Showing results for "Shakespeare" in History

In Hamlet, Shakespeare's play, a ghost tells a prince a terrible tale. ‘Is it true?’ the prince asks himself. This book asks, and answers, that same question. A ghost is something one may see and believe or look through and doubt. Doubt runs through the entire play. But it is in how...

The Age of Reason Begins brings together a fascinating network of stories in the discussion of the bumpy road toward the Enlightenment. This is the age of great monarchs and greater artists - on the one hand, Elizabeth I of England, Philip II of Spain, and Henry IV of France; on the other, Shakespeare, Cervantes, Montaigne, and Rembrandt. It also encompasses the heyday of Francis Bacon, Galileo, Giordano Bruno, and Descartes, the fathers of modern science and philosophy.

Investigating the literary culture of the early interaction between European countries and East Africa, Edward Wilson-Lee uncovers an extraordinary sequence of stories in which explorers, railway labourers, decadent émigrés, freedom fighters, and pioneering African leaders made Shakespeare...

Shakespeare For All is an engaging, accessible introduction to the life and work of William Shakespeare, featuring world-class scholars and performers. You’ll learn who Shakespeare was and what historical events shaped his writing. You’ll be guided through his most popular poems and plays by leading scholars, actors, and interpreters of Shakespeare. And you’ll find the tools you need to become an interpreter of Shakespeare yourself and join in the ongoing global discussion his works have inspired. The first course offers a tour through Shakespeare’s moment in history and his life. You...

What was life like for Shakespeare's first audiences? In a time of political and religious unrest and economic expansion, how did Elizabethan play-goers make sense of their changing world? What did the plays mean to the public when they were first performed? In this fascinating series, Neil...

'Fluent and witty . . . confident . . . highly readable' Kathryn Hughes, GUARDIAN 'Brilliant - so vivid and so sharp, fantastically clever and consistently fascinating' KATHERINE RUNDELL, author of Super-Infinite Was Shakespeare gay? The answer is both simpler and more complex than you might...

Juliet Capulet is the heartbeat of the world's most famous love story. She is an enduring romantic icon. And she is a captivating, brilliant, passionate teenage girl who is read and interpreted afresh by each new generation. Searching for Juliet takes us from the Renaissance origin stories behind William Shakespeare's child bride to the boy actor who inspired her creation onstage. From enslaved people in the Caribbean to Italian fascists in Verona, and real-life lovers in Afghanistan. From the Victorian stage to 1960s cinema, Baz Luhrmann and beyond.

Explore the intricate dance of power and ambition, betrayal and loyalty, as suggested by the title of this collection. The essence of leadership and the consequences of political maneuvering are at the forefront, inviting listeners to reflect on the dynamics that shape societies and individuals alike. This podcast offers a rotating selection of complete audiobooks, each week presenting a different book that captures the timeless intrigue of political drama and the human condition. Experience a wide array of perspectives, time periods, and narrative styles, ensuring a fresh and engaging listen ...

Shakespeare’s famous second Henriad reaches its thrilling conclusion in this chronicle of King Henry V’s spirited leadership over his country—a Henry who is a far cry from the prodigal prince who we saw in Henry IV, Part 1 and Henry IV, Part 2. Now grown up and more mature than he was in his youth, Henry V is persuaded by the English clergy that he has an ancestral claim to the French throne, and when France’s haughty Dauphin facetiously rebuffs him with a gift of tennis balls, Henry orders his troops to invade French lands and begin another violent and costly war. Thus ensues one of ...

Despite its optimistic title, Shakespeare's All's Well That Ends Well has often been considered a "problem play." Ostensibly a comedy, the play also has fairy tale elements, as it focuses on Helena, a virtuous orphan, who loves Bertram, the haughty son of her protectress, the Countess of Rousillon. When Bertram, desperate for adventure, leaves Rousillon to serve in the King's army, Helena pursues him. (Summary by Elizabeth Klett) Cast:Bertram: David NicolClown: Denny SayersCountess of Rousillon: Ruth GoldingDiana: Arielle LipshawDuke of Florence: Robert FletcherFirst Gentleman: Brett W. ...

A fairy tale with real life consequences, All's Well That Ends Well concerns a poor physician's daughter who goes to Paris to heal the King and asks of him a husband; not himself, but the Count Rousillon, in whose house her good father had lived. He weds her but does not bed her, flees to the wars where he is followed by his wife in a pilgrimage of which he is the object. How she uses his lust for a virtuous young woman to trick him into bedding her and giving her a child is but the real life drama to which, or so it would appear, a good woman is forced to commit herself to get herself a ...

Merlin. King Arthur. War betwixt British and Saxons. Uther Pendragon. Collapsing castle foundations, Magicians and spirits, and fighting dragons and a blazing comet. Good entertaining stuff. But is it Shakespeare? The 1662 first printed edition of this play says it was written by William Shakespeare and William Rowley. It doesn't appear that anyone any longer believes that Shakespeare was actually involved, and probably this is entirely Rowley - who co-authored plays with a fair number of other authors of the period. Rowley also acted in London troupes, including Shakespeare's The King's ...

Dive into one of the most significant contributions to Shakespearian scholarship in recent years. This insightful work sheds new light on the often-debated topic of Shakespearean productions at the Globe Theatre. The author meticulously explores the Globes repertory system, dramaturgy, staging, and acting techniques. Dr. Beckerman, Chairman of the Department of Drama and Speech at Hofstra College, also directs the annual Shakespearean Festival on a detailed replica of the Globe Theatre stage. His keen observations and sound reasoning, combined with his hands-on experience as a producer, make ...

Das England des 16. Jahrhunderts war eine brutale Welt, geprägt von politischen Intrigen, religiösen Kämpfen und grassierenden Seuchen. Und dennoch wurde das elisabethanische Zeitalter zu einer überragenden Blütezeit der englischen Literatur. Ihr Wegbereiter war Christopher Marlowe: Im gleichen Jahr wie William Shakespeare wurde er als Sohn eines Schusters geboren. Allen Widrigkeiten zum Trotz erkämpfte er sich ein Stipendium in Cambridge, ließ sich in den Spionagedienst der Königin verwickeln und schuf einige der spektakulärsten Meisterwerke der englischen Literatur.

Die Zeit von Shakespeare und Königin Elisabeth I. gilt als »goldenes Zeitalter«. Aber wie war es eigentlich wirklich, im England des 16. Jahrhunderts zu leben? Wir reisen mit Ian Mortimer zurück und spazieren durch die Straßen Londons.

‘A lively picture of multiple operators scrambling to steal a march on the competition . . . Lavishly detailed’ FINANCIAL TIMES ‘This is Shakespearean scholarship at its best, brilliantly researched yet compulsively readable. It's a book for our times, enduringly fascinating and appealing...

For almost two centuries after his death, Shakespeare had no biography. The makings of one were not available. No chronology had been devised by which to coordinate the events in his life with the writing of his works. Nor was there an archive of primary materials on which to base a life. And the only work by Shakespeare written in the first person, the Sonnets, had yet to be critically edited and incorporated into the canon. Without a biography, how could Shakespeare have been valued and understood?

Britain's most esteemed scholar of 16th and 17th century literature, Frank Kermode is also a noted author and professor. In this Modern Library Chronicle, he uses the context of the Elizabethan Era to link each of Shakespeare's plays to their probable years of creation. By portraying the bard's England in terms of its society, economy, and arts, Kermode provides an invaluable guide to understanding Shakespeare?s works.

Shakespeare's largely misunderstood narrative poems contain within them an explosive commentary on the political storms convulsing his country The 1590s were bleak years for England. The queen was old, the succession unclear, and the treasury empty after decades of war. Amid the rising tension...

David Sterling Brown offers nothing less here than a wholesale deconstruction of whiteness in Shakespeare's plays, arguing that the 'white other' was a racialized category already in formation during the Elizabethan era—and also one to which Shakespeare was himself a crucial contributor.