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Drama & Plays
Only one of these plays (The Purification) is written in verse, but in all of them the approach to character is by way of poetic revelation. Whether Williams is writing of derelict roomers in a New Orleans boarding house (The Lady of Larkspur Lotion) or the memories of a venerable traveling salesman (The Last of My Solid Gold Watches) or of delinquent children (This Property is Condemned), his insight into human nature is that of the poet. He can compress the basic meaning of life--its pathos or its tragedy, its bravery or the quality of its love--into one small scene or a few moments of dialogue.
Mr. Williams's views on the role of the little theater in American culture are contained in a stimulating essay, "Something wild...," which serves as an introduction to this collection.
Mr. Williams's views on the role of the little theater in American culture are contained in a stimulating essay, "Something wild...," which serves as an introduction to this collection.
Change and transformation are central to the action, themes and language of A Midsummer Night's Dream. In this lucid study Helen Hackett shows how the play participates in a widespread 1590s concern with mutability; often, as here, expressed through moon-imagery, and associated with representations of the ageing Virgin Queen. However, it is also very much a play about procreative change, set at one of the 'green hinges' of the year, to use Angela Carter's phrase. The happy ending is marked by multiple marriages; and yet, these marriages have been achieved through conflict and force. Comedy veers close to tragedy, and vice versa in the inset Pyramus and Thisbe performance, illustrating Shakespeare's sense of the innate indeterminacy of genres. It is also Shakespeare's most Spenserian play in its depiction of a supernaturally animated natural world, providing the grounds for the characterization of Shakespeare as a poet of nature which was to prove so influential for Milton and the Romantics.
This work is a dramatization of actual historical events. In 1590, during the French Wars of Religion (1562-1598), the small city of Leucate, France, was under siege by allied French and Spanish Catholic forces. The event was part of more than a century of social change and upheaval brought about by the rise of Protestantism in Europe and the consequent challenge to the authority of the Holy Roman Church. Leucate's governor at the time was Jean de Boursiez, seigneur de Pantnaut de Barri. His capture during the siege and the subsequent actions of his wife, Françoise de Cezelly (1558 - 1615), are the subject of this play. It was originally published in 1832, and has now been re-discovered and brought to you here.
Oedipus the King - Antigone - Electra - Ajax
Trachinian Women - Philoctetes - Oedipus at Colonus The greatest of the Greek tragedians, Sophocles wrote over 120 plays, surpassing his older contemporary Aeschylus and the younger Euripides in literary output as well as in the number of prizes awarded his works. Only the seven plays in this volume have survived intact. From the complex drama of Antigone, the heroine willing to sacrifice life and love for a principle, to the mythic doom embodied by Oedipus, the uncommonly good man brought down by the gods, Sophocles possessed a tragic vision that, in Matthew Arnold's phrase, "saw life steadily and saw it whole." This one-volume paperback edition of Sophocles' complete works is a revised and modernized version of the famous Jebb translation, which has been called "the most carefully wrought prose version of Sophocles in English."*
*Moses Hadas
Trachinian Women - Philoctetes - Oedipus at Colonus The greatest of the Greek tragedians, Sophocles wrote over 120 plays, surpassing his older contemporary Aeschylus and the younger Euripides in literary output as well as in the number of prizes awarded his works. Only the seven plays in this volume have survived intact. From the complex drama of Antigone, the heroine willing to sacrifice life and love for a principle, to the mythic doom embodied by Oedipus, the uncommonly good man brought down by the gods, Sophocles possessed a tragic vision that, in Matthew Arnold's phrase, "saw life steadily and saw it whole." This one-volume paperback edition of Sophocles' complete works is a revised and modernized version of the famous Jebb translation, which has been called "the most carefully wrought prose version of Sophocles in English."*
*Moses Hadas
Western drama, having all but disappeared during the Dark Ages, reemerged spontaneously in the liturgy and life of the medieval church. Vernacular miracle plays of England's Middle Ages were performed by lay people -- many by trade guilds -- unschooled in church Latin, but familiar with the biblical events upon which the dramas were based. Morality plays provided moral instruction, their principal characters vivid personifications of virtue and vice. The most durable of the morality plays has proven to be Everyman, whose central character, summoned by Death, must face final judgment on the strength of his good deeds. This venerable drama is reprinted here along with three other medieval classics: The Second Shepherds' Play, Noah's Flood, and Hickscorner.
Have you ever been scammed in the name of love? Have you wondered what it would be like to bring that scammer to justice? That is what Laurie did. A middle-aged, divorced woman with teenage daughters from the Midwest innocently looking for love on a dating website finds herself "catfished" and willingly gives all her savings to a total stranger for the hope of true love.
With the help of an unsuspecting, undercover, modern day female crime fighter and a short, hairy former actor from the entertainment industry, Laurie finds herself in Malta in situations she never imagined trying to find her catfish and the real villain behind it.
Catching up with the villain and forcing him to give them the password they need to get Laurie's money back reveals the true meaning of love and sets Laurie into a new chapter of her life.
Winner of the 1984 Pulitzer Prize, David Mamet's scalding comedy is about small-time, cutthroat real esate salesmen trying to grind out a living by pushing plots of land on reluctant buyers in a never-ending scramble for their fair share of the American dream. Here is Mamet at his very best, writing with brutal power about the tough life of tough characters who cajole, connive, wheedle, and wheel and deal for a piece of the action -- where closing a sale can mean a brand new cadillac but losing one can mean losing it all. This masterpiece of American drama is now a major motion picture starring Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, Alan Arkin, Alex Baldwain, Jonathan Pryce, Ed Harris, and Kevin Spacey.
Justice is the first of three plays in a thought-provoking trilogy, following the struggles and triumphs of newly seated Judge Grace Porter. Court cases involving First Amendment protections and abuses have become highly politicized over the last several years. As Americans, we continue to enjoy these basic freedoms as laid down for us by our framers over two hundred and forty years ago. Justice shines an unprecedented spotlight on two recent court cases, as seen through the eyes and minds of our founders through a one-way window in the courtroom!
The first trial focuses on the "J20" trials, resulting from the brazen arrests of over two hundred protesters at the Inauguration Day festivities for Donald Trump, in Washington, D.C., on January 20, 2017, which many Americans seem to be unaware of. The second trial is loosely-based around the tragedies that occurred at the Charlottesville, "Unite the Right," rally on August 11-12, 2017.
What would the guys who wrote the stuff think if they could witness how the laws that they penned are being adjudicated, and would they agree? There has been a lot of reignited debate regarding our founder's legacy as a result of the Black Lives Matter movement. Our founders were imperfect, aspirational idealists and they were patriots, with a vision of self-governance, the likes which had never been instituted at the scale they envisioned to incorporate and preside over. They penned and ratified our Constitution and Bill of Rights that continue to steer the course of our democracy in the year of 2020 and continue to represent ideologies of unity and inherent freedoms, framing our current, ongoing dialogue of equality and justice for all Americans.
Based on over nineteen years of research, Justice, is factually-based on the events and dialogues our framers had in their debate over our unification and is a timely reminder of the enormity of the task at hand that they faced, and the unlikelihood that they would ever succeed based on the precarious balance of the political dynamics in our country during its infancy.
Stay-tuned for the next book release in the trilogy, Redemption!
A king foolishly divides his kingdom between his scheming two oldest daughters and estranges himself from the daughter who loves him. So begins this profoundly moving and disturbing tragedy that, perhaps more than any other work in literature, challenges the notion of a coherent and just universe. The king and others pay dearly for their shortcomings--as madness, murder, and the anguish of insight and forgiveness that arrive too late combine to make this an all-embracing tragedy of evil and suffering.
On October 7, 1998, a young gay man was discovered bound to a fence in the hills outside Laramie, Wyoming, savagely beaten and left to die in an act of hate that shocked the nation. Matthew Shepard's death became a national symbol of intolerance, but for the people of Laramie the event was deeply personal, and it's they we hear in this stunningly effective theater piece, a deeply complex portrait of a community.
In 1603, James VI of Scotland ascended the English throne, becoming James I of England. London was alive with an interest in all things Scottish, and Shakespeare turned to Scottish history for material. He found a spectacle of violence and stories of traitors advised by witches and wizards, echoing James's belief in a connection between treason and witchcraft. In depicting a man who murders to become king, Macbeth teases us with huge questions. Is Macbeth tempted by fate, or by his or his wife's ambition? Why does their success turn to ashes? Like other plays, Macbeth speaks to each generation. Its story was once seen as that of a hero who commits an evil act and pays an enormous price. Recently, it has been applied to nations that overreach themselves and to modern alienation. The line is blurred between Macbeth's evil and his opponents' good, and there are new attitudes toward both witchcraft and gender. The authoritative edition of Macbeth from The Folger Shakespeare Library, the trusted and widely used Shakespeare series for students and general readers, includes: -Freshly edited text based on the best early printed version of the play
-Newly revised explanatory notes conveniently placed on pages facing the text of the play
-Scene-by-scene plot summaries
-A key to the play's famous lines and phrases
-An introduction to reading Shakespeare's language
-An essay by a leading Shakespeare scholar providing a modern perspective on the play
-Fresh images from the Folger Shakespeare Library's vast holdings of rare books
-An up-to-date annotated guide to further reading Essay by Susan Snyder The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC, is home to the world's largest collection of Shakespeare's printed works, and a magnet for Shakespeare scholars from around the globe. In addition to exhibitions open to the public throughout the year, the Folger offers a full calendar of performances and programs. For more information, visit Folger.edu.
-Newly revised explanatory notes conveniently placed on pages facing the text of the play
-Scene-by-scene plot summaries
-A key to the play's famous lines and phrases
-An introduction to reading Shakespeare's language
-An essay by a leading Shakespeare scholar providing a modern perspective on the play
-Fresh images from the Folger Shakespeare Library's vast holdings of rare books
-An up-to-date annotated guide to further reading Essay by Susan Snyder The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC, is home to the world's largest collection of Shakespeare's printed works, and a magnet for Shakespeare scholars from around the globe. In addition to exhibitions open to the public throughout the year, the Folger offers a full calendar of performances and programs. For more information, visit Folger.edu.
&&LDIV&&R&&LDIV&&R&&LDIV&&R&&LP style=in 0in 0pt&&R&&LI&&RMacbeth&&L/I&&R, by &&LB&&RWilliam Shakespeare&&L/B&&R, is part of the &&LI&&RBarnes & Noble Shakespeare&&L/I&&R series. This unique series features newly edited texts prepared by leading scholars from America and Great Britain, in collaboration with one of the world's foremost Shakespeare authorities, &&LB&&RDavid Scott Kastan&&L/B&&R of Columbia University. Together they have produced texts as faithful as possible to those that Shakespeare wrote.&&L/P&&R&&LP style=in 0in 0pt&&R &&L/P&&R&&LP style=in 0in 0pt&&REach volume in the &&LI&&RBarnes & Noble Shakespeare&&L/I&&R includes: &&L/P&&R&&LB&&RNew Scholarship&&L/B&&R - Premiere scholars introduce each play with contemporary scholarship. An essay on editing the text provides an in-depth look at the quartos and folios used in the edition. &&LB&&RContextualizing Essays&&L/B&&R - Essays on Shakespeare's England, language, and life, along with essays on performing Shakespeare and significant performances frame the play in both historical and theatrical context for readers. A look at the lasting influence of the play on music, art, film, and dance creates an interdisciplinary framework with which to approach the play. &&LB&&RBetter Notes&&L/B&&R - Through one-word margin definitions, facing-page glosses, and longer end notes after the play, our innovative approach to notes pulls readers away from the text fewer times while providing them with more information and comprehensive analysis. &&LB&&RFurther Reading&&L/B&&R - An annotated bibliography of titles, hand-selected by the introduction author, takes readers beyond the edition for further reading.&&L/DIV&&R&&L/DIV&&R&&LDIV&&R &&L/DIV&&R&&LDIV&&RThe only Shakespearean tragedy that has a villain as its hero, &&LI&&RMacbeth&&L/I&&R presents a stark and disturbing view of the psychology of wickedness and guilt. The editor, &&LSTRONG&&RJesse M. Lander&&L/B&&R, draws on the early modern literature of witchcraft and demonology to provide an illuminating context for the play. &&L/DIV&&R&&L/DIV&&R
Molière understood profoundly what makes us noble, pathetic, outrageous and funny, and in his splendid comedies satirized human folly to perfection. One of the best of his plays -- and one of the greatest of all comedies -- is The Misanthrope, first performed in 1666, when the King of France himself had assumed patronage of Molière's company, and the actor/playwright was at the height of his career.
Spotlighting the absurdities of social and literary pretension, The Misanthrope shows us a man who is quick to criticize the hypocrisies, inconsistencies and faults of others, yet remains blind to his own. As the misanthrope grows more and more irritable with others, the play becomes more and more entertaining, even as a happy ending for the hero seems less and less likely.
Spotlighting the absurdities of social and literary pretension, The Misanthrope shows us a man who is quick to criticize the hypocrisies, inconsistencies and faults of others, yet remains blind to his own. As the misanthrope grows more and more irritable with others, the play becomes more and more entertaining, even as a happy ending for the hero seems less and less likely.
This classic play gets a fresh update with the addition of an outline of Shakespeare's life, criticisms, and a new comprehensive stage history of notable productions. Detailed footnotes are keyed to numbered lines within the text.
First produced and published in 1938, this Pulitzer Prize-winning drama of life in the small village of Grover's Corners, an allegorical representation of all life, has become an American classic. It is Thornton Wilder's most renowned and most frequently performed play.
The translation into English verse of one of Molière's most masterful and most popular plays. "A continuous delight from beginning to end" (Richard Eberhart). Introduction by Richard Wilbur.
This bewitching play, Shakespeare's final work, articulates a wealth of the playwright's mature reflections on life and contains some of his most familiar and oft-quoted lines. The story concerns Miranda, a lovely young maiden, and Prospero, her philosophical old magician father, who dwell on an enchanted island, alone except for their servants -- Ariel, an invisible sprite, and Caliban, a monstrous witch's son.
Into their idyllic but isolated lives comes a shipwrecked party that includes the enemies who usurped Prospero's dukedom years before, and set him and his daughter adrift on the ocean. Also among the castaways is a handsome prince, the first young man Miranda has ever seen. Comedy, romance, and reconciliation ensue, in a masterly drama that begins with a storm at sea and concludes in joyous harmony.
Students, poetry lovers, and drama enthusiasts will treasure this convenient, modestly priced edition of one of Shakespeare's greatest plays and one of literature's finest comedies.
Into their idyllic but isolated lives comes a shipwrecked party that includes the enemies who usurped Prospero's dukedom years before, and set him and his daughter adrift on the ocean. Also among the castaways is a handsome prince, the first young man Miranda has ever seen. Comedy, romance, and reconciliation ensue, in a masterly drama that begins with a storm at sea and concludes in joyous harmony.
Students, poetry lovers, and drama enthusiasts will treasure this convenient, modestly priced edition of one of Shakespeare's greatest plays and one of literature's finest comedies.
In one aspect, "The Scorekeeper" is a terrific story about the resonance of baseball, of which the author and I agree is "the greatest of all games." But it is about so much more, including fate, faith, family and the courage to dream again. Most importantly, Scott Russell loves his characters, and you will come to love them... well, not the assholes... as well. Score it an "A" in my book. -- Matthew J. Goldberg, author, humorist and incurable baseball fanMatthew J. Goldberg is the author of "Hot Ice Cream: Inspiring Life Lessons from Our Children" and "Wordapodia: An encyclopedia of Real Fake Words."I found the character ""Tim Barrett" to be particularly appealing. Scott Russell has written a wonderful and imaginative book.--Bill "Spaceman" Lee, pitcher, author and former gubernatorial candidate.
Designed for teaching the conflicts, this critical edition of Shakespeare's The Tempest reprints the Bevington text of the play along with critical essays representing major critical and cultural controversies surrounding the work. The play and essays are supported by distinctive editorial material -- including introductions to Shakespeare's life and work, to critical conflicts in literary studies, and to each controversy that helps students grapple not only with the play's critical issues but also with cultural debates about literature itself.
This joyous play, the last comedy of Shakespeare's career, sums up his stagecraft with a display of seemingly effortless skill. Prospero, exiled Duke of Milan, living on an enchanted island, has the opportunity to punish and forgive his enemies when he raises a tempest that drives them ashore--as well as to forestall a rebellion, to arrange the meeting of his daughter, Miranda, with an eminently suitable young prince, and, more important, to relinquish his magic powers in recognition of his advancing age. Richly filled with music and magic, romance and comedy, the play's theme of love and reconciliation offers a splendid feast for the senses and the heart.
The author of such modern classics as The Bald Soprano, Exit the King, Rhinoceros, and The Chairs, Eugène Ionesco is "one of the most important and influential figures in the modern theater" (Library Journal). This crucial collection combines The New Tenant with Amédée and Victims of Duty--the plays Richard Gilman has called, along with The Killer, Ionesco's "greatest plays, works of the same solidity, fulness, and permanence as [those of] his predecessors in the dramatic revolution that began with Ibsen and is still going on." In Amédée, the title character and his wife have a problem--not so much the corpse in their bedroom as the fact that it's been there for fifteen years and is now growing, slowly but surely crowding them out of their apartment. In The New Tenant a similar crowding is caused by an excess of furniture--as Harold Hobson said in the London Times, "there is not dramatist . . . who can make furniture speak as eloquently as Ionesco, and here he makes it the perfect, the terrifying symbol of the deranged mind." In Victims of Duty, Ionesco parodies the conformity of modern life by plunging his characters into an obscure search for "Mallot with a t." In these as in all his plays, Ionesco poses and solves his tragicomic dilemmas with the brilliant blend of gravity and hilarity that is the hallmark of the absurdist theater.
Unique features include an extensive overview of Shakespeare's life, world, and theater by the general editor of Signet Classic Shakespeare series, plus a special introduction to the play by the editor Sylvan Barnet, Tufts University. It also contains dramatic criticism from the past and present, and a special introduction to the play by the editor, Herschel Baker, Harvard University.