William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was an English poet, actor and one of the greatest writers to ever use the English language. He was also the world's greatest playwright of all times, with his plays being translated in over 50 languages and performed across the globe for audiences of all ages. Known as ""The Bard"" or the ""Bard of Avon," Shakespeare created his own theatre on the River Thames in 1599 and named it the Globe Theatre, a historical theatre, that is visited by thousands of tourists every year. Shakespeare produced most of his known works between 1589 -1613. His early plays were primarily comedies and histories and are regarded as some of the best work produced in these genres. His extant works, including collaborations, consist of some 37 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. And even after 400 long years, his plays are still read, loved and relevant in today's society. Shakespeare wrote about timeless themes such as life and death, youth and old age, love and hate, fate and freedom, to name but a few. Shakespeare's plays are studied in academia all across the world, the most famous are: Romeo and Juliet, Antony and Cleopatra, Hamlet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Julius Caesar and Macbeth. Apart from the rich language, these plays contain a great deal of valuable advice.

When the feud between the Montagues and Capulets spills into the streets of Verona, a great love must be kept secret - that of Romeo, son of Montague, and Juliet, daughter of the sworn enemy. But only a tragic twist of fate can promise peace. When Shakespeare staged Romeo and Juliet in 1594, it was already a centuries-old Italian tale that had been translated and adapted in verse and prose by a number of poets and storytellers. Out of the common threads of those now-forgotten works, Shakespeare created not only one of his most popular plays, but one that would become the archetypal love story of the English language. We brings you timeless works from the masters of storytelling. Ideal for anyone who wants to read a great work for the first time or rediscover an old favorite, these new editions open the door to literature's most unforgettable characters and beloved worlds.

In Othello, Shakespeare creates a powerful drama of a marriage that begins with fascination (between the exotic Moor Othello and the Venetian lady Desdemona), with elopement, and with intense mutual devotion and that ends precipitately with jealous rage and violent deaths. He sets this story in the romantic world of the Mediterranean, moving the action from Venice to the island of Cyprus and giving it an even more exotic coloring with stories of Othello's African past. Shakespeare builds so many differences into his hero and heroine-differences of race, of age, of cultural background-that one should not, perhaps, be surprised that the marriage ends disastrously. But most people who see or read the play feel that the love that the play presents between Othello and Desdemona is so strong that it would have overcome all these differences were it not for the words and actions of Othello's standard-bearer, Iago, who hates Othello and sets out to destroy him by destroying his love for Desdemona. As Othello succumbs to Iago's insinuations that Desdemona is unfaithful, fascination-which dominates the early acts of the play-turns to horror, especially for the audience. We are confronted by spectacles of a generous and trusting Othello in the grip of Iago's schemes; of an innocent Desdemona, who has given herself up entirely to her love for Othello only to be subjected to his horrifying verbal and physical assaults, the outcome of Othello's mistaken convictions about her faithlessness.

Based on Plutarch's account of the lives of Brutus, Julius Caesar, and Mark Antony, Julius Caesar was the first of Shakespeare's Roman history plays. Presented for the first time in 1599, the play reveals the great dramatist's consummate ability to explore and express the most profound human emotions and instincts. So clearly and urgently does it impact its insights into history and human behavior, Julius Caesar is traditionally among the first of Shakespeare's plays to be studied at the secondary-school level. In addition to its compelling insights into the human condition, Julius Caesar is also superb drama, as Brutus, Cassius, and the other conspirators hatch a plot to overthrow Caesar, dictator of Rome. After Caesar is assassinated, Mark Antony cleverly turns the crowd against the conspirators in one of the most famous speeches in literature. In the civil war that follows, the forces of Mark Antony and Octavius Caesar eventually win out over the armies of Cassius and Brutus. Humiliated and desperate, both conspirators choose to end their lives. These tragic events unfold in a riveting dramatic spectacle that also raises profound questions about power, government, ethics, and loyalty. Now this great tragedy is available in this inexpensive edition, complete and unabridged.