Product Description
Subjects: Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616 -- Criticism and interpretationNotes: This is an OCR reprint. There may be numerous typos or missing text. There are no illustrations or indexes.When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. You can also preview the book there. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (16)

No Fear For Parents
This is a fantastic book for parents to get when their children come home saying they are studying Shakespeare in high schoolEnglish class. It is well worth the money. My son, who is autistic, was really struggling to comprehend and recite this with his class, which is reading it out loud. Being totally Shakespeare-phobic due to my inability to comprehend the language 20-plus years ago, I was struggling to help him prepare for class. Since having gotten this book, we both read the Shakespeare language, then read the "translation," and then read the play out loud. The "translation" allows us to know what is happening, and what kind of emotion we should use while reading the actual play out loud. I like the fact that there is not a lot of analysis of the play because my son has to think for himself about the underlying plot points. It's a great discussion-starter. My middle school daughter has picked up on our enthusiasm and is now reading Hamlet and Taming of the Shrew. I would highly recommend this version of Romeo and Juliet. We plan to purchase more of these No Fear Shakespeare books. The price is certainly right.

Romeo and Julie
I bought this for my grandson for school work. The book was delivered in a timely manner and in good condition.

NOFEAR SHAKESPEARE- ROMEO AND JULIET
This is an excellent book.It gives you the original version of the play along with the play written out in plain modern English.This is great if you really find the old language difficult to understand.I highly recommend this book for studying purposes.Use it in conjunction with Cliffs notes and you have it made.

Not a graphic novel
I am a high school teacher for special needs students.I searched for a graphic novel of Romeo & Juliet and found this book.I thought that this book would have illustrations as well as current language, but there are no illustrations at all.It is very cool with the Shakespearean text on one side and the translated text on the other, but for my students who have difficulties reading text of any kind, illustrations would have been even better.I have definitely used this book with my instruction, so I do recommend it.I was disappointed when I received it, though, because based on the descriptions I read before I purchased it, I misunderstood that it was a graphic novel.

Great Item
As a teacher on the high school level, this has proved to be extremely valuable! ... Read more

Product Description
William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar follows the lauded Shakespearian tradition of blending story and history in a gripping drama. Like many of Shakespeare's works, the heart of this masterpiece lies in the broad political themes employed to speak comment on life and patriotism in Shakespeare's England. As a quintessential demonstration of Shakespearian verse and construction, Julius Caesar is an essential element for students and Shakespeare aficionados alike. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (27)

English 10 H Review
I recently read The Tragedy of Julius Caesar in English, and I was monumentally confused at first. But, as we read, it became more clear and easier to understand. I have read only this, and one other Shakespearean play: Romeo and Juliet. I think Romeo and Juliet was superior, but by no means is Julius Caesar a boring play. It was actually a very good read, and I would recommend it if you do not mind trying to understand older English. It is set in Ancient Rome, and is, in fact, a true story, which makes it all the more interesting to read, because it is a fun way to learn history, and it really improves your vocabulary, which is great for students like me who are getting ready for big tests in the next few years like the SAT and ACT.

Marshall Aspinwall (aspinwall_24@hotmail.com)
Julius Caesar has written many of plays and they are very great plays from what I have heard but this play to me personally is some what hard to understand. It is also very long. In some parts of the play it can get exciting. But, can get a little boring after a while, but overall it is a good book. If you haven't read any of his books, I would prefer you to read Romeo & Juliet. But their might be one that is better than Romeo and Juliet if you havn't read any of his books yet.

Julius Caesar Review
Julius Caesar by William Shakespear is a fascinating book written in the 17th century. Although difficult to read at times, the rhetoric gives us a view of the poetic style of language used in this time period. However, I particulary did not like this book compared to Romeo and Juliet which was a tragic novel of two lovers whos fate was starstruck. At times, the book was boring and did not have interesting events taking place, but overall I enjoyed the book.

Review
Julius Caeser is one of the best plays written by William Shakespear. Though, it does have some faults. One fault is that it is really long and can get boring at times. Another fault is that it can be hard to understand, especially since it is boring in some parts. But, on the parts that are more exciting, it is a lot easier to understand. I would recommend this book over a lot other Shakespear books, but I would not recommend reading it if this is your first time reading a piece of Shakespear's work.

Valuble but Not Entertaining
Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare is a classic novel which is often cited at the master work of 17th century English literature. Although this view is true, we ought to note that the work is not a particularly interesting read. Instead I would recommend it for its historical and cultural value; the work provides a key temporal window into the minds of common theatre goers. Because it lacks an absorbing plot, the play is best left alone unless either you need a 17th century literary reference or enjoys the writings of Shakespeare. If you are looking for historic poetry I would instead recommend John Milton's Paradise Lost or Dante's Inferno.Both alternatives include the same artistic use of language that Shakespeare mastered (this is only true for the Inferno in the original Italian) but they also had a more engaging plot. ... Read more

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Product Description

William Shakespeare was the son of a glovemaker, a small-town boy with a grammar school education. Yet he grew up to become the greatest English-speaking playwright in the world. Bard of Avon: The Story of William Shakespeare is both his story and that of a great art rediscovered in the modern world.

Drama had been forgotten since the days of ancient Greece, but it reemerged in Elizabethan London with the building of the first modern theater. Its impact can still be imagined today. There were the theaters, open to the weather and featuring neither sets nor curtains, but equipped with dramatic special effects. There were the companies of actors--the leading men, the comedians, the boys who played women's roles--and the playwrights who gave them all lines to say.

Best of all, there was William Shakespeare, who rubbed shoulders with noblemen and royalty as well as with the rowdy crowds at the foot of the stage. He was suspected of involvement in a treasonous rebellion, and his last play literally brought down the house when cannon effects set fire to the famous Globe theater and it burned to the ground.

Award-winning collaborators Diane Stanley and Peter Vennema have once again created a feast of words and pictures to celebrate the life of a remarkable person from the pages of history: William Shakespeare, a man for all time."

Customer Reviews (7)

Easy and educational
Great educational book, not made to be as "exciting" as I thought it could have been.

Wonderful picture book biography!
Diane Stanley's picture book biographies are wonderful! I can think of a number of titles I have seen so often on homeschool families' shelves: Joan of Ark, Michelangelo, Peter the Great, Saladin, Charles Dickens, and more! She has a very unique and captivating way to write--and illustrate--these great historical figures' biographies!

The Bard of Avon follows all that is known about William Shakespeare, his personal and professional life, the Globe Theater and the world he lived in. Many of his plays are discussed in the book as well. As with her other biographies, Stanley's language is both kind and respectful. It is also honest-- what is not known about a historical character is stated as such on the pages.

This is a very good first look at the Bard's life . I just asked my 8th grader, whose next reading assignment is Romeo and Juliet , to read it: she could not put it down!

Diane Stanley = my favorite children's biographer
I feel like I could start any review for a Diane Stanley biography like this: ________ is the perfect introduction for any child interested in learning about ___________!That said...

Bard of Avon is an excellent introduction to the biography of William Shakespeare. It gives you basic facts without getting too involved in theory. My favorite new fact is a list of words Shakespeare invented by writing them into his plays. In addition to "eyeball," which I already knew, he also made up: majestic, countless, hint, hurry, reliance, leapfrog, gust, excellent, and gloomy. Awesome!Diane Stanley hits it out of the park every time, truly.I'm a huge fan.

Truly brings Shakespeare to life!
Stanley does a masterful job of bringing Shakespeare to life in this short biography.Full of wit, the workings of the theater and a few of the details behind some of Shakespeare's more popular works, older children willgreatly enjoy this book.A must-have for homeschoolers beginning a study of the Bard of Avon!

Watch for this Author she's a Gem!
This author was new to us and we will be looking for her from now on. The pictures are sooo wonderful they transport you. The information is well done and clear, yet not watered done. This is someone that REALLY understands writing books for children that adults can enjoy using as teachers or parents. I recently bought alot of books on Shakespeare, for use in the school room this year and we have found 4 authors that made the grade on this subject! This is a keeper! ... Read more

Product Description
Shakespeare's play of the Merchant of Venice - Arranged for Representation at the Princess's Theatre, with Historical and Explanatory Notes by Charles Kean, F.S.A. is presented here in a high quality paperback edition. This popular classic work by William Shakespeare is in the English language. If you enjoy the works of William Shakespeare then we highly recommend this publication for your book collection. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

I love skylock!
Excellent, I enjoyed this so much; I read the tempest after.
Skylock is my hero! I want a pound of flesh! ... Read more

Product Description
One of Shakespeare’s most popular plays, filled with fierce, violent action, Macbeth is a human drama of ambition, desire, and guilt in a world of blood and darkness, with whispers of the supernatural.

Under the editorial supervision of Jonathan Bate and Eric Rasmussen, two of today’s most accomplished Shakespearean scholars, this Modern Library series incorporates definitive texts and authoritative notes from William Shakespeare: Complete Works. Each play includes an Introduction as well as an overview of Shakespeare’s theatrical career; commentary on past and current productions based on interviews with leading directors, actors, and designers; scene-by-scene analysis; key facts about the work; a chronology of Shakespeare’s life and times; and black-and-white illustrations.

Ideal for students, theater professionals, and general readers, these modern and accessible editions from the Royal Shakespeare Company set a new standard in Shakespearean literature for the twenty-first century. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (53)

Murderous Macbeth
Main Characters:
* Macbeth--Considered to be Scotland's greatest warrior, leader and hero, Macbeth is a strong man with bold features. He is aware of his success and it blinds his thinking, allowing jealousy to take over in situations.
* Lady Macbeth--Loyal to her husband, Lady Macbeth sees great potential in his success. She is a sly, ruthless, with a strong hatred for weakness or failure in Macbeth. These characteristics conceal any of her potential beauty behind this ugliness.
* The Three Witches--These immortal servants of "the goddess of witchcraft", prophesy of Macbeth's promising future, leading him into destruction. Throughout the playwright, their true identity remains unknown, but we can see their influence portrayed.

Summary:
Macbeth; a Scottish hero unlike any other. With the defeat of the invading armies, General Macbeth is praised for his success. Upon meeting with three witches, he is told continuing triumphs, leading to Thane of Cawdor and ultimately King.For his counterpart, Banquo, they proclaim his descendents as great Kings of Scotland. Bewildered, Banquo and Macbeth do not believe these prophecies but to their dismay, they begin to become true, arising their hopes.
After Lady Macbeth is informed, they foil a plan and murder the King that night, quickly crowning Macbeth King. Afraid of overthrow by Banquo and his son's promising futures, he has Banquo killed, but his son escapes, allowing the prophecy to live on. The three witches then tell Macbeth to be aware of Macduff, and in return, Macbeth murders his family. In the end, the witches prophecies come true and Macbeth is murdered by Macduff when the English help invade the castle and overthrow the tyrant.

Connection:
When we take matters into our own hands, it never seems to work out in the end. I need God to lead the way.

Let not light see my black and deep desires
In the theater, people apparently don't call Shakespeare's "Macbeth" by its actual name -- it's usually called "MacB" or "The Scottish Play." The dark superstitions that hover around this play really show its power: it's a harrowing portrait of a weak man who spirals into a personal hell of ambition, murder and madness.

Shortly after a victory in battle, Macbeth and his friend Banquo are traveling home across a heath when they encounter three witches -- who greet him with "All hail, Macbeth! hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor! All hail, Macbeth! that shalt be king hereafter!"

When MacBeth is made Thane of Cawdor, he naturally begins to think that being king might be next in line. And when King Duncan visits his castle, Lady MacBeth goads her husband into murdering the king and framing a couple of innocent servants for the deed. As the witches predicted, MacBeth becomes king of Scotland.

But the witches also prophesied that Banquo would be the father of kings, so MacBeth starts tying off loose ends by hiring assassins to kill Banquo and his young son, as well as a wily thane named MacDuff and all of his family. But though MacBeth believes himself to be safe from everyone, his fear begins to grow as madness and guilt torment him and his wife...

One of the most fascinating things about "Macbeth" is how evil it is -- mass murder, insanity, bloody ghosts, a trio of manipulative witches pulling MacBeth's strings, and a nice if weak man who becomes a raving murderous paranoiac. Shakespeare starts the story on a dark note, and it gets darker and bloodier as the story winds on to its bleak climax.

In fact, the entire story is a two-part spiral -- things get tighter and more intense, even as MacBeth and Lady M. get crazier and more violent. Shakespeare litters the story with brutally intense scenes (Banquo's ghost crashing the dinner, Lady M. trying to scrub her hands clean) and powerful dialogue ("Shake off this downy sleep, death's counterfeit,/And look on death itself! up, up, and see/The great doom's image!").

The one flaw: Shakespeare's handling of the "no man born of woman" prediction is a bit lame. I mean, didn't that count as "born" back in Elizabethan times too?

Honestly, MacBeth is both a fascinating and repulsive character. He starts off as a nice ordinary thane with no particular ambition, but his weakness and his wife drive him to some pretty horrible acts. Before long, he's become somebody you desperately want to see diced into little pieces. And Lady Macbeth is little better, although there's a slight disparity between her ruthless ambition and her later insanity.

"MacBeth" is a story filled with stormy darkness and all-consuming fire -- a powerful depiction of evil and how easily we can be seduced. Just don't say its name in the theater.

Hey Yale -- change the cover
The only thing I have against the Yale edition is the disgusting cover image.I didn't notice it clearly from the small image on Amazon.com before I bought the book.It's a bloody latex glove in a zip-lock bag.It's really revolting.No one in my house could stomach it.I had to make a faux cover for it.

High school English teacher review
I teach 11th and twelfth grade English, and Shakespeare is, of course, part of the literary canon. Many of my students, however, are somewhat allergic to Shakespeare, and I have found this book to be an enormous help in helping them get over their reluctance to at least put in some effort. Kudos to the genius who first came up with this idea. The pages are even set up so that the original text and the modern translation are on opposite pages, and if one is longer than the other, the shorter page ends a little shorter than the other, so the student does not have to constantly flip pages back and forth.

The translations are concise, yet pretty accurate, and the modern vocabulary still manages to challenge the students' verbal awareness.

Do not make the mistake, however, of thinking that this wonderful book is only for students -- if you have ever wondered just what in the world Shakespeare is saying, this book is enormously helpful. And once you get the hang of it, his other plays (and sonnets) become that much clearer. But even if translating Shakespeare on your own is still too difficult for you after having read this version of Macbeth, the same publisher has also printed other plays of Shakespeare with the same clarifying results.

I recommend this highly for both students and the curious. Your literary world will never be the same.

Let not light see my black and deep desires
In the theater, people apparently don't call Shakespeare's "Macbeth" by its actual name -- it's usually called "MacB" or "The Scottish Play." The dark superstitions that hover around this play really show its power: it's a harrowing portrait of a weak man who spirals into a personal hell of ambition, murder and madness.

Shortly after a victory in battle, Macbeth and his friend Banquo are traveling home across a heath when they encounter three witches -- who greet him with "All hail, Macbeth! hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor! All hail, Macbeth! that shalt be king hereafter!"

When MacBeth is made Thane of Cawdor, he naturally begins to think that being king might be next in line. And when King Duncan visits his castle, Lady MacBeth goads her husband into murdering the king and framing a couple of innocent servants for the deed. As the witches predicted, MacBeth becomes king of Scotland.

But the witches also prophesied that Banquo would be the father of kings, so MacBeth starts tying off loose ends by hiring assassins to kill Banquo and his young son, as well as a wily thane named MacDuff and all of his family. But though MacBeth believes himself to be safe from everyone, his fear begins to grow as madness and guilt torment him and his wife...

One of the most fascinating things about "Macbeth" is how evil it is -- mass murder, insanity, bloody ghosts, a trio of manipulative witches pulling MacBeth's strings, and a nice if weak man who becomes a raving murderous paranoiac. Shakespeare starts the story on a dark note, and it gets darker and bloodier as the story winds on to its bleak climax.

In fact, the entire story is a two-part spiral -- things get tighter and more intense, even as MacBeth and Lady M. get crazier and more violent. Shakespeare litters the story with brutally intense scenes (Banquo's ghost crashing the dinner, Lady M. trying to scrub her hands clean) and powerful dialogue ("Shake off this downy sleep, death's counterfeit,/And look on death itself! up, up, and see/The great doom's image!").

The one flaw: Shakespeare's handling of the "no man born of woman" prediction is a bit lame. I mean, didn't that count as "born" back in Elizabethan times too?

Honestly, MacBeth is both a fascinating and repulsive character. He starts off as a nice ordinary thane with no particular ambition, but his weakness and his wife drive him to some pretty horrible acts. Before long, he's become somebody you desperately want to see diced into little pieces. And Lady Macbeth is little better, although there's a slight disparity between her ruthless ambition and her later insanity.

"MacBeth" is a story filled with stormy darkness and all-consuming fire -- a powerful depiction of evil and how easily we can be seduced. Just don't say its name in the theater. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Fantasy as biography
In a genre noted for confusing conjecture with biographical fact, Rowse must be counted among the most imaginative. Should carry a warning label.

Excellent
I came to this biography after reading another recent and completely lame one (derivative and slanted).What a difference!I love history and biography, have read Shakespeare's plays but never seen one (!). Rowse's books have whetted my appetite to read additional biographies, histories of the era, and re-read the plays.It's hard to put down:very interesting, informative, original and easy to read.Highly recommended.

A poet for the ages
I just finished reading this book, and I have learned so much about Shakespeare that I did not know before.I've come away with a deeper understanding of the man who was so gifted that there has never been anyone his equal among poets & playwrites, yet I long to know more about him.The author has a deep appreciation of his subject and the reader is caught up in this enthusiasm.This is a book that was hard to put down and made we want to re-read Shakespeare's plays, enlightened now with a deeper understanding of the poet.The material in the book cast new light on the plays by giving me a perspective of historical events & cultural background of Shakespeare's times that are reflected in his writings.This is a must read for anyone who is interested in Shakespeare. ... Read more

Product Description
Ant. He shall not liue; looke, with a spot I dam him. But Lepidus, go you to Caesars house: Fetch the Will hither, and we shall determine How to cut off some charge in Legacies . ... Read more

Customer Reviews (50)

Fine
Jesus! They were all great! They were in good shape and they arrived in a reasonable amount of time.

Mike L.

Go, go, good countrymen...
Gaius Julius Cæsar is the Caesar we think of when we hear the word "Caesar" -- he conquered Gaul, bedded Cleopatra, and died a pretty dramatic death. And while he only appears in a few scenes of "Julius Caesar," he's the nucleus that William Shakespeare's taut conspiracy play revolves around -- his murder, his legacy, and the bitter jealousy he inspired.

Julius Caesar is returning to Rome in triumph, only to be stopped by a strange old soothsayer who warns him, "Beware the ides of March." Caesar brushes off the warning, but he has no idea that a conspiracy is brewing under his nose. In a nutshell, a group of senators led by the creepy Cassius are plotting against Caesar because of his wild popularity, suspecting that he wants to become KING.

And Cassius' latest target: Brutus, one of Caesar's best buddies. Brutus is slowly swayed over to the conspiracy's side, beginning to believe that Caesar as a great man corrupted by power. Everything comes to a a devastating assassination on... guess when... the ides of March, which will elevate some men to greatness and destroy others.

Though the story is supposedly about Julius Caesar, Caesar himself only has a few scenes -- but his charismatic, dominating presence hangs over the play like a heavy tapestry. What he does, what he plans, what he thinks and who he is are constantly on people's minds, and even after his death he is a powerful presence in the memories of the living.

And Shakespeare cooks up a dialogue-heavy play that is a bit on the slow side, but whose speeches are so powerful and intense that you don't quite notice. There's a lot of those speeches here -- not only Antony's famous speech to the Roman people ("The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones"), but Brutus' impassioned argument with Portia ("You have some sick offence within your mind") and Cassius' oily slanted editorials about Caesar.

Shakespeare's depiction of Brutus is also a beautifully nuanced one -- Antony calls him the "noblest Roman of them all" at the very end, despite the fact that Brutus calmly murdered his friend and leader. He's basically a gullible guy who follows his passions rather than his brain, and bounces into the conspiracy rather than trying to find out the truth about Caesar. You feel sorry for him, and at the same time you want the much smarter Antony to kick him like a soccer ball.

"Julius Caesar" is rather slow-moving, but Shakespeare's powerful writing and nuanced depiction of Brutus more than make up for that. Friends, Romans, countrymen...

Confusing page numbers
This edition of the text has very confusing page numbers.Rather than separating the sections by scenes and acts, the book numbers at the top 2.3.45 or 1.1.115.It makes it more difficult in a way to find specific scenes because they run together on the page rather than appear with a break between the scenes.However the Arden edition has very nice notes that help with difficult passages or references.

Not what I expected
This series is great for students. The books are divided into three sections: the first section is a kind of history of Shakespeare and his plays, the second section is the actual play, and the third section is more of the details of the play,i.e. where the story came from, how it is performed,how to directed the play. All in all it was a great for teaching the works of Shakespeare.

A classic
One of the classics -- we all had to read it in high school, but it's remarkably easier to get through than it was when I was 16. ... Read more

Product Description
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". ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Tales of the bard
Shakespeare requires no introduction -- he is "the Bard," the most imposing playwright and storyteller in the English language. And "The Oxford Shakespeare: The Complete Works" brings together every one of his 39 plays, ranging from harrowing tragedies to airy little puffs of comedy -- and even the lesser plays are still brilliant.

The plays basically are divided into comedies, histories and tragedies. The tragedies are pretty much... tragic, the comedies are not always funny but end semi-happily, and the histories... well, dramatizations of history.

And everybody has heard of the greats here -- the Scottish lord who murders his way to kingship, young lovers divided by a feud, a Moorish general who is driven mad with jealousy, an elderly king whose arrogance rips his life apart, a very cleaned-up version of Henry VIII's split from his first wife, the goofy Prince Hal and his growth into a great king. There are feuding fairies, bickering lovers, romantic tangles, Julius Caesar's demise, gender-bending, an exiled duke/magician on his island, and the infamous "pound of flesh" bargain.

But Shakespeare also wrote a bunch of lesser-known plays that often can't be so neatly categorized -- a rotten love affair during the siege of Troy, a Roman general attacking his own city, an Athenian gentleman embittered by humanity, Richard III's Machiavellian plot to become king, two sets of twins separated at birth, a corrupt judge obsessed with a lovely nun, Falstaff's doomed efforts to make money, and so on. Some of these ("Troilus and Cressida") aren't nearly as good as his "main" body of work, but they're still excellent.

For all Shakespeare's plays, it's best to read them AFTER you've seen a good performance. Otherwise, it's like reading a movie script to a movie you haven't seen -- easy to get lost, and the dramatic effects aren't easy to connect to. But if you've seen performances of any/all of Shakespeare's plays, then his vibrant stories and poetry leap off the page.

There are long eloquent speeches, puns, clever linguistic twists, and evocative language that soaks the play in atmosphere ("With sweet musk-roses and with eglantine/There sleeps Titania sometime of the night/Lull'd in these flowers with dances and delight..."). In fact, his plays are diamond mines of quotations -- some are infamous ("To be or not to be") and some of which have floated into public knowledge without labels ("Cowards die many times before their deaths/The valiant never taste of death but once").

And while some of his plays are basically fluff, he manages to weave in moral questions, criticism and explorations of the human soul. And his characters range as far as his plots -- kings and princes, teenage lovers, proud but doomed men, bratty queens, the witty but combative Beatrice and Benedick, and even the puppet-master mage Prospero.

Shakespeare's "Complete Works" is a must-have for anyone who loves the English language -- his writing was unparalleled, and even his lesser plays are a cut above the rest.

Excellent!
The book arrived in a timely fashion (for my daughter's birthday) and was in the condition the seller described. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (4)

Shakespeare's Julius Caesar is a timeless play on power politics and political assassination
Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was first acted in the early years of the seventeenth century. It is another in the brilliant series of plays by the greatest playwright who ever lived. It is a play which is often taught in high school courses but bears reading again by more mature readers. Every time a reader or playgoer experiences the beauty and wonder of a Shakespearean work new insights are discovered.
Julius Caesar is a five act tragedy revolving around the assassination of Julius Caesar the dictator of Rome who
was assassinated in 44 BC. Caesar is a complex man who has been warned about entering the Senate on "the ides of March." He disregards the advice not to go the Senate by his wife Calpurnia and a soothsayer. Caesar is deaf in one ear, epileptic yet a great leader.
His chief opponents are Brutus and Cassius who are Senators and come from noble Roman stock. They and other conspirators stab Caesar to death as they seize power. A blood purge of their political opponents swiftly ensues.
They are defeated and commit suicide at the Battle of Philippi where they are defeated by Mark Antony (he of the immortal "Friends, Romans, Countrymen lend me your ears:) speech to the mob in Act III. In that clever speech he turns the proletariat against the Brutus conspirators. Antony reveals how Caesar has granted 75 drachmas to every Roman citizen and also provided public walkways and parks for the inhabitants of the seven hill city. Brutus is a good man who is tormented by the murder of his quondam friend Caesar. On the night before the battle he is visited by the ghost of Caesar who tells him of his impending defeat and death.
Julius Caesar is one of Shakespeare's many great plays. It is high political and military drama with some of the best poetry ever wriitten. Brush up your Shakespeare and pick up a paperback!

Under-appreciated work...
This is actually my favorite of Shakespeare's works. The product itself is nicely laid out with a decent introduction and afterword. Each page has notations of any language that may need explaining.

Go, go, good countrymen...
Gaius Julius Cæsar is the Caesar we think of when we hear the word "Caesar" -- he conquered Gaul, bedded Cleopatra, and died a pretty dramatic death. And while he only appears in a few scenes of "Julius Caesar," he's the nucleus that William Shakespeare's taut conspiracy play revolves around -- his murder, his legacy, and the bitter jealousy he inspired.

Julius Caesar is returning to Rome in triumph, only to be stopped by a strange old soothsayer who warns him, "Beware the ides of March." Caesar brushes off the warning, but he has no idea that a conspiracy is brewing under his nose. In a nutshell, a group of senators led by the creepy Cassius are plotting against Caesar because of his wild popularity, suspecting that he wants to become KING.

And Cassius' latest target: Brutus, one of Caesar's best buddies. Brutus is slowly swayed over to the conspiracy's side, beginning to believe that Caesar as a great man corrupted by power. Everything comes to a a devastating assassination on... guess when... the ides of March, which will elevate some men to greatness and destroy others.

Though the story is supposedly about Julius Caesar, Caesar himself only has a few scenes -- but his charismatic, dominating presence hangs over the play like a heavy tapestry. What he does, what he plans, what he thinks and who he is are constantly on people's minds, and even after his death he is a powerful presence in the memories of the living.

And Shakespeare cooks up a dialogue-heavy play that is a bit on the slow side, but whose speeches are so powerful and intense that you don't quite notice. There's a lot of those speeches here -- not only Antony's famous speech to the Roman people ("The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones"), but Brutus' impassioned argument with Portia ("You have some sick offence within your mind") and Cassius' oily slanted editorials about Caesar.

Shakespeare's depiction of Brutus is also a beautifully nuanced one -- Antony calls him the "noblest Roman of them all" at the very end, despite the fact that Brutus calmly murdered his friend and leader. He's basically a gullible guy who follows his passions rather than his brain, and bounces into the conspiracy rather than trying to find out the truth about Caesar. You feel sorry for him, and at the same time you want the much smarter Antony to kick him like a soccer ball.

"Julius Caesar" is rather slow-moving, but Shakespeare's powerful writing and nuanced depiction of Brutus more than make up for that. Friends, Romans, countrymen...

A Great Edition for High School Students
As an experienced high school English teacher, I always advise my students and their parents to purchase a Folger's edition of Shakespeare's plays. The notes, summaries, and other commentary serve the novice Shakespearean reader well and make the classical allusions and denotations of unfamiliar and common words and phrases from the Elizabethan age much easier for 21st Century readers to understand. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (7)

Friends, Romans, Countrymen and Amazon Readers...
Lend me your ears....

After all these years, like fine wine, Julius Caesar gets better and better...

Haven't read it in 46 years, not since English class my junior year in high school.It was good then, better now.

Good, fast moving story, plots, intrigue, nobleness, and treachery...all the elements of mankind so mixed in a play that all the world might stand and say, "Damn, that was good..."

And all those good, wonderful and memorable quotes, too many to list.
Maybe not Shakespeare's "deepest" play, but one of his best and most enduring...."How many times in ages hence..."

As always the No Fear Shakespeare series is exceptional, with all the old and best of the new in one volume.Format and presentaton can't be beaten.

And here's to good English teachers, like Mrs. Hazel Mullenix at GHS in 1964.They made a difference and continue to make a difference.

Stupid book only suitable for the old fashioned, elderly, or dweebs
I absolutly hated this book!!!!!!! I was forced to stop reading every five pages and throw it at a wall because it was sooooooo boring. Shakespear really brought out his worst in this awful book. The english translations rarely made sence, the font was teeny tiny (size 9, according to Microsoft Word when I scanned it onto word), and the pages were flimsy. All in all, an incredible waste of time and money!!!!!

No Fear Shakespere - Julius Caesar
Actually, I purchased this book for my granddaughter for an English class.The book is excellently presented and was everything we needed to help in the class.

Great Item
As a teacher on the high school level, this has proved to be extremely valuable!

No Fear ShakespeareJulius Caesar
As an older adult that is somewhat isolated I started the study of Shakespeare on my own with just a big book that had annotaions that were often more cofusing than enlightening.It was rewarding but it was like plowing through a field full of big rocks.I found reading two or three scenes of an act with No Fear Shakespeare and then reading the corresponding section of Asimov's Guide to Shakespeare great fun.No Fear explains the nuances of language and setting while Asimov gives rich insight to the characters and events that makes it so easy to remember the varied characters and plot twists.

I found this method makes Shakespeare infinitely more easy to not only get through but savor and enjoy. My plan is to get as much of No Fear Shakespeare as I can including all the plays that I have gone through so laboriously in the past and apply the No Fear/Asimov technique.I hope it works as well for you as it did for me. ... Read more

Product Description
Newly revised, this comic play by Shakespeare features a new Introduction by Sylvan Barnet, former Chairman of the English Department at Tufts University, an updated bibliography, suggested references, and stage and film history. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

What night-rule now about this haunted grove?
It's neither the best nor worst of Shakespeare's many comedies, but "A Midsummer Night's Dream" definitely holds one honor -- it's the most fantastical of his works. This airy little comedy is filled with fairies, spells, love potions and romantic mixups, with only the bland human lovers making things a little confusing (who's in love with whom again?).

As Athens prepares for the wedding of Theseus and Hippolyta, the fusty Egeus is demanding that his daughter Hermia marry the man he's chosen for her, Demetrius. Her only other options are death or nunhood.

Since she's in love with a young man named Lysander (no, we never learn why her dad hates Lysander), Hermia refuses, and the two of them plot to escape Athens and marry elsewhere. But Helena, a girl who has been kicked to the curb by Demetrius, tips him off about their plans; he chases Hermia and Lysander into the woods, with Helena following him all the way. Are you confused yet?

But on this same night, the fairy king Oberon and his queen Titania are feuding over a little Indian boy. Oberon decides to use a magical "love juice" from a flower to cause some trouble for Titania by making her fall in love with some random weaver named Nick Bottom (whom his henchman Puck has turned into a donkey-headed man). He also decides to have Puck iron out the four lovers' romantic troubles with the same potion. But of course, hijinks ensue.

"A Midsummer Night's Dream" is another one of Shakespeare's plays that REALLY needs to be seen before it's read. Not only is it meant to be seen rather than read, but the tangle of romantic problems and hijinks are a little difficult to follow... okay, scratch that. They can be VERY difficult to follow, especially if you need to keep the four lovers straight.

But despite those small flaws, Shakespeare is in rare form here -- the story floats along in an enchanted haze of fairy magic, forest groves, and a love square that twists in on itself. And Shakespeare's lush, haunting poetry is absolutely lovely here ("With sweet musk-roses and with eglantine/There sleeps Titania sometime of the night/Lull'd in these flowers with dances and delight...").

But he also packs it with plenty of hilarity -- not only is it funny to read about the haughty fairy queen fawning over a guy with a donkey head (Nick Bottom = "ass's head", get it?), but there's plenty of funny moments in the dialogue ("Thisby, the flowers of odious savours sweet...").

The four main lovers are relatively bland and interchangeable, and we never find out much about them except that Helena is kind of stalkerish and not too bright (she tips off the guy she likes that the girl HE likes is eloping so he can stop her?). The real draws are the fairy creatures -- Titania and Oberon are proud alien creatures filled with both cruelty and kindness, and Puck is delightfully mischievous and.... puckish.

"A Midsummer Night's Dream" is a shimmering little concoction of magic, romantic mayhem and fairy squabbling. Absolutely stunning.

"The course of true love never did run smooth."
I recently re-read A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM prior to attending The Colorado Shakespeare Festival's performance of this play under the summer stars here in Boulder. Shakespeare (1564-1616) produced this romantic comedy between 1595 or 1596 and published it in the First Folio in 1623. It follows the adventures of four young Athenian lovers and a group of amateur actors under the influence of fairies who inhabit a moonlit forest. The play is Shakespeare's most popular and is widely performed across the world.

It play tells three stories connected by the wedding celebration of Duke Theseus of Athens and the Amazonian queen Hippolyta. In the opening scene, Hermia rejects her father Egeus's request that she marry Demetrius.Rather than facing death or lifelong chastity as a nun, Hermia and her lover Lysander decide to elope. Hermia tells her best friend Helena of her plan. Helena, who has been recently rejected by Demetrius, tells him of Hermia's plan to elope. Hermia, Lysander, Helena, and Demetrius all escape into the forest where they become romantically entangled under the influence of fairies.

Oberon (King of the Fairies), and his queen, Titania, arrive in the same forest. Oberon enlists the mischievous Puck (aka "Hobgoblin" and "Robin Goodfellow") to apply the magical juice from a flower to Titania's eyes while she is sleeping.The juice makes the victim fall in love with the first living thing he or she sees upon awakening. Oberon also instructs Puck to spread some juice on Demetrius's eyes. Instead, Puck puts the juice on Lysander's eyes, causing him to fall in love with Helena. To correct the error, Oberon then orders Puck to apply the juice to Demetrius's eyes, causing him to also fall in love with Helena, much to her confusion (now having two suitors).

Meanwhile, in a subplot, a band of "rude mechanicals" have been preparing a play in the forest about Pyramus and Thisbe for Theseus' wedding. Puck transforms the head of one actor, Nick Bottom, into that of an ass. When Titania is awakened by Bottom's singing, she immediately falls in love with him. Puck eventually restores Bottom's head, and lifts the spell from Lysander, but leaves Demetrius in love with Helena. The lovers conclude the night's events must have been a dream. Puck ends the play with a soliloquy.

G. Merritt

A Masterpiece
This play was one of Shakespeares best. It was beautiful,magical and it made me laugh.The fairies were the perfect piece of magic to make this play work. I loved how Shakespeare combined the real world and the spiratual world together. My favourite character of all of Shakespeares character was definately Helena. She reminded me of myself. Shakespeare was great at showing how the course of true love never does run smooth with the four characters. I recommend this play to everyone. It was simply beautiful.

Shakespeare's Done It Again
I must say this book has really touched me, right down to my soul. I sure know that my husband loved it as well; Bill has officially become a true fan of Shakespeare's work! After reading this heartwarming comedy, my husband always manages to find a little time in his extremely busy day to settle in and take to a good book. And let me tell you, I will stand by my man!

Throughout the entire script, Shakespeare uses fine vocabulary, and incredible detail to craft a truly engaging story of love, loss, and ultimate triumph. A Midsummer Night's Dream has honestly changed me, in person and in soul; I think I'll become a Republican.

...On second thought, no.

"...reason and love keep little company together nowadays..."
Even though in most of his comedies the entertainments are punctured by sarcastic comments and comic relief, Shakespeare, who has demonstrated keen devices of opposites, from long dignified prose to comic verse, strives not to repeat himself. Shakespeare seems to have enjoyed playing variation on a theme, dwelling on an idea (further developing an idea) hinted at in other parts of a play or in another play. A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM embodies both. The play sets in Athens, in the midst of summer, which is associated traditionally (and surreptitiously) to magic. Immediately the opening act sets the romantic plot and whimsical air in motion by presenting the conflict between the young lovers and their elders.

The interesting thing is that it seems A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM could be a swinger: the situation as it stands could validly issue in either tragedy (similar circumstances in ROMEO AND JULIET, in which families thwarted what meant-to-be love) or comedy. Shakespeare quickly resolves the dilemma and provides light to the darkness of the situation. He nudges the story to a direction in which the style does not involve the audience too snuggly in the lovers' emotions. The love entanglement engenders enough body and reference to larger concepts to be viewed as image of some universal human experience: one so true-to-life that it inevitably and in no time provokes sympathy. The lovers' lines are not completely out of place in a romantic comedy because the lines are generalized: because soon after the crisis Lysander brings forward a plan by which he and Hermia may get out of their difficult situation. Hermia will neither be forced to marry Demetrius or perpetrate defiance of the pre-arranged marriage that surely promises prosecution. So the hints of pathos and possibility of tragedy echo ROMEO AND JULIET.

One of the recurring themes in A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, as well as in TWELFTH NIGHT, and in LOVE LABOUR'S LOST, concerns the irrationality of love. In TWELFTH NIGHT, the gender disguise causes the confusion of love and identity of twins, and magic adopts the same course in A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM as the King of Fairy decides to squeeze love juice onto Demetrius whom he has mistaken for Lysander. The idea of the tension between what people ought reasonably to feel and what in fact they do feel further gravitates to make a lasting impression. What is meant to make Demetrius requite the hapless Helena's passion takes an unexpectedly convoluted turn to anoint Lysander's eyes and he feels madly in love with Helena. Ironically he attributes this novel affection to his reason, which a mechanical later brings up in a sarcastic manner the antithesis between love and reason, whereas we know that the change has been effected by Puck's juice.

Variation of a theme that is hinted at in other parts of play is no more quintessential than the seemingly irrelevant speech that demonstrates poetic merit. The exquisite speech on irrational weather bears significance that is otherwise easily dismissed as mere decoration. So much Titania might have alluded to the inclement weather, the passionate tirade provides the ground for the idea that quarrel between the young lovers causes confusion in the seasons. For in the height of Helena's agony, she speaks about the danger of disaster and malevolent forces of nature and the caprice and irrationality of love. An atmosphere of a spell of illusion persists throughout the play, redolent of a recurrent notion of a dislocation between the senses, and between the senses and the brain. A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, shrouded by comic confusions, sheds light on lovers' failure to reason and to keep pace with their emotions.
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Product Description
In this tale by William Shakespeare, Prospero--the rightful Duke of Milan--has been usurped and, along with his daughter Miranda, has been exiled on an island for twelve years. During this time, Prospero hones his magic, and eventually creates a storm that brings his enemies to the shore of the island he has come to control... ... Read more

Customer Reviews (21)

definitely NOT "like new" condition
The book is covered in underlining and comments along the edges.There were 2 "used" stickers on the spine.Three stickers on the back cover that said used.There was a marker line on the top and bottom across the edge of the book.The receipt that came with the book said "no mark at all".After I contacted the seller, his only response was, "sorry about that."BEWARE!

Ok if you're are reading for entertainment, terrible for school!
It is a great copy of the book in the sense that it's inexpensive and it's not bulky at all and it's great if you are reading for entertainment. The problem being is that THERE IS NO LINE NUMBERS! I bought this copy to use for school, and it is impossible to keep up with the teacher mainly because there is no line numbers at all! Also, a lesser issue is that no where on the page does it tell you what Act/Scene it is. So if you're looking for a copy to use at home for "fun" reading this is it. But if you want to use it in any class, DON'T NOT BUY THIS COPY.

Rather like a dream than an assurance
Many consider "The Tempest" to be the final play that Shakespeare wrote solo, which gives a certain bittersweet flavor to its story -- especially since the main character is a sorcerer who manipulates others to get the ending he desires. Shakespeare juggled a trio of main stories before tying them off in rare style, but it's Prospero and his final speech that are truly intriguing.

For many years, the exiled Duke of Milan Prospero has lived on a remote island with his young daughter Miranda. But when he discovers that his treacherous brother Antonio and his similarly treacherous friends are nearby on a sailing ship, he summons a storm that causes the ship to crash on the island.

And like a puppet-master, Prospero arranges this as he wants -- he sends his servant Ariel to haunt the men who betrayed him, he thwarts the machinations of his evil servant Caliban, and he pretends to treat Alonso's son Ferdinand badly while secretly matchmaking him with Miranda. In the end, everything will be as he desired.

"The Tempest" is a play with two different dimensions. On one hand, we have a simple story about a mage whose power allows him to manipulate everything in his little domain. And on the other, we have the story of a brilliant storyteller who arranges his own little worlds as he sees fit, and bids farewell to his role ("Now my charms are all o'erthrown/And what strength I have's mine own...")

And appreciated on its own, "The Tempest" is a brilliant play -- Shakespeare juggled the three main plotlines nicely, and brought a solid sense of resolution to the story. His rich dialogue is stunning ("But doth suffer a sea-change/Into something rich and strange/Sea-nymphs hourly ring his knell..."), especially during Ariel's songs and Prospero's speeches. Even the insults are brilliant -- just try yelling "A pox o' your throat, you bawling, blasphemous, incharitable dog!" at someone you don't like.

Prospero is a rather unique character -- he rules over his little island with magical powers, sort of like a local demigod. Everything that happens on the island is because he wants it to be so, but he's a sad, benevolent figure rather than a tyrannical one. And Shakespeare sketches up an intriguing cast of characters, both mortal and immortal -- the ethereal, puckish Ariel and grotesque Caliban, the naive Miranda, and the contemptible trio of onetime conspirators.

"O brave new world, That has such people in't!" cries Miranda at the end of "The Tempest," and while not every character in it deserves a "brave new world," the play itself feels like a weekend trip into a magical world.

Does not have notes like other reviewers have stated
This edition is NOT the Folger Edition that has notes and definitions like the other reviewers have stated! It is just the text. I bought this for a class based on the reviews and was very disappointed. If you want the Folger Edition that these reviews are talking about, click on the link above their review. I now have to buy a different edition for the notes!!! Waste of money!!!

Great read, great edition!
Thank goodness for the helpful notes Folger provides. I am not one for translations (it feels like cheating) and this edition created a very enjoyable read for me. The Tempest is one of Shakespeare's greats! You will LOVE Ariel! ... Read more

Product Description
The Complete Arden Shakespeare , published for the first time in hardback in 1998, is now available in an updated paperback edition. The Complete Arden Shakespeare contains the texts of all Shakespeare's plays, edited by leading Shakespeare scholars for the renowned Arden Shakespeare series. The paperback edition includes eight newly revised playtexts as published in the Arden Third Series since 1998.A general introduction by the three General Editors of the ongoing Arden Shakespeare series gives the reader an overall view of how and why Shakespeare has become such an influential cultural icon, and how perceptions of his work have changed in the intervening four centuries. The introduction summarises the known facts about the dramatist's life, his reading and use of sources, and the nature of theatrical performance during his lifetime.Brief introductions to each play, written specially for this volume by the Arden General Editors, discuss the date and contemporary context of the play, its position within Shakespeare's oeuvre, and its subsequent performance history. An extensive glossary explains vocabulary which may be unfamiliar to modern readers.

¨ The sound, reliable, critical edition of Shakespeare's work available for the first time in paperback.¨ Updated and revised to include akk if the ediitions currently available in the Arden Third Series.¨ Includes The Two Noble Kinsmen, the Poems, and the Sonnets¨ General introduction by the arden General Editors¨ Brief contextual introductions to each play¨ Glossary with about 400 entries ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

No Footnotes
Great copy but has no liner/translation notes. Be warned if you need this for University! You will have to google the old english.

Tales of the bard
Shakespeare requires no introduction -- he is "the Bard," the most imposing playwright and storyteller in the English language. And "The Complete Pelican Shakespeare" brings together every one of his plays, ranging from harrowing tragedies to airy little puffs of comedy -- and even the lesser plays are still brilliant.

The plays basically are divided into comedies, histories and tragedies. The tragedies are pretty much... tragic, the comedies are not always funny but end semi-happily, and the histories... well, dramatizations of history.

And everybody has heard of the greats here -- the Scottish lord who murders his way to kingship, young lovers divided by a feud, a Moorish general who is driven mad with jealousy, an elderly king whose arrogance rips his life apart, a very cleaned-up version of Henry VIII's split from his first wife, the goofy Prince Hal and his growth into a great king. There are feuding fairies, bickering lovers, romantic tangles, Julius Caesar's demise, gender-bending, an exiled duke/magician on his island, and the infamous "pound of flesh" bargain.

But Shakespeare also wrote a bunch of lesser-known plays that often can't be so neatly categorized -- a rotten love affair during the siege of Troy, a Roman general attacking his own city, an Athenian gentleman embittered by humanity, Richard III's Machiavellian plot to become king, two sets of twins separated at birth, a corrupt judge obsessed with a lovely nun, Falstaff's doomed efforts to make money, and so on. Some of these ("Troilus and Cressida") aren't nearly as good as his "main" body of work, but they're still excellent.

For all Shakespeare's plays, it's best to read them AFTER you've seen a good performance. Otherwise, it's like reading a movie script to a movie you haven't seen -- easy to get lost, and the dramatic effects aren't easy to connect to. But if you've seen performances of any/all of Shakespeare's plays, then his vibrant stories and poetry leap off the page.

There are long eloquent speeches, puns, clever linguistic twists, and evocative language that soaks the play in atmosphere ("With sweet musk-roses and with eglantine/There sleeps Titania sometime of the night/Lull'd in these flowers with dances and delight..."). In fact, his plays are diamond mines of quotations -- some are infamous ("To be or not to be") and some of which have floated into public knowledge without labels ("Cowards die many times before their deaths/The valiant never taste of death but once").

And while some of his plays are basically fluff, he manages to weave in moral questions, criticism and explorations of the human soul. And his characters range as far as his plots -- kings and princes, teenage lovers, proud but doomed men, bratty queens, the witty but combative Beatrice and Benedick, and even the puppet-master mage Prospero.

Shakespeare's "Complete Works" is a must-have for anyone who loves the English language -- his writing was unparalleled, and even his lesser plays are a cut above the rest.

Incomplete Works
As an actress, I often use the individual Arden play texts.The footnotes are numbered as such and touch on not only definitions, but expressions, historical figures, and locations.These appear at the bottom of the page where the word or phrase appears.This "in-complete works" lacks these.It contains only definitions in a glossary at the back of the book.Not helpful in the world of acting and even less so as a teaching reference.Very disappointing.

Big, bold, and great for Shakespeare enthusiasts
Instead of writing a regular review, I figured I'd rate this large book on a scale of 1-10 (ten being good) in several areas to give you idea of what you'd get.

As a book: 8
The font is great, the words are not scrunched together to save space, which gives it its rather large girth, but if I had to choose between reading at leisure or squinting and using a finger to stay on the right line, I'd choose the first.

Compilation: 6
It does have everything, and yes, it's in alphabetical order which may irritate some, but when you're a 10th grader looking for Julius Caesar, which would you rather find it quickly via your ABCs or have to find the index to see when it was written?

Age Appropriate: 7
Easy to follow if you're learning Shakespeare, based on the idea that the teacher is actually teaching you what the text means.It may not be the best first book if you're learning Shakespeare on your own, as it doesn't have an easy reference, but again, it's spacious text allows for easier reading.

Reference: 5
This is not the best reference book- in all honesty if you want to read Shakespeare indepth you'd be better off getting each play individually or a small collection of a plays with all the info.

Pairing: 10
Personally I'd rather pair this book with a reference book than have the text jumbled up with footnotes and on-page references (which tend to be squished together ala the King James Bible).You want facts?Pair this book with something like DK's Essential Shakespeare by Leslie Dunton-Downer.

Enthusiasts: 9
Usually Shakespeare enthusiasts like myself have every play in their own book, but this is a great Complete Works to add to the collection.If you don't need much help reading the texts, it's perfect.

Overall Rating: 8
As an actor, I can't live without this book.It's great for quickly finding monologues, and, well, it just looks cool and modern.If I need more details, I have a multitude of lectures and gathered knowledge to reference so having this book is a nice clean cut way of studying Shakespeare.

The Complete Works of Shakespeare
The product was exactly what it said it was - all of the plays of Shakespeare, in alphabetical order. There is a glossary in the back as well as an index. It was in very good condition. ... Read more

Product Description

For centuries scholars have debated the true identity of the author of the magnificent body of poems and plays attributed to William Shakespeare, the actor and co-owner of a successful theater company who hailed from Stratford-upon-Avon. And yet many credible voices -- Mark Twain, Sigmund Freud, and Walt Whitman, to name a few -- have challenged conventional wisdom, proposing alternative candidates from rival playwrights Ben Jonson and Christopher Marlowe to Queen Elizabeth herself, in what has become a centuries-old parlor game.

Customer Reviews (18)

Good read but figured out the real Shakespere before the end
I interviewed Dr. Gordon Cyr, president of the Shakespere Society in the mid 1980s on National Public Radio. He shocked the Baltimore-Washington D.C. audience with the comment that Wm. Shakespere of Avon was not the author of the beloved poems, sonnets and plays. Since then, I have had real interest to find out the facts of the case. When reading this tomb I did satisfy that long time urge to know but figured out the real author before the end of the book and put it down. Lots of repetitive facts and situations, including those commenting on the sexual preferences of the many suspects, that in itself was a real hoot! But alas, there will never be a common conclusion for the question "Who is the real William Shakespere?"

Not an Authorship book, a meta-Authorship book
This is not the right book for someone new to the Authorship debate to pick up.It isn't really an Authorship book at all, but a meta-Authorship book.Fields has evidently read many of the available books on the subject and seems to have written this book in order to present his own, detailed collaboration theory.But first, fancying himself an impartial judge, he reviews and weighs the basic evidence he has read about for the major candidates: the Stratford actor, Oxford, Marlowe, Derby, Rutland, even Queen Elizabeth(!).The problem with this, the bulk of the book, is that he isn't really setting forth the evidence in enough detail for the reader to judge, but just mentioning enough so that he can give his own verdict on it, and his verdict on almost any given piece of evidence is "well, that doesn't really prove anything one way or the other".This routine gets old fast; and for newcomers there isn't enough meat to start forming their own conclusions.There are other, better books to start with.(Michell's "Who Wrote Shakespeare?" and Williams' "Sweet Swan of Avon" are fun and you really ought to start with anti-Stratfordians; then you'll be ready to get the Stratfordian's answer to Michell's question from a book like "Shakespeare, In Fact" by Matus.)

However, Field's book has one redeeming feature, for people who have already immersed themselves in the debate.In the last 15 pages or so, he presents his own detailed story of how the plays and sonnets got written.It's just a theory, but it's plausible at face value (assuming you're not a Stratford absolutist!), and if true, would provide answers for some of the questions surrounding Shakespeare that have bothered the anti-Stratfordians.But more important than whether it's true, it's an interesting theory, and will send you back to the plays and sonnets with something new to think about.

And that's the whole point of the Authorship controversy, really - it's a invitation to read Shakespeare closely; to learn about his time period, its theatre, its writers; to discover why and how he became the revered Bard; to see how the changing world has changed his works; and to understand how our own prejudices and misconceptions confuse our little minds about the little we know about Shakespeare the author, even while we feel we understand and love Shakespeare the works.

Rather silly book
To get at the heart of the Shakespeare controversy one needs a first class intellect for a guide and alas Mr. Fields does not possess one. Thus he seems to miss a thorough knowledge of the era and often interprets things without the appropriate context. He also clearly lacks a working knowledge of the theatre. He is a lawyer and here constructs a rather sloppy brief. For me the largest flaw is the simple one of not acknowledging until the end of the book that the burden of proof is clearly on the anti-Strats to prove their case (something he mentions but promptly ignores). After all if I say Mr. Fields book wasn't written by him but by a shadowy conspiracy of forces (Mark Fuhrman perhaps?) I dare say that any rational person would say the onus would be on me to prove my case not the other way round - that Mr. Fields must prove he is in fact Mr. Fields.

The romantic in me would enjoy some grand conspiracy behind Shakespeare however a bit of diligent research shows how ludicrous the notion of anyone but the "Stratford" man as their author truly is. The idea that the notoriously nasty pens of people like Greene or Ben Jonson wouldn't have made snarky remarks about such a subterfuge is plain silly. As is the idea that this conspiracy would have gone on long after the death of whatever claimant has passed away.

Genius comes in odd packages (and not apparently in ReganBooks) and people should just deal with it and not waste their time in such addled fantasy. The actual life of the Stratford man is interesting enough, see Schoenbaum's Shakespeare's Lives, as is...

Better than some of the reviews would suggest.
I almost did not read the book because of the negative reviews on this site.However, I read it and enjoyed it.Definately not for the serious scholar and the lack of any bibliography or notes is puzzling.However, it's a good, high-level review of the question regarding who wrote the works of Shakespeare.

A nice soft cover for "cross-the-pond" reading.
If you are a scholar, start with Brenda James' "The Truth Will Out."It is heavily footnoted and well researched.

If you are a Shakespearian novice flying to England (from the states) with time for leisurely reading, you could do worse than Bertram Fields' soft cover.It reads quickly, and you will be brought up to speed with the current arguments regarding Shakespeare's identity.

Both James and Fields come to the same conclusion:the real Shakespeare had to have been university educated, a continental traveler, multilingual, and of royal descent.It was rewarding to have first read James who identified a man who met the requirements, and then to read Fields and realize how close he came without being able to come up with a name.

It is clear that an actor with a fifth-grade education alone could not have written these plays.Reading James, Fields, and others regarding the authorship question will make you appreciate the Shakespearian plays even more.I would have enjoyed university western literature so much more (30 years ago) had I been aware there was even an authorship question.I would have read the plays more closely looking for my own clues.And that's the importance of books like Fields and James, keeping students (of all ages) excited about reading.

(By the way, it is interesting that Harold Bloom has written a book on the authorship of the Book of J, of the Bible, but has not written a book on the authorship of the Shakespearian plays.Or if he has, I am not aware of it, and I would welcome a reference.)


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Product Description
The Tragedie of Macbeth is a winding and whimsical tale that puts into play humanity against heroism, dependence in the midst of deceit, and the mundane under the influence of the magical. The toil and trouble in this story arises not only from the classical Shakespearian fight for a throne, but also in the psychological dramas of his protagonists. The essential story of Macbeth brews and boils in the strengths and frailties of human reactions to relationships and temptation. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (124)

Certainly not Shakespeare's best
Though Macbeth does have some very quotable lines--such as the Three Witches' infamous "Double, double, toil and trouble; / Fire burn and cauldron bubble"--it made for a confusing and rather unsatisfying read. I would only recommend this to the Shakespeare fans who want to grasp the full range of the bard's oeuvre.

The entire play seemed very disjointed, like there was a scene or even an act missing. This is one of Shakespeare's shortest plays, and it was published after his death, so it stands to reason that perhaps it was unfinished.

Macbeth and his wife aren't very convincing characters; at no point did I feel any sympathy for them, and their motivations seem predictable and flimsy. Both change throughout the play, but neither for the better.

For a full review, please visit [...]

Great book
Perfect ad for any literature collection. Fast shipping and the book was in good condition.

Let not light see my black and deep desires
In the theater, people apparently don't call Shakespeare's "Macbeth" by its actual name -- it's usually called "MacB" or "The Scottish Play." The dark superstitions that hover around this play really show its power: it's a harrowing portrait of a weak man who spirals into a personal hell of ambition, murder and madness.

Shortly after a victory in battle, Macbeth and his friend Banquo are traveling home across a heath when they encounter three witches -- who greet him with "All hail, Macbeth! hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor! All hail, Macbeth! that shalt be king hereafter!"

When MacBeth is made Thane of Cawdor, he naturally begins to think that being king might be next in line. And when King Duncan visits his castle, Lady MacBeth goads her husband into murdering the king and framing a couple of innocent servants for the deed. As the witches predicted, MacBeth becomes king of Scotland.

But the witches also prophesied that Banquo would be the father of kings, so MacBeth starts tying off loose ends by hiring assassins to kill Banquo and his young son, as well as a wily thane named MacDuff and all of his family. But though MacBeth believes himself to be safe from everyone, his fear begins to grow as madness and guilt torment him and his wife...

One of the most fascinating things about "Macbeth" is how evil it is -- mass murder, insanity, bloody ghosts, a trio of manipulative witches pulling MacBeth's strings, and a nice if weak man who becomes a raving murderous paranoiac. Shakespeare starts the story on a dark note, and it gets darker and bloodier as the story winds on to its bleak climax.

In fact, the entire story is a two-part spiral -- things get tighter and more intense, even as MacBeth and Lady M. get crazier and more violent. Shakespeare litters the story with brutally intense scenes (Banquo's ghost crashing the dinner, Lady M. trying to scrub her hands clean) and powerful dialogue ("Shake off this downy sleep, death's counterfeit,/And look on death itself! up, up, and see/The great doom's image!").

The one flaw: Shakespeare's handling of the "no man born of woman" prediction is a bit lame. I mean, didn't that count as "born" back in Elizabethan times too?

Honestly, MacBeth is both a fascinating and repulsive character. He starts off as a nice ordinary thane with no particular ambition, but his weakness and his wife drive him to some pretty horrible acts. Before long, he's become somebody you desperately want to see diced into little pieces. And Lady Macbeth is little better, although there's a slight disparity between her ruthless ambition and her later insanity.

"MacBeth" is a story filled with stormy darkness and all-consuming fire -- a powerful depiction of evil and how easily we can be seduced. Just don't say its name in the theater.

Good, but not the Arden
I ordered the Arden Shakespeare version of Macbeth and was sent the Signet Classic edition, which is also good, but of course we all like to get what we order. I suppose it was just a matter of misnomer, and I am relatively content with Signet.

Footnotes are decent, but any Shakespeare play should also be used in accordance with a Lexicon for a second definition if nothing else.

100% Satisfied with my order!
This order was perfect ~ Thank you!The book arrived quickly and was in exactly the condition that was described.Thank you for the great service~Carole in Southern California ~ ... Read more

Product Description
The full comprehension of the plays is gained from the line-by-line modern English translation given on facing pages. Understanding of the plays is increased as pupils take part in the variety of related activities included in each book. The significance of the plays is reinforced by sections discussing Shakespeare's life, works and theatre. Pupils are encouraged to understand the language, characters, structure and themes of the plays by completion of practical exercises. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (124)

Certainly not Shakespeare's best
Though Macbeth does have some very quotable lines--such as the Three Witches' infamous "Double, double, toil and trouble; / Fire burn and cauldron bubble"--it made for a confusing and rather unsatisfying read. I would only recommend this to the Shakespeare fans who want to grasp the full range of the bard's oeuvre.

The entire play seemed very disjointed, like there was a scene or even an act missing. This is one of Shakespeare's shortest plays, and it was published after his death, so it stands to reason that perhaps it was unfinished.

Macbeth and his wife aren't very convincing characters; at no point did I feel any sympathy for them, and their motivations seem predictable and flimsy. Both change throughout the play, but neither for the better.

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Great book
Perfect ad for any literature collection. Fast shipping and the book was in good condition.

Let not light see my black and deep desires
In the theater, people apparently don't call Shakespeare's "Macbeth" by its actual name -- it's usually called "MacB" or "The Scottish Play." The dark superstitions that hover around this play really show its power: it's a harrowing portrait of a weak man who spirals into a personal hell of ambition, murder and madness.

Shortly after a victory in battle, Macbeth and his friend Banquo are traveling home across a heath when they encounter three witches -- who greet him with "All hail, Macbeth! hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor! All hail, Macbeth! that shalt be king hereafter!"

When MacBeth is made Thane of Cawdor, he naturally begins to think that being king might be next in line. And when King Duncan visits his castle, Lady MacBeth goads her husband into murdering the king and framing a couple of innocent servants for the deed. As the witches predicted, MacBeth becomes king of Scotland.

But the witches also prophesied that Banquo would be the father of kings, so MacBeth starts tying off loose ends by hiring assassins to kill Banquo and his young son, as well as a wily thane named MacDuff and all of his family. But though MacBeth believes himself to be safe from everyone, his fear begins to grow as madness and guilt torment him and his wife...

One of the most fascinating things about "Macbeth" is how evil it is -- mass murder, insanity, bloody ghosts, a trio of manipulative witches pulling MacBeth's strings, and a nice if weak man who becomes a raving murderous paranoiac. Shakespeare starts the story on a dark note, and it gets darker and bloodier as the story winds on to its bleak climax.

In fact, the entire story is a two-part spiral -- things get tighter and more intense, even as MacBeth and Lady M. get crazier and more violent. Shakespeare litters the story with brutally intense scenes (Banquo's ghost crashing the dinner, Lady M. trying to scrub her hands clean) and powerful dialogue ("Shake off this downy sleep, death's counterfeit,/And look on death itself! up, up, and see/The great doom's image!").

The one flaw: Shakespeare's handling of the "no man born of woman" prediction is a bit lame. I mean, didn't that count as "born" back in Elizabethan times too?

Honestly, MacBeth is both a fascinating and repulsive character. He starts off as a nice ordinary thane with no particular ambition, but his weakness and his wife drive him to some pretty horrible acts. Before long, he's become somebody you desperately want to see diced into little pieces. And Lady Macbeth is little better, although there's a slight disparity between her ruthless ambition and her later insanity.

"MacBeth" is a story filled with stormy darkness and all-consuming fire -- a powerful depiction of evil and how easily we can be seduced. Just don't say its name in the theater.

Good, but not the Arden
I ordered the Arden Shakespeare version of Macbeth and was sent the Signet Classic edition, which is also good, but of course we all like to get what we order. I suppose it was just a matter of misnomer, and I am relatively content with Signet.

Footnotes are decent, but any Shakespeare play should also be used in accordance with a Lexicon for a second definition if nothing else.

100% Satisfied with my order!
This order was perfect ~ Thank you!The book arrived quickly and was in exactly the condition that was described.Thank you for the great service~Carole in Southern California ~ ... Read more

Product Description

Product Description

Customer Reviews (3)

Shakespeare for everyone
This is the perfect book for Shakespeare 101 classes. You get the original play and a translation that keeps the spirit of the text.
But don't expect to find a word by word translation (you'd be better off with a dictionary of Elizabethan English), or a detailed analysis of the characters and main themes (Sparknotes has another book for that). It's just the play, easy to read.

Makes Shakespeare accessible
The "No Fear Shakespeare" books are a great way to get your kids reading these treasures. I tried the first one when my son asked why it was okay to read translations of great Greek literary works but Shakespeare, which seemed like Greek to him, had to be read in its original form. The nice thing about these books is that they give the original language side-by-side with the modern translation so you get to experience the beauty of the original while having a "translator" readily available when you need it to enhance understanding. All 4 of my children started reading Shakespeare in sixth grade with these books and read 3-5 of them a year. They start out relying heavily on the modern language but eventually abandon it almost entirely. Don't be afraid to try one.

A Mean But Royal SOB...
Breathed there ever a man more villianous than Richard III?Iago, maybe, but they are in a class by themselves. Evil, evil men...

Richard III, as a play, has stood the test of time.It is one of Shakesapeare's best, though his characterization of Richard is subject to question since he is/was writing in the time of a Tudor monarchy, the family that assumed the throne because of Richard's "evil deeds." Shakespeare, as Sir Thomas Moore before him, may have been playing to the Tudor monarchy rather than dealing with the truth. (Remember Jack Webb's standard line in the TV series, "Dragnet?""The facts, mamn, the facts, nothing but the facts..."

We may or may not have the facts here as they pertain to Richard III, but we have a damn good play presented in the best possible manner: the original numbered text on the left hand page, modern up-to-date language on the right hand page, making it easy for readers of all ages, from the junior high school student reading Shakespeare for the first time to an old-timer, a retired guy reading Shakespeare for the umpteenth time, to understand and appreciate the Bard and his story.And, true or not,what a story it is!!!

An A+ to Shakespeare and to Spark Notes' No Fear Shakespeare concept. ... Read more