Four Comedies: The Taming of the Shrew, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Merchant of Venice, Twel fth NightThe 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 |
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... sweet beauty in her face, Such as the daughter 01 Agenorl69 had, That made great Jove to humble him170 to her hand, When with his knees he kissedl71 the Cretan strand. TRANIO Saw you no more? Marked you not how her sister Began to scold ...
... sweet beauty in her face, Such as the daughter 01 Agenorl69 had, That made great Jove to humble him170 to her hand, When with his knees he kissedl71 the Cretan strand. TRANIO Saw you no more? Marked you not how her sister Began to scold ...
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... sweet was all I saw in her. TRANIO [aside] Nay, then, 'tis time to stir him from his trance.I pray, awake, sir. If you lOve the maid, Bend thoughts and wits to achieve her. Thus it stands: Her elder sister is so curst and shrewdl81 That ...
... sweet was all I saw in her. TRANIO [aside] Nay, then, 'tis time to stir him from his trance.I pray, awake, sir. If you lOve the maid, Bend thoughts and wits to achieve her. Thus it stands: Her elder sister is so curst and shrewdl81 That ...
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... sweet friend, what happy gale Blows you to Padua here from old Verona? PETRUCHIO Such wind a5 scatters young men through the world То seek their fortunes farther than at home, Where small experience grows. But in a few51, Signor ...
... sweet friend, what happy gale Blows you to Padua here from old Verona? PETRUCHIO Such wind a5 scatters young men through the world То seek their fortunes farther than at home, Where small experience grows. But in a few51, Signor ...
Page xxi
... соу240, апс1 51111е11, And now I find report a very241 liar, For thou art pleasant, gamesome242, passing courteous, But slow243 in speech, yet sweet as springtime flowers. Thou canst not frown, thou canst not look askance244, Nor.
... соу240, апс1 51111е11, And now I find report a very241 liar, For thou art pleasant, gamesome242, passing courteous, But slow243 in speech, yet sweet as springtime flowers. Thou canst not frown, thou canst not look askance244, Nor.
Page xxii
... goodly speech? PETRUCHIO 11 15 ех1е111р01е, from my mother wit260. KATHARINA A witty mother! Witless else her 5011261. PETRUCHIO Am I not wise?262 KATHARINA Yes, keep you warm. PETRUCHIO Marry, so I mean, sweet Katharine, in thy bed. And.
... goodly speech? PETRUCHIO 11 15 ех1е111р01е, from my mother wit260. KATHARINA A witty mother! Witless else her 5011261. PETRUCHIO Am I not wise?262 KATHARINA Yes, keep you warm. PETRUCHIO Marry, so I mean, sweet Katharine, in thy bed. And.
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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