Four Great Tragedies: Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth (Signet Classics)

The greatest tragic plays of William Shakespeare—including Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth.

What is tragedy? The Elizabethans defined it as a "lofty" play showing "personages of great state" caught up in a "lamentable" action that "beginneth prosperously and endeth unfortunately." Whether judged by this or any other standard, the plays selected for this collection are considered to be the four central works of Shakespearean tragedy and must be included in any list of the world's finest tragic literature. And to make these plays more accessible for the modern reader, this edition includes the following special features:

· Reliable texts by noted Shakespeare scholars
· Texts printed in the clearest, most readable type
· Names of each speaker given in full
· Detailed footnotes at the bottom of each page keyed to the numbered lines of the text
· Textual notes
· Updated bibliography

• Four Great Comedies: The Taming of the Shrew; A Midsummer Night's Dream; Twelfth Night; The Tempest (Signet Classics)
• The Merchant of Venice (Signet Classics)
• As You Like It (Signet Classics)
• Henry IV, Part 1 (Signet Classics)
• Richard III (Signet Classics)
• The Winter's Tale (Signet Classics)
• Measure for Measure (Signet Classics)
• Henry V (Signet Classics)
• The Tempest (Folger Shakespeare Library)
• Candide: Zadig and Selected Stories