Author: William Shakespeare
Narrator: Full Cast Production
Abridged: 1 hr 46 min
Format: Digital Audiobook Download
Publisher: Audio Holdings
Published: 01/01/2016
William Shakespeare was born in April 1564 in the town of Stratford-upon-Avon, on England’s Avon River. When he was eighteen, he married Anne Hathaway. The couple had three children—an older daughter Susanna and twins, Judith and Hamnet. Hamnet, Shakespeare’s only son, died in childhood. The bulk of Shakespeare’s working life was spent in the theater world of London, where he established himself professionally by the early 1590s. He enjoyed success not only as a playwright and poet, but also as an actor and shareholder in an acting company. Although some think that sometime between 1610 and 1613 Shakespeare retired from the theater and returned home to Stratford, where he died in 1616, others believe that he may have continued to work in London until close to his death.
What is power? What does it mean to be a king? What is history about? These are essential questions that Shakespeare tackled again and again through his “Histories” and many of his tragedies, from Julius Caesar to Macbeth and from Coriolanus to Lear. Richard II is no exception and presents yet anoth......more
For the first time, Shakespeare creates a compelling historical protagonist who speaks naturally in a poetic voice that is distinctively his own. In his earlier works involving kings and emperors, Shakespeare imitated Marlowe's "mighty line" with some--if not complete--success (Richard III was inher......more
Reading William Shakespeare makes me feel good about what can be accomplished in language! Richard II is fantastic! I’d read Henry IV (both parts) multiple times without realizing that Richard II is considered the first play in the War of the Roses series. Not only does Richard II provide a seamless......more
I’ve read this four times now, and I’ve seen three different versions of it too, yet one thing remains certain throughout, this can be interpreted in so many different ways. Shakespeare’s wonderful like that; he’ll write a line or a piece of verse that can be taken in so many ways, ultimately, chang......more
Richard II takes place after a significant number of events transpire after the end of King Edward III: the Black Prince has died and left Edward III with no sons alive so his grandson Richard II takes the throne. The English holdings in England are consolidated, but due to the Treaty of Brétigny, t......more