Soon after James Stuart became king of England in 1603, William Shakespeare, while still working in the public theater, became the royal playwright, and his acting troupe became the premier playing company of the realm. How did this courtly setting influence Shakespeare's work? What was it like to view, perform in, and write plays conceived for the Stuart king? In this fascinating and lively book, one of our most eminent literary critics explores...

William Shakespeares classic play Othello , featuring valuable tools for educators and readers, from the esteemed Folger Shakespeare Library, home to the worlds largest collection of Shakespeares printed works. In Othello , William Shakespeare creates powerful drama from a marriage between the exotic Moor Othello and the Venetian lady Desdemona that begins with elopement and mutual devotion and ends with jealous rage and death. Shakespeare builds...

"In one volume, three unforgettable memoirs that capture the brutality, fear, and heroism of the American land, air, and sea war in the Pacific. "Every generation is a secret society," former Marine pilot Samuel Hynes wrote. "The secret that my generation--the one that came of age during the Second World War--shared was simply the war itself." This volume brings together the powerful memoirs of three Americans who came of age fighting in the Pacific...