Review (PDF)

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

Mass Market Paperback: 592 pages

Publisher: Signet; Revised edition (June 1, 1998)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0451527291

ISBN-13: 978-0451527295

Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1 x 6.9 inches

Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #133,687 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #240 in Books > Literature & Fiction > British & Irish > Shakespeare > Works #1062 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Dramas & Plays #3754 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Classics

Four tragedies written by William Shakespeare are provided in this quite portable book. Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth all share the pages and are edited by four different people, one for each play. Because of this, the editing techniques, footnotes, and connotations tend to be different from play to play and it isn't recommended to sit down and try to read all four in one go. In particular, the editor for King Lear is very heavy handed in his edits and suggestions of meanings. Regardless, that's really the only poor quality of the book.I, personally, really enjoy this book and the plays chosen. They are all similar in that they sport a common, tragic trait where human paranoia, fear, and deception of the self and from others forces powerful people to destroy not only themselves but those around them. It's a great viewing of the human soul and the chaos that can abound within if unchecked.Below are a brief synopsis for each play of the story that are really simplistic, but may help someone who is not used to or confident in reading barebones Shakespeare without translation.I like to say that Hamlet is the story of The Lion King to make it easier for readers to understand. An evil uncle usurps and kills the King, father to Hamlet, and Hamlet must come to terms with his mother's marrying of his uncle and avenge his slain father. However, unlike Disney, his hate and rage overtakes Hamlet, leaving him alone and unmanageable.Othello is interesting in that it focuses on racial connotations rather often, making it a great play to discuss from this perspective. Othello is a wonderfully brilliant Moorish soldier who will come to doubt all he holds dear due to an equally brilliant, conniving villain named Iago.

Four Great Tragedies: Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth (Signet Classics) Shakespearean Tragedy: Lectures on Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth (Penguin Classics) Las Tragedias de William Shakespeare: Julio César, Otelo, Macbeth, Romeo y Julieta, Hamlet, Romeo y Julieta, El rey Lear) (Spanish Edition) Eight Great Tragedies: The Complete Texts of the World's Great Tragedies from Ancient Times to the Twentieth Century Othello (Shakespeare, Signet Classic) King Lear (No Fear Shakespeare) King Lear (The Pelican Shakespeare) King Lear (Arden Shakespeare: Third Series) King Lear: Oxford School Shakespeare (Oxford School Shakespeare Series) King Lear (Folger Ed.) (New Folger Library Shakespeare) King Lear (Dover Thrift Editions) King Lear (The Annotated Shakespeare) Four Major Plays, Volume I (Signet Classics) Macbeth: Melodramma in Four Acts by Francesco Maria Piave and Andrea Maffei. The Piano-Vocal Score (The Works of Giuseppe Verdi: Piano-Vocal Scores) Sophocles I: Antigone, Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus (The Complete Greek Tragedies) Greek Tragedies 1: Aeschylus: Agamemnon, Prometheus Bound; Sophocles: Oedipus the King, Antigone; Euripides: Hippolytus Greek Tragedies, Vol. 1: Agamemnon/Prometheus Bound/Oedipus the King/Antigone/Hippolytus Sophocles I: Antigone, Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus (The Complete Greek Tragedies Book 1) All That You've Seen Here Is God: New Versions of Four Greek Tragedies Sophocles' Ajax, Philoctetes, Women of Trachis; Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound (A Vintage original) Four Arab Hamlet Plays