Download or read book The Barber of Seville by Beaumarchais Book Analysis written by Bright Summaries and published by BrightSummaries.com. This book was released on 2018-08-21 with total page 24 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Unlock the more straightforward side of The Barber of Seville with this concise and insightful summary and analysis! This engaging summary presents an analysis of The Barber of Seville by Beaumarchais, a rollicking comedy which was one of the most popular French plays of the 18th century. It tells the story of Figaro, the eponymous barber, who comes to the aid of his former master, Count Almaviva, and helps him win the heart of the beautiful Rosine. However, Figaro and the two lovers have to resort to using all kinds of tricks, schemes and disguises to outfox Rosine’s dastardly guardian, Don Bartholo, who wants to marry her himself... The Barber of Seville is one of the most popular works by Pierre-Augustin Caron, better known as Beaumarchais, who was a key figure in both the political and literary scenes of 18th-century France. Find out everything you need to know about The Barber of Seville in a fraction of the time! This in-depth and informative reading guide brings you: • A complete plot summary • Character studies • Key themes and symbols • Questions for further reflection Why choose BrightSummaries.com? Available in print and digital format, our publications are designed to accompany you in your reading journey. The clear and concise style makes for easy understanding, providing the perfect opportunity to improve your literary knowledge in no time. See the very best of literature in a whole new light with BrightSummaries.com!

Download or read book The Figaro Trilogy written by Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2003-10-09 with total page 369 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Barber of Seville * The Marriage of Figaro * The Guilty Mother Eighteenth-century France produced only one truly international theatre star, Beaumarchais, and only one name, Figaro, to put with Don Quixote or D'Artagnan in the ranks of popular myth. But who was Figaro? Not the impertinent valet of the operas of Mozart or Rossini, but both the spirit of resistance to oppression and a bourgeois individualist like his creator. The three plays in which he plots and schemes chronicle the slide of the ancien régime into revolution but also chart the growth of Beaumarchais' humanitarianism. They are also exuberant theatrical entertainments, masterpieces of skill, invention, and social satire which helped shape the direction of French theatre for a hundred years. This lively new translation catches all the zest and energy of the most famous valet in French literature. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

Download or read book The Marriage of Figaro by Beaumarchais Book Analysis written by Bright Summaries and published by BrightSummaries.com. This book was released on 2018-11-26 with total page 22 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Unlock the more straightforward side of The Marriage of Figaro with this concise and insightful summary and analysis! This engaging summary presents an analysis of The Marriage of Figaro by Beaumarchais, the sequel to his equally celebrated play The Barber of Seville. After helping his master Count Almaviva to secure Rosine’s hand in marriage, it is now Figaro’s turn to get married, but his happiness is threatened by Almaviva’s tireless attempts to seduce his fiancée Suzanne, as well as the surprise return of a debt from his past. The play’s overtly political reflection on the unearned privileges of the nobility and the difficulties faced by ordinary people attracted the ire of the French monarchy but drew praise from figures including Georges Danton and Napoleon Bonaparte, who believed that Figaro’s attempts to challenge the established order helped to pave the way for the French Revolution. The Marriage of Figaro is one of the most popular works by Pierre-Augustin Caron, better known as Beaumarchais, who was a key figure in both the political and literary scenes of 18th-century France. Find out everything you need to know about The Marriage of Figaro in a fraction of the time! This in-depth and informative reading guide brings you: • A complete plot summary • Character studies • Key themes and symbols • Questions for further reflection Why choose BrightSummaries.com? Available in print and digital format, our publications are designed to accompany you in your reading journey. The clear and concise style makes for easy understanding, providing the perfect opportunity to improve your literary knowledge in no time. See the very best of literature in a whole new light with BrightSummaries.com!

Download or read book Improbable Patriot written by Harlow G. Unger and published by UPNE. This book was released on 2011 with total page 255 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The outrageous true story of the French plot to supply arms and ammunition to Washington's Continental Army, and the bold French spy, inventor, playwright, and rogue behind it all

Download or read book Beaumarchais written by Maurice Lever and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2009-04-28 with total page 436 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Few men of 18th-century letters led a more varied or controversial life than Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais. Incorporating letters and firsthand accounts, this is an irresistibly lively and engaging account of an extraordinary life.

Download or read book Unlikely Allies written by Joel Richard Paul and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2010-11-02 with total page 417 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the author of Without Precedent and Indivisible, the gripping true story of how three men used espionage, betrayal, and sexual deception to help win the American Revolution. Unlikely Allies is the story of three remarkable historical figures. Silas Deane was a Connecticut merchant and delegate to the Continental Congress as the American colonies struggled to break with England. Caron de Beaumarchais was a successful playwright who wrote The Barber of Seville and The Marriage of Figaro. And the flamboyant and mysterious Chevalier d'Éon⁠—officer, diplomat, and sometime spy⁠—was the talk of London and Paris. Is the Chevalier a man or a woman? When Deane is sent to France to convince the French government to support the revolutionary cause, he enlists the help of Beaumarchais. Together, they successfully smuggle weapons, ammunition, and supplies to New England just in time for the crucial Battle of Saratoga, which turned the tide of the American Revolution. And the catalyst for Louis XVI's support of the Americans against England was the Chevalier d'Éon, whose decision to declare herself a woman helped to lead to the Franco-American alliance. These three people spin a fascinating web of political intrigue and international politics that stretches across oceans as they ricochet from Versailles to Georgian London to the Pennsylvania State House (now Independence Hall) in Philadelphia. Each man has his own reasons for wanting to see America triumph over the British, and each contends daily with the certainty that no one is what they seem. The line between friends and enemies is blurred, spies lurk in every corner, and the only way to survive is to trust no one. An edge-of-your-seat story full of fascinating characters and lavish with period detail and sense of place, Unlikely Allies is Revolutionary history in all of its juicy, lurid glory.

Download or read book The Follies of a Day a Comedy in Three Acts Paginated with Garrick David Miss in Her Teens written by Thomas Holcroft and published by . This book was released on 1824 with total page 16 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Beaumarchais in Seville written by Hugh Thomas and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Eugenia written by Pierre-Augustin de Beaumarchais and published by Talia Felix. This book was released on 2011-04-25 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Eugenia, the title character is a Welsh girl of good birth who believes herself to be married to a wealthy young Earl. In fact, the Earl has deliberately misled her and knowingly had arranged a fraudulent wedding ceremony; their union is invalid, but Eugenia is already pregnant, and the Earl is only days away from a legitimate marriage to another woman. Even Eugenia does not know his secret, but with his new wedding fast approaching, he cannot keep his shameful behavior hidden much longer. Will he give in to his true love for Eugenia and save her from a life of indignity, or will he follow the wishes of others and marry according to his own family's demands? Duels, disownments and near-death experiences abound in this famous play of the 18th century.The play Eugénie (as it's called in French) premiered in Paris in 1767 and had "acquired acclaim for itself before it had even graced the stage." It was the first feature play of author Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais, who already was well known for his literary accomplishments; he'd gotten his start arguing his rights to a patent through publicly published letters, and had made a splash internationally with his account of his adventures in Spain while he was attempting to force an unfaithful lover of his sister's to do right by her; this story was adapted into a play in his own lifetime, by none other than Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Beaumarchais had written some theater as well, but prior to Eugénie all of his scripts had either been rejected by the theaters, or else were simple one-act comedies (parades) intended for performance at private functions. Eugénie was his first serious play, but it was a success. The genre is known now as drame bourgeois, and was seen at the time as a halfway point between comedy and tragedy. William Howarth, in this book Beaumarchais and the Theater, indicates that the playwright had originally set his story in Brittany, and developed the English setting at a later point for uncertain reasons - perhaps to play off the mood of fashionable sentimental English stories such as those by Samuel Richardson, which were extremely popular at the time. The new setting did, however, create some problems: as Englishwoman Elizabeth Griffiths wrote in the introduction to her contemporary adaptation The School for Rakes, she found Beaumarchais had "unluckily adopted Spanish manners" for his English characters and did not demonstrate a familiarity with local laws and customs, and in her case she realized the troubles caused by the cultural mismatch to be so numerous that she had to resort to merely adapting the play rather than translating. To my knowledge, this book which you hold in your hands is the first ever direct English translation of Eugénie to have seen print. After the initial premier, Eugénie was extremely well-received, and even moreso after Beaumarchais made some cuts to the play's copious running time (which changes were reflected in the printed editions.) It found itself being one of the first plays known to be performed in New Orleans in the French colony of Louisiana, and early printings of The Barber of Seville were always certain to announce on the title page that the play was "from the author of Eugénie."

Download or read book Figaro written by Charles Morey and published by Dramatists Play Service, Inc.. This book was released on 2013-10-01 with total page 76 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: He's getting married in the morning, and the enterprising Figaro (servant, barber, professional troublemaker) couldn't be happier. But with everybody scheming to come between him and his bride, Figaro will need all his cunning to make it down the aisle. This new adaptation of Beaumarchais' comic masterpiece is not only hilariously funny, but has a razor sharp political edge.

Download or read book A Great Improvisation written by Stacy Schiff and published by Henry Holt and Company. This book was released on 2006-01-10 with total page 530 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Soon to be a streaming series ● In this dazzling work of history, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author follows Benjamin Franklin to France for the crowning achievement of his career In December of 1776 a small boat delivered an old man to France." So begins an enthralling narrative account of how Benjamin Franklin--seventy years old, without any diplomatic training, and possessed of the most rudimentary French--convinced France, an absolute monarchy, to underwrite America's experiment in democracy. When Franklin stepped onto French soil, he well understood he was embarking on the greatest gamble of his career. By virtue of fame, charisma, and ingenuity, Franklin outmaneuvered British spies, French informers, and hostile colleagues; engineered the Franco-American alliance of 1778; and helped to negotiate the peace of 1783. The eight-year French mission stands not only as Franklin's most vital service to his country but as the most revealing of the man. In A Great Improvisation, Stacy Schiff draws from new and little-known sources to illuminate the least-explored part of Franklin's life. Here is an unfamiliar, unforgettable chapter of the Revolution, a rousing tale of American infighting, and the treacherous backroom dealings at Versailles that would propel George Washington from near decimation at Valley Forge to victory at Yorktown. From these pages emerge a particularly human and yet fiercely determined Founding Father, as well as a profound sense of how fragile, improvisational, and international was our country's bid for independence.

Download or read book Le nozze di Figaro written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and published by Alma Books. This book was released on 2018-01-01 with total page 131 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: John Wells introduces the opera with a high-spirited account of the action-packed career of the author, in many respects the prototype of Figaro himself. Basil Deane explores the score: he shows that Mozart's characters are illuminated here not so much in soliloquies but in their reactions to each other. Composer Stephen Oliver discusses how the comedy exists not just in the words but, essentially, in the music. The full Italian text is given, with a note on the order of scenes in Act Three and the alternative passages Mozart wrote for the 1789 revival. The classic translation of E.J. Dent is an excellent way to get to know the twists and turns of the plot and the stylish wit of da Ponte's innuendos.Contents: A Society Marriage, John Wells; A Musical Commentary, Basil Deane; Music and Comedy in 'The Marriage of Figaro, Stephen Oliver; Beaumarchais's Characters; Le nozze di Figaro: Libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte; The Marriage of Figaro: English version by Edward J. Dent

Download or read book The Existentialist Critique of Freud written by Gerald N. Izenberg and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2015-03-08 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Although largely sympathetic to Freud's clinical achievement, the existentialists criticized Freudian metapsychology as inappropriate to a truly humanistic psychology. Gerald Izenberg evaluates the critique of Freud in the work of two existential philosophers, Martin Heidegger and Jean-Paul Sartre, and two existential psychiatrists, Ludwig Binswanger and Medard Boss. His book interprets the relationship of psychoanalysis and existentialism and traces the history of a crisis in the European rationalist tradition. The author unveils the positivist foundations of Freud's theory of meaning and discusses the reactions it provoked in the work of Binswanger, Boss, and Sartre. Probing beneath the methodological dispute, he shows that the argument involved a challenge to the conception of the self that had dominated European thought since the Enlightenment. Existentialism, reflecting the turmoil of the inter-war and post-war years, furnished a theory of motivation better able to account for Freud's clinical data than his own rationalist metapsychology. This theory made problematic the existentialist idea of authenticity and freedom, however, and so the attempt to provide a substitute ethic and concept of mental health ended in failure, although in the process the basic questions were posed that must be answered in any modern social theory. Originally published in 1976. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Download or read book The Figaro Plays written by Pierre Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: [Beaumarchais'] fame rests on Le Barbier de Seville (1775) and Le Mariage de Figaro (1784), the only French plays which his stage-struck century bequeathed to the international repertoire. But his achievement has been adulterated, for 'Beaumarchais' has long been the brand name of a product variously reprocessed by Mozart, Rossini, and the score or so librettists and musicians who have perpetuated his plots, his characters, and his name. The most intriguing question of all has centered on his role as catalyst of the Revolution. Was his impertinent barber the Sweeney Todd of the Ancien Régime, the true begetter of the guillotine? . . . Beaumarchais' plays have often seemed to need the same kind of shoring up as his reputation, as though they couldn't stand on their own without a scaffolding of good tunes. Yet, as John Wells' lively and splendidly speakable translations of the Barber, the Marriage, and A Mother's Guilt demonstrate, they need assistance from no one. [Beaumarchais] thought of the three plays as a trilogy. Taken together, they reflect, as John Leigh's commentaries make clear, the Ancien Régime's unstoppable slide into revolution. --David Coward in The London Review of Books

Download or read book The Barber of Seville and The Marriage of Figaro written by Pierre-Augustin Beaumarchais and published by Penguin UK. This book was released on 2005-03-31 with total page 217 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A French courtier, secret agent, libertine and adventurer, Beaumarchais (1732-99) was also author of two sparkling plays about the scoundrelly valet Figaro - triumphant successes that were used as the basis of operas by Mozart and Rossini. A highly engaging comedy of intrigue, The Barber of Seville portrays the resourceful Figaro foiling a jealous old man's attempts to keep his beautiful ward from her lover. And The Marriage of Figaro - condemned by Louis XVI for its daring satire of nobility and privilege - depicts a master and servant set in opposition by their desire for the same woman. With characteristic lightness of touch, Beaumarchais created an audacious farce of disguise and mistaken identity that balances wit, frivolity and seriousness in equal measure.

Download or read book Plays by George Bernard Shaw written by George Bernard Shaw and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2004-08-03 with total page 529 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: George Bernard Shaw demanded truth and despised convention. He punctured hollow pretensions and smug prudishness—coating his criticism with ingenious and irreverent wit. In Mrs. Warren’s Profession, Arms and the Man, Candida, and Man and Superman, the great playwright satirizes society, military heroism, marriage, and the pursuit of man by woman. From a social, literary, and theatrical standpoint, these four plays are among the foremost dramas of the age—as intellectually stimulating as they are thoroughly enjoyable. “My way of joking is to tell the truth: It is the funniest joke in the world.”—G. B. Shaw With an Introduction by Eric Bentley and an Afterword by Norman Lloyd

Download or read book The Last Libertines written by Benedetta Craveri and published by National Geographic Books. This book was released on 2020-10-20 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An enthralling work of history about the Libertine generation that came up during—and was eventually destroyed by—the French Revolution. The Last Libertines, as Benedetta Craveri writes in her preface to the book, is the story of a group of “seven aristocrats whose youth coincided with the French monarchy’s final moment of grace—a moment when it seemed to the nation’s elite that a style of life based on privilege and the spirit of caste might acknowledge the widespread demand for change, and in doing so reconcile itself with Enlightenment ideals of justice, tolerance, and citizenship.” Here we meet seven emblematic characters, whom Craveri has singled out not only for “the romantic character of their exploits and amours—but also by the keenness with which they experienced this crisis in the civilization of the ancien régime, of which they themselves were the emblem.” Displaying the aristocratic virtues of “dignity, courage, refinement of manners, culture, [and] wit,” the Duc de Lauzun, the Vicomte de Ségur, the Duc de Brissac, the Comte de Narbonne, the Chevalier de Boufflers, the Comte de Ségur, and the Comte de Vaudreuil were at the same time “irreducible individualists” and true “sons of the Enlightenment,” all of them ambitious to play their part in bringing around the great changes that were in the air. When the French Revolution came, however, they found themselves condemned to poverty, exile, and in some cases execution. Telling the parallel lives of these seven dazzling but little-remembered historical figures, Craveri brings the past to life, powerfully dramatizing a turbulent time that was at once the last act of a now-vanished world and the first act of our own.