Having a love of literature, and being an English Lit. major has given me the oportunity to read most of Shakespeare's works. Shakespeare's talent and genius has surely endured and his beautiful writings are essential to mankind not only in the classroom but throughout our lives. His tragedies speak the loudest to me, as they are charged with drama, emotion and memorable quotations. Having to choose a favorite book of all time I would say, "Othello." Yet Hamlet is my second favorite drama of Shakespeare's, and Macbeth also holds strong. I do not care for King Lear but having Shakespeare's 4 greatest and most popular tragedies in one book is a collection worth having.

4 of his best i strongly recomend this group of storys.

Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth are Shakespeare's greatest works. These fantastic stories, coupled with strong footnotes, make for superb reading material. I would recommend this book to beginning and master Shakespeare readers.

Shakespeare's sonnets and narrative poems are something that every well-versed romantic should have a copy of and this well priced and durable volume is great for reading and re-reading and marking up your favorite passages to memorize later.

Having read "A MidSummer's Night Dream" I knew that the bard could pen page after page of love-filled, alluring rhyming verse. But if that's what you fancy then you must read the sonnets and the long lyric poems contained in this Everyman's edition.

I'm trying to commit sonnet #18 to memory. It famously starts "shall I compare these to a summer's day". These are among the greatest pick up lines of the 16th century.

The sonnets are beautiful in their appreciation of love and the feminie form. Shakespeare must have been exactly as he was potrayed in the film "Shakespeare in Love": always on the prowl for females and continually in search of a muse. (Interestingly the translation of "muse" in the 15th and 16th century is "poet.)

Finally, the poem Venus and Adonis is more of this romantic banter. This poem is red hot, much more erotic than anything you could read in Maxim or Cosmopolitan. Consider this: "Being so enraged (aroused), desire doth lender her force Courageously to pluck him from his horse...She red and hot as coals of glowing fire, He red for shame, but frosty in desire...Tis but a kiss I beg--what art thou coy."

This is titalliting, stimulating fair. ("Fair" means pretty in old English.) Who can read this without blushing. No wonder we didn't read this in high school.

This is the perfect way to read Shakespeare. I also highly recommend the other volumes of Shakespeare available from the Everyman's Library.

We all know about Shakespeare, so a review of his writing is not required. However, I would like to say that the Everyman's Library series are worth getting. Unlike omnibus editions (such as the Riverside Shakespeare), these are actually portable so you don't need a table to hold them up while you are reading. The Everyman's Library series have good hardbindings, are conveniently sized to carry around, and have illuminating and extensive introductions. The typeface used is old, but the letters are large and easily readable (something that is a concern with some other editions).

Tragedies, Volume 2 contains: Titus Andronicus; Troilus and Cressida; Julius Ceaser; Anthony and Cleopatra; Timon of Athens; Coriolanus

We all know about Shakespeare, so a review of his writing is not required. However, I would like to say that the Everyman's Library series are worth getting. Unlike omnibus editions (such as the Riverside Shakespeare), these are actually portable so you don't need a table to hold them up while you are reading. The Everyman's Library series have good hardbindings, are conveniently sized to carry around, and have illuminating and extensive introductions. The typeface used is old, but the letters are large and easily readable (something that is a concern with some other editions).

Tragedies, Volume 1 contains: Hamlet; Othello; King Lear; Machbeth

The book is so good that I wonder why anyone bothered to write another book on writing. Stubbs and Barnet are the only writers who practice what they preach in writing: the book is short, to the point, and a joy to read. Why can't the other authors of writing books fathom this simple concept?

Leave it to two educators to explain not only the method of good writing but also the reason for it. They have a 4-step method for revising:

1. Conciseness -- use fewer words and avoid verbiage,

2. Clarity -- use the perfect word for your idea and avoid the vague and misleading wording,

3. Coherence -- arrange your ideas in a logical order and avoid the muddle,

4. Emphasis -- ensure that the important ideas stand out without resorting to such childish gimmicks as _underlining_, exclamation points!, ALL CAPITALS, and more.

These should be standard topics in any freshman composition course. With any luck they will be.

The book's only shortcoming is that it covers only covers essays -- expository and persuasive essays to be precise. But these steps could help a lot of writers -- including the authors of many of the books sold at Amazon.

Joe

We all know about Shakespeare, so a review of his writing is not required. However, I would like to say that the Everyman's Library series are worth getting. Unlike omnibus editions (such as the Riverside Shakespeare), these are actually portable so you don't need a table to hold them up while you are reading. The Everyman's Library series have good hardbindings, are conveniently sized to carry around, and have illuminating and extensive introductions. The typeface used is old, but the letters are large and easily readable (something that is a concern with some other editions).

Comedies, Volume 1 contains: The Comedy of Errors; The Taming of the Shrew; The Two Gentlemen of Verona; Love's Labor's Lost; Romeo and Juliet; A Midsummer Night's Dream

We all know about Shakespeare, so a review of his writing is not required. However, I would like to say that the Everyman's Library series are worth getting. Unlike omnibus editions (such as the Riverside Shakespeare), these are actually portable so you don't need a table to hold them up while you are reading. The Everyman's Library series have good hardbindings, are conveniently sized to carry around, and have illuminating and extensive introductions. The typeface used is old, but the letters are large and easily readable (something that is a concern with some other editions).

Comedies, Volume 2 contains: The Merchant of Venice; the Merry Wives of Windsor; Much Ado About Nothing; As You Like It; Twelth Night; All's Well That Ends Well; Measure for Measure

When you go to a bookstore to buy a good one volume edition of Shakespeare's works, you will certainly find a wide range of choices. Most people who buy one edition do so because it is that edition only that their literature professor demands. However, before you buy consider what you will need in that one edition: (a) Does it include every word Shakespeare ever wrote? Some do not. (b) Are the character's names spelled out each time? Abbreviations can be confusing. (c) Does each play contain a coherent and insightful introduction? Again some do not. (d) Are there helpful side or bottom notes? (e) Do the editors include a wide range of explanatory essays including his biography, his Globe Theater, his fellow actors, the contemporary dramatic background, his writing style, his usage of English, the intellectual background, and separate overviews of his tragedies, his comedies, and his histories? Part of the problem that students have in reading and understanding Shakespeare is that they do not see the connecting but subtle links from play to play. THE COMPLETE SIGNET SHAKESPEARE, edited by Sylvan Barnet, does all this and more. To take just one play as example, consider 'Julius Caesar.' The contributing editors, William and Barbara Rosen, write eloquently not only of the themes and ideas of the play, but they manage to connect how the audience of Shakespeare's day saw the action on stage. Without this background, then the reasons behind Anthony's ability to stir up his listener's at Caesar's funeral to a killing frenzy go unnoticed. There are more recent editions than this one (1972), but new does not mean better. This one improves with age.

The book is in two parts: the first lays down the elements of citical thinking and the art of dissecting an argument, and the second is an excellent selection of readings which offer both pro and con views on a wide variety of social and moral subjects.

I find myself continually referring to the second section of the book, because the readings selected are compelling, and very well written. They include modern writers, as well as the best writings of past authors who explore contemporary issues of their day. That they continue to be "hot" issues today speaks to the continuing struggle we have with certain kinds of issues.

After each pair of readings the authors have offered a series of questions for further thought, which can be used for independent analysis of the reading, or as part of a course in critical thinking. I found these questions very helpful in stimulating discussion with others, especially those with strong feelings in the subject areas.

This book has become a "must read" in my circle of critically thinking frinds.

Great tragedies afford men insights into mysteries otherwise unfathomed. This unusual volume reveals a panorama of one of literature's great dramatic art forms--the tragedy--as it has developed from Sophocles' time in Greece to the twentieth century of Eugene O'Neill. It provides penetrating insight into the nature of tragedy and the changing points of view held by eminent dramatists through the ages. Some of the world's greatest dramas unfold on these pages. The three editors of the book hold PhD's from Harvard University and now teach in colleges.

"The Genius of the Early English Theater" presents the complet texts of seven classic plays representing medieval and renaissance English drama. This involves three anonymous medieval dramas: the miracle play "Abraham and Isaac" is symbolic of medieval theater which focused on praising God, dramatizing the story set forth in Genesis 22. "The Second Shepherds' Play" is an example of medieval comedy, most of which is a mock nativity or a parody of the Nativity. "Everyman" is probably the most famous medieval allegory, telling the story of mankind battling the sins of his nature and confronted by Death. Representing the English Renaissance are Christopher Marlowe's "Doctor Faustus," William Shakespeare's "Macbeth," Ben Jonshon's "Volpone," and John Milton's "Samson Agonistes." These play clearly continue the religious theme since "Fautus" involves a wager with a devil, "Macbeth" reflects Christian morality, while "Samson Agonistes" is another of Milton's attempts to explain the ways of God to his fellow mere mortals. In contrast, "Volpone" is a dark comedy

This volume also includes essays taken from a period of several hundred years by Sir Philip Sidney, Thomas Heywood, Alfred Harbarge, Thomas De Quincey, T.S. Eliot and James Agate. Eliot's essay on Shakespearian criticism has long been considered insightful and Agate detailed criticism of a London production of "Volpone" provides an example of a 19th-century dramatic review of the Renaissance comedy. The chief value of "The Genius of the Early English Theater" is that it collects in a single volume a clearly representative sampling of plays from these two periods. Having the three medieval plays in one book justifies its inclusion in a class dealing with English literature/drama from that particular period. There are certainly other Shakespeare plays you might want students to read, but besides being the shortest of the Bard's dramas "Macbeth" has the virtue of creating a nice analog with Marlowe's "Faustus," since both deal with succumbing to satanic temptation.