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'Venus and Adonis' and 'The Rape of Lucrece'
- Narrated by: David Burke, Eve Best, Clare Corbett, Benjamin Soames, Oliver Le Sueuer
- Length: 3 hrs and 18 mins
- Categories: Literature & Fiction, Classics
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Chaos and confusion mount to a crescendo in a wild and fast-paced comedy of mistaken identity, one of Shakespeare's earliest plays. Young Antipholus of Syracuse is searching the world for his identical twin brother, separated from him at birth. With him is his servant Dromio, who lost his twin brother at the same time. The pair arrive in Ephesus where, unbeknownst to them, their twins are living.
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Excellent audio and reading of every character.
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Telling his followers he is leaving the city on affairs of state, the Duke of Vienna appoints the puritanical Angelo to govern in his absence. Will Angelo prove as virtuous as he seems once power is in his hands? Roaming the city disguised as a friar, the duke looks on as Angelo's lust for the virtuous Isabella sweeps him into the corruption he has so sternly condemned in others. The duke's manipulation at last produces a happy ending for this dark comedy, with its brilliant exploration of the themes of justice and mercy.
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In words remarkable for their richness of rhythm and imagery, Milton tells the story of man's creation, fall, and redemption, "to justify the ways of God to men". Here, unabridged, and told with exceptional sensitivity and power by Anton Lesser, is the plight of Adam and Eve, the ambition and vengefulness of Satan and his cohorts.
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Sonorous metal
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Enjoyable but marred by mistakes in the narration.
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This remarkable poem, dedicated to Queen Elizabeth I, was Spenser's finest achievement. The first epic poem in modern English, The Faerie Queene combines dramatic narratives of chivalrous adventure with exquisite and picturesque episodes of pageantry. At the same time, Spenser is expounding a deeply-felt allegory of the eternal struggle between Truth and Error....
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A very useful version
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The Sonnets
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- Length: 3 hrs and 9 mins
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Overall
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Performance
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-
Excellent audio and reading of every character.
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Enjoyable but marred by mistakes in the narration.
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A very useful version
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The Yorkists have been temporarily victorious and the Duke of York has assumed the throne, but the Lancastrians, led by Queen Margaret, counter-attack. As the fortunes of war shift, both the innocent and the guilty are swept up in the maelstrom. And increasingly dominant amid the chaos is the sinister figure of the crook-backed Richard, Duke of Gloucester.
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Seamus Heaney’s new translation of Beowulf is a work that is both true to the original poem and an expression of something fundamental to Heaney’s own creative gift.One of the great classics of English literature, it tells the story of a hero who wins glory and learns wisdom and is then called upon to face a final test against the monstrous. There are obvious parallels to be found in the history of the twentieth century, and Heaney’s Beowulf cannot fail to be read partly in the light of his Northern Irish upbringing. But it also transcends such considerations, revealing psychological and spiritual truths that are both permanent and liberating.
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Young King Henry VI has married the beautiful Margaret of Anjou but the new queen is ruthless and ambitious. Supported by the powerful Duke of Suffolk, Margaret plots the overthrow of her enemies, chief among them the Duke of Gloucester. But the Duke of York also aspires to the crown, and the common people, led by Jack Cade, are in rebellion. To the despair of the mild young king, England descends into civil war.
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Henry VI, Part 1
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The all-conquering King Henry V is dead and the throne is occupied by his infant son, Henry VI. The good Duke Humphrey of Gloucester has been appointed protector, but a struggle for power soon develops between the young king's Lancastrian relatives and the powerful house of York under Richard Plantagenet. Meanwhile the French, led by Joan of Arc, the maid of Orleans, threaten to win back the territories lost to Henry V.
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Great if you're familiar with the context.
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King John: The Arkangel Shakespeare
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King John of England is pitted against the united powers of France, Brittany, Austria, and the Papacy. Will England be destroyed by his fatal indecision? As alliances are made, broken, and remade, the paranoid and erratic John reveals his weakness and reliance on those around him - including his powerful mother, Queen Elinor, and Faulconbridge, the cynical and witty bastard son of the dead King Richard I.
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This classic Shakespearean comedy is presented here in a colorful full-cast dramatization, drawn from the complete text and starring Warren Mitchell, Michael Maloney, and Sarah Woodward.
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The young king of Navarre and three of his courtiers have vowed to lock themselves away for three years of study and fasting, and to forswear the company of women for this period. No sooner is their vow made than it is tested, however, as the princess of France and three of her ladies arrive in Navarre on a diplomatic mission. The young men fall instantly and hopelessly in love, and the tension between their vow and their passion forms the subject of this charming and sparkling early comedy.
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Richard II
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The sensitive and poetic Richard II is undoubtedly the rightful king of England, but he is unscrupulous and weak. When his cousin Henry Bolingbroke returns from banishment and mounts a challenge to his authority, Richard's right to the throne proves of little help to him. Richard is forced to abdicate, but as his power is stripped away, he gains dignity and self-awareness, and he meets his death heroically.
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the best
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Troilus and Cressida
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Troy is besieged by the invading Greeks, but the young Trojan prince Troilus can think only of his love for Cressida. Her uncle Pandarus brings the two together, but after only one night news comes that Cressida must be sent to the enemy camp. There, as Troilus looks on, she yields to the wooing of the Greek Diomedes. The tragic story is undercut by the commentary of Thersites, who provides a cynical chorus.
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Shakespeare in surly mood or a classic debunked
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Titus Andronicus
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The noble Titus returns victorious to Rome bringing Tamora, Queen of the Goths as his captive. When one of Tamora's sons is condemned to die, she vows revenge, and, aided by the villainous Aaron, she exacts a terrible retribution, inaugurating a grim cycle of rape, murder, and cannibalism. This macabre, often brilliant tragedy comes from the earliest stage of Shakespeare's dramatic career.
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King Henry is married to Katherine of Aragon, but he has been smitten by the charms of the queen's maid of honor, Anne Bullen, and is tempted to divorce his dignified and noble wife. Meanwhile, the lords of England resent the influence of Henry's trusted advisor, Cardinal Wolsey, who is gradually drawing power into his own hands. As Katherine and Wolsey suffer their tragic falls, new figures rise to fill their places, but they, too, will be brought low by the inexorable sweep of time and fortune.
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Shakespeare the diplomatic historian
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Classic BBC Radio Shakespeare: Romances
- The Winter's Tale, Pericles, The Tempest
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Hannah Gordon, Paul Scofield, Tim Pigott-Smith
- Length: 7 hrs and 31 mins
- Original Recording
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Three classic radio productions from the BBC archives starring Hannah Gordon, Tim Pigott-Smith, Paul Scofield and a host of celebrated acting talent. These three legendary plays, performed by some of the best-known theatrical actors of the 20th century, are the perfect way to commemorate England's greatest dramatist.
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Poor sound
- By Amazon Customer on 20-11-18
Editor reviews
Featuring acclaimed cast-members with transatlantic credentials, these two narrative poems demonstrate Shakespeare’s mastery of the tragic and comedic. Venus and Adonis follows the goddess of love as she attempts to seduce Adonis, more interested in hunting than Venus’ advances. Featuring racy double-entendres, the poem is famous for its sexually suggestive witticisms. The Rape of Lucrece follows the sexual mistreatment of Lucrece - wife of a retainer to the Roman emperor - at the hands of Sextus Tarquinius, the emperor’s son. These poems portray two very different heroines, one forceful and confident, the other a victim of tragic violence. Actress Clare Corbett (MI-5, Doctor Who) shines as the nymphish Venus, while Eve Best (The Kings Speech, Nurse Jackie) is honest and uncompromising as the ill-fated Lucrece.
Summary
These two great poems date from Shakespeare’s early years and are full of passion and invention. In Venus and Adonis, the goddess of love pleads with the beautiful boy to submit to her advances and become her love - but he only wants to hunt boar. In the more serious Rape of Lucrece, Shakespeare draws on the Roman tale of the Emperor Tarquin’s desire for Lucrece and its tragic consequencies. These poems give prominent parts to the two heroines, and Clare Corbett and Eve Best shine.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.
What listeners say about 'Venus and Adonis' and 'The Rape of Lucrece'
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- Darwin8u
- 27-12-17
All the iambs in the world
Shakespeare's narrative poems, for me, fit in a valley between his most lyrical plays (Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Richard II) and his sonnets. They are great, just not as good as either. They seem almost to be aborted efforts at plays. Perhaps, Shakespeare realized while working on Venus and Adonis that it wasn't going to really work as a play, but hell, since he'd already written a couple hundred lines of iambic poetry, he might as well keep going and finish it. It is a shame really (from the perspective of his lyrical poems) that he was so brilliant at his plays and sonnets. These seem almost to be after thoughts. Hell, they WERE after thoughts. I read all of his plays and his sonnets and figured I was done, but remembered there was something else. They REALLY do deserve more attention than they got from me and from the world.
8 people found this helpful
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- Coach of Alva
- 15-02-15
Shakespeare and Two Fine Actresses
Two early poems of Shakespeare, based on love and lust from classical mythology.
The first is a stillborn May-December romance where the goddess Venus tries to seduce, then protect, a young boy she loves, failing at both. The goddess of love here comes across as a desperate cougar, oddly lacking in power, not so surprisingly lacking in sense. I'm not sure how I would have felt about the goddess if I had merely read her story. Instead I listened to Claire Corbett read her, and she gave her such heart that I could forgive her folly and tyranny and mourn her loss.
The second work was even darker, with Shakespeare probing the psyches of a rapist and his victim. The greatest dramatic psychologist had early shown an interest in extreme psychopathology with Richard III, but I found the power and depth that he showed here almost worthy of the tragedies he would write a decade later. Eve Best, a star on the London and Broadway stage, nearly brought tears to my eyes as the wronged heroine examined her options and decided on suicide.
2 people found this helpful