Othello, Macbeth, Le Roi Lear

by William Shakespeare

Hard to Find

Genres: Theatre

320 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1604

About the author

William 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".

Reviews

[stasia · Rating 4 out of 5]

othello 3/5
le roi lear 4/5
macbeth 4/5

[Valérie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Merci Shakespeare pour Macbeth !

Mon dieu que cette collection fut éprouvante !! Je m’attendais tellement à mieux mdrrrr

Au final je n’ai aimé que Macbeth, je trouve super intéressant que, contrairement aux antiques, Shakespeare se joue du destin et des croyances aux oracles. La liberté est au coeur de la pièce, Macbeth choisit librement de faire le mal, il peut le refuser, raisonne, discute avec sa femme, se fait influencer, doute et tranche (avant de trancher le roi !) => il est moins victime qu’acteur de sa propre tragédie. Le seul défaut de la pièce est la multitude de persos secondaires (on s’y perd aisément), sinon les apparitions, les sorcières, la violence m’ont agréablement surprise, j'adore ! 4/5

Othello était sympa mais peu crédible. Othello est censé être un grand guerrier mais c'est le gars le plus naïf au monde et il passe d’un homme qui traite avec respect sa femme (qu’il juge son égal voir sa supérieure) à un bougre violent par une simple manipulation. Je veux bien qu’il ne connaisse point les jeux politiques mais mdr l’intrigue du mouchoir est bien trop grotesque pour y croire. Et y’a que les femmes de censées dans cette histoire. 3/5

Pour finir le roi Lear est désastreuse. La pièce est censée être antique or les persos agissent tous comme des contemporains du tragique, le debut est idiot au possible avec le partage de l’héritage du roi, tous les persos sont détestables, l’histoire des chevaliers est pas intéressante. J’avais 0 pitié pour le roi car toutes ses scènes sont débiles et Cordélia je l’ai jamais vu donc jsp pq je la pleurerais. L’humour est nul aussi. Les scènes du clown sont les pires que j’ai pu lire, j'étais comme ça ??? tout le long. Les scènes de Gloucester et Edgar sauvent la pièce mais elle reste un bon 1.5/5 car j’avais hâte que ça se termine omg

Bref très surprise de ce recueil, je pensais adorer Shakespeare mais clairement y’a des hauts et des bas !

[Tolsan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Othello : Qui mérite notre confiance ? Pas les mecs.
Le roi Lear : Comment savoir à qui donner sa confiance ?
Macbeth : On ne peut pas résister à une tentation qui rejoint un désir préexistant.

C'est très bien mais pas aussi beau que Racine.

[Cha-pitre · Rating 5 out of 5]

Des classiques, mais tellement bien...🥰

[Jeremy P · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superbes histoires, tragiques mais superbes. Les sentiments sont très bien décrits, on revient aux origines des tragédies qui ont influencé toute une liter rature par la suite. On boit l'eau à la source et c'est extrêmement riche. On finit les pièces bouche bée. Dommage que mon anglais soit pauvre, je les aurais bien lu dans la langue d'origine.

[Geraud · Rating 5 out of 5]

Je me demande toujours pourquoi étant ado, nous français, sommes condamnés à lire Racine et Corneille, alors que Shakespeare, c'est tellement mieux.

[Guillaume · Rating 5 out of 5]

Je suis un fan inconditionnel donc je n'ai pas un avis objectif.