writer, has been lauded for his mastery of poetic expression, his insight into the human condition, and his deep exploration into the psyche and motivations of his characters.

For thousands of years, Carter Horton has been traveling across the galaxy toward a distant world capable of supporting human life. At journey's end, awakened from his millennia-long sleep by a curiously adaptive android, he is informed that his crewmates have all perished due to a system malfunction. But worse is yet to come: Horton's sentient ship is refusing to return him to Earth, and a strangely cordial predator is waiting for him on the planet's surface.

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.

Hey nonny, nonny - the Bard’s "greatest hits" are all here! Performed with a lively full musical cast ,interspersed with engaging and informative introductory narrative, this imaginative recording uses song and sonnet from Shakespeare’s comedies and tragedies to highlight his works, in his own words. Whether listeners are long-time Shakespearean aficionados or new students of the Englishman’s genius, this educational and entertaining new recording is certain to delight!

In Ovid’s Metamorphoses, the boy hunter Adonis is the willing lover of Venus, the goddess of love, and dies accidentally. Shakespeare has Adonis reject Venus. Venus endlessly argues for making love, with Adonis uttering petulant protests.

As You Like It follows its heroine, Rosalind, as she flees persecution in her uncle's court, accompanied by her cousin Celia to find safety and, eventually, love in the Forest of Arden. This edition is an adaptation of Shakespeare's eponymous comedy, narrated in plain modern English, capturing the very essence and key elements of the original Shakespeare's drama. Read in English, unabridged.

Introduce your children to the magic of Shakespeare with these 20 favorite tales. Although simplified, these lively stories don't underestimate young readers; they keep the complexity, twists of plot, and turns of fate found in the originals.

Eight of the bard’s funniest plays, from A Midsummer’s Night Dream to The Winter’s Tale, abridged and novelised for young listeners. Hours of audio fun to keep children entertained while on the move! Introduce your children to the wonderful world of Shakespearean comedies with these abridged stories, written especially for children. Filled with sound effects, music and fun, your children will come away with a newfound love for these classic stories!

The hilarious niche of British comedic writing has a new contender. At the heart of this riotous laugh-a-paragraph farce that will delight members of amateur dramatic societies everywhere lies a forgotten village in a remote valley where the "real valley folk" live.

Susanna Shakespeare finds the small town of Stratford-upon-Avon much too quiet and provincial. She yearns to travel to London to see her father's world of players and poets, and to follow a secret dream of her own. Once Susanna arrives in London, nothing is quite as she expected it to be - least of all her relationship with her famous father. But propelled by her love for Thomas Cole, a Catholic chorister, and her desire to sing, Susanna discovers that it is only with the support of those who love her that she has the strength to succeed.