Jonathan Bate

The long-awaited literary biography of the supreme "poets' poet" John Clare (1793-1864) is the greatest laboring-class poet that England has ever produced. No one has ever written more powerfully of nature, of a rural childhood, and of the alienated and unstable self, but until now he has never been the subject of a comprehensive literary biography. Here at last is his full story told by the light of his voluminous work: his birth in poverty, his...

"In this radiant dual biography, Jonathan Bate explores the fascinating parallel lives of John Keats and F. Scott Fitzgerald, writers who worked separately--on different continents, a century apart, in distinct genres--but whose lives uncannily echoed. Not only was Fitzgerald profoundly influenced by Keats, titling Tender is the Night and other works from the poet's lines, but the two shared similar fates: both died young, loved to drink, were plagued...

Henry IV sits on a usurped throne, his conscience and his nobles in revolt, while his son Hal is immersed in a self-indulgent life of revelry with the notorious Sir John Falstaff. Shakespeare explores questions of kingship and honor in this masterly mingling of history, comedy, and tragedy.
Under the editorial supervision of Jonathan Bate and Eric Rasmussen, two of today's most accomplished Shakespearean scholars, this Modern Library series incorporates...

The great Roman general, Titus Andronicus, returns home after fighting Rome's enemies for the last 10 years. He brings along his captives, Tamora, Queen of the Goths, her three sons and Aaron the Moor.Having lost 21 of his 25 sons in the conflict, Titus decides to sacrifice one of Tamora's sons, following Roman customs. He then offers Tamora as a slave to the new Roman emperor, Saturninus. Meanwhile, Saturninus promises Titus to make his daughter...

Presents Shakespeare's tragicomedy that focuses on King Leontes, who accuses his boyhood friend of betrayal, condemns his wife for adultery, and banishes his newborn daughter, along with scene-by-scene analysis, commentary on past and current productions, and an overview of Shakespeare's theatrical career.

Presents the complete text to William Shakespeare's play "King Lear" with an easy-to-understand translation on facing pages, helping students better understand the work and its meaning.

Likely written around 1607 or 1608 and attributed at least in part to Shakespeare, "Pericles, Prince of Tyre" is an adventure-filled play that follows the extended sailing journeys of a young prince. Pericles, a young prince from Phoenicia, is forced to flee Antioch when he correctly guesses a riddle that reveals the incestuous activity of King Antiochus. Unable to stay at home in Tyre because of Antiochus' vengeance, he sails away and ends up shipwrecked...

Presents the works of William Shakespeare, along with an analysis of the nature and authority of the early documents, a list of the canon and chronological order of composition, an essay on Shakespeare's language, and a bibliography.