Twelfth Night (The Unabridged Play) + The Classic Biography (Annotated)
Enriched Edition. The Life of William Shakespeare (Twelfth Night Or, What You Will)By William Shakespeare, Sidney Lee
Length16h 37m
About this audiobook
Bringing together the unabridged text of Twelfth Night with Sidney Lee's classic biographical study, this volume frames Shakespearean comedy within the life, culture, and theatrical world that helped shape it. The play's intricate interplay of disguise, desire, festive misrule, and social restoration is presented alongside a critical account that situates its artistry in the broader context of Elizabethan and Jacobean drama. Its lyricism, comic subplots, and probing reflections on identity make it one of the most enduring works of the early modern stage. The pairing of William Shakespeare and Sidney Lee offers readers both primary literary achievement and foundational literary scholarship. Shakespeare's dramatic imagination emerges through a comedy deeply connected to Renaissance performance traditions, gender fluidity on the public stage, and the humanist fascination with wit and self-fashioning. Lee, an influential biographer and Shakespearean scholar, represents the Victorian and early modern critical impulse to recover authorship, context, and cultural meaning. Recommended for students, scholars, and general readers alike, this volume provides a compact yet rich encounter with both text and interpretation. It invites close reading of a master comedy while encouraging reflection on biography, criticism, and literary legacy. As a combined edition, it fosters dialogue between imaginative drama and historical scholarship, making it an illuminating resource for understanding Shakespeare's enduring place in world literature.
This enriched edition has been carefully crafted to add value to your reading experience.
- An Introduction draws the threads together, discussing why these diverse authors and texts belong in one collection.
- Historical Context explores the cultural and intellectual currents that shaped these works, offering insight into the shared (or contrasting) eras that influenced each writer.
- A combined Synopsis (Selection) briefly outlines the key plots or arguments of the included pieces, helping readers grasp the anthology's overall scope without giving away essential twists.
- A collective Analysis highlights common themes, stylistic variations, and significant crossovers in tone and technique, tying together writers from different backgrounds.
- Reflection questions encourage readers to compare the different voices and perspectives within the collection, fostering a richer understanding of the overarching conversation.
Audiobook details
Rating★★★★★ 4.6 (1.4K)
Includes Amazon
GenreLiterary Classics
Length16 hrs 37 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateFeb 27, 2014
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1Introduction
2Introduction
3Historical Context
4Synopsis (Selection)
5Twelfth Night (The Unabridged Play) + The Classic Biography: The Life of William Shakespeare
Show all chaptersShow less
6DRAMATIS PERSONAE
7ACT I.
8ACT II.
9ACT III.
10ACT IV.
11ACT V.
12The Life of William Shakespeare
13PREFACE
14I—PARENTAGE AND BIRTH
15II—CHILDHOOD, EDUCATION, AND MARRIAGE
16III—THE FAREWELL TO STRATFORD
17IV—ON THE LONDON STAGE
18V.—EARLY DRAMATIC EFFORTS
19VI—THE FIRST APPEAL TO THE READING PUBLIC
20VII—THE SONNETS AND THEIR LITERARY HISTORY
21VIII—THE BORROWED CONCEITS OF THE SONNETS
22IX—THE PATRONAGE OF THE EARL OF SOUTHAMPTON
23X—THE SUPPOSED STORY OF INTRIGUE IN THE SONNETS
24XI—THE DEVELOPMENT OF DRAMATIC POWER
25XII—THE PRACTICAL AFFAIRS OF LIFE
26XIII—MATURITY OF GENIUS
27XIV—THE HIGHEST THEMES OF TRAGEDY
28XV—THE LATEST PLAYS
29XVI—THE CLOSE OF LIFE
30XVII—SURVIVORS AND DESCENDANTS
31XVIII—AUTOGRAPHS, PORTRAITS, AND MEMORIALS
32XIX—BIBLIOGRAPHY
33XX—POSTHUMOUS REPUTATION
34XXI—GENERAL ESTIMATE
35APPENDIX (pt. 1)
36APPENDIX (pt. 2)
37Analysis
38Reflection
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