The Plays and Poems of William Shakspeare

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Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2009 - 138 pages
Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: Be poisonous too, and kill thy forlorn queen. Is all thy comfort shut in Gloster's tomb ? Why, then dame Margaret was ne'er thy joy: Erect his statue then, and worship it, And make my image but an alehouse sign. Was I, for this, nigh wreck'd upon the sea; ' And twice by aukward wind 5 from England's bank ' Drove back again unto my native clime ? What boded this, but well-forewarning wind Did seem to say, ?Seek not a scorpion's nest, Nor set no footing on this unkind shore ? What did I then, but curs'd the gentle gusts 6, And he that loos'd them from their brazen caves; And bid them blow towards England's blessed shore, Or turn our stern upon a dreadful rock ? Yet Eolus would not be a murderer, But left that hateful office unto thee: The pretty vaulting sea refus'd to drown me; Knowing, that thou would'st have me drown'd on shore, With tears as salt as sea through thy unkindness: So that he hath the wordes wayved, And thus his eare is nought deceived. Shakspeare has the same allusion in Troilus and Cressida: Have ears more deaf than adders, to the voice Of any true decision. Steevens. s ? awkward wind?] Thus the old copy. The modern editors read'adverse winds. Steevens. The same uncommon epithet is applied to the same subject by Marlow in his King Edward II.: With auirutard winds, and with sore tempests driven To fall on shore'. So, in Dray-ton's Epistle from Richard II. to Queen Isabell: And undertook to travaile dangerous waies, Driven by awkward winds and boisterous seas. Malone. 6 What did I then, but Curs'd the gentle gusts-, ] I believe we should read? but curse the gentle gusts.'' M. Mason. VOL. XVIII. S The splitting rocks cow'rd in the sinking sands 7, And ...

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About the author (2009)

William Shakespeare, 1564 - 1616 Although there are many myths and mysteries surrounding William Shakespeare, a great deal is actually known about his life. He was born in Stratford-Upon-Avon, son of John Shakespeare, a prosperous merchant and local politician and Mary Arden, who had the wealth to send their oldest son to Stratford Grammar School. At 18, Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway, the 27-year-old daughter of a local farmer, and they had their first daughter six months later. He probably developed an interest in theatre by watching plays performed by traveling players in Stratford while still in his youth. Some time before 1592, he left his family to take up residence in London, where he began acting and writing plays and poetry. By 1594 Shakespeare had become a member and part owner of an acting company called The Lord Chamberlain's Men, where he soon became the company's principal playwright. His plays enjoyed great popularity and high critical acclaim in the newly built Globe Theatre. It was through his popularity that the troupe gained the attention of the new king, James I, who appointed them the King's Players in 1603. Before retiring to Stratford in 1613, after the Globe burned down, he wrote more than three dozen plays (that we are sure of) and more than 150 sonnets. He was celebrated by Ben Jonson, one of the leading playwrights of the day, as a writer who would be "not for an age, but for all time," a prediction that has proved to be true. Today, Shakespeare towers over all other English writers and has few rivals in any language. His genius and creativity continue to astound scholars, and his plays continue to delight audiences. Many have served as the basis for operas, ballets, musical compositions, and films. While Jonson and other writers labored over their plays, Shakespeare seems to have had the ability to turn out work of exceptionally high caliber at an amazing speed. At the height of his career, he wrote an average of two plays a year as well as dozens of poems, songs, and possibly even verses for tombstones and heraldic shields, all while he continued to act in the plays performed by the Lord Chamberlain's Men. This staggering output is even more impressive when one considers its variety. Except for the English history plays, he never wrote the same kind of play twice. He seems to have had a good deal of fun in trying his hand at every kind of play. Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets, all published on 1609, most of which were dedicated to his patron Henry Wriothsley, The Earl of Southhampton. He also wrote 13 comedies, 13 histories, 6 tragedies, and 4 tragecomedies. He died at Stratford-upon-Avon April 23, 1616, and was buried two days later on the grounds of Holy Trinity Church in Stratford. His cause of death was unknown, but it is surmised that he knew he was dying.

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