What do you think?
Rate this book
Four Comedies: As You Like It / The Tempest / A Midsummer Night's Dream / Twelfth Night
These four great comedies bring you William Shakespeare in a delightful and humorous vein. The complete CAMBRIDGE TEXT of each play is clear and understandable. The story of each play is summed up briefly by J. Walker McSpadden. A glossary at the end of the book explains all unusual words and terms. The casts of characters are illustrated by Frederick E. Banbery.
Each play is prefaced with an introduction by Mark Van Doren. This noted critic's comments will add immeasurably to the reader's enjoyment, appreciation and understanding of William Shakespeare and his humor.
310 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1948
2 people are currently reading
104 people want to read
About the author
William Shakespeare
27.7k books47.1k followersWilliam Shakespeare was an English playwright, poet, and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon" (or simply "the Bard"). His extant works, including collaborations, consist of some 39 plays, 154 sonnets, three long narrative poems, and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. Shakespeare remains arguably the most influential writer in the English language, and his works continue to be studied and reinterpreted.
Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children: Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Sometime between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part-owner ("sharer") of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men after the ascension of King James VI and I of Scotland to the English throne. At age 49 (around 1613), he appears to have retired to Stratford, where he died three years later. Few records of Shakespeare's private life survive; this has stimulated considerable speculation about such matters as his physical appearance, his sexuality, his religious beliefs, and even certain fringe theories as to whether the works attributed to him were written by others.
Shakespeare produced most of his known works between 1589 and 1613. His early plays were primarily comedies and histories and are regarded as some of the best works produced in these genres. He then wrote mainly tragedies until 1608, among them Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth, all considered to be among the finest works in the English language. In the last phase of his life, he wrote tragicomedies (also known as romances) and collaborated with other playwrights.
Many of Shakespeare's plays were published in editions of varying quality and accuracy during his lifetime. However, in 1623, John Heminge and Henry Condell, two fellow actors and friends of Shakespeare's, published a more definitive text known as the First Folio, a posthumous collected edition of Shakespeare's dramatic works that includes 36 of his plays. Its Preface was a prescient poem by Ben Jonson, a former rival of Shakespeare, that hailed Shakespeare with the now famous epithet: "not of an age, but for all time".
Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children: Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Sometime between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part-owner ("sharer") of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men after the ascension of King James VI and I of Scotland to the English throne. At age 49 (around 1613), he appears to have retired to Stratford, where he died three years later. Few records of Shakespeare's private life survive; this has stimulated considerable speculation about such matters as his physical appearance, his sexuality, his religious beliefs, and even certain fringe theories as to whether the works attributed to him were written by others.
Shakespeare produced most of his known works between 1589 and 1613. His early plays were primarily comedies and histories and are regarded as some of the best works produced in these genres. He then wrote mainly tragedies until 1608, among them Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth, all considered to be among the finest works in the English language. In the last phase of his life, he wrote tragicomedies (also known as romances) and collaborated with other playwrights.
Many of Shakespeare's plays were published in editions of varying quality and accuracy during his lifetime. However, in 1623, John Heminge and Henry Condell, two fellow actors and friends of Shakespeare's, published a more definitive text known as the First Folio, a posthumous collected edition of Shakespeare's dramatic works that includes 36 of his plays. Its Preface was a prescient poem by Ben Jonson, a former rival of Shakespeare, that hailed Shakespeare with the now famous epithet: "not of an age, but for all time".
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 4, 2022
"As You Like It" review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
"A Mid-Summer Night's Dream" review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
"The Tempest" review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
"Twelfth Night" review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
4 stars for the plays.
The book itself I would give 2.5 stars. It's older, so it does have notes, unlike books I find that are published today. However, the plays aren't in the order as they are listed on the cover, and the notes are buried in the back, with no indication inside the plays suggesting which lines might have words or phrases worthy of notes. Then the notes, while sorted by play, are listed in alphabetical order instead of the order as they appear within the play. You'll end up doing a lot of backing and forthing while reading. I did like the little character illustrations on the dramatis personæs pages though.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
"A Mid-Summer Night's Dream" review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
"The Tempest" review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
"Twelfth Night" review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
4 stars for the plays.
The book itself I would give 2.5 stars. It's older, so it does have notes, unlike books I find that are published today. However, the plays aren't in the order as they are listed on the cover, and the notes are buried in the back, with no indication inside the plays suggesting which lines might have words or phrases worthy of notes. Then the notes, while sorted by play, are listed in alphabetical order instead of the order as they appear within the play. You'll end up doing a lot of backing and forthing while reading. I did like the little character illustrations on the dramatis personæs pages though.
May 3, 2009
These were the first four Shakespeare plays I ever read, thanks to an old edition of this book (or a similar collection of the same plays) on my parents' bookshelf. I always wanted to play Rosalind, Titania, and Viola!
Read
August 3, 2010In English language,Inglise keeles,play,theatre,comedy play,romance play,Elizabethan theatre,Shakespearen theatre
July 29, 2012
"A Midsummer Night's Dream" is my favorite- it's beautifully visual.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews