The Nation's Favourite Shakespeare: Famous Speaches And Sonnets

Description

The most quoted writer in English literary history, Shakespeares work continues to grip audiences and delight readers. His plays fill our theatres and have inspired countless films, most recently the immensely popular Romeo & Juliet starring Leondardo Di Caprio and the Oscar winning film Shakespeare in Love. Bringing together 150 of the most famous extracts from his plays, sonnets and poems, this collection offers the definitive guide to Shakespeares work. Whether you wish to philosophise over To be or not to be, stir up the emotion with Once more unto the breach dear friends, or simply enjoy the beauty of Shall I compare thee to a summers day? this is the book for you. Arranged for easy reference under the plays, the Comedies, Tragedies and Histories, and with separate sections for the sonnets and poems, the book will also contain brief notes to accompany each extract and position them within the action of the play.

William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire, and was baptised on 26 April 1564. His father was a glove maker and wool merchant and his mother, Mary Arden, was the daughter of a well-to-do local land owner. Shakespeare was probably educated in Stratford's grammar school. In 1582 he married Anne Hathaway, and the couple had a daughter the following year and twins in 1585. Shakespeare's theatrical life seems to have commenced around 1590. We do know that he was part of the Lord Chamberlain's Company, which was renamed the King's Company in 1603 when James I succeeded to the throne. The Company acquired interests in two theatres in the Southwark area of London, near the banks of the Thames - the Globe and the Blackfriars. Shakespeare's poetry was published before his plays, with two poems appearing in 1593 and 1594, dedicated to his patron Henry Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton. Most of Shakespeare's sonnets were probably written at this time as well. Records of Shakespeare's plays begin to appear in 1594, and he produced roughly two a year until around 1611. His earliest plays include Henry VI and Titus Andronicus. A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Merchant of Venice and Richard II all date from the mid to late 1590s. Some of his most famous tragedies were written in the early 1600s; these include Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth and Antony & Cleopatra. His late plays, often known as the Romances, date from 1608 onwards and include The Tempest. Shakespeare died on 23 April 1616 and was buried in Holy Trinity Church in Stratford. The first collected edition of his works was published in 1623 and is known as 'the First Folio'.