Classic Literature Books

A scene-by-scene analysis of Shakespeare's merry comedy about marriage, honor, and revenge. According to evidence discovered long after the playwright’s death, Shakespeare wrote "The Merry Wives of Windsor" at the request of Queen Elizabeth, who wanted to see Sir John Falstaff, one of...

William Shakespeare's intriguing tragicomedy is explained in plain and direct prose! This volume also contains the complete tale from "Il Pecorone," Shakespeare's primary source for the play. In "The Merchant of Venice" Shakespeare plays with the concepts and conventions regarding protagonists...

Shakespeare's witty comedy about love and sibling rivalry described in plain and direct prose! "As You Like It" is one of Shakespeare’s most delightful and most magical comedies. However, the magic in it is not the obvious and direct form of magic found in plays like "A Midsummer Night’s...

Shakespeare's history play explained in plain and simple prose! One of Shakespeare's best history plays is "The First Part of King Henry the Fourth" (or "1 Henry IV"). Shakespeare actually wrote two plays about the reign of King Henry IV (1399-1413). In "1 Henry IV" Shakespeare covers the...

Shakespeare's Sonnets explained in plain and simple prose! Like Sidney's "Astrophil and Stella," Shakespeare's collection of 154 poems forms a sonnet cycle. Written in the early 1590's (but not published until 1609), Shakespeare's sonnets, like other cycles, concern love and focus on the...

Shakespeare's great tragedy explained in plain and simple prose! "Antony and Cleopatra" is – only superficially – a sequel to "Julius Caesar." On the one hand, "Antony" covers approximately the same time period in Roman history as "Caesar"; and several of the characters that appear in...

Shakespeare's great tragedy explained in plain and simple prose!"The Tragedy of Julius Caesar" is not a play about Julius Caesar. If that may seem strange to the audience of today, it was equally strange to the audience of Shakespeare’s own time. William Shakespeare was a writer of imagination...

Shakespeare's great tragedy explained in plain and simple prose! In the first scene of "King Lear," the King warns the Earl of Kent to “come not between the dragon and his wrath.” King Lear is referring to himself as the dragon, and his wrath is both extensive and dangerous. Although it would...

Shakespeare's great tragedy explained in plain and simple prose!"Macbeth" begins with spectacle. Just as movie audiences today may find elaborate special effects to be thrilling and exciting, so too did Renaissance theater audiences enjoy the stage effects that would accompany certain...

Shakespeare's great tragedy explained in plain and simple prose! Just as "Macbeth" may be viewed as a play primarily about ambition, the play of "Othello" may be viewed as a tragedy primarily concerning jealousy. Shakespeare usually presents his audience not only an impelling dramatic...