Shakespeare's Stories

Author: Lamb
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-11-01
Features: This book includes three of Shakespeare's "Four Great Tragedies." Among them, Hamlet is one of Shakespeare's most familiar tragic works, and the famous line "To be or not to be, that is the question" comes from this play. The story depicts Prince Hamlet of Denmark, who, after encountering his father's ghost, learns the cause of his father's death and ultimately exposes the conspiracy of his uncle Claudius, avenging his father. The second part, Macbeth, is a tragedy about Macbeth, who, after murdering the king and usurping the throne, is tormented by his conscience and eventually meets his downfall. Macbeth, misled by the prophecies of the witches, kills the king but later discovers he was deceived. He descends from emptiness and fear to utter despair. The third part, King Lear, is a tragedy about King Lear, who, unable to discern truth from falsehood, ultimately faces a tragic fate. The aging and frail King Lear decides to hand over his kingdom to younger and more capable rulers. His elder daughter Goneril and younger daughter Regan both deceive him with sweet words to obtain portions of the kingdom. His third daughter Cordelia, unable to flatter him with eloquent lies, is stripped of her rights. As a result, after Goneril and Regan seize the kingdom, they drive King Lear out. Cordelia, in the process of avenging her father, dies in prison, and King Lear also dies of grief.