Named for the twelfth night after Christmas, the end of the Christmas season, Twelfth Night plays with love and power. The Countess Olivia, a woman with her own household, attracts Duke Orsino. Two other would-be suitors are her pretentious steward, Malvolio, and Sir Andrew Aguecheek. Onto this scene arrive the twins Viola and Sebastian; previously caught in a shipwreck, each thinks the other has drowned. Viola disguises herself as a male page and...

It is part of Shakespeare's extraordinary contribution to our culture that, through his dramas based on English history, he played a unique part in forming our view of ourselves and our nationhood. From King John, in which through Magna Carta the king's absolute power was first limited and the people's freedoms assured, to--almost in his own lifetime--Henry VIII, Shakespeare wrote a series of ten plays portraying the course of history. It represents...

Retells in prose the 36 comedies, tragedies, and histories appearing in Shakespeare's First Folio.

"An anthology of Shakespearian speeches performed by the world's leading actors"--Container. Exerpts from: The two gentlemen of Verona -- Romeo and Juliet -- As you like it -- Antony and Cleopatra -- Othello -- The Merchant of Venice -- Twelfth night -- The taming of the shrew -- Much ado about nothing -- Troilus and Cressida -- Timon of Athens -- Measure for measure -- Macbeth -- Henry IV, part 1 -- King Lear -- Henry V -- Richard II -- Richard...