About Shakespeare: William Shakespeare (baptised 26 April 1564 – died 23 April 1616) was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the worlds preeminent dramatist. He is of ten called Englands national poet and the Bard of Avon (or simply The Bard). His surviving works consist of 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems. His plays have been translated into every major living language, and are performed more of ten than those of any other playwright. Shakespeare was born and raised in StratforduponAvon. At the age of 18 he married Anne Hathaway, who bore him three children: Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Between 1585 and 1592 he began a successful career in London as an act or, writer, and part owner of the playing company the Lord Chamberlains Men, later known as the Kings Men. He appears to have retired to Stratford around 1613, where he died three years later. Few re cords of Shakespeares private life survive, and there has been consider able speculation about such matters as his sexuality, religious beliefs, and whether the works attributed to him were written by others. Shakespeare produced most of his known work between 1590 and 1613. His early plays were mainly comedies and histories, genres he raised to the peak of sophistication and artistry by the end of the sixteenth cen tury. Next he wrote mainly tragedies until about 1608, including Hamlet, King Lear, and Macbeth, considered some of the finest examples in the English language. In his last phase, he wrote tragicomedies, also known as romances, and collaborated with other playwrights. Many of his plays were published in editions of varying quality and accuracy during his lifetime, and in 1623 two of his former theatrical colleagues published the First Folio, a collected edition of his dramatic works that included all but two of the plays now recognised as Shakespeares. Shakespeare was a respected poet and playwright in his own day, but his reputation did not rise to its present heights until the nineteenth century. The Ro mantics, in particular, acclaimed Shakespeares genius, and the Victorians heroworshipped Shakespeare with a reverence that George Bernard Shaw called bardolatry. In the twentieth century, his work was repeatedly adopted and rediscovered by new movements in scholarship and performance. His plays remain highly popular today and are con sistently performed and reinterpreted in diverse cultural and political contexts throughout the world. Source: Wikipedia
Romeo and Juliet Shakespeare, William Published: 1597 Categorie(s): Fiction, Drama, Romance Source: http://shakespeare.mit.edu About Shakespeare: William Shakespeare (baptised 26 April 1564 – died 23 April 1616) was an English poet and playwright, 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 surviving works consist of 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems His plays have been translated into every major living language, and are performed more often than those of any other playwright Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon At the age of 18 he married Anne Hathaway, who bore him three children: Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith Between 1585 and 1592 he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part owner of the playing company the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men He appears to have retired to Stratford around 1613, where he died three years later Few records of Shakespeare's private life survive, and there has been considerable speculation about such matters as his sexuality, religious beliefs, and whether the works attributed to him were written by others Shakespeare produced most of his known work between 1590 and 1613 His early plays were mainly comedies and histories, genres he raised to the peak of sophistication and artistry by the end of the sixteenth century Next he wrote mainly tragedies until about 1608, including Hamlet, King Lear, and Macbeth, considered some of the finest examples in the English language In his last phase, he wrote tragicomedies, also known as romances, and collaborated with other playwrights Many of his plays were published in editions of varying quality and accuracy during his lifetime, and in 1623 two of his former theatrical colleagues published the First Folio, a collected edition of his dramatic works that included all but two of the plays now recognised as Shakespeare's Shakespeare was a respected poet and playwright in his own day, but his reputation did not rise to its present heights until the nineteenth century The Romantics, in particular, acclaimed Shakespeare's genius, and the Victorians hero-worshipped Shakespeare with a reverence that George Bernard Shaw called "bardolatry" In the twentieth century, his work was repeatedly adopted and rediscovered by new movements in scholarship and performance His plays remain highly popular today and are consistently performed and reinterpreted in diverse cultural and political contexts throughout the world Source: Wikipedia Also available on Feedbooks for Shakespeare: • • • • • • • • • • Hamlet (1599) Macbeth (1606) A Midsummer Night's Dream (1596) Julius Caesar (1599) Othello (1603) The Merchant of Venice (1598) Much Ado About Nothing (1600) King Lear (1606) The Taming of the Shrew (1594) The Comedy of Errors (1594) Note: This book is brought to you by Feedbooks http://www.feedbooks.com Strictly for personal use, not use this file for commercial purposes Act I Prologue Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean From forth the fatal loins of these two foes A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life; Whole misadventured piteous overthrows Do with their death bury their parents' strife The fearful passage of their death-mark'd love, And the continuance of their parents' rage, Which, but their children's end, nought could remove, Is now the two hours' traffic of our stage; The which if you with patient ears attend, What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend SCENE I Verona A public place Enter SAMPSON and GREGORY, of the house of Capulet, armed with swords and bucklers SAMPSON Gregory, o' my word, we'll not carry coals GREGORY No, for then we should be colliers SAMPSON I mean, an we be in choler, we'll draw GREGORY Ay, while you live, draw your neck out o' the collar SAMPSON I strike quickly, being moved GREGORY But thou art not quickly moved to strike SAMPSON A dog of the house of Montague moves me GREGORY To move is to stir; and to be valiant is to stand: therefore, if thou art moved, thou runn'st away SAMPSON A dog of that house shall move me to stand: I will take the wall of any man or maid of Montague's GREGORY That shows thee a weak slave; for the weakest goes to the wall SAMPSON True; and therefore women, being the weaker vessels, are ever thrust to the wall: therefore I will push Montague's men from the wall, and thrust his maids to the wall GREGORY The quarrel is between our masters and us their men SAMPSON 'Tis all one, I will show myself a tyrant: when I have fought with the men, I will be cruel with the maids, and cut off their heads GREGORY The heads of the maids? SAMPSON Ay, the heads of the maids, or their maidenheads; take it in what sense thou wilt GREGORY They must take it in sense that feel it SAMPSON Me they shall feel while I am able to stand: and 'tis known I am a pretty piece of flesh GREGORY 'Tis well thou art not fish; if thou hadst, thou hadst been poor John Draw thy tool! here comes two of the house of the Montagues SAMPSON My naked weapon is out: quarrel, I will back thee GREGORY How! turn thy back and run? SAMPSON Fear me not GREGORY No, marry; I fear thee! SAMPSON Let us take the law of our sides; let them begin GREGORY I will frown as I pass by, and let them take it as they list SAMPSON Nay, as they dare I will bite my thumb at them; which is a disgrace to them, if they bear it Enter ABRAHAM and BALTHASAR ABRAHAM Do you bite your thumb at us, sir? SAMPSON I bite my thumb, sir ABRAHAM Do you bite your thumb at us, sir? SAMPSON [Aside to GREGORY] Is the law of our side, if I say ay? GREGORY No SAMPSON No, sir, I not bite my thumb at you, sir, but I bite my thumb, sir GREGORY Do you quarrel, sir? ABRAHAM Quarrel sir! no, sir SAMPSON If you do, sir, I am for you: I serve as good a man as you ABRAHAM No better SAMPSON Well, sir GREGORY Say 'better:' here comes one of my master's kinsmen SAMPSON Yes, better, sir ABRAHAM You lie SAMPSON Draw, if you be men Gregory, remember thy swashing blow They fight Enter BENVOLIO BENVOLIO Part, fools! Put up your swords; you know not what you Beats down their swords Enter TYBALT TYBALT What, art thou drawn among these heartless hinds? Turn thee, Benvolio, look upon thy death BENVOLIO I but keep the peace: put up thy sword, Or manage it to part these men with me TYBALT What, drawn, and talk of peace! I hate the word, As I hate hell, all Montagues, and thee: Have at thee, coward! They fight Enter, several of both houses, who join the fray; then enter Citizens, with clubs First Citizen Clubs, bills, and partisans! strike! beat them down! Down with the Capulets! down with the Montagues! Enter CAPULET in his gown, and LADY CAPULET CAPULET What noise is this? Give me my long sword, ho! LADY CAPULET A crutch, a crutch! why call you for a sword? CAPULET My sword, I say! Old Montague is come, And flourishes his blade in spite of me Enter MONTAGUE and LADY MONTAGUE MONTAGUE Thou villain Capulet,—Hold me not, let me go LADY MONTAGUE Thou shalt not stir a foot to seek a foe Enter PRINCE, with Attendants PRINCE Rebellious subjects, enemies to peace, Profaners of this neighbour-stained steel,— Will they not hear? What, ho! you men, you beasts, 10 And that the lean abhorred monster keeps Thee here in dark to be his paramour? For fear of that, I still will stay with thee; And never from this palace of dim night Depart again: here, here will I remain With worms that are thy chamber-maids; O, here Will I set up my everlasting rest, And shake the yoke of inauspicious stars From this world-wearied flesh Eyes, look your last! Arms, take your last embrace! and, lips, O you The doors of breath, seal with a righteous kiss A dateless bargain to engrossing death! Come, bitter conduct, come, unsavoury guide! Thou desperate pilot, now at once run on The dashing rocks thy sea-sick weary bark! Here's to my love! Drinks O true apothecary! Thy drugs are quick Thus with a kiss I die Dies Enter, at the other end of the churchyard, FRIAR LAURENCE, with a lantern, crow, and spade FRIAR LAURENCE Saint Francis be my speed! how oft to-night Have my old feet stumbled at graves! Who's there? BALTHASAR Here's one, a friend, and one that knows you well FRIAR LAURENCE Bliss be upon you! Tell me, good my friend, What torch is yond, that vainly lends his light To grubs and eyeless skulls? as I discern, It burneth in the Capel's monument BALTHASAR 147 It doth so, holy sir; and there's my master, One that you love FRIAR LAURENCE Who is it? BALTHASAR Romeo FRIAR LAURENCE How long hath he been there? BALTHASAR Full half an hour FRIAR LAURENCE Go with me to the vault BALTHASAR I dare not, sir My master knows not but I am gone hence; And fearfully did menace me with death, If I did stay to look on his intents FRIAR LAURENCE Stay, then; I'll go alone Fear comes upon me: O, much I fear some ill unlucky thing BALTHASAR As I did sleep under this yew-tree here, I dreamt my master and another fought, And that my master slew him 148 FRIAR LAURENCE Romeo! Advances Alack, alack, what blood is this, which stains The stony entrance of this sepulchre? What mean these masterless and gory swords To lie discolour'd by this place of peace? Enters the tomb Romeo! O, pale! Who else? what, Paris too? And steep'd in blood? Ah, what an unkind hour Is guilty of this lamentable chance! The lady stirs JULIET wakes JULIET O comfortable friar! where is my lord? I remember well where I should be, And there I am Where is my Romeo? Noise within FRIAR LAURENCE I hear some noise Lady, come from that nest Of death, contagion, and unnatural sleep: A greater power than we can contradict Hath thwarted our intents Come, come away Thy husband in thy bosom there lies dead; And Paris too Come, I'll dispose of thee Among a sisterhood of holy nuns: Stay not to question, for the watch is coming; Come, go, good Juliet, Noise again I dare no longer stay JULIET Go, get thee hence, for I will not away Exit FRIAR LAURENCE 149 What's here? a cup, closed in my true love's hand? Poison, I see, hath been his timeless end: O churl! drunk all, and left no friendly drop To help me after? I will kiss thy lips; Haply some poison yet doth hang on them, To make die with a restorative Kisses him Thy lips are warm First Watchman [Within] Lead, boy: which way? JULIET Yea, noise? then I'll be brief O happy dagger! Snatching ROMEO's dagger This is thy sheath; Stabs herself there rust, and let me die Falls on ROMEO's body, and dies Enter Watch, with the Page of PARIS PAGE This is the place; there, where the torch doth burn First Watchman The ground is bloody; search about the churchyard: Go, some of you, whoe'er you find attach Pitiful sight! here lies the county slain, And Juliet bleeding, warm, and newly dead, Who here hath lain these two days buried Go, tell the prince: run to the Capulets: Raise up the Montagues: some others search: We see the ground whereon these woes lie; But the true ground of all these piteous woes We cannot without circumstance descry Re-enter some of the Watch, with BALTHASAR 150 Second Watchman Here's Romeo's man; we found him in the churchyard First Watchman Hold him in safety, till the prince come hither Re-enter others of the Watch, with FRIAR LAURENCE Third Watchman Here is a friar, that trembles, sighs and weeps: We took this mattock and this spade from him, As he was coming from this churchyard side First Watchman A great suspicion: stay the friar too Enter the PRINCE and Attendants PRINCE What misadventure is so early up, That calls our person from our morning's rest? Enter CAPULET, LADY CAPULET, and others CAPULET What should it be, that they so shriek abroad? LADY CAPULET The people in the street cry Romeo, Some Juliet, and some Paris; and all run, With open outcry toward our monument PRINCE What fear is this which startles in our ears? First Watchman 151 Sovereign, here lies the County Paris slain; And Romeo dead; and Juliet, dead before, Warm and new kill'd PRINCE Search, seek, and know how this foul murder comes First Watchman Here is a friar, and slaughter'd Romeo's man; With instruments upon them, fit to open These dead men's tombs CAPULET O heavens! O wife, look how our daughter bleeds! This dagger hath mista'en—for, lo, his house Is empty on the back of Montague,— And it mis-sheathed in my daughter's bosom! LADY CAPULET O me! this sight of death is as a bell, That warns my old age to a sepulchre Enter MONTAGUE and others PRINCE Come, Montague; for thou art early up, To see thy son and heir more early down MONTAGUE Alas, my liege, my wife is dead to-night; Grief of my son's exile hath stopp'd her breath: What further woe conspires against mine age? PRINCE Look, and thou shalt see 152 MONTAGUE O thou untaught! what manners is in this? To press before thy father to a grave? PRINCE Seal up the mouth of outrage for a while, Till we can clear these ambiguities, And know their spring, their head, their true descent; And then will I be general of your woes, And lead you even to death: meantime forbear, And let mischance be slave to patience Bring forth the parties of suspicion FRIAR LAURENCE I am the greatest, able to least, Yet most suspected, as the time and place Doth make against me of this direful murder; And here I stand, both to impeach and purge Myself condemned and myself excused PRINCE Then say at once what thou dost know in this FRIAR LAURENCE I will be brief, for my short date of breath Is not so long as is a tedious tale Romeo, there dead, was husband to that Juliet; And she, there dead, that Romeo's faithful wife: I married them; and their stol'n marriage-day Was Tybalt's dooms-day, whose untimely death Banish'd the new-made bridegroom from the city, For whom, and not for Tybalt, Juliet pined You, to remove that siege of grief from her, Betroth'd and would have married her perforce To County Paris: then comes she to me, 153 And, with wild looks, bid me devise some mean To rid her from this second marriage, Or in my cell there would she kill herself Then gave I her, so tutor'd by my art, A sleeping potion; which so took effect As I intended, for it wrought on her The form of death: meantime I writ to Romeo, That he should hither come as this dire night, To help to take her from her borrow'd grave, Being the time the potion's force should cease But he which bore my letter, Friar John, Was stay'd by accident, and yesternight Return'd my letter back Then all alone At the prefixed hour of her waking, Came I to take her from her kindred's vault; Meaning to keep her closely at my cell, Till I conveniently could send to Romeo: But when I came, some minute ere the time Of her awaking, here untimely lay The noble Paris and true Romeo dead She wakes; and I entreated her come forth, And bear this work of heaven with patience: But then a noise did scare me from the tomb; And she, too desperate, would not go with me, But, as it seems, did violence on herself All this I know; and to the marriage Her nurse is privy: and, if aught in this Miscarried by my fault, let my old life Be sacrificed, some hour before his time, Unto the rigour of severest law PRINCE We still have known thee for a holy man Where's Romeo's man? what can he say in this? BALTHASAR I brought my master news of Juliet's death; And then in post he came from Mantua To this same place, to this same monument 154 This letter he early bid me give his father, And threatened me with death, going in the vault, I departed not and left him there PRINCE Give me the letter; I will look on it Where is the county's page, that raised the watch? Sirrah, what made your master in this place? PAGE He came with flowers to strew his lady's grave; And bid me stand aloof, and so I did: Anon comes one with light to ope the tomb; And by and by my master drew on him; And then I ran away to call the watch PRINCE This letter doth make good the friar's words, Their course of love, the tidings of her death: And here he writes that he did buy a poison Of a poor 'pothecary, and therewithal Came to this vault to die, and lie with Juliet Where be these enemies? Capulet! Montague! See, what a scourge is laid upon your hate, That heaven finds means to kill your joys with love And I for winking at your discords too Have lost a brace of kinsmen: all are punish'd CAPULET O brother Montague, give me thy hand: This is my daughter's jointure, for no more Can I demand MONTAGUE But I can give thee more: For I will raise her statue in pure gold; 155 That while Verona by that name is known, There shall no figure at such rate be set As that of true and faithful Juliet CAPULET As rich shall Romeo's by his lady's lie; Poor sacrifices of our enmity! PRINCE A glooming peace this morning with it brings; The sun, for sorrow, will not show his head: Go hence, to have more talk of these sad things; Some shall be pardon'd, and some punished: For never was a story of more woe Than this of Juliet and her Romeo Exeunt 156 Loved this book ? Similar users also downloaded Vatsyayana The Kama Sutra The Kama Sutra, is an ancient Indian text widely considered to be the standard work on human sexual behavior in Sanskrit literature written by the Indian scholar Vatsyayana A portion of the work consists of practical advice on sex Kāma means sensual or sexual pleasure, and sūtra are the guidlines of yoga, the word itself means thread in Sanskrit The Kama Sutra is the oldest and most notable of a group of texts known generically as Kama Shastra) Traditionally, the first transmission of Kama Shastra or "Discipline of Kama" is attributed to Nandi the sacred bull, Shiva's doorkeeper, who was moved to sacred utterance by overhearing the lovemaking of the god and his wife Parvati and later recorded his utterances for the benefit of mankind Lewis Carroll Alice's Adventures in Wonderland Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) is a novel written by English author Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, better known under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll It tells the story of a girl named Alice who falls down a rabbit-hole into a fantasy world populated by peculiar and anthropomorphic creatures The tale is filled with allusions to Dodgson's friends (and enemies), and to the lessons that British schoolchildren were expected to memorize The tale plays with logic in ways that have made the story of lasting popularity with adults as well as children It is considered to be one of the most characteristic examples of the genre of literary nonsense, and its narrative course and structure has been enormously influential, mainly in the fantasy genre William Shakespeare Hamlet Hamlet is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601 The play, set in Denmark, recounts how Prince Hamlet exacts revenge on his uncle Claudius, who has murdered Hamlet's father, the King, and then taken the throne and married Hamlet's mother The play vividly charts the course of real and feigned madness—from overwhelming grief to 157 seething rage—and explores themes of treachery, revenge, incest, and moral corruption William Shakespeare Macbeth Macbeth is among the best-known of William Shakespeare's plays, and is his shortest tragedy, believed to have been written between 1603 and 1606 It is frequently performed at both amateur and professional levels, and has been adapted for opera, film, books, stage and screen Often regarded as archetypal, the play tells of the dangers of the lust for power and the betrayal of friends For the plot Shakespeare drew loosely on the historical account of King Macbeth of Scotland by Raphael Holinshed and that by the Scottish philosopher Hector Boece There are many superstitions centred on the belief the play is somehow "cursed", and many actors will not mention the name of the play aloud, referring to it instead as "The Scottish play" (From Wikipedia) William Shakespeare A Midsummer Night's Dream A Midsummer Night's Dream is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, suggested by "The Knight's Tale" from Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, written around 1594 to 1596 It portrays the adventures of four young Athenian lovers and a group of amateur actors, their interactions with the Duke and Duchess of Athens, Theseus and Hippolyta, and with the fairies who inhabit a moonlit forest The play is one of Shakespeare's most popular works for the stage and is widely performed across the world William Shakespeare Julius Caesar Julius Caesar is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1599 It portrays the conspiracy against the Roman dictator of the same name, his assassination and its aftermath It is one of several Roman plays that he wrote, based on true events from Roman history, which also include Coriolanus and Antony and Cleopatra Although the title of the play is Julius Caesar, Caesar is not the central character in its action; he appears in only three scenes, and is killed at the beginning of the third act The protagonist of the play is Marcus Brutus, and the central psychological drama is his 158 struggle between the conflicting demands of honour, patriotism, and friendship William Shakespeare Othello Othello, The Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare based on the short story "Moor of Venice" by Cinthio, believed to have been written in approximately 1603 The work revolves around four central characters: Othello, his wife Desdemona, his lieutenant Cassio, and his trusted advisor Iago Attesting to its enduring popularity, the play appeared in editions between 1622 and 1705 Because of its varied themes — racism, love, jealousy and betrayal — it remains relevant to the present day and is often performed in professional and community theatres alike The play has also been the basis for numerous operatic, film and literary adaptations (From Wikipedia) Arthur Conan Doyle The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is a collection of twelve stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, featuring his famous detective and illustrated by Sidney Paget These are the first of the Sherlock Holmes short stories, originally published as single stories in the Strand Magazine from July 1891 to June 1892 The book was published in England on October 14, 1892 by George Newnes Ltd and in a US Edition on October 15 by Harper The initial combined print run was 14,500 copies Francis Scott Fitzgerald The Curious Case of Benjamin Button This story was inspired by a remark of Mark Twain's to the effect that it was a pity that the best part of life came at the beginning and the worst part at the end By trying the experiment upon only one man in a perfectly normal world I have scarcely given his idea a fair trial Several weeks after completing it, I discovered an almost identical plot in Samuel Butler's "Note-books." The story was published in "Collier's" last summer and provoked this startling letter from an anonymous admirer in Cincinnati: "Sir-I have read the story Benjamin Button in Colliers and I wish to say that as a short story writer you would make a good lunatic I have seen many peices of cheese in my life but of all the peices of cheese 159 I have ever seen you are the biggest peice I hate to waste a peice of stationary on you but I will." Jane Austen Pride and Prejudice Pride And Prejudice, the story of Mrs Bennet's attempts to marry off her five daughters is one of the best-loved and most enduring classics in English literature Excitement fizzes through the Bennet household at Longbourn in Hertfordshire when young, eligible Mr Charles Bingley rents the fine house nearby He may have sisters, but he also has male friends, and one of these—the haughty, and even wealthier, Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy—irks the vivacious Elizabeth Bennet, the second of the Bennet girls She annoys him Which is how we know they must one day marry The romantic clash between the opinionated Elizabeth and Darcy is a splendid rendition of civilized sparring As the characters dance a delicate quadrille of flirtation and intrigue, Jane Austen's radiantly caustic wit and keen observation sparkle 160 www.feedbooks.com Food for the mind 161 ... ROMEO Ay, if I know the letters and the language Servant Ye say honestly: rest you merry! ROMEO Stay, fellow; I can read 21 Reads 'Signior Martino and his wife and daughters; County Anselme and. .. swung about his head and cut the winds, Who nothing hurt withal hiss'd him in scorn: While we were interchanging thrusts and blows, Came more and more and fought on part and part, Till the prince... eye, And the rank poison of the old will die ROMEO Your plaintain-leaf is excellent for that 20 BENVOLIO For what, I pray thee? ROMEO For your broken shin BENVOLIO Why, Romeo, art thou mad? ROMEO