Tragedy Plays

Medea is a tragedy written by the Stoic philosopher Seneca the Younger. It depicts the tragic conclusion of the marriage between the leader of the Jason, the leader of the Argonauts, and Medea, the most infamous and fierce woman in antiquity. This translation rendered Seneca's Latin in modern English which is readable to the 21st century yet reflects the gravity of the play. This edition also includes the following: a preface with a brief introduction to the play and brief reflections on the themes of the play; and explanatory footnotes for classical references within the text.

A selection of Euripides’ renowned Greek tragedies, adapted for BBC Radio Acclaimed by Aristotle as ‘the most tragic of the poets’, Euripides was one of the pre-eminent playwrights of 5th century Athens. Included here are seven of his masterpieces: powerful, shocking tales of passion...

A brave Scottish general named Macbeth receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders King Duncan and takes the Scottish throne for himself. He is then wracked with guilt and paranoia. Forced to commit more and more murders to protect himself from enmity and suspicion, he soon becomes a tyrannical ruler. The bloodbath and consequent civil war swiftly take Macbeth and Lady Macbeth into the realms of madness and death.

Inspired by the mythic house of Thebes, Sophocles’s defining Greek tragedies follow the fates that befall three doomed generations.

From an award-winning, bestselling author, a year inside Ivy League Football, unveiling the heart and soul of college football’s oldest teams as they compete amidst a rapidly changing collegiate sports world. The history of the Ivy League dates back to 1869 when Princeton played the first...

In Verona, Italy, two young people in love defy the demands of their families and pursue their love for one another above societal expectations. Their decisions and pursuit of love send ripples throughout their family and friend circles, causing controversy and consequences. For centuries, the tale of the young star-crossed lovers has been a mainstay of both the literary canon and popular culture. This is one of William Shakespeare’s most known and beloved works with timeless themes and prose.

Something is rotten in the state of Denmark. Two months after the king's sudden death, his widow has married his brother. The court celebrates while the dead king's son—Prince Hamlet—drowns in grief and suspicion. Then guards report an impossible sighting: the dead king's ghost, walking the battlements in full armor. When Hamlet confronts the apparition, he learns a terrible truth: his father was murdered. Poisoned by his own brother. And the ghost demands revenge. But how do you kill a king? How do you trust a ghost? How do you act when your mother has betrayed your father's memory, ...

Not sure that a modernized movie-version of Hamlet is your goblet of tea? Hear Frank Muller, the preeminent narrator of the audiobook world, play every part in arguably the best audio version of Hamlet available.

Beautifully designed and carefully proofed for digital publication, this new edition includes: • Detailed Introduction related to the theater practices & traditions of ancient Greece; • Introduction to the play; • A number of detailed footnotes; • Expansive Bibliography; • 10 unique illustrations; • Complete, unabridged, and formatted text for kindle to improve your reading experience; • Table of Contents with Quick Navigation. The curse placed on Oedipus lingers and haunts a younger generation in this new and brilliant translation of Sophocles' classic drama. The daughter of ...

The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, often shortened to Hamlet, is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1602. Set in Denmark, the play depicts Prince Hamlet and his revenge against his uncle, Claudius, who has murdered Hamlet's father in order to seize his throne and marry Hamlet's mother.

Pride, justice, and vengeance. Aristocracy and democracy vie for ultimate power over Rome, and each faction violently erupts when Coriolanus takes the political stage. After receiving glorious accolades for taking an enemy city when the plebian soldiers cowered without the gates, the common people find his arrogance and pride offensive. Now, banished from the very city for which he was prepared to lay down his life, he strikes up an unholy alliance with his country's enemies.

Literature Insights are a series of superior study guides for discriminating students and their teachers. This book provides a basis for informed discussion of Richard III, one of Shakespeare’s most beautifully-crafted plays, and the issues it raises – which are as ominously relevant to politics and people now as they were when it was new. After a brief examination of ‘Jacobethan’ attitudes to history and politics, the first chapter summarises some key concepts: the sort of world people thought they were living in, the issues of freewill and predestination, and the supposed (and in ...

Love. Scandal. Tragedy. Cracks Beneath the Surface Titanic Tales of Love and Loss – Book One A sweeping historical novel of forbidden love, unexpected sisterhood, and secrets that won't stay buried. April 1912. As the RMS Titanic begins her fateful voyage, five passengers—each carrying heartbreak, ambition, or regret—board with hopes of a new beginning. Madeleine Astor, young bride to one of America’s wealthiest men, is already buckling under the weight of high society’s disapproval. Her husband, John Jacob Astor IV, hides his own doubts behind charm and control—but as whispers ...

The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. Set in the Kingdom of Denmark, the play dramatises the revenge Prince Hamlet is instructed to exact on his uncle Claudius. Claudius had murdered his own brother, Hamlet's father King Hamlet, and subsequently seized the throne, marrying his deceased brother's widow, Hamlet's mother Gertrude. Denmark has a long-standing feud with neighboring Norway, which culminated when King Hamlet slew King Fortinbras of Norway in a climactic battle years ago.

Coriolanus is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1605 and 1608. The play is based on the life of the legendary Roman leader Caius Marcius Coriolanus. The tragedy is one of the last two tragedies written by Shakespeare, along with Antony and Cleopatra. Coriolanus is the name given to a Roman general after his military success against various uprisings challenging the government of Rome. Following this success, Coriolanus becomes active in politics and seeks political leadership.

Macbeth and his wife show how bad the evil that can possess human souls is. But evil is not all powerful. On the one hand, Macbeth is the gloomiest of the great Shakespeare's tragedies; on the other hand, it's more encouraging than Hamlet, Othello or King Lear. In no other tragedy as in Macbeth the evil is confronted by so many people, and nowhere else they are so active. Shakespeare is the author of the world famous sonnets and plays: Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Macbeth and Othello, as well as comedies Twelfth Night, A Midsummer's Night Dream, Love's Labour's Lost, etc.

King Lear is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It tells the tale of a king who bequeaths his power and land to two of his three daughters, after they declare their love for him in an extremely fawning and obsequious manner. His third daughter gets nothing, because she will not flatter him as her sisters had done. When he feels disrespected by the two daughters who now have his wealth and power, he becomes furious to the point of madness. He eventually becomes tenderly reconciled to his third daughter, just before tragedy strikes her and then the king.

Shakespeare writes about the plight of Romeo and Juliet with a lot of empathy and views their tragedy as a result of bad fate, rather than a problem with their characters. We sense from the very start that their relationship is doomed. Romeo and Juliet are portrayed as sincere and virtuous young people who are madly in love, but because of the feud between their families, their relationship has to end. As they won't even consider a separation, the only way out of the situation they find themselves in is by taking their own lives.

‘Enlightening, moving’ SIR IAN MCKELLEN From the acclaimed and bestselling biographer Jonathan Bate, a luminous new exploration of Shakespeare and how his themes can untangle comedy and tragedy, learning and loving in our modern lives. ‘The web of our life is of a mingled yarn, good and...

The Tragedy of Julius Caesar is a history play and tragedy by William Shakespeare first performed in 1599. It is one of several plays written by Shakespeare based on true events from Roman history, such as Coriolanus and Antony and Cleopatra. Set in Rome in 44 BC, the play depicts the moral dilemma of Brutus as he joins a conspiracy led by Cassius to murder Julius Caesar to prevent him from becoming dictator of Rome. Following Caesar's death, Rome is thrust into a period of civil war, and the republic the conspirators sought to preserve is lost forever.