Friedrich Schiller (1759-1805) is one of the most influential German playwrights of the 18th century. His persistence as a poet, philosopher, and translator only broaden his popular reach. Along with Goethe, Schiller shaped the development of Weimar Classicism, a literary and aesthetic movement that integrated Romantic, Classical, and Humanist traditions. This edition collects a total of four plays—"The Robbers" and the «Wallenstein» trilogy. To ...
"When We Dead Awaken" was Henrik Ibsen's final drama, which was first published in 1899. It is the story of a married couple, Arnold and Maia Rubek who while traveling find themselves romantically drawn to others, in the case of Maia it is Ulfheim, a brutal hunter, who is the object of her desire, for Arnold it is Irene, a beautiful woman from his past. In these desires the two find themselves questioning the choices that they have mad ...
William Butler Yeats was born near Dublin in 1865, and was encouraged from a young age to pursue a life in the arts. He attended art school for a short while, but soon found that his talents and interest lay in poetry rather than painting. It can be difficult to characterize Yeats. He was a complicated man whose work reflected the internal struggle he felt between art and life. Yeats was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1923, and receive ...
The 17th century dramatist Jean Racine was considered, along with Moliere and Corneille, as one of the three great playwrights of his era. The quality of Racine's poetry has been described as possibly his most important contribution to French literature and his use of the alexandrine poetic line is one of the best examples of such use noted for its harmony, simplicity and elegance. While critics over the centuries have debated the worth of ...
Thomas Middleton (1580-1627), a bricklayer's son, rose to become one of the most eminent playwrights of the Jacobean period. Along with Ben Johnson he helped shape the dynamic course of drama in Renaissance England. His range is broad, as his work successfully covers comedy, tragedy, and history. Praised during his life as well as today, Middleton remains relevant and influential. «A Trick to Catch the Old One» (1608) is a delightful comedy ...
Written during the highly successful final years of his life, the plays contained in this edition represent the pinnacle of Moliere's artistry and the most profound demonstration of his vision of humanity: «The Misanthrope,» «The Doctor in Spite of Himself,» a hilarious example of Moliere's long-standing skepticism of the medical profession, «The Miser,» «The Shopkeeper Turned Gentleman,» «The Impostures of Scapin,» «The Learned Women, ...
Ben Jonson's career began in 1597 when he held a fixed engagement in the «Admiral's Men», and although he was unsuccessful as an actor, his literary talent was apparent and he began writing original plays for the troupe. It is known that Shakespeare's company produced several of Jonson's plays, Shakespeare himself appearing in at least one, («Every Man in His Humour»). «Bartholomew Fair» was written in 1614, during the time c ...
Based upon a personal anecdote recounted to Gogol by the great Russian poet Pushkin, «The Inspector-General», also known as «The Government Inspector», is a satirical play first published in 1836. It is a comedy of errors that unstintingly portrays human greed and stupidity. The plot centers around the officials of a small provincial town in Russia, who have been informed that a dreaded inspector is soon to arrive. They mistakenly assume that th ...
Based on the real life of the seventeenth century French dramatist of the same name, «Cyrano de Bergerac» is the classic romantic play by Edmond Rostand. Cyrano, a cadet in the French Army, is a talented duelist, poet, and musician, however he has extreme self-doubt in matters of love due to the large size of his nose. Cyrano is conflicted by his inability to summon the confidence to tell the woman that he adores, Roxane, how he truly feels. «Cy ...