Shakespeare Language

William Shakespeare, the most celebrated poet in the English language, left behind nearly a million words of text, but his biography has long been a thicket of wild supposition arranged around scant facts. With a steady hand and his trademark wit, Bill Bryson sorts through this colorful muddle to reveal the man himself.

In its long history, the English language has had many lawmakers - those who have tried to regulate or otherwise organize the way we speak. The Lexicographer's Dilemma poses a pair of questions: What does proper English mean? And who gets to say what's right? Our ideas of correct or proper English have a history, and today's debates over the state of the language - whether about Ebonics in schools, the unique use of language in a South Park episode, or split infinitives in the Times - make sense only in historical context.

Discover the magic with "A Midsummer Night's Dream," a narrative that brings to life the mystique of a magical forest filled with whimsical adventures, specially tailored for young listeners.

Whispers of ambition, power, and the supernatural intertwine in Jeanette Vigon's "Macbeth," where a Scottish warrior's quest for the throne spirals into a chilling tale of betrayal and fate, captivating young listeners with a timeless drama reimagined. Through simplified language and carefully crafted scenes, Vigon retains the essence of the original play while making it engaging for children.

Only Peter Ackroyd can combine narrative and unique observation with a sharp eye for the fascinating fact. His method is to position Shakespeare in the close context of his world. In this way, he not only richly conjures up the texture of Shakespeare’s life, but also imparts an amazing amount of vivid, interesting material about place, period and background.

Joseph Romm, one of Rolling Stone magazine’s top "100 Agents of Change", has focused his talents on helping us all to increase our language intelligence and to better understand the art of persuasion. Romm demonstrates that you don't have to be an expert to vastly improve your ability to communicate. He has pulled together the secrets of the greatest communicators in history to show how you can apply these tools to your writing, speaking, blogging - even your Tweeting.

Have you ever seen a Shakespeare play and come away without fully understanding it? Or wished you had known the basis of the plot before seeing a play by Shakespeare? Are you studying Shakespeare? Would you like to increase your knowledge of the plays without reading the originals? Then these are the recordings for you!

A work of gripping nonfiction, North by Shakespeare presents the twinning narratives of rogue scholar Dennis McCarthy, called "the Steve Jobs of the Shakespeare community", and Sir Thomas North, an Elizabethan courtier whom McCarthy believes to be the undiscovered source for Shakespeare's plays.

Shakespeare had an ear and hand that was able to capture our everyday thoughts and emotions, pin them to a page, and express them so well that still today they can make us feel stunned to be seen. With a quote for every day of the year, this beautiful book gathers the finest lines from the lesser-known corners of Shakespeare's plays and poems. While you may not be familiar with these 400-year-old phrases, you will be surprised by the immediate, easy resonance they have with modern day-to-day life.

Millions of words of scholarship have been expended on the world's most famous author and his work. And yet a critical part of the puzzle, Shakespeare's library, is a mystery. For four centuries people have searched for it: in mansions, palaces, and libraries; in riverbeds, sheep pens, and partridge coops; and in the corridors of the mind. Yet no trace of the Bard's manuscripts, books, or letters has ever been found.

Make Shakespeare a part of your daily routine with Shakespeare for Every Day of the Year, a yearlong collection of passages from Shakespeare's greatest works. Drawing from the full spectrum of plays and sonnets to mark each day of the year, whether it's a scene from Hamlet to celebrate Christmas or a Sonnet in June to help you enjoy a summer's day. There are also passages to mark important days in the Shakespeare calendar, both from his own life and from his plays.

For the very first time, Judi opens up about every Shakespearean role she has played throughout her seven-decade career, from Lady Macbeth and Titania to Ophelia and Cleopatra. In a series of intimate conversations with actor & director Brendan O'Hea, she guides us through Shakespeare's plays with incisive clarity, revealing the secrets of her rehearsal process and inviting us to share in her triumphs, disasters, and backstage shenanigans.

Embark on a magical journey into "Twelfth Night," a place where the serene coastlines of Illyria become the backdrop for a whimsical tale of love, disguise, and festive revelry. This isn't just another comedy; it's an intricate dance of affection, identity, and the pursuit of true happiness, masterfully adapted for young listeners.

The multi award-winning SmartPass study guide with and without commentary options. This is a full-cast, unabridged performance with comprehensive commentary and analysis for any student to fully understand and appreciate the play. Universally accepted as Shakespeare's finest play, we peel back the layers of Hamlet to discover how and why it deserves such a place of honour in world literature.

Unravel the history, themes, and language of Shakespeare's plays, poems, and sonnets with this beautiful guide to his life and works. Comedy and romance, history, and tragedy, Shakespeare's canon has it all. Some 400 years after they were written and first performed, his works remain fresh and relevant today. Shakespeare: his life and works is an accessible and lavish celebration of the Bard himself and his 39 plays, great sonnets, and narrative poems.

Embark on a magical journey into the heart of Denmark with "Hamlet," adapted from the legendary William Shakespeare's masterpiece by Jeanette Vigon. This book breathes new life into the classic tale, making it accessible and captivating for young listeners. Dive into a world where castles hold whispered secrets, jesters offer riddles that spark the imagination, and young Prince Hamlet confronts mysteries that will test his courage and reveal the essence of true friendship.

Shakespeare's life, despite the scrutiny of generations of biographers and scholars, is still a thicket of myths and traditions, some preposterous, some conflicting, arranged around the few scant facts known about the Bard: from his birth in Stratford to the bequest of his second best bed to his wife when he died.

Step into the heart of Venice and the windswept shores of Cyprus with "Othello," a captivating adaptation of Shakespeare's timeless tale of love, jealousy, and betrayal, thoughtfully reimagined for children by Jeanette Vigon. This version preserves the core of Shakespeare's story while transforming it into an accessible narrative that young listeners will find both engaging and educational.

This enchanting tale simplifies the complex original, making it accessible and relatable for young listeners. Dive into a world where magical elements, profound themes of power struggles, redemption, and forgiveness come to life through simplified language and reimagined scenes.

William Shakespeare. Born April 1564, at Stratford-upon-Avon. Died April 1616. Married Anne Hathaway: two daughters, one son. Actor, poet, famous playwright. Wrote nearly forty plays. But what was he like as a man? What did he think about when he rode into London for the first time... or when he was writing his plays Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet... or when his only son died? We know the facts of his life, but we can only guess at his hopes, his fears, his dreams.