Macbeth torna vittorioso dal campo di battaglia e tre streghe gli profetizzano un glorioso destino, ivi compresa la Corona di Scozia. La sete di potere, condivisa e stimolata anche dalla moglie Lady Macbeth, lo spinge al delitto e infine all'amaro disinganno, per cui l'esistenza non e che 'una favola raccontata da un idiota, piena di rumore e furore, che non significa nulla'.
Il romano Caio Marzio, detto Coriolano perché eroe della battaglia di Corioli, è personaggio chiuso nel proprio orgoglio ed egocentrismo, cieco al mondo e incapace di comunicare con gli altri: una vo
Otello e per antonomasia la tragedia della gelosia. Vittima e carnefice, Otello si lascia schiavizzare da un sentimento travolgente e incontrollato che si traduce inevitabilmente in destino, in morte. Sullo sfondo fortemente contrastato di questo titanico scontro di passioni spicca l'innocenza amorosa della bella Desdemona, vittima sacrificale di un mondo che ha perduto il suo centro.
Uno "stanco" Cesare, un Bruto "intellettuale", Cassio, Antonio e poi Ottaviano sono tutti coinvolti nella moderna riflessione sulla condizione umana, in un dramma che anticipa l'Amleto e preannuncia la massima stagione dell'arte shakespeariana. Tutto passa e tutto cambia; i miti sorgono e decadono per essere sostituiti da altri che a loro volta crolleranno; la realta e inafferrabile e sfuggente, osservabile da mille interpretazioni. Testo originale a fronte.
Il duca di Vienna, Vincenzo, preoccupato dell'immoralità dei sudditi e del disprezzo dell'istituzione matrimoniale, affida a un vicario, Angelo, il governo per vedere se sarà in grado di far rispettare le leggi. Finge quindi di assentarsi e si traveste da frate per spiarne l'operato. Angelo si rivelerà incapace di governare con autentica equità e giustizia, attaccato al semplice dettato della legge e travolto dalle stesse passioni che dovrebbe punire. Una commedia a tinte fosche, con inganni e colpi di scena.
An ageing king makes a capricious decision to divide his realm among his three daughters according to the love they express for him. When the youngest daughter refuses to take part in this charade, she is banished, leaving the king dependent on her manipulative and untrustworthy sisters. In the scheming and recriminations that follow, not only does the king's own sanity crumble, but the stability of the realm itself is also threatened.
Though sometimes classified as a 'problem play' for its mix of turbulent emotional and light-hearted comedy, William Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale is a timeless study of jealousy and desire. This Penguin Shakespeare edition is edited by Ernest Schanzer with an introduction by Russ McDonald. 'You may as well Forbid the sea for to obey the moon As or by oath remove or counsel shake The fabric of his folly.' Leontes, the jealous King of Sicily becomes convinced that his wife, Hermione is carrying the child of his best friend Polixenes. Imprisoned and put on trial, the Queen collapses when the King refuses to accept the divine confirmation of her innocence. The child is abandoned to die on the coast of Bohemia. Sixteen years later, Polixenes' son Prince Florizel, incurs his father's wrath by eloping with Perdita, the daughter of a local shepherd. But Perdita's origins are not as humble as they appear...This book includes a general introduction to Shakespeare's life and the Elizabethan theatre, a separate introduction to The Winter's Tale, a chronology, suggestions for further reading, an essay discussing performance options on both stage and screen, and a commentary. William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was born to John Shakespeare and Mary Arden some time in late April 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon. He wrote about 38 plays (the precise number is uncertain), many of which are regarded as the most exceptional works of drama ever produced, including Romeo and Juliet (1595), Henry V (1599), Hamlet (1601), Othello (1604), King Lear (1606) and Macbeth (1606), as well as a collection of 154 sonnets, which number among the most profound and influential love-poetry in English. If you enjoyed The Winter's Tale, you might like Shakespeare's As You Like It, also available in Penguin Shakespeare. "The work of Shakespeare is virtually infinite". (Jorge Luis Borges).
Shakespeare's history of Henry V's remarkable victory over the French at Agincourt and the subsequent peace between the two nations is also a study of war and kingship. From his wild youth, Henry comes to embody all of the kingly virtues: courage, justice, integrity and honour. Ironically these qualities are brought to the fore by the realities of war. Written at the end of the life of Elizabeth I, "Henry V" told the British people that with strong leadership, they had little to fear at a time of uncertainty.
This is an intense drama of love, deception, jealousy and destruction. Desdemona's love for Othello, the Moor, transcends racial prejudice; but the envious lago conspires to devastate their lives. In its vivid rendering of racism, sexism, contested identities, and the savagery lurking within civilisation, "Othello" is arguably the most topical and accessible tragedy from Shakespeare's major phase as a dramatist. The play raises uncomfortable questions about ongoing questions of not only racial identity but also sexuality, as Othello and Desdemona's sexual relationship becomes the voyeuristic site of lago's attempt to destroy them.
Ideal for new learners of English looking to improve and practise their English. The book is filled with useful vocabulary that is carefully graded and easy to understand, it also comes with audio, so that you can listen to the story at the same time as reading.Prospero, the Duke of Milan, and his daughter Miranda are far away from home, alone on an island in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. They want to return to Milan ...Then, one day, Prospero sees a ship near the island carrying his greatest enemies. Prospero, with the help of his magic and the island spirit, Ariel, makes a magic storm - a tempest - to bring them to the island.
A young prince meets with his father's ghost, who alleges that his own brother, now married to his widow, murdered him. The prince devises a scheme to test the truth of the ghost's accusation, feigning wild madness while plotting brutal revenge.
Cuatro conceptos son determinantes en «Romeo y Julieta»: el Destino, los presagios que preludian un fin trágico; la Acción, propiciada por la enemistad de las dos familias y la precipitación en las d
Compuesta entre 1605 y 1606, Macbeth es sin duda una de las cumbres de la producción de William Shakespeare (1574-1616). En ella, el inmortal dramaturgo nos adentra en un mundo oscuro y fantasmagórico dominado por la discordia y regido por el miedo y la desconfianza, en el que el fiel vasallo del rey Duncan que da nombre a la obra se ve arrastrado de forma irremisible a la traicion y al crimen por obra de la ambicion que Lady Macbeth personifica. La presente edicion, a cargo de M. A. Conejero, ha sido realizada por el equipo del Instituto Shakespeare de la Universidad de Valencia.
