This study provides the first comprehensive examination of every prop in Shakespeare's plays, whether mentioned in stage directions, indicated in dialogue or implied by the action. Building on the latest scholarship and offering a witty treatment of the subject, the authors delve into numerous historical documents, the business of theater in Renaissance England, and the plays themselves to explain what audiences might have seen at the Globe, the Rose, the Curtain, or the Blackfriars Playho...

Presented in an accessible and easy-reference format, Greatest Love Poems includes over 220 poems by a wide range of famous and lesser-known authors from different periods of history. These are divided into five themed sections, including:• Romance• Poems for Marriage• Unrequited Love• Long Distance Love• Lost LoveFeaturing short biographies of every author, this beautiful edition allows you to explore every aspect of love and its interp...

King Richard the Second is a history play by William Shakespeare believed to be written in approximately 1595. It is based on the life of King Richard II of England and is the first part of a tetralogy, referred to by scholars as the Henriad, followed by three plays concerning Richard's successors: Henry IV, part 1, Henry IV, part 2, and Henry V. It may not have been written as a stand-alone work.Although the First Folio (1623) edition of Shakespeare's works lists the play as a history pla...

The Life and Death of King John, a history play by William Shakespeare, dramatizes the reign of King John of England (ruled 1199-1216), son of Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine and father of Henry III of England. It is believed to have been written in the mid-1590s but was not published until it appeared in the First Folio in 1623. Excerpted from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

A challenging, wide-ranging collection of monologues from history’s greatest dramatic worksFrom the stately and poetic Greek tragedies to the lively, bawdy Restoration comedies, the classical repertoire is a treasure trove of often-overlooked materials for male and female, young and old. The solo pieces collected here vary widely in mood, style, and level of challenge; they include a generous supply of Shakespeare and his contemporaries; and they’re fleshed out wit...

Full of fresh speeches from Shakespeare's plays, this is the ideal guide for actors of all ages and experience.As an actor at any level you are likely to be called upon to perform a speech from Shakespeare. A great deal will depend on your coming up with something fresh that is suited both to your particular performing skills and to the purposes of the audition. This is where this volume of The Good Audition Guides comes in.Drawing on his extensive experience as a ...

THE GOOD AUDITION GUIDES:Helping you select and perform the audition piece that is best suited to your performing skillsEach Good Audition Guide contains a range of fresh monologues, all prefaced with a summary of the vital information you need to place the piece in context and to perform it to maximum effect in your own unique way.Each volume also carries a user-friendly introduction on the whole process of auditioning....

No dramatist has ever seen with more frightening clarity into the heart and mind of a murderer than has Shakespeare in this compelling tragedy of evil. Taunted into asserting his “masculinity” by his ambitious wife, Macbeth chooses to embrace the Weird Sisters’ prophecy and kill his king–and thus, seals his own doom. Fast-moving and bloody, this drama has the extraordinary energy that derives from a brilliant plot replete with treachery and murder, and from Shakespeare’s compelling portrai...

Described as 'Mad, bad and dangerous to know' by one of his lovers, Lady Caroline Lamb, Lord Byron was the quintessential Romantic. Flamboyant, charismatic and brilliant, he remains almost as notorious for his life - as a political revolutionary, sexual adventurer and traveller - as he does for his literary work. Yet he produced some of the most daring and exuberant poetry of the Romantic age, from 'To Caroline' and 'To Woman' to the satirical English Bards and Scotch Reviewers, his exotic...

The acclaimed Pelican Shakespeare series edited by A. R. Braunmuller and Stephen OrgelThe legendary Pelican Shakespeare series features authoritative and meticulously researched texts paired with scholarship by renowned Shakespeareans. Each book includes an essay on the theatrical world of Shakespeare’s time, an introduction to the individual play, and a detailed note on the text used. Updated by general editors Stephen Orgel and A. R. Braunmuller, these easy-to-re...

An elegant and witty writer, poet laureate from 1668, Dryden was on of the major dramatists, critics and poets of his age.

Considered one of Shakespeare's greatest history plays, The Tragedy of King Richard II concerns the ill-fated reign of a king whose eventual overthrow marks the beginning of Shakespeare's history cycle, including Henry IV, Part I, Henry IV Part II; and Henry V.This edition features an overview of Shakespeare's works by Sylvan Barnet, former Chairman of the English Department at Tufts University, as well as a comprehensive stage and screen history, dramati...