William Shakespeare "The Comedies", "The Histories", "The Tragedies" 3 Vol. Matching Limited Edition Leather-Bound Set [Sealed]

This limited edition collection features the timeless classics of William Shakespeare, the masterful playwright and poet who profoundly influenced the English language and literature by introducing new words and phrases.

Easton Press, Norwalk, CT (1980). William Shakespeare "The Comedies", "The Histories", "The Tragedies". Limited Edition three volume matching set. Enhance your library with these three leather bound editions. Ideal for the Shakespeare reader and collector. Part of the 100 Greatest Books Ever Written series. Beautiful, elegant and highly collectible.

"The Comedies" is illustrated by Edward Ardizzone and "The Histories" is illustrated by John Farleigh.

This collection presents the timeless works of a literary genius, showcasing his mastery in crafting comedies, histories, and tragedies.

The works of Shakespeare explore universal themes of love, betrayal, and ambition, remaining relevant and relatable to modern audiences. His plays also established enduring narrative structures and characters that continue to inspire countless adaptations across various cultures and media. 

Here's a breakdown of his key contributions:

Impact on the English Language

Vocabulary Expansion: Shakespeare is credited with the first documented use of about 1,700 words, including terms like "bedazzle," "fashionable," and "watchdog".

Word Creation: He creatively coined new words by combining existing ones, adding prefixes and suffixes, and changing nouns into verbs or vice versa.

Popularized Phrases: He also created numerous common phrases that are still used today, such as "tongue-tied," "in a pickle," and "cruel to be kind".

The Comedies

Shakespeare's comedies are plays characterized by having a happy ending, often involving marriage. While they include humorous moments like witty wordplay and mistaken identity, they are distinct from modern comedies and can touch on serious themes. Notable Shakespearean comedies include a Nidsummer Night's Dream, Much Ado About Nothing, The Comedy of Errors, and The Tempest. 

The Tragedies

Shakespearean tragedy is the designation given to most tragedies written by William Shakespeare. Many of his history plays share the qualifiers of a Shakespearean tragedy, but because they are based on real figures throughout the history of England, they were classified as "histories" in the First Folio. The Roman tragedies—Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra and Coriolanus—are also based on historical figures, but because their sources were foreign and ancient, they are almost always classified as tragedies rather than histories. Shakespeare's romances (tragicomic plays) were written late in his career and published originally as either tragedy or comedy. They share some elements of tragedy, insofar as they feature a high-status central character, but they end happily like Shakespearean comedies. Almost three centuries after Shakespeare's death, English scholar Frederick S. Boas also coined a fifth category, the "problem play," for plays that do not fit neatly into a single classification because of their subject matter, setting, or ending.[1][2] Scholars continue to disagree on how to categorize some Shakespearean plays.

The Tragedies includes such titles as Titus Andronicus, Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar, and Hamlet.

The Histories

Inspired by the rich history of England's past, Shakespeare wrote some of his greatest works, including such masterpieces as Richard III and Henry IV Part I. This complete anthology of Shakespeare's histories features evocative illustrations by John Farleigh.

Features

Includes all the classic Easton Press qualities:

 * Premium Leather
 * Silk Moire Endleaves
 * Distinctive Cover Design
 * Hubbed Spine, Accented in Real 22KT Gold
 * Satin Ribbon Page Marker
 * Gilded Page Edges
 * Long-lasting, High Quality Acid-neutral Paper
 * Smyth-sewn Pages for Strength and Durability
 * Beautiful Illustrations

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare (c. 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon" or simply "the Bard". His extant works, including collaborations, consist of some 39 plays, 154 sonnets, three long narrative poems and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. Shakespeare remains arguably the most influential writer in the English language, and his works continue to be studied and reinterpreted.

Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children: Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Sometime between 1585 and 1592 he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part-owner ("sharer") of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men after the ascension of King James VI of Scotland to the English throne. At age 49 (around 1613) he appears to have retired to Stratford, where he died three years later. Few records of Shakespeare's private life survive; this has stimulated considerable speculation about such matters as his physical appearance, his sexuality, his religious beliefs and even certain fringe theories as to whether the works attributed to him were written by others.

Shakespeare produced most of his known works between 1589 and 1613. His early plays were primarily comedies and histories and are regarded as some of the best works produced in these genres. He then wrote mainly tragedies until 1608, among them Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth, all considered to be among the finest works in English. In the last phase of his life he wrote tragicomedies (also known as romances) such as The Winter's Tale and The Tempest, and collaborated with other playwrights.

Many of Shakespeare's plays were published in editions of varying quality and accuracy during his lifetime. However, in 1623 John Heminges and Henry Condell, two fellow actors and friends of Shakespeare's, published a more definitive text known as the First Folio, a posthumous collected edition of Shakespeare's dramatic works that includes 36 of his plays. Its preface includes a prescient poem by Ben Jonson, a former rival of Shakespeare, who hailed Shakespeare with the now-famous epithet: "not of an age, but for all time".