William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was an English poet, playwright, and actor, considered by many as the greatest English writer. Hundreds of specialists were able to translate his works into every major language, and most of the plays are performed more often than those of any other author. "The Merry Wives of Windsor" is a five-act comedy the action of which takes place in the city of Windsor and its environs. It also features Sir John Falstaff, the fat knight who also was one of the characters in both parts of "Henry IV". Nominally set in the reign of Henry IV, this play is the only one where the action doesn't shy away from the fact that it takes place in the Queen Elizabeth era, and most of the characters are representatives of the middle class of English society.

William Shakespeare's comic encore for one of his best-loved characters - the rascally Falstaff from Henry IV and Henry V - The Merry Wives of Windsor is edited by G.R. Hibbard with an introduction by Catherine Richardson in Penguin Shakespeare. 'We'll leave a proof, by that which we will do, Wives may be merry, and yet honest too' In need of money, the fat and foolish Falstaff devises a scheme to seduce two married women and steal their husbands' wealth. By talking to each other, however, the wives soon discover his plan and begin to plot their own revenge. Relentlessly inventive, this comic humiliation of a foolish would-be seducer is a lively, compelling and ultimately joyous celebration of the all-conquering power of laughter. This book contains a general introduction to Shakespeare's life and Elizabethan theatre, a separate introduction to The Merry Wives of Windsor, a chronology, suggestions for further reading, an essay discussing performance options on both stage and screen, and a commentary.

William Shakespeare (1564—1616) was an English poet, playwright, and actor, considered by many as the greatest English writer. Hundreds of specialists were able to translate his works into every major language, and most of the plays are performed more often than those of any other author. "The Merry Wives of Windsor" is a five-act comedy the action of which takes place in the city of Windsor and its environs. It also features Sir John Falstaff, the fat knight who also was one of the characters in both parts of "Henry IV". Nominally set in the reign of Henry IV, this play is the only one where the action doesn't shy away from the fact that it takes place in the Queen Elizabeth era, and most of the characters are representatives of the middle class of English society.

William Shakespeare (1564—1616) was an English poet, playwright, and actor, considered by many as the greatest English writer. Hundreds of specialists were able to translate his works into every major language, and most of the plays are performed more often than those of any other author. "The Merry Wives of Windsor" is a five-act comedy the action of which takes place in the city of Windsor and its environs. It also features Sir John Falstaff, the fat knight who also was one of the characters in both parts of "Henry IV". Nominally set in the reign of Henry IV, this play is the only one where the action doesn't shy away from the fact that it takes place in the Queen Elizabeth era, and most of the characters are representatives of the middle class of English society.

"I would challenge you to a battle of wits, but I see you are unarmed." -William Shakespeare Arm yourself with this volume from the Knickerbocker Classic series, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, including 16 comedies, 10 histories, 12 tragedies and all the poems and sonnets of the world's most influential writer. This collection includes poems and plays that were not included in Shakespeare's First Folio of 1623 to make one complete, authentic collection. For Shakespeare fans worldwide, this stunning gift edition has a full cloth binding, foil blocking on the spine, ribbon marker, and is packaged neatly in an elegant slipcase. The Complete Works of William Shakespeare contains essential reading like Hamlet, Romeo & Juliet, King Lear, Othello, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Macbeth, Julius Caesar and Henry V alongside many lesser-known gems for a complete Shakespearean education.

1606: William Shakespeare and the Year of Lear traces Shakespeare’s life and times from the autumn of 1605, when he took an old and anonymous Elizabethan play, The Chronicle History of King Leir, and transformed it into his most searing tragedy, King Lear. 1606 proved to be an especially grim year for England, which witnessed the bloody aftermath of the Gunpowder Plot, divisions over the Union of England and Scotland, and an outbreak of plague. But it turned out to be an exceptional one for Shakespeare, unrivalled at identifying the fault-lines of his cultural moment, who before the year was out went on to complete two other great Jacobean tragedies that spoke directly to these fraught times: Macbeth and Antony and Cleopatra. Following the biographical style of 1599, a way of thinking and writing that Shapiro has made his own, 1606: William Shakespeare and the Year of Lear promises to be one of the most significant and accessible works on Shakespeare in the decade to come.

The Little Shakespeare Book is the perfect primer to the works of William Shakespeare, packed with witty illustrations and inspirational quotes, now in a handy compact size. This bold book covers every work, from the comedies of Twelfth Night and As You Like It to the tragedies of Julius Caesar and Hamlet, plus lost plays and less well-known works of poetry. Easy-to-understand graphics and illustrations bring the themes, plots, characters and language of Shakespeare to life, including illustrated timelines which offer an at-a-glance summary of the action for each play. With detailed plot summaries and an in-depth analysis of the major characters and themes, this is a brilliant, innovative exploration of the entire canon of Shakespeare plays, sonnets and poetry. Whether you're a Shakespeare scholar or a student of the great Bard, The Little Book of Shakespeare Book offers a fuller appreciation of his phenomenal talent and lasting legacy.

An exponent of the theory that William Shakespeare, the modestly educated provincial man from Stratford-upon-Avon, could not have written the works – full of erudition and accurate professional jargon – which are attributed to him, Mark Twain offers an eloquent and entertaining analysis of this issue of authorship, peppered with personal recollections of his own first encounters with the Bard’s plays on a boat on the Mississippi. Balancing humour, insight and vitriol, Is Shakespeare Dead? is a provocative contribution to the tradition of Shakespeare-doubting, as well as a fine example of the great American novelist’s critical writing.

"The Histrionicall Hoax of William Shakespeare or a Mystery of the Great Phoenix" - английский вариант бестселлера Ильи Гилилова издан Мемориальным Рэтлендианским Обществом специальным тиражом к 400-летию со дня смерти Ульяма Шекспира.

William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863) was a British author and novelist mostly known for his satirical works such as "Vanity Fair" that showed an ironic representation of the British society of those times. "Men's Wives" is a classic collection of short stories that include witty comedy and entertaining insight into the manners of the Victorian era. It is a very interesting view of the relationships between men and their wives, and a clever commentary on social norms.

Beyond the few known facts we have about William Shakespeare, our real knowledge of him comes from the substantial body of non-dramatic verse he left behind. The strikingly modern sonnets and the invigorating narratives drawn from classical subjects suggest that had Shakespeare concentrated his extraordinary energies on these forms alone, and had he never written a single play, he would still hold the place he does in the hierarchy of world literature.

This book is edited, introduced and annotated by Cedric Watts, research Professor of English, University of Sussex. The Wordsworth Classics' Shakespeare Series presents a newly-edited sequence of William Shakespeare's works. The Textual editing takes account of recent scholarship while giving the material a careful reappraisal.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) is acknowledged as the greatest dramatist of all time. He excels in plot, poetry and wit, and his talent encompasses the great tragedies of Hamlet, King Lear, Othello and Macbeth as well as the moving history plays and the comedies such as A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Taming of the Shrew and As You Like It with their magical combination of humour, ribaldry and tenderness. This volume is a reprint of the Shakespeare Head Press edition, and it presents all the plays in chronological order in which they were written. It also includes Shakespeare's Sonnets, as well as his longer poems Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) is acknowledged as the greatest dramatist of all time. He excels in plot, poetry and wit, and his talent encompasses the great tragedies of Hamlet, King Lear, Othello and Macbeth as well as the moving history plays and the comedies such as A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Taming of the Shrew and As You Like It with their magical combination of humour, ribaldry and tenderness. This volume is a reprint of the Shakespeare Head Press edition, and it presents all the plays in chronological order in which they were written. It also includes Shakespeare's Sonnets, as well as his longer poems Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece.

William Shakespeare is the best known writer in all of English literature and has not earned this reputation without reason. This volume contains the complete dramatic works of the literary genius whose work has enthralled audiences since Elizabethan times. In his works you will find tragedy, comedy, history, romance, fantasy, horror and a vast range of human experience that is still poignant in modern times. Shakespeare's heroes and heroines, villains and rogues, are amongst English literature's most enduring characters. Once experienced, who can forget the reasoning of Portia, the scheming of Richard III, the contradiction that is Hamlet, the calculated determination of Lady Macbeth, the jealousy of Othello, the ridiculousness of a lovesick and cross-gartered Malvolio, the wit of Beatrice and Benedick, the overbearing passion of Venus for Adonis, the forbidden love of Romeo and Juliet or the tragic vanity of King Lear?

Widely hailed on its first publication in 1951, this authoritative guide has long been established as one of the most esteemed and influential editions of Shakespeare's works. This edition includes: the recognized canon of Shakespeare's plays, sonnets, and poems; a new introduction; a brief biography of Shakespeare; an introduction to Shakespearian theater; a glossary of 2500 words and phrases; line numbering that relates to the standard concordances; and a new selection of Shakespearian websites, organized by theme.