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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... thee. Thou shalt not lose by 1198. PAGE How fares my noble lord? SLY Marry, I fare we1199, For here is cheer enough. Where is my wife? PAGE Here, noble lord. What is thy will with her? SLY Are you my wife, and will not call me husband ...
... thee. Thou shalt not lose by 1198. PAGE How fares my noble lord? SLY Marry, I fare we1199, For here is cheer enough. Where is my wife? PAGE Here, noble lord. What is thy will with her? SLY Are you my wife, and will not call me husband ...
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... thee, for I have it 11111199. We have not yet been seen in any house, Nor can we be distinguished by our faces For man or master. Then it follows thus: Thou shalt be master, Tranio, in my stead, Keep house, and р011204, апс1 servants ...
... thee, for I have it 11111199. We have not yet been seen in any house, Nor can we be distinguished by our faces For man or master. Then it follows thus: Thou shalt be master, Tranio, in my stead, Keep house, and р011204, апс1 servants ...
Page xlix
... wilt thou make a fire, or shall I complain on thee to our mistress, whose hand-she being now at hand-thou shalt soon feel, to thy cold comfort, for being slow in thy hot office28? CURTIS I prithee, good Grumio, tell me, how goes the ...
... wilt thou make a fire, or shall I complain on thee to our mistress, whose hand-she being now at hand-thou shalt soon feel, to thy cold comfort, for being slow in thy hot office28? CURTIS I prithee, good Grumio, tell me, how goes the ...
Page lxx
... shall so be-mete thee with thy yardlll As thou shalt think 011 prating112 whilst thou liv'st! I tell thee, I, that thou hast marred her gown. TAILOR Your Worship is deceived. The gown is made Just as my master had direction. Grumio gave ...
... shall so be-mete thee with thy yardlll As thou shalt think 011 prating112 whilst thou liv'st! I tell thee, I, that thou hast marred her gown. TAILOR Your Worship is deceived. The gown is made Just as my master had direction. Grumio gave ...
Page ci
... thy ways, old lad, for thou shalt ha '1185. VINCENTIO 'Tis a good hearing when children are towardlsö. LUCENTIO But a harsh hearing when women are froward. PETRUCHIO Come, Kate, we'll to bed. We three are married, but you two are ...
... thy ways, old lad, for thou shalt ha '1185. VINCENTIO 'Tis a good hearing when children are towardlsö. LUCENTIO But a harsh hearing when women are froward. PETRUCHIO Come, Kate, we'll to bed. We three are married, but you two are ...
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