William Shakespeare
Posts in The Copybook tagged ‘William Shakespeare’
Viola tries to tell Orsino, Duke of Illyria, that his beloved Olivia is not the only woman deserving of his attention.
Viola is pretending to be Cesario, a page-boy in the court of Orsino, Duke of Illyria. The Duke uses her as a go-between in his courtship of Olivia, but Viola has fallen in love with Orsino herself, and tries without success to interest him in the possibility of a rival.
Don Pedro’s brother John tries to ensure that the course of true love does not run smooth.
‘Much Ado About Nothing’ is William Shakespeare’s enduring comedy of love, imposture and high society, written in 1598 or the following year. The topsy-turvy plot (of which what follows can only be a glimpse) is full of gossipy wit, but it deals with a serious subject: a lady’s reputation.
A duke with a passion for the art of enchantment is stranded by his enemies on a deserted island.
The play begins in Milan, where Prospero, the Duke, is buried among the parchments of his library, studying the magical arts. His brother Antonio, however, feels that what Milan needs is not a wizard but a decent Duke, and Antonio thinks he knows just who that should be.
Parted from his beloved Julia, Proteus follows his friend Valentine to Milan, where he meets the bewitching Silvia.
Valentine and Proteus are the two gentlemen in question, from Verona in northern Italy. However, as Elizabeth Bennet might say, one had got all the gentlemanliness, and the other all the appearance of it...
John of Gaunt watches in despair as his country is milked for its wealth and shared out among the king’s favourites.
It is 1399, and for two years King Richard II has (in addition to legalised murder) been levying extortionate rents on the property of his opponents, and handing out grace-and-favour homes to his cronies. As John of Gaunt lies dying, he charges his nephew with being ‘landlord of England, not king’.