Tragedy
Othello
Othello is the story of a cross-cultural romance between the title character, a noble moor who is a general in the Venetian army, and Desdem…
Cato
Joseph Addison is known mostly for his periodical, "The Spectator", written with his friend Richard Steele. But he found time to w…
Creditors
Creditors is a thought-provoking tragicomedy by August Strindberg that explores the complexities of love, betrayal, and the human psyche. Se…
Iphigenia
Racine's version of the time-honored story of Iphigenia was acted for the first time in 1674. The model upon which it is shaped is the "…
Othello
Othello is a tragedy about the downfall of the titular hero, Othello, a Moorish general in the service of Venice. His cunning ensign, Iago, …
The Broken Heart
The Broken Heart stands next to ‘Tis Pity She's a Whore as Ford's most popular drama. All is not right in Sparta because of, as is typical i…
The Thebaid
"The reign of Louis XIV. in France, like the age of Pericles at ancient Athens, was remarkable for literary excellence no less than for…
Ion
This drama, set in Ancient Greece, was written by a Victorian lawyer who was a close friend of Charles Dickens. When collected into book for…
Dido, Queen of Carthage
Dido, Queen of Carthage is the earliest of Christopher Marlowe's known plays, possibly written while he was still a student at Corpus Christ…
Henry IV, A Tragedy
A talented actor and historian falls off his horse in a historical pageant while playing the role of Henry IV. When he comes to, he believes…
Tristan and Isolde
The Libretto of Richard Wagner's music drama Tristan and Isolde, translated into English by John P Jackson, is here presented as a spoken dr…
Mithridates
Another tragedy by Racine, based on the historical character and career of Mithridates circa 63 BCE. Closing with sorrow and lamentation and…
The History of Troilus and Cressida
The History of Troilus and Cressida has long baffled critics and audiences alike for its inconsistent tone, which ranges from bawdy comedy t…
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is an early tragedy by William Shakespeare about two teenage "star-cross'd lovers" whose "untimely deaths&qu…
The Master Builder
Halvard Solness is a master architect who has ruthlessly forged a preëminent career without regard for the feelings of those around him…
Pierre and Luce
Pierre and Luce were an unlikely young pair who found themselves in the chaos of Paris during the war; Pierre, the shy, recently conscripted…
The Maid's Tragedy
Beaumont and Fletcher's The Maid's Tragedy (first published 1619) is a sensational Jacobean sex tragedy. When gentleman soldier Melantius re…
Philoctetes
Sophocles' play recounts an episode from the Trojan War, in which the wily Odysseus and Achilles' son Neoptolemus travel to a remote island …
Esther
Esther — the first of Racine's two sacred dramas — is a tragedy in the Aristotelian acceptation of the term, as being concerned with a great…
Paolo and Francesca
The tragic and adulterous story of Paolo and Francesca was originally immortalized by Dante in his "Divine Comedy". Since then, t…