Category: Renaissance

July 7, 2016July 7, 2016

The Tragedy of Macbeth by William Shakespeare

Macbeth is a play written by William Shakespeare. It is considered one of his darkest and most powerful tragedies. Set in Scotland, the play dramatizes the corroding psychological and political effects produced when its protagonist, the Scottish lord Macbeth, chooses evil as the way to fulfill his ambition for power. He commits regicide to become king and then furthers his moral descent with a reign of murderous terror to stay in power, eventually plunging the country into civil war. In the end, he loses everything that gives meaning and purpose to his life before losing his life itself. (Summary by Wikipedia)

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Dramatis Personae and Act 1

July 7, 2016July 7, 2016

Orson Welles Julius Caesar radio theater

Julius Caesar

July 7, 2016July 7, 2016

Orson Welles Hamlet radio theater

Hamlet, Act IV scene V, Ophelia before the King and Queen

Hamlet part 1

Hamlet part 2

April 10, 2015July 5, 2016

Hamlet by Shakespeare, simplified for school children and baffled adults

Hamlet by Shakespeare, simplified for school children?by Shakespeare Lynch Multimedia is performed by Michael Matus.

Description from iTunes:

Shakespeare made easier for schoolchildren and baffled adults with an easy to understand narrative adaptation and parallel text with the original. Why adapt Shakespeare? Well, it’s hard! A lot of actors in Shakespeare productions can act it, confusing audiences. A lot of teachers can’t teach it, confusing pupils. A lot of parents lack confidence helping with homework. This is for students of all ages and parents, too. The purpose is to make Shakespeare comprehensible and accessible. Shakespeare is the greatest of writers, for that reason everyone must attempt to grasp his genius. Read the original first and then consult this adaptation to help you. Use this as an aid. The poetry of the original cannot be matched. The action of Book One, Chapter 1 corresponds with Act One, Scene 1, (for the podcasts Episode 1 is 1-1) and so on This recording of Hamlet is read by Michael Matus, who has acted extensively with the RSC and will be appearing at the Globe in London during the Summer 2008 season.

April 10, 2015May 13, 2018

Orson Welles Shakespeare Collection

Click here to stream individual episodes of the Orson Welles Shakespeare collection, or to download all the episodes.

This collection of early Orson Welles radio theater productions includes the following plays.

Hamlet

Julius Caesar

Twelfth Night

The Merchant of Venice

Macbeth

Henry ?V

Romeo and Juliet

Richard III

Richard II

King Lear

July 17, 2014April 16, 2015

Under Drake’s Flag by G. A. Henty

Summary:?An exciting tale set on the high seas, in a period ruled by exploration, with the ever-present dangers of nature and the weather, together with pirates of the famed Spanish Main. – (Summary by Lynne Thompson for Librivox)

The Wreck On The Devon Coast

Running Time:10:41

Friends And Foes

On The Spanish Main

An Unsuccessful Attack Part 1

An Unsuccessful Attack Part 2

Through The Cordilleras

On The Pacific Coast

The Prison Of The Inquisition

A Portuguese Settlement

Wholesale Conversion

Home

02 – Bonnie Prince Charlie

True Stories of Wonderful Deeds by anonymous

Summary:?These one page Stories of (mostly) Wonderful Deeds were written for Little Folk to teach them about famous incidents in their history. Bonnie Prince Charlie, Nelson and Hardy, Bruce and the Spider, David Livingston, Canute, Sir Philip Sydney, and Elizabeth and Raleigh are just some of the well known people and incidents covered in short stories. (Summary by Phil Chenevert for Librivox)

01 – The Royal Oak

03 – Nelson and Hardy

04 – Watt and the Kettle

05 – Queen Victoria and her Soldiers

06 – The Relief of Lucknow

07 – Grace Darling

08 – David Livingstone

09 – The Battle of Waterloo

10 – The Charge of the Light Brigade

11 – The Coronation of King Edward VII

12 – War

13 – A Boy’s Heroic Deeds

15 – A Brave Queen, Boadacea

16 – King Alfred and the Cakes

17 – Not Angles, but Angels

18 – Hereward the Wake

19 – Canute

20 – The Brave Men of Calais

21 – Wat Tyler

22 – Bruce and the Spider

23 – Richard and Blondel

24 – The White Ship

25 – Joan of Arc

26 – Afloat With A Tiger

27 – Queen Margaret and the Robbers

28 – William Caxton

29 – Sir Philip Sidney

30 – The “Revenge”

31 – The Pilgrim Fathers

32 – Guy Fawkes

33 – Cromwell and his Ironsides

34 – The Spanish Armada

35 – The Defence of Lathom House

36 – The Outlawed Archers

37 – Elizabeth and Raleigh

The Child’s Book of American Biography by Mary Stoyell Stimpson

In every country there have been certain men and women whose busy lives have made the world better or wiser. The names of such are heard so often that every child should know a few facts about them. It is hoped the very short stories told here may make boys and girls eager to learn more about these famous people. (from the Forward of the text)

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01 – Forward and George Washington

Run time: 4:43

02 – William Penn

03 – John Paul Jones

04 – John Singleton Copley

05 – Benjamin Franklin

06 – Louis Agassiz

07 – Dorothea Lynde Dix

08 – Ulysses Simpson Grant

09 – Clara Barton

10 – Abraham Lincoln

11 – Robert Edward Lee

12 – John James Audubon

13 – Robert Fulton

14 – George Peabody

15 – Daniel Webster

16 – Augustus St. Gaudens

17 – Henry David Thoreau

18 – Louisa May Alcott

19 – Samuel Finley Breese Morse

20 – William Hickling Prescott

21 – Phillips Brooks

22 – Samuel Clemens

23 – Joe Jefferson

24 – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

25 – James McNeill Whistler

26 – Ralph Waldo Emerson

27 – Jane Addams

28 – Luther Burbank

29 – Edward Alexander MacDowell

30 – Thomas Alva Edison

Historic Boyhoods by Rupert S. Holland

Most boys grow up to be honest, maybe even good, men, but do not stand out from the crowd. Occasionally, along comes a boy who is destined, either by character or circumstance, to make his mark on the world. In this work are included 21 biographical sketches of boys who became famous in the arts, affairs of state or exploration and discovery. Historical fact is blended with surmise and imagination to bring these boyhoods alive. – Summary by Lynne Thompson for Librivox

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Christopher Columbus The Boy of Genoa: 1446(?)-1506

Run time: 6:57

Michael Angelo The Boy of the Medici Gardens: 1475-1564

Walter Raleigh The Boy of Devon: 1552-1618

Peter the Great The Boy of the Kremlin: 1672-1725

Frederick the Great The Boy of Potsdam: 1712-1788

George Washington The Boy of the Old Dominion: 1732-1799

Daniel Boone The Boy of the Frontier: 1735-1820

John Paul Jones The Boy of the Atlantic: 1747-1792

Mozart The Boy of Salzburg: 1756-1791

Lafayette The Boy of Versailles: 1757-1834

Horatio Nelson The Boy of the Channel Fleet: 1758-1805

Robert Fulton The Boy of the Conestoga: 1765-1815

Andrew Jackson The Boy of the Carolinas: 1767-1845

Napoleon Bonaparte The Boy of Brienne: 1769-1821

Walter Scott The Boy of the Canongate: 1771-1832

James Fenimore Cooper The Boy of Otsego Hall: 1789-1851

John Ericsson The Boy of the G?ta Canal: 1803-1889

Garibaldi The Boy of the Mediterranean: 1807-1882

Abraham Lincoln The Boy of the American Wilderness: 1809-1865

Charles Dickens The Boy of the London Streets: 1812-1870

Otto von Bismarck The Boy of G?ttingen: 1815-1898

Historic Girlhoods Volume I by Rupert S. Holland

Biographical sketches of ten girls who became famous before becoming women – some not even making it to womanhood. From Joan of Arc to Catherine d’Medici; from Catherine the Great to Pocahontas. These inspirational stories will be of interest to young people and show what determination and luck can achieve. – Summary by Lynne Thompson for Librivox

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St. Catherine The Girl of Siena: 1347-1380

Run time: 3:45

Joan of Arc The Girl of Domremy: 1412-1431

Vittoria Colonna The Girl of Ischia: 1490-1547

Catherine de’ Medici The Girl of Medi?val Italy: 1519-1589

Lady Jane Grey The Girl of Tudor England: 1537-1554

Mary Queen of Scots The Girl of the French Court: 1542-1587

Pocahontas The Girl of the Virginia Woods: 1595-1617

Priscilla Alden The Girl of Plymouth: About 1604?after 1680

Catherine the Great The Girl of Stettin: 1729-1796

Fanny Burney The Girl of London: 1752-1840

History Plays for the Grammar Grades by Mary Ella Lyng

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John Smith and Pocahantus

Run time: 1:32

Christopher Columbus

George Washington and Other Heroes of the Revolution

George Rogers Clark

Andrew Jackson

John C. Fremont

Webster, Clay and Calhoun

The Story of Abraham Lincoln

Grant and Lee

Some Women of History

November 5, 2012June 29, 2013

William Brewster: American Portraits

William Brewster, Pilgrim: American Portraits

June 12, 2012June 12, 2012

With Frederick the Great, A Story of the Seven Years War

Introduction: Among the great wars of history there are few, if any, instances of so long and successfully sustained a struggle, against enormous odds, as that of the Seven Years’ War, maintained by Prussia–then a small and comparatively insignificant kingdom–against Russia, Austria, and France simultaneously, who were aided also by the forces of most of the minor principalities of Germany. The population of Prussia was not more than five millions, while that of the Allies considerably exceeded a hundred millions. Prussia could put, with the greatest efforts, but a hundred and fifty thousand men into the field, and as these were exhausted she had but small reserves to draw upon; while the Allies could, with comparatively little difficulty, put five hundred thousand men into the field, and replenish them as there was occasion. That the struggle was successfully carried on, for seven years, was due chiefly to the military genius of the king; to his indomitable perseverance; and to a resolution that no disaster could shake, no situation, although apparently hopeless, appall. Something was due also, at the commencement of the war, to the splendid discipline of the Prussian army at that time; but as comparatively few of those who fought at Lobositz could have stood in the ranks at Torgau, the quickness of the Prussian people to acquire military discipline must have been great; and this was aided by the perfect confidence they felt in their king, and the enthusiasm with which he inspired them. ( Summary by G .A .Henty )

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June 12, 2012June 13, 2012

Internet archive page

The Hanging of Captain Kidd

You are There! The Hanging of Captain Kidd

June 6, 2012July 7, 2016

Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare

Summary: Written around the middle of his career, Much Ado About Nothing is one of Shakespeare’s great festive comedies. The men are back from the war, and everyone is ready for romance. The dashing young Claudio falls for Hero, the daughter of Leonato, governor of Messina, and his friend Don Pedro helps him secure her affection. These youthful lovers are contrasted with the more experienced (and more cynical) Benedick and Beatrice, who have to be tricked into falling in love. Don Pedro’s brother, Don John, provides the intrigue, and the dimwitted constable Dogberry provides the laughs. (Summary by Elizabeth Klett for Librivox)

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May 31, 2012August 2, 2012

Internet archive page

Click here to see downloadable CurrClick materials which could be used in a study of Shakespeare. Clicking this link will take you away from My Audio School.

Total running time: 2 hours, 17 minutes

Mister Shakespeare

Mister Shakespeare on Favorite Story

May 31, 2011July 5, 2016

The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare

Summary: William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, based on true events, concerns the conspiracy against Julius Caesar, his assassination in 44 BC, and its immediate aftermath. Probably written in 1599 and among the first of Shakespeare’s plays to be performed at the Globe Theater, Julius Caesar is one of his best-known dramas and has received innumerable performances throughout the centuries. (Summary by Laurie Anne Walden after Wikipedia)

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