Showing results by author "Michela Bertazzo" in All Categories

More medieval romance than history, Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae represents the oldest versions we have of many legends of Britain, populated by such characters as the Leir, Cymbeline, Uther and Arthur Pendragon and Cadwallader. This is Giles' 1848 revision of Thompson's 1718 edition. - Summary by SkyRider

Dido, Queen of Carthage is the earliest of Christopher Marlowe's known plays, possibly written while he was still a student at Corpus Christi College in Cambridge whose college library held a copy of Virgil's Aeneid, the principal source of the story. The play was co-authored by a fellow Cambridge undergraduate Thomas Nashe, although Nashe's contribution is now thought to have been a minor one. It was acted by the "Children of Her Maiestie's Chappell " around 1587.The play tells of the tragic love affair between Dido, Queen of Carthage, and Aeneas, a survivor from the destruction of Troy who ...

Pearl is a structurally complex mediaeval poem that combines narrative, allegory, dream vision, elegy, affirmation of Christian faith and meditation on grief. This recording is of Jessie Laidlay Weston’s translation from the Middle English.

William Langland’s Vision of Piers the Plowman is one of the Early English poems that may well appeal to many other readers than the professed student of literature. It will ever be attractive to those who care for a vivid account of certain phases of life in England at one of the important periods of her social history ; but, beyond this, Langland's work touches some of the keenest interests of our own day. In its picture of the life of the labourer, and its protest against the oppression of the poor by the rich and powerful, it connects itself with that impelling desire for social reform ...

The Forest is a short collection of Ben Jonson's poetry. This collection of fifteen poems first appeared in the 1616 first folio of his collected works. (Summary by Sheldon Greaves)

This is a short but beautiful book, and the Gummere translation really captures the feel of the Old English. Beowulf tells the story of a mysterious young warrior who saves the Spear-Danes from the terrible monster Grendel and his venomous mother. Long a mainstay of English Literature 101 courses at universities around the world, it is not only one of the oldest, but one of the most exciting English folktales ever invented. (Summary by Caeristhiona)

Every Man Out of His Humour followed Jonson's play Every Man In His Humour. "This play as a fabric of plot is a very slight affair; but as a satirical picture of the manners of the time, proceeding by means of vivid caricature, couched in witty and brilliant dialogue and sustained by that righteous indignation which must lie at the heart of all true satire — as a realisation, in short, of the classical ideal of comedy — there had been nothing like Jonson's comedy since the days of Aristophanes.... What Jonson really did, was to raise the dramatic lampoon to an art, and make out of a casual...

Pericles, Prince of Tyre is a Jacobean play written at least in part by William Shakespeare and included in modern editions of his collected works despite questions over its authorship, as it was not included in the First Folio. Modern editors generally agree that Shakespeare is responsible for almost exactly half the play—827 lines—the main portion after scene 9 that follows the story of Pericles and Marina. Modern textual studies indicate that the first two acts of 835 lines detailing the many voyages of Pericles were written by a mediocre collaborator, which strong evidence suggests to ...

Volpone is a comedy by Ben Jonson first produced in 1606, drawing on elements of city comedy and beast fable. A merciless satire of greed and lust, it remains Jonson's most-performed play, and it is among the finest Jacobean Era comedies. Volpone is a Venetian gentleman who pretends to be on his deathbed, after a long illness, in order to dupe Voltore, Corbaccio, and Corvino, three men who aspire to inherit his fortune. In their turns, each man arrives to Volpone’s house bearing a luxurious gift, intent upon having his name inscribed to the will of Volpone, as his heir. Mosca, Volpone’s ...

Shakespeare was passionately interested in the history of Rome, as is evident from plays like Titus Andronicus, Julius Caesar, and Antony and Cleopatra. His tragedy Coriolanus was probably written around 1605-07, and dramatizes the rise and fall of a great Roman general, Caius Martius (later surnamed Coriolanus because of his military victory at Corioli). This play is unusual in that it provides a strong voice for the ordinary citizens of Rome, who begin the play rioting about the high price of food, and who continually clash with Coriolanus because of his contempt for plebians. (Summary by ...

Antony and Cleopatra is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607. It was first printed in the First Folio of 1623. The plot is based on Thomas North's translation of Plutarch's Life of Marcus Antonius and follows the relationship between Cleopatra and Mark Antony from the time of the Parthian War to Cleopatra's suicide. The major antagonist is Octavius Caesar, one of Antony's fellow triumviri and the future first emperor of Rome. The tragedy is a Roman play characterized by swift, panoramic shifts in geographical locations and in registers,...

Hamlet is commonly regarded as one of the greatest plays ever written. Drawing on Danish chronicles and the Elizabethan vogue for revenge tragedy, Shakespeare created a play that is at once a philosophic treatise, a family drama, and a supernatural thriller. In the wake of his father's death, Prince Hamlet finds that his Uncle Claudius has swiftly taken the throne and married his mother, Queen Gertrude. The ghost of the dead king then appears and charges Claudius with 'murder most foul.' Hamlet is called to revenge his father's death: but will he be able to act before it is too late? Cast:...

An inferior devil, Pug, asks Satan to send him to Earth to tempt men to Evil. But when Pug arrives in 1616 London and sets himself at the Squire Fabian Fitzdottrel, he finds Fabian currently beset by con men, cheats, connivers, thieves, villains, and seductresses - a delightful mix of cunning criminality in a world that already has far more vice in it than anything Pug is prepared to offer. - Summary by ToddHWCast list:Satan, the great Devil: alanmapstonePug, the less Devil: SoniaIniquity, the Vice: NemoFabian Fitzdottrel, a Squire of Norfolk: Tomas PeterMeercraft, the Projector: HamletEverill...

Knowell, an old man - rumor says Shakespeare originally played this part - tries to spy upon the doings of his potentially wayward son. Meanwhile, Kitely, a merchant, worries so much about being cuckolded by his wife that perhaps it has to happen. All this while a swarm of other interesting characters surround them. - Summary by ToddHWCast list:KNOWELL, an old Gentleman: ToddHWEDWARD KNOWELL, his Son: Rob MarlandBRAINWORM, the Father's Man: Zames CurranGEORGE DOWNRIGHT, a plain Squire: Algy PugWELLBRED, his Half-Brother: Jim GallagherKITELY, a merchant: Joseph TablerCAPTAIN BOBADILL, a Paul's ...

An outbreak of plague in London forces a gentleman, Lovewit, to flee temporarily to the country, leaving his house under the sole charge of his butler, Jeremy. Jeremy uses the opportunity given to him to use the house as the headquarters for fraudulent acts. He transforms himself into 'Captain Face', and enlists the aid of Subtle, a fellow conman and Dol Common, a prostitute. In The Alchemist, Jonson unashamedly satirizes the follies, vanities and vices of mankind, most notably greed-induced credulity. People of all social classes are subject to Jonson's ruthless, satirical wit. He mocks human...

Le Morte d’Arthur (spelled Le Morte Darthur in the first printing and also in some modern editions, Middle French for la mort d’Arthur, “the death of Arthur”) is Sir Thomas Malory’s compilation of some French and English Arthurian romances. The book contains some of Malory’s own original material (the Gareth story) and retells the older stories in light of Malory’s own views and interpretations. First published in 1485 by William Caxton, Le Morte d’Arthur is perhaps the best-known work of English-language Arthurian literature today. Many modern Arthurian writers have used ...

Toxophilus is a book about target archery using the English Longbow. The book is divided into two parts: The first part is an extended argument that target archery should be encouraged as a healthy activity benefiting both the individual and the defense of the country; the second part is an instruction manual about the use of the English longbow for target archery.In 1545, when the book was written, the English Longbow had been in continuous use in European warfare since the medieval period. Ascham points out that target archery is the perfect preparation for the use of the longbow in warfare,...

This is the Multilingual Audiobooks Podcast, provided by Michela.All episodes are taken from librivox.og,All librivox.org recordings are in the Public Domain.