Four Comedies: The Taming of the Shrew, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Merchant of Venice, Twel fth NightRandom House Publishing Group, 26. aug 2009 - 736 pages The Taming of the Shrew Robust and bawdy, The Taming of the Shrew captivates audiences with outrageous humor as Katharina, the shrew, engages in a contest of wills–and love–with her bridegroom, Petruchio, in a comedy of unmatched theatrical brilliance, filled with visual gags and witty repartee. A Midsummer Night's Dream Fairy magic, love spells, and an enchanted wood turn the mismatched rivalries of four young lovers into a marvelous mix-up of desire and enchantment, all touched by Shakespeare’s inimitable vision of the intriguing relationship between dreams and the waking world. The Merchant of Venice This dark comedy of love and money contains one of the truly mythic figures in literature–Shylock, the Jewish moneylender. The “pound of flesh” he demands as payment of Antonio’s debt has become a universal metaphor for vengeance. Here, pathos and farce combine with moral complexity and romantic entanglements, to display the extraordinary power and range of Shakespeare at his best. Twelfth Night Set in a topsy-turvy world like a holiday revel, this comedy juxtaposes a romantic plot involving separated twins and mistaken identity with a more satiric one about the humiliation of a pompous killjoy. The hilarity is touched with melancholy, and the play ends, not with laughter, but with a clown’s plaintive song. Each Edition Includes: • Comprehensive explanatory notes • Vivid introductions and the most up-to-date scholarship • Clear, modernized spelling and punctuation, enabling contemporary readers to understand the Elizabethan English • Completely updated, detailed bibliographies and performance histories • An interpretive essay on film adaptations of the play, along with an extensive filmography |
From inside the book
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Page cccxvi
... Lorenzo, Lancelot Gobbo's changing 0f masters, and the episode of the rings. In all these stories, a Christian ethic of generosity, love, and risk-taking friendship is set in pointed contrast with a non-Christian ethic that is 5ее11 ...
... Lorenzo, Lancelot Gobbo's changing 0f masters, and the episode of the rings. In all these stories, a Christian ethic of generosity, love, and risk-taking friendship is set in pointed contrast with a non-Christian ethic that is 5ее11 ...
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... Lorenzo'5 wife and is received into the happy comradeship of Belmont. Shylock is forced to accept Christianity, presumably for the benefit 0f his eternal soul (though today we find this deeply Offensive, and it is 50те11те5 cut from ...
... Lorenzo'5 wife and is received into the happy comradeship of Belmont. Shylock is forced to accept Christianity, presumably for the benefit 0f his eternal soul (though today we find this deeply Offensive, and it is 50те11те5 cut from ...
Page cccxxvi
... Lorenzo to squander Shylock's turquoise ring, the gift of his wife Leah, on a monkey? Does Shylock's vengeful insistence on law justify the quibbling countermeasures devised by Portia even as 511е р101151у 11ес1а1т5 аЬо111 те1су? 130 ...
... Lorenzo to squander Shylock's turquoise ring, the gift of his wife Leah, on a monkey? Does Shylock's vengeful insistence on law justify the quibbling countermeasures devised by Portia even as 511е р101151у 11ес1а1т5 аЬо111 те1су? 130 ...
Page cccxxix
... Lorenzo contrast their present happiness with the sufferings of less fortunate lovers of long ago: Troilus and Cressida, Pyramus and Thisbe, Aeneas and Dido, Jason and Medea. The tranquil joy found in Belmont is attuned to the music of ...
... Lorenzo contrast their present happiness with the sufferings of less fortunate lovers of long ago: Troilus and Cressida, Pyramus and Thisbe, Aeneas and Dido, Jason and Medea. The tranquil joy found in Belmont is attuned to the music of ...
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... low comedy part as in Doggett's interpretation. Later eighteenth-century productions persisted in supplying various distractions-Morocco and Aragon were Once again cut from the play, songs were supplied for Portia, Jessica, and Lorenzo.
... low comedy part as in Doggett's interpretation. Later eighteenth-century productions persisted in supplying various distractions-Morocco and Aragon were Once again cut from the play, songs were supplied for Portia, Jessica, and Lorenzo.
Other editions - View all
Four Comedies: The Taming of the Shrew/a Midsummer Night's Dream/the ... William Shakespeare No preview available - 1988 |
Common terms and phrases
actors Antonio Athens audience BAPTISTA Bassanio Bianca BIONDELLO BOTTOM Christian comedy daughter Demetrius director doctor of laws doth Duke Egeus Enter Exeunt Exit eyes FABIAN fair fairies father FESTE film fool friends gentleman give GOBBO GRATIANO GREMIO hast hath hear heart Helena Hermia Hippolyta HORTENSIO husband Jessica Julina Kate KATHARINA lady Lancelot lion look lord LORENZO lovers Lucentio Lysander madam MALVOLIO MARIA marriage marry master Merchant of Venice Midsummer Night’s Dream mistress moon Nerissa never o’er Oberon OLIVIA ORSINO PETRUCHIO play’s PORTIA pray production Puck Pyramus and Thisbe Queen QUINCE SALERIO Sebastian servant Shakespeare Shakespeare’s play Shrew Shylock Signor Ansaldo Signor Giannetto Silla Silvio SIR ANDREW SIR TOBY sleep SOLANIO speak stage swear sweet Taming tell theater thee There’s THESEUS thou art Thou shalt Titania TRANIO Twelfth Night unto Vincentio VIOLA What’s wife young апс1