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Drama
George Bernard Shaw's Plays
$16.86
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George Bernard Shaw's Plays
This collection presents a cross-section of Shaw's most important theater workMrs. Warren's Profession, Man and Superman, Major Barbara, andPygmalion. Each play is fully annotated.Contexts and Criticism features all-new material on the author and his work, from traditional critical readings to more theorized approaches, among them essays on Shaw's Fabianism and his alleged feminism. Contributors include Leon Hugo, Sally Peters, Tracy C. Davis, John A. Bertolini, Stanley Weintraub, and J. Ellen Gainor. A Chronology and a Selected Bibliography are included.About the series: No other series of classic texts equals the caliber of theNorton Critical Editions. Each volume combines the most authoritative text available with the comprehensive pedagogical apparatus necessary to appreciate the work fully. Careful editing, first-rate translation, and thorough explanatory annotations allow each text to meet the highest literary standards while remaining accessible to students. Each edition is printed on acid-free paper and every text in the series remains in print. Norton Critical Editions are the choice for excellence in scholarship for students at more than 2,000 universities worldwide.
Drama
Romeo and Juliet
$16.45
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Romeo and Juliet
Set during five of the most intensely dramatic days ever portrayed, ROMEO AND JULIET was probably written in 1594 or 1595, and first published in a 1597 edition, as transcribed by actors who had performed it. Other editions appeared later, but even the more authoritative versions, such as that of 1599--probably drawn from Shakespeare's own manuscript copies--lack the detailed stage directions present in the actors' transcription; thus, modern editions incorporate several sources. ROMEO AND JULIET is among the most oft performed of Shakespeare's works, and it has been among the most beloved since its earliest days on the stage. Though the title page of the 1597 edition declares that ROMEO AND JULIET had been performed and enjoyed many times prior to its publication, the first extant direct record of the events of a production refer to a 1662 staging, in which the play was probably adapted or altered--adaption was particularly popular in the 17th century. One London stage ran different conclusions on alternative nights; audiences who went home glum on Friday could be uplifted by the play's ending if they returned on Saturday night. The story of ROMEO AND JULIET was derived by Shakespeare from many sources. The version most contemporary to his own was the 1562 poem The Tragicall History of Romeus and Iuliet by Arthur Brooke, which itself was an adaptation of a French piece by Pierre Boaistuau, which Boaistuau had adapted from the Italian. Indeed, aspects of the tragic story have recurred throughout Western literature since at least the third century. Shakespeare greatly intensified the pace by compressing a piece which had unfolded over the course of several months into the space of five days--a period in which much transpires at daybreak, including the famous balcony scene where Romeo declares, But soft, what light through yonder window breaks?/It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. Romeo is forced to approach Juliet in secret because of the impassioned rivalry bet...
Drama
House of Mirth
$16.45
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House of Mirth
Published in 1905, Edith Wharton's first novel, THE HOUSE OF MIRTH, navigates the murky waters of class-bound courtship and marriage in turn-of-the-century upper-crust Manhattan. Ironic, sharp, and tragic, the novel follows beautiful, orphaned Lily Bart in her search for a rich husband--the only route open to her if she is to survive in a ruthlessly materialistic world. Mercilessly, Wharton exposes the cruelty and indifference of a society in which such a woman has no role except to be exploited and looked down upon. Nor does she neglect to expose the vanity and delusions of poor Lily herself--qualities that undermine her considerable intelligence and charm. As always, Wharton is writing about a world she knows first-hand, and one in which she suffered her own trials. The complex and poignant tale of Lily Bart is one of her most popular and successful novels
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