Paul Werstine
Author
Language
English
Formats
Description
Believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598, William Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice" is considered by some critics as one of his "problem plays." The controversy over the work stems from its portrayal of the character Shylock, a rich Jewish moneylender. The stereotypical depiction of Jews as avaricious usurers was common to the drama of the Elizabethan period. The story centers on the love of Bassanio, a young Venetian nobleman, who...
Author
Series
Language
English
Formats
Description
The marriage between a duke and Amazon queen sparks a massive celebration, which leads to a congregation of woodland residents, Fairyland creatures and surprising lovers. Set in Athens, A Midsummer Night's Dream follows unsuspecting couples as they fall prey to a supernatural ploy.
Four plots simultaneously take place during the wedding preparations for Theseus, the duke of Athens and Hippolyta, the Amazon queen. Four young people, Hermia, Demetrius,...
Author
Publisher
Washington Square Press
Pub. Date
2005
Language
English
Description
Betrayal and Honor-- Fearing that Caesar means to end the Roman republic and make himself the emperor, Brutus, Caesar's closest friend, allows himself to be caught up in a plot to kill Caesar. Once Caesar is killed Brutus realizes, too late, that there was far more to this than meets the eye. Let me have men about me that are fat; Sleek-headed men and such as sleep o' nights; Yond' Cassius has a lean and hungry look; He thinks too much: such men are...
Author
Publisher
Washington Square Press
Pub. Date
[1993]
Language
English
Description
King Lear is a prosperous but older man who plans to distribute his wealth among his three daughters in accordance to their declarations of love. Two shower him with compliments while the other is unable to participate in a false display of affection.
King Lear decides to step down from the throne and gift his daughters with the spoils of his kingdom. As a test, the size of their inheritance will correlate with how well they flatter him. The two...
Author
Publisher
Simon & Schuster Paperbacks
Pub. Date
c2009
Language
English
Description
William Shakespeare's shortest-but one of his most popular, tragedies features a man, who will do anything to fulfill a prophecy that will lead him to become the King of Scotland. Fresh from battle, Macbeth and his companion Banquo come across three witches who tell of great power that is in store for Macbeth. Driven by their prophecy and aided by his wife, Macbeth sets out on a journey that is, wrought with deceit, murder, and suffering to acquire...
Author
Publisher
Washington Square Press
Pub. Date
2004, c1992
Language
English
Description
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately reconcile their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime and along with Hamlet, is one of his most frequently performed plays.
Author
Publisher
Washington Square Press
Pub. Date
c2004, c1993
Language
English
Description
Othello, a general in the Venetian army, has married the lovely Desdemona, and Roderigo is unhappy. He was hoping to woo Desdemona for himself. The villain Iago helps Roderigo extract revenge in one of William Shakespeare's most famous tragedies.
Author
Publisher
Washington Square Press
Pub. Date
c2004, c1992
Language
English
Description
When veteran award-winning radio theater producer Joe Bevilacqua was a student in his final semester at Kean College in 1982, he produced and directed a radio version of Hamlet.
Casting Kean faculty and students, and portraying the melancholy Danish prince himself, Bevilacqua not only completed his nearly four-hour radio adaption of Shakespeare's greatest work, he did so while carrying a double major, producing, acting in, and sometimes writing radio...
Author
Language
English
Formats
Description
William Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night," is a classic comedy of mistaken identities, a device employed in a number of the bard's plays, which is believed to have been written sometime between 1601 and 1602. When Viola is shipwrecked on the coast of Illyria she is separated from her twin brother Sebastian, who she mistakenly believes to be dead. With the help of the ship captain who rescues her, she enters into the service of Duke Orsino, who has fallen...