Shakespeare's Greatest Monologues: Volume I

Written by William Shakespeare

Narrated by Jean Marie Koon, Stephen Spencer, Jan Blixt and 2 more

William Shakespeare, long hailed as the history's greatest dramatic writer, has been lauded for his mastery of poetic expression, his insight into the human condition and his deep exploration into the psyche and motivations of his characters.

These skills are perhaps best encapsulated in the monologues he gives his various protagonists, villains and bit players. From the murderous Lady Macbeth, planning to assassinate the king to advance her husband's career, to the droll, melancholy Jacques from "As You Like It" ticking off the Seven Ages of Man, to Edmund the Bastard in "King Lear," bemoaning his second class status as an illegitimate child to the young lover Helena, railing against the seeming cruelty of her bewitched friends in "A Midsummer Night's Dream," Shakespeare's monologues are short distillations of his larger themes - love and loss, fairness and inequity, power and envy, lust and purity.

Fort Raphael Publishing is proud to present, in this first volume, some of Shakespeare's greatest monologues, each of which captures a shining, brilliant moment from his plays that gives us a deeper understanding of each character, whether flattering, damning or inspiring. Enjoy this collection of monologues - performed by some of the finest classical actors in the world - from the greatest theatrical writer in the English language, William Shakespeare.

• Language: English
• Publisher: SoundCraft Audiobooks
• Release date: Oct 28, 2021
• ISBN: 9781667928296

William Shakespeare

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.