Three Romantic Tragedies
Subtitle: Romeo and Juliet / Othello, the Moor of Venice / Antony and Cleopatra
Edition: printing (1)
Publisher: Borders Classics
Published: 2003
Place of publication: Ann Arbor, MI
Language: eng
Number of pages: 284
ISBN-13: 9781587260872
Copyright date: 2003
Subjects: Tragedies
Description: "The course of true love never did run smooth," wrote Shakespeare in A Midsummer Night's Dream, and in these three romantic tragedies he dramatized the ways love can go wrong. 

The teenage lovers in Romeo and Juliet are doomed by the longstanding hatred between their families, the Montagues and Capulets. At a feast one evening, Romeo and Juliet fall instantly in love. They are married the next day, but an act of vengeance sets in motion events that soon lead to their deaths. 

Resentment and jealousy fuel the devastation in Othello. When Othello, a military leader, promotes a young soldier over Iago, the latter schemes to bring about Othello's downfall, rightly counting on his jealous nature to ensure that ruin comes to everyone. 

In Antony and Cleopatra, the royal pair is undone by political strife, and the defeat of their troops at the battle of Actium leads to their suicides. The characters are also animated by hurt pride: Cleopatra resents Antony's marriage to Octavia, just as Caesar begrudges Antony his liaison with Cleopatra.
--front flap
Table of contents: title: Romeo and Juliet --; title: Othello --; title: Antony and Cleopatra.