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Summary
Summary
A pair of twins are separated by a shipwreck, each believing the other has drowned. A lovesick duke woos a countess deep in mourning for her brother, while her rowdy household plots the downfall of her puritanical steward. Disguise, confusion, and mistaken identity follow in Shakespeare's great comedy of love in all its manifestations.nbsp;
Under the editorial supervision of Jonathan Bate and Eric Rasmussen, two of today's most accomplished Shakespearean scholars, this Modern Library series incorporates definitive texts and authoritative notes from William Shakespeare: Complete Works. Each play includes an Introduction as well as an overview of Shakespeare's theatrical career; commentary on past and current productions based on interviews with leading directors, actors, and designers; scene-by-scene analysis; key facts about the work; a chronology of Shakespeare's life and times; and black-and-white illustrations.
Ideal for students, theater professionals, and general readers, these modern and accessible editions from the Royal Shakespeare Company set a new standard in Shakespearean literature for the twenty-first century.
Author Notes
William Shakespeare, 1564 - 1616 Although there are many myths and mysteries surrounding William Shakespeare, a great deal is actually known about his life. He was born in Stratford-Upon-Avon, son of John Shakespeare, a prosperous merchant and local politician and Mary Arden, who had the wealth to send their oldest son to Stratford Grammar School.
At 18, Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway, the 27-year-old daughter of a local farmer, and they had their first daughter six months later. He probably developed an interest in theatre by watching plays performed by traveling players in Stratford while still in his youth. Some time before 1592, he left his family to take up residence in London, where he began acting and writing plays and poetry.
By 1594 Shakespeare had become a member and part owner of an acting company called The Lord Chamberlain's Men, where he soon became the company's principal playwright. His plays enjoyed great popularity and high critical acclaim in the newly built Globe Theatre. It was through his popularity that the troupe gained the attention of the new king, James I, who appointed them the King's Players in 1603. Before retiring to Stratford in 1613, after the Globe burned down, he wrote more than three dozen plays (that we are sure of) and more than 150 sonnets. He was celebrated by Ben Jonson, one of the leading playwrights of the day, as a writer who would be "not for an age, but for all time," a prediction that has proved to be true.
Today, Shakespeare towers over all other English writers and has few rivals in any language. His genius and creativity continue to astound scholars, and his plays continue to delight audiences. Many have served as the basis for operas, ballets, musical compositions, and films. While Jonson and other writers labored over their plays, Shakespeare seems to have had the ability to turn out work of exceptionally high caliber at an amazing speed. At the height of his career, he wrote an average of two plays a year as well as dozens of poems, songs, and possibly even verses for tombstones and heraldic shields, all while he continued to act in the plays performed by the Lord Chamberlain's Men. This staggering output is even more impressive when one considers its variety. Except for the English history plays, he never wrote the same kind of play twice. He seems to have had a good deal of fun in trying his hand at every kind of play.
Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets, all published on 1609, most of which were dedicated to his patron Henry Wriothsley, The Earl of Southhampton. He also wrote 13 comedies, 13 histories, 6 tragedies, and 4 tragecomedies. He died at Stratford-upon-Avon April 23, 1616, and was buried two days later on the grounds of Holy Trinity Church in Stratford. His cause of death was unknown, but it is surmised that he knew he was dying.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (1)
Horn Book Review
Featuring abridged versions of the Shakespearian texts, with abundant illustrations and frequent, but unobtrusive, descriptions of action and setting, these volumes present six of Shakespeare's best-known tales in an accessible format, while maintaining much of their original impact and style. Each book includes a brief introduction to Shakespeare's life and theater. Based on the cable television series. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Excerpts
Excerpts
Act 1 Scene 1 running scene 1 Enter Orsino Duke of Illyria, Curio and other Lords Music plays ORSINO If music be the food of love, play on, Give me excess of it, that surfeiting, The appetite may sicken and so die. That strain again, it had a dying fall: O, it came o'er my ear like the sweet sound That breathes upon a bank of violets, Stealing and giving odour. Enough, no more, 'Tis not so sweet now as it was before. Music stops O spirit of love, how quick and fresh art thou That, notwithstanding thy capacity, Receiveth as the sea. Nought enters there, Of what validity and pitch soe'er, But falls into abatement and low price Even in a minute. So full of shapes is fancy That it alone is high fantastical. CURIO Will you go hunt, my lord? ORSINO What, Curio? CURIO The hart. ORSINO Why so I do, the noblest that I have. O, when mine eyes did see Olivia first, Methought she purged the air of pestilence. That instant was I turned into a hart, And my desires, like fell and cruel hounds, E'er since pursue me. Enter Valentine How now, what news from her? VALENTINE So please my lord, I might not be admitted, But from her handmaid do return this answer: The element itself, till seven years' heat, Shall not behold her face at ample view, But like a cloistress she will veilèd walk, And water once a day her chamber round With eye-offending brine - all this to season A brother's dead love, which she would keep fresh And lasting in her sad remembrance. ORSINO O, she that hath a heart of that fine frame To pay this debt of love but to a brother, How will she love when the rich golden shaft Hath killed the flock of all affections else That live in her - when liver, brain and heart, These sovereign thrones, are all supplied, and filled Her sweet perfections with one self king! Away before me, to sweet beds of flowers. Love thoughts lie rich when canopied with bowers. Exeunt Act 1 Scene 2 running scene 2 Enter Viola, a Captain and Sailors VIOLA What country, friends, is this? CAPTAIN This is Illyria, lady. VIOLA And what should I do in Illyria? My brother he is in Elysium. Perchance he is not drowned: what think you, sailors? CAPTAIN It is perchance that you yourself were saved. VIOLA O, my poor brother! And so perchance may he be. CAPTAIN True, madam, and to comfort you with chance, Assure yourself, after our ship did split, When you and those poor number saved with you Hung on our driving boat, I saw your brother, Most provident in peril, bind himself - Courage and hope both teaching him the practice - To a strong mast that lived upon the sea, Where, like Arion on the dolphin's back, I saw him hold acquaintance with the waves So long as I could see. VIOLA For saying so, there's gold. Gives money Mine own escape unfoldeth to my hope, Whereto thy speech serves for authority, The like of him. Know'st thou this country? CAPTAIN Ay, madam, well, for I was bred and born Not three hours' travel from this very place. VIOLA Who governs here? CAPTAIN A noble duke, in nature as in name. VIOLA What is his name? CAPTAIN Orsino. VIOLA Orsino. I have heard my father name him. He was a bachelor then. CAPTAIN And so is now, or was so very late, For but a month ago I went from hence, And then 'twas fresh in murmur - as you know, What great ones do, the less will prattle of - That he did seek the love of fair Olivia. VIOLA What's she? CAPTAIN A virtuous maid, the daughter of a count That died some twelvemonth since, then leaving her In the protection of his son, her brother, Who shortly also died, for whose dear love, They say, she hath abjured the sight And company of men. VIOLA O that I served that lady, And might not be delivered to the world Till I had made mine own occasion mellow, What my estate is. CAPTAIN That were hard to compass, Because she will admit no kind of suit, No, not the duke's. VIOLA There is a fair behaviour in thee, captain, And though that nature with a beauteous wall Doth oft close in pollution, yet of thee I will believe thou hast a mind that suits With this thy fair and outward character. I prithee - and I'll pay thee bounteously - Conceal me what I am, and be my aid For such disguise as haply shall become The form of my intent. I'll serve this duke. Thou shalt present me as an eunuch to him. It may be worth thy pains, for I can sing And speak to him in many sorts of music That will allow me very worth his service. What else may hap, to time I will commit, Only shape thou thy silence to my wit. CAPTAIN Be you his eunuch, and your mute I'll be: When my tongue blabs, then let mine eyes not see. VIOLA I thank thee. Lead me on. Exeunt Excerpted from Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.