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A COMPLEX COMEDY OF MISTAKEN IDENTITY Twelfth Night is one of William Shakespeare's most complex and intriguing plays. It is a wild and raucous romantic comedy complete with bawdy revelry, comic hijinks, and the rich poetry of Shakespeare's best comedies. Here, two plots combine to create a beautiful exploration of love and laughter, misplaced passions, mistaken identity, all with a touch of melancholy. Viola and Sebastian are almost identical twins...

One of the last tragedies written by William Shakespeare, "Coriolanus" is the story of the legendary 5th century BC Roman general Caius Martius, later given the honorary name Coriolanus. Based largely on the biographical accounts of Plutarch and Livy, the play opens amongst riots over grain in which Coriolanus' contempt for the plebeians of Rome is exhibited. The general is drawn away from the riots to battle with the Volscian army. Following the...

Originally published in the First Folio of 1623, "Measure for Measure" is William Shakespeare's play which was likely written sometime in 1603 or 1604. The play begins with Vincentio, the Duke of Vienna, who leaves the government in charge of the authoritarian justice, Angelo, when he departs the city on a diplomatic mission. Lord Angelo believes that there is too much debauchery in the city and seeks to more strictly enforce laws against certain...

You know that thing when you have an incestuous relationship with your daughter, but you don't want anyone to know about it, so you disguise the truth in a riddle and make her suitors guess its meaning? No? Well, that's what the king of Antioch is up to. Guess correctly and marry the princess, he says. Get it wrong and be killed. Today we might shake our heads and wonder why the King didn't just keep his mouth shut instead of broadcasting his dirty...

Suspicious King Leontes of Sicily accuses his pregnant wife Hermione of having an affair with his best friend, Polixenes, the King of Bohemia. Enraged at the alleged betrayal, he orders Polixenes poisoned, Hermione imprisoned, and her newborn daughter banished, leaving him a broken man. Sixteen years later, Perdita, the adopted daughter of a shepherd, falls in love with young Prince Florizel, much to the dismay of the boy's father, Polixenes. He disapproves...

Shakespeare's popular comedy of love and mistaken identity is accompanied by a section on reading Shakespeare's language, information on Shakespeare's life and theater, explanatory notes, annotated reading lists, and an essay.-- Source other than Library of Congress.

"This updated edition includes: newly re-edited play text and revised commentary notes, scene-by-scene plot summaries, a key to the play's famous lines and phrases, an introduction to reading Shakespeare's language, an essay by a leading Shakespeare scholar providing a modern perspective on the play, fresh images from the Folger Shakespeare Library's vast holdings of rare books, [and] an up-to-date annotated guide to further reading." -- Page [4]...

Enhanced ebook edition of She Stoops to Conquer featuring a full cast audio performance of the play, starring James Marsters as Charles Marlow and Joanne Whalley as Kate Hardcastle. In this classic comedy of manners, two young men set out to woo the alluring and upper-crust Kate and Constance. But is anybody in this rural estate ruly who they seem? Bawdy hijinks and popped pretensions are the hallmarks of this romping frolic that's kept audiences...

The Birds is a comic play by the Greek playwright Aristophanes. It garnered awards in 141 BC when it was first performed, and continues to be critically received today. A middle-aged Athenian convinces the world's birds to build a new city between the heavens and the earth. This position fortuitously allows them to intercept all communication of gods and men. The Athenian is transformed into a bird-like figure and with the help of his winged

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Planning a school or amateur Shakespeare production? The best way to experience the plays is to perform them, but getting started can be a challenge: The complete plays are too long and complex, while scene selections or simplified language are too limited. "The 30-Minute Shakespeare" is a new series of abridgements that tell the "story" of each play from start to finish while keeping the beauty of Shakespeare's language intact. Specific stage directions...