The Merchant of Venice, with line numbers
¥8.09
The classic play. According to Wikipedia: "The Merchant of Venice is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. Although classified as a comedy in the First Folio, and while it shares certain aspects with Shakespeare's other romantic comedies, the play is perhaps more remembered for its dramatic scenes, and is best known for the character of Shylock. The title character is the merchant Antonio, not the Jewish moneylender Shylock, who is the play's most prominent and more famous character. Though Shylock is a tormented character, he is also a tormentor, so whether he is to be viewed with disdain or sympathy is up to the audience (as influenced by the interpretation of the play's director and lead actors). As a result, The Merchant of Venice is often classified as one of Shakespeare's problem plays."
King Henry V, with line numbers
¥8.09
The classic Shakespearean history, with line numbers. According to Wikipedia: "Henry V is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to be written in 1599. It is based on the life of King Henry V of England, and focuses on events immediately before and after the Battle of Agincourt (1415) during the Hundred Years' War. The play is the final part of a tetralogy, preceded by Richard II, Henry IV, part 1 and Henry IV, part 2. The original audiences would thus have already been familiar with the title character, who was depicted in the Henry IV plays as a wild, undisciplined lad known as "Prince Hal." In Henry V, the young prince has become a mature man and embarks on an attempted conquest of France."
Henry VI Part 1, with line numbers
¥8.09
The classic Shakespeare history play, with line numbers. According to Wikipedia: "William Shakespeare (baptised 26 April 1564 – died 23 April 1616) was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon" (or simply "The Bard"). His surviving works consist of 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems. His plays have been translated into every major living language, and are performed more often than those of any other playwright."
Antony and Cleopatra, with line numbers
¥8.09
The classic tragedy. According to Wikipedia: "Antony and Cleopatra is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It was first printed in the First Folio of 1623. The plot is based on Thomas North's translation of Plutarch's Life of Markus Antonius and follows the relationship between Cleopatra and Mark Antony from the time of the Parthian War to Cleopatra's suicide. The major antagonist is Octavius Caesar, one of Antony's fellow triumvirs and the future first emperor of Rome. The tragedy is a Roman play characterized by swift, panoramic shifts in geographical locations and in registers, alternating between sensual, imaginative Alexandria and the more pragmatic, austere Rome. Many consider the role of Cleopatra in this play one of the most complex female roles in Shakespeare's work. She is frequently vain and histrionic, provoking an audience almost to scorn; at the same time, Shakespeare's efforts invest both her and Antony with tragic grandeur. These contradictory features have led to famously divided critical responses.["
Othello, with line numbers
¥8.09
The classic tragedy. According to Wikipedia: "Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, based on the short story "Moor of Venice" by Cinthio. The work revolves around four central characters: Othello, his wife Desdemona, his lieutenant Cassio, and his trusted advisor Iago. Attesting to its enduring popularity, the play appeared in 7 editions between 1622 and 1705. Because of its varied themes — racism, love, jealousy and betrayal — it remains relevant to the present day and is often performed in professional and community theatres alike. The play has also been the basis for numerous operatic, film and literary adaptations."
Shakespeare's Tragedies: 11 plays with line numbers
¥8.09
This book-collection file includes all of Shakespeare's tragedies, with line numbers: Antony and Cleopatra, Coriolanus, Hamlet, Julius Caesar, King Lear, Macbeth, Othello, Romeo and Juliet, Timon of Athens, Titus Andronicus, and Troilus and Cressida. It also includes "Notes to Shakespeare volume 3 Tragedies" by Samuel Johnson and Shakespearean Tragedy: Lectures on Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth" by A.C. Bradley.
The Ten Tragedies of Euripides
¥8.09
This file includes 10 tragedies by Euripides, literally translated by Theodore Buckley. The plays are: HECUBA, ORESTES, PHOENISSAE (The Phoenician Virgins), MEDEA, HIPPOLYTUS, ALCESTIS, BACCHAE, HERACLIDAE, IPHIGENIA IN AULIS, and IPHIGENIA IN TAURIS. According to Wikipedia: "Euripides (ca. 480 BCE–406 BCE) was the last of the three great tragedians of classical Athens (the other two being Aeschylus and Sophocles). Ancient scholars thought that Euripides had written ninety-five plays, although four of those were probably written by Critias. Eighteen or nineteen of Euripides' plays have survived complete. There has been debate about his authorship of Rhesus, largely on stylistic grounds and ignoring classical evidence that the play was his. Fragments, some substantial, of most of the other plays also survive. More of his plays have survived than those of Aeschylus and Sophocles together, because of the unique nature of the Euripidean manuscript tradition. Euripides is known primarily for having reshaped the formal structure of Athenian tragedy by portraying strong female characters and intelligent slaves and by satirizing many heroes of Greek mythology. His plays seem modern by comparison with those of his contemporaries, focusing on the inner lives and motives of his characters in a way previously unknown to Greek audiences."
The Old Debauchees
¥8.09
Play first published in 1732. According to Wikipedia: "Henry Fielding (22 April 1707 – 8 October 1754) was an English novelist and dramatist known for his rich earthy humour and satirical prowess, and as the author of the novel Tom Jones. Aside from his literary achievements, he has a significant place in the history of law-enforcement, having founded (with his half-brother John) what some have called London's first police force, the Bow Street Runners, using his authority as a magistrate. His younger sister, Sarah, also became a successful writer."
The Carmina of Catullus
¥8.09
Sir Richard Burton's racy English translation of Latin poetry. This edition includes the original Latin, plus Burton's verse translation, plus Leonard Smither's prose translation. According to Wikipedia: "Gaius Valerius Catullus (ca. 84 BC – ca. 54 BC) was a Roman poet of the 1st century BC. His surviving works are still read widely, and continue to influence poetry and other forms of art." "Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton KCMG FRGS (19 March 1821 – 20 October 1890) was an English explorer, translator, writer, soldier, orientalist, ethnologist, linguist, poet, hypnotist, fencer and diplomat. He was known for his travels and explorations within Asia and Africa as well as his extraordinary knowledge of languages and cultures. According to one count, he spoke 29 European, Asian, and African languages. Burton's best-known achievements include traveling in disguise to Mecca, making an unexpurgated translation of The Book of One Thousand Nights and A Night (the collection is more commonly called The Arabian Nights in English because of Andrew Lang's abridgement) and the Kama Sutra and journeying with John Hanning Speke as the first Europeans, guided by Omani merchants who traded in the region, to visit the Great Lakes of Africa in search of the source of the Nile. He was a prolific author and wrote numerous books and scholarly articles about subjects including travel, fencing and ethnography. He was a captain in the army of the East India Company serving in India (and later, briefly, in the Crimean War). Following this he was engaged by the Royal Geographical Society to explore the east coast of Africa and led an expedition guided by the locals which discovered Lake Tanganyika. In later life he served as British consul in Fernando Po, Damascus and, finally, Trieste. He was a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and was awarded a knighthood (KCMG) in 1886."
Coriolanus, with line numbers
¥8.09
The classic tragedy. According to Wikipedia: "Gaius Marcius Coriolanus was possibly a legendary Roman general who lived in the 5th century BC. He received his toponymic title "Coriolanus" because of his exceptional valor in a Roman siege of the Volscian city of Corioli. He was then promoted to a general. In later ancient times, it was generally accepted by historians that Coriolanus had lived, and a consensus narrative story of his life appeared, retold by leading historians such as Livy and Plutarch."
The King of the Dark Chamber
¥8.09
According to Wikipedia: "Rabindranath Tagore (7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941), sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali poet, novelist, musician, painter and playwright who reshaped Bengali literature and music. As author of Gitanjali and its "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse", he was the first non-European who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913. His poetry in translation was viewed as spiritual, and this together with his mesmerizing persona gave him a prophet-like aura in the west. His "elegant prose and magical poetry" still remain largely unknown outside the confines of Bengal."
Les Joyeuses Bourgeoises de Windsor (The Merry Wives of Windsor in French)
¥8.09
Comédie Shakespeare, traduit en fran?ais. Selon Wikipedia: "The Merry Wives of Windsor est une comédie de William Shakespeare, publiée pour la première fois en 1602, mais qui aurait été écrite avant 1597. Elle présente le gros chevalier Sir John Falstaff, et est la seule pièce de Shakespeare vie contemporaine de la classe moyenne anglaise élisabéthaine. "
Sonnets from the Portuguese
¥8.09
Very short collection of love poems. According to Wikipedia: "Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806 – 1861) was one of the most respected poets of the Victorian era."
The Importance of Being Earnest: A Trivial Comedy for Serious People
¥8.09
Wilde's best-known play. According to Wikipedia: "Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (1854 - 1900) was an Irish playwright, novelist, poet, and author of short stories. Known for his barbed wit, he was one of the most successful playwrights of late Victorian London, and one of the greatest celebrities of his day. As the result of a famous trial, he suffered a dramatic downfall and was imprisoned for two years of hard labour after being convicted of the offence of 'gross indecency.'"
Back to Methuselah
¥8.09
According to Wikipedia: "Back to Methuselah (A Metabiological Pentateuch), by George Bernard Shaw consists of a preface (An Infidel Half Century) and a series of five plays: In the Beginning: B.C. 4004 (In the Garden of Eden), The Gospel of the Brothers Barnabas: Present Day, The Thing Happens: A.D. 2170, Tragedy of an Elderly Gentleman: A.D. 3000, and As Far as Thought Can Reach: A.D. 31,920. All were written during 1918-20, published simultaneously by Constable (London) and Brentano's (New York) in 1921, and first performed in the United States in 1922 by the New York Theatre Guild at the old Garrick Theatre and, in Britain, at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre in 1923." According to Wikipedia: "George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950) was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60 plays. Nearly all his writings deal sternly with prevailing social problems, but have a vein of comedy to make their stark themes more palatable. Shaw examined education, marriage, religion, government, health care, and class privilege. He was most angered by what he perceived as the exploitation of the working class, and most of his writings censure that abuse. An ardent socialist, Shaw wrote many brochures and speeches for the Fabian Society. He became an accomplished orator in the furtherance of its causes, which included gaining equal rights for men and women, alleviating abuses of the working class, rescinding private ownership of productive land, and promoting healthy lifestyles."
The Seven Plays of Sophocles
¥8.09
This file includes the English verse translation by Lewis Campbell of all seven extant Sophocles plays: Antigone, Aias. King Oedipus, Electra, The Tracinian Maidens, Philoctetes, and Oedippus at Colonos. According to Wikipedia: "Sophocles( c. 496 BC-406 BC) was the second of the three ancient Greek tragedians whose work has survived. His first plays were written later than those of Aeschylus and earlier than those of Euripides. According to the Suda, a 10th century encyclopedia, Sophocles wrote 123 plays during the course of his life, but only seven have survived in a complete form... The most famous of Sophocles' tragedies are those concerning Oedipus and Antigone: these are often known as the Theban plays, although each play was actually a part of different tetralogy, the other members of which are now lost. Sophocles influenced the development of the drama, most importantly by adding a third actor and thereby reducing the importance of the chorus in the presentation of the plot."
Three Books of Poetry and Two Plays
¥8.09
This file includes the short poetry collections A Few Figs from Thistles, Renascence and Other Poems, and Second April. It also includes the plays Aria da Capo (one act) and The Lamp and The Bell (five acts). According to Wikipedia: "Edna St. Vincent Millay (February 22, 1892 – October 19, 1950) was an American lyrical poet and playwright and the first woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. She was also known for her unconventional, bohemian lifestyle and her many love affairs. She used the pseudonym Nancy Boyd for her prose work."
The Odes of Pindar
¥8.09
This translation first published in 1874. According to Wikipedia: "Pindar (c. 522–443 BC), was an Ancient Greek lyric poet from Thebes. Of the canonical nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, his work is the best preserved. Quintilian wrote, "Of the nine lyric poets, Pindar is by far the greatest, in virtue of his inspired magnificence, the beauty of his thoughts and figures, the rich exuberance of his language and matter, and his rolling flood of eloquence, characteristics which, as Horace rightly held, make him inimitable." His poems however can also seem difficult and even peculiar... his style still challenges the casual reader and he continues to be a much admired though largely unread poet."
Drum-Taps
¥8.09
Dodo Collections brings you another classic from Walt Whitman, ‘Drum-Taps’. Drum-taps is a collection of poetry by Walt Whitman first published in 1865. The collection originally consisted of 53 poems (not including the 18 poems of Sequel to Drum-Taps added later in the year). Walter "Walt" Whitman (May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among the most influential poets in the American canon, often called the father of free verse. His work was very controversial in its time, particularly his poetry collection Leaves of Grass, which was described as obscene for its overt sexuality. Born in Huntington on Long Island, Whitman worked as a journalist, a teacher, a government clerk, and—in addition to publishing his poetry—was a volunteer nurse during the American Civil War. Early in his career, he also produced a temperance novel, Franklin Evans (1842). Whitman's major work, Leaves of Grass, was first published in 1855 with his own money. The work was an attempt at reaching out to the common person with an American epic. He continued expanding and revising it until his death in 1892. After a stroke towards the end of his life, he moved to Camden, New Jersey, where his health further declined. When he died at age 72, his funeral became a public spectacle. Whitman's sexuality is often discussed alongside his poetry. Though biographers continue to debate his sexuality, he is usually described as either homosexual or bisexual in his feelings and attractions. However, there is disagreement among biographers as to whether Whitman had actual sexual experiences with men. Whitman was concerned with politics throughout his life. He supported the Wilmot Proviso and opposed the extension of slavery generally. His poetry presented an egalitarian view of the races, though his attitude in life reflected many of the racial prejudices common to nineteenth-century America and his opposition to slavery was not necessarily based on belief in the equality of races per se. At one point he called for the abolition of slavery, but later he saw the abolitionist movement as a threat to democracy.
Le Roi Lear (King Lear in French)
¥8.09
Traduit par Fran?ois Pierre Guillaume Guizot (1787 - 1874), historien fran?ais et homme d'?tat. Publié en 1864. Selon Wikipedia: "Le Roi Lear est une tragédie de William Shakespeare: le personnage titre descend dans la folie après avoir bêtement disposé de ses biens entre deux de ses trois filles en raison de leur flatterie, ce qui entra?ne des conséquences tragiques pour tous. basé sur la légende de Leir of Britain, un roi celtique pré-romain mythologique, il a été largement adapté à la scène et au cinéma, et le r?le de Lear a été convoité et joué par de nombreux acteurs parmi les plus accomplis au monde.
Henri VI, Seconde Partie (Henry VI Part II in French)
¥8.09
Pièce d'histoire de Shakespeare, Henry VI Deuxième partie, en traduction fran?aise. Selon Wikipédia: "Henry VI, Part 2 ou la deuxième partie de Henry le Sixt (souvent écrit comme 2 Henry VI) est une pièce d'histoire de William Shakespeare qui aurait été écrite en 1591, et placée pendant la vie du roi Henri VI Alors que 1 Henri VI traite principalement de la perte des territoires fran?ais de l'Angleterre et des machinations politiques menant aux guerres des Roses, et 3 Henry VI traite des horreurs de ce conflit, 2 Henri VI se concentre sur l'incapacité du roi à apaiser les querelles de ses nobles, la mort de son conseiller de confiance, le duc Humphrey de Gloucester, l'ascension du duc d'York et l'inévitabilité des conflits armés, ce qui aboutit à la première bataille de la guerre, la première bataille de St Albans. "