Showing results for "Shakespeare" in Biological Sciences

This famous Shakespearean exploration illuminates its plays through the frame of character, while also weighing theme, mood, structure and poetics. In it, 19th-century critic William Hazlitt unveils Shakespeare's genius in creating and infusing characters with a life-likeness that often challenges, if not overshadows, more material human nature -- in both inner and outer worlds. As he writes: "The characters breathe, move, and live, ... think and speak and act just as they might do, if left entirely to themselves." The first printing sold out in weeks, and the second sold briskly, until a ...

A short, semi-autobiographical work by American humorist Mark Twain. It explores the controversy over the authorship of the Shakespearean literary canon via satire, anecdote, and extensive quotation of contemporary authors on the subject. In the book, Twain expounds the view that Shakespeare of Stratford was not the author of the canon, and lends tentative support to the Baconian theory. The book opens with a scene from his early adulthood, where he was trained to be a steamboat pilot by an elder who often argued with him over the controversy. Twain's arguments include the following points: ...

Readers of George MacDonald are used to his engaging story-telling, winsome characters, and simple theology of trust in God as Father. But this book shows a different side of MacDonald. A Dish of Orts is a varied collection of essays, mostly in the nature of literary criticism. These essays are, in MacDonald's words, "but fragmentary presentments of larger meditation." - Summary by Devorah Allen

Venus and Adonis is Shakespeare's narrative poem about the love of the goddess Venus for the mortal youth Adonis, dedicated partly to his patron, the Earl of Southampton (thought by some to be the beautiful youth to which many of the Sonnets are addressed). The poem recounts Venus' attempts to woo Adonis, their passionate coupling, and Adonis' rejection of the goddess, to which she responds with jealousy, with tragic results. This recording features three different readers performing the narration, Venus, and Adonis. (Summary by Elizabeth Klett)Read by Elizabeth Klett, Arielle Lipshaw, Bob ...

Measure for Measure is one of William Shakespeare's more enigmatic works. As one of the so-called "problem plays," it mixes a dark plot with light overtones, without resolving the tensions inherent in either. Its central conflict is spurred on when the Duke of Vienna, Vincentio, confers his powers on the law-abiding judge Angelo before leaving on a diplomatic mission. In reality, Vincentio has merely disguised himself as a lowly friar to watch Angelo's rule from afar—a rule that is quickly characterized by its overzealous cruelty and harshness. When Angelo has a man condemned to death for ...