Macbeth is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. Set mainly in Scotland, the play dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those who seek power for its own sake. The play is believed to have been written between 1599 and 1606. The earliest account of a performance of what was probably Shakespeare's play is April 1611, when Simon Forman recorded seeing such a play at the Globe Theatre. It was first published in the Folio of 1623, possibly from a prompt book. It was most likely written during the reign of James I (of England), who had already been crowned James VI of Scotland before he succeeded to the English throne as well in 1603. James VI/I was a patron of Shakespeare's acting company, and of all the plays Shakespeare wrote during James's reign, Macbeth most clearly reflects the playwright's relationship with the sovereign. Macbeth is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy, and tells the story of a brave Scottish general named Macbeth who receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders King Duncan and takes the Scottish throne for himself. He is then wracked with guilt and paranoia, and he soon becomes a tyrannical ruler as he is forced to commit more and more murders to protect himself from enmity and suspicion. The bloodbath and consequent civil war swiftly take Macbeth and Lady Macbeth into the realms of madness, and death.
This early experimental play illuminates the comic vision that informs all Shakespeare's later successes including his last great plays. Two pairs of lovers are forcibly parted and human fickleness is contrasted with constancy, reality with illusion, and the bonds of friendship with those of sexual attraction. The serious elements of Romance are fused with satire and burlesque as The Two Gentlemen of Verona examines the importance of identity with lucid charm and hilarious comedy.
Pohl's writing often focuses on the South African landscape, wildlife, and the history of the region. Given the author's other works, it is likely that Dawn to Dusk is a collection of anecdotes or lighthearted stories related to life in South Africa, rather than a novel with a single overarching plot.
Winner of the Nobel Prize in LiteratureThe book is a work of historical fiction that vividly re-creates the final days of the brutal dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo in the Dominican Republic. The story is told through several interwoven perspectives, including a successful lawyer who returns to her native country after a long absence and a group of assassins planning to kill the dictator
At the far end of the long white gallery is a painting of a woman, in pale flowing clothes and lying on a sofa beside an open window. It is a painting which leads Flora on, beckoning her away from her childhood, her complaining mother, pert younger sister, and the confines of a small community.
The work of a master at the full stretch of his age and wisdom - necessary, provoking, urgent, rich, complex and rare.'Golding is quite simply the best living writer of the short novel in the English Language.' - The Times
Pauline Smith; HIE Dhlomo; HC Bosman; Can Themba; Dan Jacobson; Nadine Gordimer; Alec La Guma;Ahmed Essop;Mbulelo Mzamane; Christopher Hope; Njabulo Ndebele; Zoë Wicomb; Miriam Tlali; Maureen Isaacson; Brendan Cline; Chris van Wyk; Finuala Dowling; Mandla Langa; David Medalie; Ivan Vladislavic
This book tells the story of a challenging trek through contemporary Africa, following the footsteps of her illustrious Victorian ancestor, Sir Richard Glyn. Real Africana Literature.
When Mary Lennox was sent to Misselthwaite Manor to live with her uncle, everybody said she was the most disagreeable-looking child ever seen. So begins one of the world's most-loved children's stories.
