Showing titles in Ancient, Classical & Medieval Literature

Agamemnon is the first part of the Oresteia trilogy by the Greek playwright Aeschylus. Each of the plays that form part of The Oresteia can stand alone, but they perfectly complement one other in a longer narrative. Agamemnon provides the seed of all the themes that are explored in part two, The Libation Bearers, and three, The Eumenides.

Full-cast, unabridged performance with comprehensive commentary and analysis for any student to fully understand and appreciate the play. Universally accepted as Shakespeare's finest play, we peel back the layers of Hamlet to discover how and why it deserves such a place of honour in world literature.

The work opens with Serenus asking Seneca for counsel, and this request for help takes the form of a medical consultation. Serenus explains that he feels agitated and in a state of unstable immobility, "As if I were on a boat that doesn't move forward and is tossed about." Seneca uses the dialogue to address an issue that cropped up many times in his life: the desire for a life of contemplation and the need for active political engagement. Seneca argues that the goal of a tranquil mind can be achieved by being flexible and seeking a middle way between the two extremes.

The Montagues and the Capulets, two families of Verona, have been feuding for generations. Young Romeo Montague intends to cause trouble at a Capulet gathering, but while there he sees the Capulet's daughter, Juliet, and falls hopelessly in love. Albert Finney, Claire Bloom, Edith Evans, and Hilton Edwards perform an unabridged version of Shakespeare's tragedy about the two young lovers, whose deaths unite their warring families.

Achilles has quarrelled with Agamemnon and sulks in his tent while Hector brings his Trojans to the brink of victory; but fate will have the last word. While the heroes fight before the walls of Troy the gods have also drawn up battle lines, and it is their disagreements as much as the heroes' efforts which will decide the conflict. Despite the poem's antiquity, the very real, human qualities of the protagonists and their dilemmas make The Iliad immediately accessible.

The Cherry Orchard is Chekhov's final play, first performed in 1904 at the Moscow Art Theatre and directed by Konstantin Stanislavski. It takes place on the Ranevsky family's country estate, which boasts a large cherry orchard that is in bloom as the play opens. The family is gathering at the estate for a reunion but also to decide how to handle their debts, which have reached a crisis point.

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.

Paradise Lost is the greatest epic poem in the English language. 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."

This audiobook is a collection of Stoic sayings organized to allow daily reference and inspiration. The Stoic advice covered in this volume runs the gambit from personal problems, to interpersonal relationships, to advice on work and productivity, to dealing with the hand of fate.

In this allegorical play, the eccentric Captain Shorover's home hosts a cast, each of whom represents some evil in the modern world.

Award-winning storyteller Barbara McBride-Smith breathes life (albeit a wizened Texan version) into the old Greek myths. With her incurable Texas drawl, she spins the Greek myths as you've never heard them before, rendering them 99% more fun while retaining 100% of their original insights into the crooked ways of the human heart and the no less crooked ways of the ancient Greek gods.

Don Juan Tenorio, el drama romantico por excelencia, es una de las pocas obras que han tenido y siguen teniendo una vida autentica mente popular. Dificil seria encontrar un espanol que no sepa recitar de memoria alguno de sus versos. El drama, que repite el viejo tema de Don Juan, ha adquirido una eficacia literaria inusitada en la mezcla de temas de capa y espada con los religiosos y morales.

The Comedy of Errors is likely the very first play Shakespeare ever wrote, and for that reason alone it deserves a special place in literary history. Yet, despite the author's lack of maturity, the play is unmistakably the work of a burgeoning master. A farce of a type that was wildly popular in Shakespeare's day, The Comedy of Errors transcends its genre, and is as accessible and as entertaining as any of the Bard's later comedies.

The John Milton Poetry Collection includes four of his most beloved works, sharing Milton's pioneering writing on everything from politics to religion. As you listen, be transported to the 17th century when political and religious tensions were high and war was imminent. Listen as Milton's works reveal his opinions on biblical themes, political division, and personal freedoms.

Director David Fishelson transforms Dostoyevsky's The Brothers Karamazov and The Idiot into spellbinding drama that illuminates both titanic novels. In The Brothers Karamazov, the passionate brothers spring to life, led by their roué of a father ¿ who entertains himself by drinking, womanizing, and pitting his three sons against each other. The men have plenty to fight over, including the alluring Grushenka.

Gerard Manley Hopkins is undoubtedly one of the greatest poets in the English language. Under the influence of Cardinal John Henry Newman, Hopkins became a Jesuit priest. Now celebrated as a masterful poet, he inspires people throughout the world with his words and example. Hopkins was not only a brilliant poet but also a deeply spiritual man whose works explored religious themes such as Jesuit spirituality and the presence of God in nature.

The Iliad and The Odyssey are retold in a glorious saga of courage and magical adventure. Written in a manner that will delight both young and old, this is a great way to learn the immortal epics of Homer.

The Importance of Being Earnest is probably the wittiest comedy in the English language; it is certainly the least earnest. The subtitle, "A Trivial Comedy for Serious People", gives a clear indication of its nature. It is a play about the only subjects that Oscar Wilde would admit taking seriously: wit, elegance, and paradox.

Cast off on a raft with a runaway slave down the great Mississippi and a boy who couldn't dream of a greater adventure. With each bend of the river, each town, comes a chance encounter, perhaps with a king or duke wrapped in the schemes of scoundrels or a young girl caught amidst a family feud. On a journey with a friend dreaming of freedom, it's full of mischief, full of fun, and the adventures of a lifetime.

A BBC Radio 4 production of Othello, starring Lenny Henry in title role. The comic makes his stage debut as the tortured Moor. One of Shakespeare's most revered tragedies, the play tells the story of a noble African commander in the service of the Venetian army, whose mind is poisoned against the one he loves by the jealous and hate-filled Iago. The production opened at the West Yorkshire Playhouse and subsequently toured the country before arriving in London's West End to rave reviews.