Culturea
-
L'action se passe à Vérone et met en scène deux grandes familles ennemies, les Montaigu et les Capulet. À un bal masqué donné par les Capulet, Roméo, un Montaigu, tombe follement amoureux de Juliette, une Capulet promise en mariage au comte Paris, un jeune noble. Il la retrouve à la nuit tombée, sous son balcon, pour lui déclarer son amour. Éperdument amoureux, ils demandent le lendemain au frère Laurent de les marier. Mais leur bonheur sera bref...
-
Bernardo: ¿Quién esta ahi? Francisco: No, respóndame él a mi. Deténgase y diga quién es. Bernardo: ¡Viva el Rey! Francisco: ¿Es Bernardo? Bernardo: El mismo. Francisco: Tú eres el mas puntual en venir a la hora. Bernardo: Las doce han dado ya; bien puedes ir a recogerte Francisco: Te doy mil gracias por la mudanza. Hace un frio que penetra y yo estoy delicado del pecho.
Bernardo: ¿Has hecho tu guardia tranquilamente? Francisco: Ni un ratón se ha movido.
Bernardo: Muy bien. Buenas noches. Si encuentras a Horacio y Marcelo, mis companeros de guardia, diles que vengan presto.
Francisco: Me parece que los oigo. Alto ahi. ¡Eh! ¿Quién va? -
Macbeth est une tragédie de William Shakespeare. Elle prend place dans l'Écosse médiévale et retrace de manière très romancée le règne de Macbeth (1040-1057), en s'inspirant de près du récit qu'en fait Raphael Holinshed dans ses Chroniques, parues en 1587. Dévoré d'ambition, le général Macbeth commet le crime de régicide pour s'emparer du pouvoir, poussé par son épouse Lady Macbeth, mais la culpabilité et la paranoïa les font peu à peu sombrer dans la folie.
La date de rédaction de Macbeth est inconnue, mais elle pourrait se situer entre 1599 et 1606 si l'on tente de la lire à la lumière des événements contemporains, en particulier l'avènement du roi écossais Jacques VI sur le trône d'Angleterre en 1603 et la Conspiration des Poudres en 1605. Elle est publiée pour la première fois dans le Premier Folio en 1623.
Macbeth est la plus courte des tragédies de Shakespeare et l'une de ses plus populaires : de nombreux acteurs de renom ont interprété les rôles de Macbeth et Lady Macbeth, et ses adaptations dans d'autres médias sont nombreuses. Une superstition théâtrale veut qu'elle soit maudite et qu'il faille plutôt l'appeler « la pièce écossaise » que prononcer son nom sur scène. -
After the bloody battle at Tewksbury and the second dethroning of Henry VI, England and its citizens are finally able to enjoy peace under the reign of Edward IV. The remaining Lancastrian leaders are either killed or scattered to the four winds. Within the kingdom, not everyone is happy with their new king-and when Edward falls ill, his power-hungry brother Richard, the Duke of Gloucester, sees his chance and prepares to kill anyone who stands between him and the throne.
Richard puts into play numerous schemes to eradicate the line of succession and control the court. The first victim is King Edward's other brother, Clarence. Rumors lead to Clarence's imprisonment in the Tower of London, and Richard sends two murderers to stab him to death. This causes Edward's health to worsen, and the title of Protector falls to the remaining brother. Next on Richard's hit list is Lord Hastings, the loudest voice to object to Richard's accession, and who is promptly arrested and executed for treason. As Richard orchestrates murder after murder, the deaths start coming back to haunt him.
This Standard Ebooks edition is based on William George Clark and William Aldis Wright's 1887 Victoria edition, which is taken from the Globe edition. -
O mein Herr, das laßt euch keine Sorge machen; ich begleite ihn, um mir selbst auf seine Unkosten Dienste zu thun. Wir konnen nicht alle Befehlhaber seyn, und nicht alle Befehlhaber konnen getreue Diener haben. Ihr werdet in der Welt manchen Dienst-ergebenen, knie- biegenden Schurken sehen, der unter einer vieljährigen treu- eyfrigen Dienstbarkeit endlich so grau wird wie seines Herrn Esel, ohne etwas anders davon zu haben, als daß er gefüttert, und wenn er alt ist gar abgedankt wird. Peitscht mir solche gutherzige Schurken-Dagegen giebt es andre, die zwar ihr Gesicht meisterlich in pflichtschuldige Falten zu legen wissen, aber ihr Herz hingegen vor aller fremden Zuneigung rein bewahren; die ihren Herren nichts als den äusserlichen Schein der Ergebenheit und eines erdichteten Eifers zeigen, aber eben dadurch ihre Sachen am besten machen, und wenn sie ihre Pfeiffen geschnitten haben, davon gehen, und ihre eigne Herren sind. Das sind noch Leute die einigen Verstand haben, und ich habe die Ehre einer von ihnen zu seyn. Es ist so gewiß als ihr Rodrigo seyd; wär' ich der Mohr, so mocht ich nicht Jago seyn: izt dien ich, das wissen die Gotter! bloß um mir selbst zu dienen, und nicht aus Ergebenheit und Liebe-ich stelle mich zwar so, aber das hat seine Absichten-denn wahrhaftig, wenn mein Gesicht, und meine äusserlichen Handlungen die wahre innerliche Gestalt meines Herzens zeigten, so würde mein Herz in kurzem den Krähen zum Futter dienen-Mein guter Freund, ich bin nicht, was ich scheine.
-
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about two young Italian star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately reconcile their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with Hamlet, is one of his most frequently performed plays. Today, the title characters are regarded as archetypal young lovers.
Romeo and Juliet belongs to a tradition of tragic romances stretching back to antiquity. The plot is based on an Italian tale translated into verse as The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet by Arthur Brooke in 1562 and retold in prose in Palace of Pleasure by William Painter in 1567. Shakespeare borrowed heavily from both but expanded the plot by developing a number of supporting characters, particularly Mercutio and Paris. Believed to have been written between 1591 and 1595, the play was first published in a quarto version in 1597. The text of the first quarto version was of poor quality, however, and later editions corrected the text to conform more closely with Shakespeare's original. -
-
The Tempest, thought to be one of the last plays that Shakespeare wrote alone, begins with a storm which shipwrecks the king of Naples and his crew. We quickly learn that the tempest was not a natural occurence; it was created by Prospero, the usurped duke of Milan who is stranded on a nearby island, with the help of Ariel, a spirit in his service. The rest of the play explores the relationships between the shipwrecked crew, Prospero, his daughter Miranda, and a native of the island: a half human, half monster called Caliban.
Though this play is traditionally classified as a comedy, more modern scholarship, out of a desire to highlight the dramatic elements of some of Shakespeare's comedies, created a genre subgroup called the late romances. The Tempest is included in that subgroup.
This Standard Ebooks edition is based on William George Clark and William Aldis Wright's 1887 Victoria edition, which is taken from the Globe edition. -
Shakespeare wrote Much Ado About Nothing towards the middle of his career, sometime between 1598 and 1599. It was first published in quarto in 1600 and later collected into Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies in 1623. The earliest recorded performance of Much Ado About Nothing was performed for the newly-married Princess Elizabeth and Frederick the Fifth, Elector Palatine in 1613.
Shakespeare's sources of inspiration for this play can be found in Italian culture and popular texts published in the sixteenth century. Gossip involving lovers deceived into believing each other false was often spread throughout Northern Italy. Works like Ludovico Ariosto's Orlando Furioso and Edmund Spencer's Fearie Queene also feature tricked lovers like Claudio and Hero. Besides these similarities, the idea of tricking a couple like Benedick and Beatrice into falling in love was an original and unusual idea at the time.
The play focuses on two couples: upon the noblemen's return to Messina, Claudio and Hero quickly fall in love and wish to marry in a week; on the contrary, Benedick and Beatrice resume their verbal war, exchanging insults with each other. To pass the time prior to the marriage a plot to trick Benedick and Beatrice into falling in love has been set in motion. Unbeknownst to both our couples, a fouler plot to crush the love and happiness between Hero and Claudio has also begun to unfold.
This Standard Ebooks edition is based on William George Clark and William Aldis Wright's 1887 Victoria edition, which is taken from the Globe edition. -
-
-
Duke Vincentio has given his deputy Angelo temporary power over Vienna before his leave for a diplomatic mission. But instead of leaving the city, the Duke disguises himself as a friar named Lodowick, and stays behind to observe the city's happenings and Angelo's brief reign.
Meanwhile, Angelo decides to enforce the laws on prostitution and debauchery, effectively shutting down the red-light district. A man named Claudio gets arrested for impregnating his lover, and Angelo sentences him to death. Claudio's sister enlists a certain friar's help to trick Angelo into releasing her brother.
This Standard Ebooks edition is based on William George Clark and William Aldis Wright's 1887 Victoria edition, which is taken from the Globe edition. -
Handlungsort des Stücks ist das frühe Rom zur Zeit der Einsetzung der Tribunen (Volksvertreter). Die Plebejer emporen sich, weil die Patrizier Getreide horten, während das gemeine Volk verhungere. Der Patrizier Menenius schildert ihnen darauf das Gleichnis des Magens, der für den ganzen Korper tätig ist; so sammelten auch die Patrizier Getreide und verteilten es in der ganzen Stadt. Der patrizische General Caius Marcius gibt den Senatsbeschluss bekannt, dass die Plebejer fünf Tribunen wählen dürfen, die ihre Interessen im Staat vertreten. Da verkündet ein Bote, dass der Volksstamm der Volsker gegen Rom in den Krieg treten wollen. Ein Teil des Romerheeres unter Cominius zieht gegen die von Aufidius angeführten Volsker auf das Schlachtfeld, der Rest unter Marcius und Lartius belagert die Volskerstadt Corioli. Im Verlauf der Belagerung wird Marcius allein in der Volskerstadt eingeschlossen, doch kann er das Stadttor offnen, worauf die Romer Corioli erobern. Der verwundete Marcius eilt nun auf das Schlachtfeld und führt die Romer auch hier zum Sieg - für seine Tapferkeit bei der Stadteroberung erhält er den Namen Coriolanus.
Um Konsul zu werden, tritt der stolze und arrogant wirkende Patrizier Coriolanus nur widerwillig vor das Volk auf Roms Marktplatz, hat aber letztlich Erfolg. Die Tribunen Brutus und Sicinius, die fürchten, dass Coriolanus ihr Amt abschaffen wird, wenn er Konsul wird, überreden die Plebejer, ihre Zustimmung zurückzuziehen. Coriolanus beschimpft daraufhin die Tribunen. Auf dringendes Anraten auch seiner Mutter Volumnia geht er noch einmal auf den Marktplatz, um sich mit den Plebejern zu versohnen. Doch lässt er sich, von Sicinius provoziert, zu Tiraden gegen die Tribunen und Plebejer hinreißen, die darauf seine Verbannung auf Lebenszeit fordern. Er verlässt Rom freiwillig, nachdem er sich von seiner Frau Virgilia verabschiedet hat. -
A storm has caused a terrible shipwreck off the Illyrian coast. Two siblings, Viola and her brother Sebastian, become separated, each believing the other has drowned. Viola washes ashore and meets a friendly sea captain who offers to help her find work for Duke Orsino-but first she must disguise herself as a man named Cesario.
There is news that Duke Orsino is planning to propose to Countess Olivia. As Viola, disguised as Cesario, meets them both, a love triangle quickly forms. Shakespeare's ability to weave love, confusion, mistaken identities, and joyful discovery shines through in this timeless romantic comedy.
This Standard Ebooks edition is based on William George Clark and William Aldis Wright's 1887 Victoria edition, which is taken from the Globe edition. -
Troilus and Cressida is one of Shakespeare's problem plays, characterized by its duality of tone as it jumps from bawdy comedic to dark tragedy. The plot was sourced from two epic poems: Homer's Iliad is the source of the play's Greek mythological references, the Trojan War, and the war's key figures, while Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde is the source of Troilus's love affair with a Trojan woman.
At the beginning of Troilus and Cressida, seven years have passed since the start of the Trojan war. Achilles refuses to fight due to his hurt pride, but one day, the Trojan hero Hector challenges the Greeks to one-on-one combat.
On the other side of the city walls, the Trojan Prince Troilus is madly in love with Cressida, and his heartache makes it difficult for him to fight. Pandarus, Troilus's close friend and Cressida's uncle, tries to bring the couple together, but Cressida's father has plans to use her as a bargaining chip in the siege.
This Standard Ebooks edition is based on William George Clark and William Aldis Wright's 1887 Victoria edition, which is taken from the Globe edition. -
The young venetian noble Bassanio seeks to woo the beautiful heiress Portia of Belmont. He turns to his friend, a merchant named Antonio, who agrees to help him financially. They go to a Jewish moneylender, Shylock, who agrees to lend the money-but because of their mutual animosity, Shylock demands A pound of flesh from Antonio as collateral.
Bassanio succeeds in winning Portia's hand. Meanwhile, Antonio's ships are reported lost at sea, and he defaults on the loan. Bassanio rushes back to Venice to help his benefactor where everything comes to a head in Court.
This Standard Ebooks edition is based on William George Clark and William Aldis Wright's 1887 Victoria edition, which is taken from the Globe edition. -
The Comedy of Errors is one of Shakespeare's earliest and shortest plays. This comedy utilizes slapstick humor, word play, and mistaken identities to create a series of farcical accidents. Over time, the play's title has become an idiom used to describe an event or series of events made ridiculous by the number of errors that were made throughout.
In Ephesus, the law forbids entry to any merchants from Syracuse, and if they are discovered within the city, they must pay a thousand marks or be put to death. Aegeon, an old Syracusian merchant, is arrested and Solinus, the Duke of Ephesus, listens to his story of coming to the city. Long ago, Aegeon was on a sea voyage. Traveling with him was his wife, his twin sons, and their twin slaves. The family becomes separated during a tempest; Aegeon, one son, and one slave were rescued together, and the others were never to be seen again. Years later his son Antipholus and his slave Dromio left to search for their long lost siblings; after the boys didn't return, Aegeon set out to bring his son back home. Moved by this story, the duke allows Aegeon one day to get the money to pay his fine and to find his family.
This Standard Ebooks edition is based on William George Clark and William Aldis Wright's 1887 Victoria edition, which is taken from the Globe edition. -
On dit qu'à la première représentation des Euménides, tragédie d'Eschyle, la terreur qu'inspira le spectacle causa des fausses couches à plusieurs femmes; je ne sais quel effet eût produit sur un auditoire grec la tragédie de Titus Andronicus; mais, à la seule lecture, on serait tenté de la croire composée pour un peuple de cannibales, ou pour être représentée au milieu des saturnales d'une révolution. Cependant la tradition nous apprend que cette pièce, aujourd'hui repoussée de la scène, a excité à plusieurs reprises les applaudissements du parterre anglais. On ajoute même qu'en 1686, Ravenscroft la remit au théâtre avec des changements; mais qu'au lieu d'en diminuer l'horreur, il saisit toutes les occasions de l'augmenter: quand, par exemple, Tamora massacre son enfant, le More dit: «Elle m'a surpassé dans l'art d'assassiner; elle a tué son propre enfant, donnez-le-moi... que je le dévore.» Titus Andronicus, tel que nous l'imprimons aujourd'hui, n'a déjà que trop de traits de cette force, et plusieurs fois, nous l'avouerons, un frémissement involontaire nous en a fait interrompre la révision. Hâtons-nous de dire que presque tous les commentateurs ont mis en doute que cette pièce fût de Shakspeare, et quelques-uns en ont donné des raisons assez concluantes. Le style a une tout autre couleur que celle de ses autres tragédies; il y a dans les vers une prétention à l'élégance, des abréviations vulgaires, et un vice de construction grammaticale, qui ne ressemblent en rien à la manière de Shakspeare. Qu'on lise, dit Malone, quelques lignes d'Appius et Virginia, de Tancrède et Sigismonde, de la bataille d'Alcazar, de Jéronimo, de Sélim, de Locrine, etc., et en général de toutes les pièces mises sur la scène avant Shakspeare, on reconnaîtra que Titus Andronicus porte le même cachet...
-
-
First published in 1602 by William Shakespeare, The Merry Wives of Windsor features the popular figure Sir John Falstaff, who first appeared in Henry IV, Part 1 and Part 2. Some speculate that Merry Wives was written at the behest of Queen Elizabeth I, who wanted to see Falstaff in love; and that Shakespeare was forced to rush its creation as a result, and so it remains one of Shakespeare's lesser-regarded plays.
The play revolves around two intertwined plots: the adventures of the rogue Falstaff who plans to seduce several local wives, and the story of young Anne Page who is being wooed by prominent citizens while she has her sights set on young Fenton. The wives come together to teach Falstaff a lesson, and in the end love triumphs.
The Merry Wives of Windsor is believed to have been first performed in 1597 and was subsequently published in quarto in 1602, in a second quarto in 1619, and then in the 1623 First Folio. Despite holding a lesser place in Shakespeare's canon, it was one of the first Shakespearean plays to be performed in 1660, after the reinstatement of Charles II and theatre once again was permitted to be performed in London.
This Standard Ebooks edition is based on Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch and John Dover Wilson's 1923 Cambridge edition. -
King Ferdinand and his three friends, Biron, Longaville, and Dumain, plan to study philosophy for the next three years. During their academic pursuits, they must vow to sleep only three hours a night and not let any woman within a mile of court. These strict rules will prevent any distractions from their work-but their promises are soon put to the test when a princess and her three companions arrive for a state visit.
This Standard Ebooks edition is based on William George Clark and William Aldis Wright's 1887 Victoria edition, which is taken from the Globe edition. -
Against the advice of his counselors, Richard II has been taking money from England's coffers and spending it on fashion and close friends. In order to continue his wasteful spending, he raises taxes on the commoners and leases portions of English land to wealthy noblemen. He also sees an opportunity to seize more land and money after hearing news of John of Gaunt's failing health.
King Richard arrives at Windsor Castle to settle a dispute between Henry Bolingbroke, the Duke of Hereford and son of John of Gaunt, and Thomas Mowbray, the Duke of Norfolk. Bolingbroke accuses Mowbray of numerous counts of treason: embezzling funds for Richard's soldiers, conspiring against the king for the past eighteen years, and murdering the Duke of Gloucester. Mowbray denies these charges and claims to have repented for any wrongs he has caused in the past. John of Gaunt tries to convince the two to reconcile, but his attempts fall on deaf ears. Richard determines that a trial by combat will settle the matter.
This Standard Ebooks edition is based on William George Clark and William Aldis Wright's 1887 Victoria edition, which is taken from the Globe edition. -
King Antiochus has issued a challenge to any suitor proposing marriage to his daughter: answer a seemingly-impossible riddle correctly, or die. Pericles, the Prince of Tyre, discovers the answer to the puzzle, but in doing so, he unearths the incestuous relationship between the king and his daughter. Pericles decides not to reveal the truth, and King Antiochus gives him forty days before his execution. When Antiochus hears that the prince has fled back to Tyre, he sends an assassin after him.
At the advice of his councilor, Helicanus, Pericles plans to travel until Antiochus no longer wants to kill him. On his journeys he encounters a brutal storm that leaves him shipwrecked in Pentapolis.
This play draws from many sources: Confessio Amantis by John Gower (who appears in the play as the chorus), The Odyssey, Sir Philip Sidney's Arcadia, and Plutarch's Lives. The themes of separated families and mistaken death refer back to Shakespeare's earlier plays, like The Comedy of Errors.
This Standard Ebooks edition is based on William George Clark and William Aldis Wright's 1887 Victoria edition, which is taken from the Globe edition. -
We rely on your support to help us keep producing beautiful, free, and unrestricted editions of literature for the digital age.
Will you support our efforts with a donation?
Two close friends, Proteus and Valentine, are saying their goodbyes in the streets of Verona. Valentine plans to travel to Milan and discover the world, but Proteus wants to stay with Julia, a woman he loves. While in Milan, Valentine falls in love with the duke's daughter, Sylvia, and plans to elope with her. Antonio, Proteus' father, later orders his son to join Valentine in Milan. Before leaving, Proteus exchanges rings and vows of undying love with Julia. When Proteus enters the aristocratic courts of Milan, he instantly falls in love with Sylia and forgets all about Julia. The love triangle between Sylvia, Proteus, and Valentine will test the loyalty of friendship.
This Standard Ebooks edition is based on William George Clark and William Aldis Wright's 1887 Victoria edition, which is taken from the Globe edition.
