This student friendly book draws together text, context, criticism and performance history to provide an integrated view of one of the most dazzling works of the early modern theatre.

This clear print title is set in Tiresias 13pt font for easy reading

Among the most enduring poetry of all time, William Shakespeare’s 154 sonnets address such eternal themes as love, beauty, honesty, and the passage of time. Written primarily in four-line stanzas and iambic pentameter, Shakespeare’s sonnets are now recognized as marking the beginning of modern love poetry. The sonnets have been translated into all major written languages and are frequently used at romantic celebrations. Known as “The Bard of Avon,” William Shakespeare is arguably the greatest English-language writer known. Enormously popular during his life, Shakespeare’s works continue to resonate more than three centuries after his death, as has his influence on theatre and literature. Shakespeare’s innovative use of character, language, and experimentation with romance as tragedy served as a foundation for later playwrights and dramatists, and some of his most famous lines of dialogue have become part of everyday speech. HarperPerennial Classics brings great works of literature to life in digital format, upholding the highest standards in ebook production and celebrating reading in all its forms. Look for more titles in the HarperPerennial Classics collection to build your digital library.

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In sixteenth-century Venice, when a merchant must default on a large loan from an abused Jewish moneylender for a friend with romantic ambitions, the bitterly vengeful creditor demands a gruesome payment instead. Presented in comic book format.

New Shakespeare, long since out-of-print, is now reissued. Each work contains a lengthy and lively introduction, main text, and substantial notes and glossary.

"In this authoritative three-volume annotated edition, A. L. Rowse, the noted Elizabethan scholar, sets forth his extraordinary knowledge of William Shakespeare and his time. All Shakespeare's plays and poems are included. His comedies (Volume I), histories, sonnets and other poems (Volume II), and tragedies and romances (Volume III) are photographically reproduced from the highly praised Globe edition of 1904. Dr. Rowse has written a biography of Shakespeare, introductionsto each volume and each play, as well as supervised the annotations and the selection of the 4,200 illustrations. The introductions to the volumes describe the evolution of Shakespeare's art, his approach to comedy and tragedy, his themes and poetic impulse. The introductions to the plays place each in the perspective of the entire range of his work and his milieu. The annotations elucidate not only Shakespeare's language, but the biographical, historical, topical, literary, and symbolic aspects of the plays and poems themselves. The great merit of the annotations is that they help the reader, the actor, the producer, the student to understand and appreciate better the plays of Shakespeare, and to get new meaning and insight from them. The 4,200 illustrations make this also an incomparable visual edition of Shakespeare. They show actual scenes of the plays in photographs as well as in paintings by Delacroix, Gainsborough, Blake, and others, and pictures of historic figures such as Henry VI, Henry IV, and famous Shakespearean performers from the earliest days to the present. In addition, these volumes include set and costume designs, prints, facsimiles of title pages of first editions, and many other pertinent reproductions." -Publisher.

Unlock the more straightforward side of The Merchant of Venice with this concise and insightful summary and analysis! This engaging summary presents an analysis of The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare, which recounts the fierce legal battle that ensues when the Jewish moneylender Shylock seeks to claim a ‘pound of flesh’ from the Venetian merchant Antonio, who has defaulted on a loan. The character of Shylock is one of the most controversial in the Shakespearean canon – his cruelty and vengefulness have led many to criticise his characterisation as anti-Semitic, but his portrayal as a victim of prejudice and his eloquent speeches lend ambiguity to that reading, as well as bringing a more tragic dimension to the play as a whole, even though it is often classified as a comedy. The Merchant of Venice is one of Shakespeare’s most frequently discussed and debated plays even today, and has been consistently adapted for stage and screen since it was first performed in 1600. Find out everything you need to know about The Merchant of Venice in a fraction of the time! This in-depth and informative reading guide brings you: • A complete plot summary • Character studies • Key themes and symbols • Questions for further reflection Why choose BrightSummaries.com? Available in print and digital format, our publications are designed to accompany you on your reading journey. The clear and concise style makes for easy understanding, providing the perfect opportunity to improve your literary knowledge in no time. See the very best of literature in a whole new light with BrightSummaries.com!