Play

Hamlet — William Shakespeare

First published c.1603. Wordsworth Classics paperback, 1992, pp 138, c.27,600 words. Coming at Shakespeare’s writing, cold on the page, for the first time can seem impenetrable. Not only are their many archaic words used but also the speech patterns are far from those of the present age. Here it is hard to grasp some of […]

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Cherry Orchard, The — Anton Chekhov

First published 1904. Methuen, paperback, 2005, translated by Michael Frayn, 1978 (revised to 1990), pp 152 (main text pp 67). Chekhov called this play a comedy, but the original producer, Stanislavsky, insisted that it was a tragedy [p xxii]. So which is it? Both, of course. Like Shakespear’s Twelfth Night, there are elements of each.

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