One of the great Shakespearean tragedies, Macbeth is a dark and bloody drama of ambition, murder, guilt and revenge. Prompted by the prophecies of three mysterious witches and goaded by his ambitious wife, the Scottish thane Macbeth murders Duncan, King of Scotland, in order to succeed him on the throne. This foul deed soon entangles the conscience-stricken nobleman in a web of treachery, deceit and more murders that ultimately spells his doom.

A pastoral romance set in the Forest of Arden in medieval France, this story is full of kindliness, good fellowship, goodwill, and tales about all kinds of love--physical and intellectual, sentimental and cynical, enduring love between friends, and romantic love at first sight.

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.

Presents the original text of Shakespeare's play side by side with a paraphrased version and gives brief background on the author, the sources of the play, society in Elizabethan England, and the play's plot, themes, characters, and figures of speech.

"Preeminent Shakespeare scholar James Shapiro shows how the tumultuous events in England in 1606 affected Shakespeare and shaped the three great tragedies he wrote that year--King Lear, Macbeth, and Antony and Cleopatra. In the years leading up to 1606,since the death of Queen Elizabeth and the arrival in England of her successor, King James of Scotland, Shakespeare's great productivity had ebbed, and it may have seemed to some that his prolific...

Arguably William Shakespeare's most influential play, Hamlet portrays a young Prince's dilemma in choosing between moral integrity and the need for revenge following the murder of his father. Dealing with themes of love, death and revenge, Hamlet is a rich and complex tragedy that continues to entertain audiences around the world today.