Tragedy
Richard II
Richard II is a historical tragedy by William Shakespeare that delves into the complexities of power, kingship, and the nature of authority.…
The House of Cobwebs
George Gissing was a prolific English writer of novels and short stories. Among his best known novels is The Odd Women, which was influenced…
Anna Karenina
Anna Karenina tells of the doomed love affair between the sensuous and rebellious Anna and the dashing officer, Count Vronsky. Tragedy unfol…
King Lear
King Lear is widely held as the greatest of Shakespeare's tragedies; to some, it is the greatest play ever written. King Lear abdicates the …
Wuthering Heights
The story centers on the all-encompassing, passionate, but ultimately doomed love between Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff, and how this un…
The Return of the Native
Like all of Hardy's work, The Return of the Native (1878) is passionate and controversial, with themes and sympathies beyond what a good Vic…
Samson Agonistes
“The Sun to me is darkAnd silent as the Moon,When she deserts the nightHid in her vacant interlunar cave.”Milton composes his last extended …
Uncle Vanya
Uncle Vanya (subtitled “Scenes From Country Life”) is a tragicomedy by Anton Chekhov. It is set on the failing country estate of a retired p…
King Lear
The Tragedy of King Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The title character descends into madness after foolishly disposing of his est…
Medea
Euripides' tragedy focuses on the disintegration of the relationship between Jason, the hero who captured the Golden Fleece, and Medea, the …
Oedipus at Colonus
This is the second installment in Sophocles's Theban Plays that chronicles the tragic fates of Oedipus and his family. After fulfilling the…
Tess of the d'Urbervilles
Tess of the d'Urbervilles subtitled, "A Pure Woman," is the story of a young working woman named Tess Durbeyfield who is sent by h…
Oedipus Rex
"Oedipus Rex" (Ancient Greek: Οἰδίπους Τύραννος, Oidipous Tyrannos), also known as "Oedipus the King" or "Oedipus t…
The Life and Death of King John
The Life and Death of King John, a history play by William Shakespeare, dramatises the reign of John, King of England (ruled 1199–1216), son…
The Tragedy of Macbeth
Murder and madness, witches and war: Librivox presents a recording of Macbeth, perhaps Shakespeare's best known tragedy. Macbeth, a genera…
The Bacchae
The Bacchae is a powerful tragedy by Euripides that delves into the conflict between reason and instinct, order and chaos. Set in Thebes, th…
Ajax
Ajax is a Greek tragedy written in the 5th century BC. The date of Ajax's first performance is unknown and may never be found, but most scho…
Hamlet
The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. Set in the Kingdom of Denmark, the play dramatizes the revenge…
The Jew of Malta
Christopher “Kit” Marlowe (baptised 26 February 1564 – 30 May 1593) was an English dramatist, poet, and translator of the Elizabethan era. T…
The Duchess of Malfi
John Webster's bloody Jacobean tragedy exposes the decadence of the Italian court. The virtuous Duchess of Malfi, a young widow, secretly ma…