Shakespeare Classics

Between the comedy of a gaggle of men running around wildly to attempt to wed Bianca and the over-the-top portrayal of Katherina’s “taming”, The Taming of the Shrew is a humorous play that offers a fascinating look at the 16th century’s views on women, marriage, and domesticity.

Internationally acclaimed actor and Tony Award winner, Alan Cumming performs Shakespeare’s most important and beloved royal speeches, including "To be or not to be", "Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow", "Now is the winter of our discontent", "O that this too sullied flesh would melt" and more. All the speeches were personally chosen by Cumming. Michael Boyd adds, "Cumming brings to Shakespeare the lyricism of a genuine singer, the sharp edge of a wicked comic, and the embodied intelligence of a major actor."

Mark Antony, one of three rulers of Rome, is in love with Cleopatra, queen of Egypt. Antony is summoned back to Rome, where he clashes with another ruler, Octavius, before returning to Cleopatra in Egypt. Now in battle with Octavius, Antony and Cleopatra suffer losses and miscommunication and both eventually commit suicide.

Shakespeare was heavily influenced by Holy Writ. Bible lines, characters, and narratives are "verbal characters" in his plays, poems, and sonnets, sometimes subtly and sometimes blatantly. But they are there, revealing the deep scriptural well that was the culture from which Shakespeare drew and reminding us of scenes and stories in the Bible.

This anthology looks back over some of the great love affairs of literary history. It includes readings of poetry, letters and scenes from fiction written by British poets and authors from Shakespearian times to the twentieth century. Here are real-life romantic couples, such as Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley and Percy Bysshe Shelley, John Keats and Fanny Brawne, Lord Byron and Lady Caroline Lamb, Oscar Wilde and Lord Alfred Douglas, and Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Robert Browning.

Here, in all 154 of Shakespeare's immortal sonnets, addressed to a friend about the woman he loves and to his muse. We discover the promise of youth, the ecstasy of love, and the devastation of loss.

Valentine sets off from Verona for Milan to see the world. Proteus stays at home because of his love for Julia. She is in love with him, but neither knows of the other's love until Lucetta shows Julia a love letter from Proteus. He is reading her reply when his father, Antonio, sends him to the Duke's court to join Valentine. The lovers take their leave and swear eternal constancy.

Jealous conspirators convince Caesar's friend Brutus to join their assassination plot against Caesar. To stop Caesar from gaining too much power, Brutus and the conspirators kill him on the Ides of March. Mark Antony drives the conspirators out of Rome and fights them in a battle. Brutus and his friend Cassius lose and kill themselves, leaving Antony to rule in Rome.

After York's claims to the throne, Henry changes the succession and makes York his heir, disinheriting his own son. Henry's queen kills York, and York's son Edward seizes the throne. Henry is imprisoned several times and eventually killed by King Edward's brother, Richard.

As You Like It is one of Shakespeare's comedies featuring women dressed as men, brothers reconciling, and wrongs put to right.

The fair Rosalind falls in love with the strong Orlando and Rosalind's companion to Orlando's brother. Told here as a fairy tale, it makes a perfect introduction to Shakespeare for youngsters and the uninitiated alike.

The Life and Death of King John was probably written in the 1590s but not published until the First Folio in 1623. Of Shakespeare's 11 history plays, King John is the one which deals with the story of a monarch most removed from Shakespeare's time. The historical remoteness of this ruler, and also the fact that he had no genealogical links with the Tudor dynasty, enabled Shakespeare to present him in a warts and allà fashion.

読み聞かせでもなく、サウンドドラマでもない。オーディオブックならではの圧倒的な表現力と、必要最小限の演出。誰もが知っている"はず"のシェイクスピア作品をダイジェストにして続々お届けします。いいのか、いやそれとも、悩ましい。いずれが気高き心のありようか。つらい定めと矢弾を堪え忍ぶか、荒波に立ち向かい、鳧《けり》を付けるか。死とは眠り、ただそれだけのもの。眠れば、そう、胸の痛みは消える。体につきまとう千の苦しみさえも。それこそ願ってもない幕引きだ。死は眠り、となれば夢も見よう。それでは困る、死の眠りについた時、いったいどんな夢を見るというのだ。この世のしがらみから抜け出たとて、それがわからねば、この足も動かぬ。※本商品はラム姉弟『シェイクスピア物語』をもとに、シェイクスピアの原典にある詩(および森鴎外訳「オフェリヤの歌」)を加え、再編集しています。・Charles and Mary Lamb's TALES FROM SHAKESPEARE: HAMLET, PRINCE OF DENMARK edited by Yu Okubo translated by Yuka Akune

読み聞かせでもなく、サウンドドラマでもない。オーディオブックならではの圧倒的な表現力と、必要最小限の演出。誰もが知っている"はず"のシェイクスピア作品をダイジェストにして続々お届けします。さてはて。妖精だの悪ふざけだの。信じられぬ、ありそうにもない、などと決め付け、つむじをお曲げになるな。 こう考えればよろしい。すなわち、まどろみ夢を見ただけ。かような不思議はどれも皆、眠るまに映った幻に過ぎぬと。私めの語りに耳傾け下さる皆々様もまた、お気を悪くされませぬよう。今は昔、これ皆全て、楽しくも他愛のない、夏至の夜の夢。※本商品はラム姉弟『シェイクスピア物語』をもとに、シェイクスピアの原典にある台詞を加え、再編集しています。・Charles and Mary Lamb's TALES FROM SHAKESPEARE: A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM edited by Yu Okubo translated by Yuka Akune

An award winning Drama from SmartPass. Unabridged with guided description to set the scene and fill in visual moments.

Their battles of wits are legendary, but Benedick has sworn off women and Beatrice has vowed that she will never marry a man. It's a good job that they don't like each other then... or might they be persuaded with a little help from their friends?

An all-star cast including John Gielgud, Edith Evans, Anthony Quayle, and Peggy Ashcroft come together to read all 154 Sonnets.

In this, Shakespeare's most fantastical comedy, the fairy world wreaks havoc with the foolish mortal one as a lover's nightmare melts into an innocent dream. Under the canopy of a moonlit forest, pairs of lovers and five delightfully inept "mechanicals" weave a web of magic.

A young man named Antonio borrows money from a merchant of Venice named Shylock, so that he can court a fine lady he wishes to marry. When Antonio is late to repay his debt, Shylock has him arrested and demands that a terrible price must be paid...

Welcome to a vibrant and engaging edition of William Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing," a timeless comedy that continues to delight and provoke thought among audiences worldwide. This edition invites you into the bustling world of Messina, where wit battles wit, and love intertwines with deception, offering a rich exploration of romance and misunderstanding. Experience the sparkling duel of words between Beatrice and Benedick, and the tumultuous path of Claudio and Hero's love, as they navigate the trials of miscommunication, pride, and societal pressures.

Othello follows the story of the Moor through love, jealousy and deceit. Iago is furious about being overlooked for promotion and plots to take revenge against his general; Othello, the Moor of Venice. Iago manipulates Othello into believing his wife, Desdemona, is unfaithful, stirring Othello's jealousy. Othello allows jealousy to consume him, murders Desdemona and then kills himself.