Presents Shakespeare's drama about Coriolanus, a clever and arrogant Roman general who spurns the people of Rome, allies himself with Rome's enemies, and later betrays them; and includes an essay on the playwright's theatrical world, an introduction to the play, and a note on the text used.

"The legendary Pelican Shakespeare series features authoritative and meticulously researched texts paired with scholarship by renowned Shakespeareans. Each book includes an essay on the theatrical world of Shakespeare's time, an introduction to the individual play, and a detailed note on the text used. Updated by general editors Stephen Orgel and A. R. Braunmuller, these easy-to-read editions incorporate over thirty years of Shakespeare scholarship...

"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,...

"The authoritative edition of Titus Andronicus from The Folger Shakespeare Library, the trusted and widely used Shakespeare series for students and general readers. Titus Andronicus is the earliest tragedy and the earliest Roman play attributed to Shakespeare. Titus, a model Roman, has led twenty-one of his twenty-five sons to death in Rome's wars; he stabs another son to death for what he views as disloyalty to Rome. Yet Rome has become a wilderness...

"Henry V is Shakespeare's most famous “war play”; it includes the storied English victory over the French at Agincourt. Some of it glorifies war, especially the choruses and Henry's speeches urging his troops into battle. But we also hear bishops conniving for war to postpone a bill that would tax the church, and soldiers expecting to reap profits from the conflict. Even in the speeches of Henry and his nobles, there are many chilling references...

Designed to make Shakespeare's great plays available to all readers. Provides: accurate texts in modern spelling and punctuation, as well as scene-by-scene action summaries, full explanatory notes, many pictures clarifying Shakespeare's language, and notes recording all significant departures from the early printed versions. The play is prefaced by a brief introduction, by a guide to reading Shakespeare's language, and by accounts of his life and...

A storm strikes a ship carrying Alonso, Ferdinand, Sebastian, Antonio, Gonzalo, Stephano, and Trinculo, who are on their way to Italy after coming from the wedding of Alonso's daughter, Claribel, to the prince of Tunis in Africa. The royal party and the other mariners, with the exception of the unflappable Boatswain, begin to fear for their lives. Lightning cracks, and the mariners cry that the ship has been hit. Everyone prepares to sink.

A collection of short one-person plays featuring characters, between ten and fifteen years old, who live in or near a thirteenth-century English manor. Maidens, monks, and millers' sons -- in these pages, readers will meet them all. There's Hugo, the lord's nephew, forced to prove his manhood by hunting a wild boar; sharp-tongued Nelly, who supports her family by selling live eels; and the peasant's daughter, Mogg, who gets a clever lesson in how...

Blending history and high drama, Antony and Cleopatra remains one of Shakespeare's finest achievements. Includes: freshly edited text based on the best early printed version of the play; full explanatory notes conveniently placed on pages facing the text of the play; scene-by-scene plot summaries; a key to famous lines and phrases; an introduction to reading Shakespeare's language; an essay by an outstanding scholar providing a modern perspective...

The King of France gives Helena the hand of any man she wants in marriage, but the one she chooses, Bertram, flees to Tuscany, and she must use her wits to get him back. Includes an introduction, notes, and discussion of the theatrical world of Shakespeare.