William Shakespeare

Folger Shakespeare Library is the world's leading center for Shakespeare studies. Each edition 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 on the play;...

She is only fourteen, he only a few years older. Their families are bitter enemies, sworn to hatred. Yet Romeo and Juliet meet and fall passionately in love. Defying their parents' wishes, they are secretly married, but their brief happiness, is shattered by fate.

"A bloody feud. A tangled love. A senseless tragedy that brings two families to their knees. After a chance meeting at a ball, young Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet fall desperately in love. But their families are locked in a bitter rivalry, their love forbidden. When blood is spilled and Romeo is banished, Juliet is forced to take desperate measures that spell tragedy for the star-crossed lovers." -- back cover. "After a chance meeting at a ball,...

An edition of Shakespeare's comedy, including discussion of its plot, characters, themes, language, production, and author. Great pains have been taken to follow Shakespeare's intentions with regard to the act and scene division and the exact form of speech. The editing has been done from the quarto or folio texts, depending on which is considered more authoritative, and the ideal has been to reproduce the chosen texts with as few alterations as possible....

"When Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, discovers his father was murdered, he swears vengeance against the killer: his father's brother, Claudius who married Hamlet's mother and took the throne. Furious at this betrayal, Hamlet devises a complex plot to reveal the truth and enact his revenge. But Claudius has a devious plan of his own. Together, they will bring devastation to the entire court." -- back cover.

Shakespeare's comedy of mistaken romance, in which a shipwrecked woman disguises herself as a man in order to help woo a lover for a Duke, but with unexpected results. This edition includes a selection from Shakespeare's original source, dramatic criticism from past and present, and a comprehensive stage and screen history of notable actors, directors, and productions of the play.

A tragic drama about a young prince attempting to avenge his father's murder. His uncle has seduced Hamlet's mother, killed his father, and usurped his claim to the crown. Hamlet's melancholic, irrsolute temperament, however, inhibits decisive action and contributes to more calamities.

Presents the original text of Shakespeare's play side by side with a modern version, with marginal notes and explanations and full descriptions of each character.

Presents the original text of Shakespeare's play side by side with a modern version, with marginal notes and explanations and full descriptions of each character.

Presents the original text of Shakespeare's play side by side with a modern version, discusses the author and the theater of his time, and provides quizzes and other study activities.