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Showing 1 - 20 of 116 items
By Arthur Miller. 1949
A modern drama which indicts the optimism and materialism of American society. Willy Loman, a traveling salesman, experiences a profound…
sense of failure as he recognizes signs of aging in himself, and decides to take stock of his accomplishmentsBy Wendy Wasserstein. 1978
Contemporary play about five bright women graduates of Mount Holyoke College who meet for dinner and reminisce after six years.…
Lays bare the inconsistencies of life at an elitist women's school. Strong language and some descriptions of sexBy Robert LaGuardia. 1983
The backgrounds, detailed plots, and casts of characters of many soap operas, from early radio serials to the TV dramas…
that have captured millions of viewers. Includes "Ma Perkins," "The Romance of Helen Trent," "Our Gal Sunday," and others from radio days and such TV hits as "Love of Life," "The Brighter Day," "The Edge of Night," and "All My Children."By Victor Hugo. 1987
This tragic drama is set in Spain in 1519 with nineteen main characters and assorted soldiers, conspirators, and pages. Hugo…
refers to his theme of "liberalism in literature" in his preface to the first edition in 1830--a time when artists and writers were encouraged by the idea of political liberty. His voice for such ideas is the young poet, Hernani, who chooses the penalty of death to preserve freedomBy Karel C̈apek. 1990
English translations of three plays and several short stories, essays, and assorted sketches on gardening and travel provide a sampling…
of the work of this prolific Czechoslovakian writer. The word "robot" from his 1922 play "R.U.R." ("Rossum's Universal Robots,") included here, has entered everday languageBy Eugene O'Neill. 1955
An autobiographical play set in 1912 in the summer home of a theatrical family isolated from the community by a…
kind of ingrown misery and a sense of doom. This work was found in manuscript form among the papers left after the playwright's death in 1953By William Shakespeare. 1968
A seventeenth-century romantic drama about the trials of Pericles, Prince of Tyre, who attempts to win the king of Antioch's…
daughter by solving the monarch's riddle. Upon guessing the king's incestuous relationship with Princess Hesperides, Pericles is banished. He is shipwrecked and marries a foreign princess, who appears to die in childbirth. Years of confusion and mishap precede a joyous family reunionBy William Shakespeare. 1967
A late sixteenth-century tragedy about Titus Andronicus, a noble Roman general under the empire. Titus returns to the city after…
his victory over the Goths, bringing the Gothic queen Tamora and her three sons with him. Titus turns his attention to seeking revenge for the atrocities that have been committed against his family. Later, his promises turn to reality in a grotesque and bloody sequence of deception, barbarism, and crueltyBy William Shakespeare. 1984
A dramatic comedy written in the late sixteenth century and set in Padua. Katherina is a young woman of violent…
whims and tempers. Her father, Baptista Minola, is so anxious to see her married that he forbids his much-sought-after younger daughter, Bianca, to marry first. Petruchio, an imperturbable gentleman from Verona, accepts Katherina's hand and begins the relentless taming processBy William Shakespeare. 1987
Early seventeenth-century romantic drama about Prospero, duke of Milan, ousted from his throne by his brother Antonio and banished with…
his daughter Miranda to a primitive island. Years later, a shipwreck deposits Antonio and his collaborators on the island. Prospero, knowledgeable about magic, releases spellbound spirits who help him undo his usurperBy William Shakespeare. 1962
Written in the early seventeenth century, the tragedy deals with Caius Marcius, a haughty Roman general who is given the…
surname Coriolanus after defeating the Volscians in the battle of Corioli. Persuaded to seek election to the consulship, he is eventually banished from Rome by fickle plebeians. The play records his attempts to get revengeBy William Shakespeare. 1965
A seventeenth-century tragicomedy about Cymbeline, a British king, who banishes his daughter Imogen's husband Posthumus in disapproval of their secret…
marriage. The queen, second wife to the king, connives to arrange a match between Imogen and her own son, Cloten. A series of deceptions cause all to believe Imogen dead, but coincidences lead to some happy reunionsBy William Shakespeare. 1990
This historical drama, written in the early seventeenth century, deals with the fall and death of the duke of Buckingham;…
the question of the king's divorce from the dignified Queen Katherine and his marriage to Anne Bullen; and the disgrace and demise of Cardinal Wolsey. Later, the play turns to Anne's coronation; to the archbishop of Canterbury's success over his enemies; and to the christening of a princess, who becomes Queen Elizabeth IBy William Shakespeare. 1990
In this comic drama, Falstaff, a rowdy drunkard pinched for funds, decides to make love to the wives of two…
wealthy citizens of Windsor, Ford and Page, since it is the wives who control their husbands' money. But Nim and Pistol, discarded associates of Falstaff, warn the husbands of Falstaff's plans and a series of merry assignations begins. Written in the late sixteenth centuryBy William Shakespeare. 1991
Early seventeenth-century dramatic comedy. Vincentio, the duke of Vienna, has been lax about enforcing chastity laws. Fearing protests if he…
calls for reforms, he appoints Angelo to act as his deputy and pretends to leave town. Disguised as a friar, the duke observes the zealous prosecutor and becomes alarmed by the cruelty of his decisions. He must quickly reassume leadership to clear up entanglements and to save a young gentleman's lifeBy Tony Kushner. 1993
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Action in part one of this epic play takes place in an ever-changing…
American milieu. The central characters are two young homosexual New Yorkers, a married Mormon couple, and Roy Cohn. The focus shifts from sex to politics to religion. Human relationships, society, and even heaven crack under pressure, until finally an angel appears. Strong languageBy William Shakespeare. 1959
An early seventeenth-century play. Three witches stir a prophetic brew as they await the return of the Scottish army. The…
victorious general Macbeth, spurred on by his ambitious wife, murders Duncan, the king, while he is a guest in Macbeth's castle. Once Macbeth sets himself upon this path, he must clear further obstacles. Eventually the desire for power, coupled with mistrust, fear, and anger, leads to one violent act after anotherBy William Shakespeare. 1960
Turn-of-the-seventeenth-century romantic comedy about fraternal twins, Viola and Sebastian, who are separated by shipwreck. Viola, obliged to masquerade as Cesario,…
a page in the service of Duke Orsino, acts as the duke's envoy of love to Countess Olivia, who in turn falls in love with Cesario. Meanwhile, Sebastian arrives and, not unhappily, consents to marry the countess. Mistaken identities and some complicated lovers' problems precede a happy reunionBy William Shakespeare. 1966
A tragedy about lovers during the Trojan Wars, first performed in 1602. Troilus, one of the king of Troy's five…
sons, is in love with Cressida, the daughter of Calchas, a Trojan priest siding with the Greeks. Calchas, knowing that Troy is about to fall to the Greeks, flees, leaving Cressida to be taken prisoner. Although Cressida vows to remain faithful to Troilus, he witnesses her betrayalBy William Shakespeare. 1992
First published early in the seventeenth century, this tragedy concerns a petulant monarch and his daughters Gonerill, Regan, and Cordelia.…
Amid much other, more political action, Lear is taken in by false avowals of love from Gonerill and Regan, and disinherits Cordelia because of her refusal to flatter him and to meet his unreasonable demands