Presents the lives and literary output of more than 60 of America's most read authors in concise, stand-alone segments presented in chronological order.

Othello appoints Cassio as his chief lieutenant, arousing the jealousy of Iago, who conspires to undo both of them. Iago tells Othello that Desdemona has an affair with Cassio. Othello strangles Desdemona before learning of Iago's evil, then kills himself.

"Robert Hughes' history of modern art from cubism to pop and the avant-garde. The sequel to the BBC's Civilization series, picks up at the threshold of the 20th century. It is written and presented by Robert Hughes, art critic and senior writer for Time. Hughes draws on a wealth of documentary materials from the archives of the BBC, including rare footage and interviews with noted artists. The range of major figures includes Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso,...

Presents a dramatization of William Shakespeare's historical play, Henry V who embarked on an invasion of France, dealt justly with traitors, led his soldiers to victory and then ensured future peace by his marriage to the Princess of France. Here Shakespeare examines the qualities that make a successful ruler and shows the price in terms of isolation and responsibility that his success entails.

A Danish prince avenges the murder of his father, the king, by killing his uncle Claudius who murdered the king, usurped the throne, and married Hamlet's mother, Gertrude. Hamlet, considered the most complex of all Shakespeare's characters, examines the fundamental issues of justice, guilt, and death.

Presents a dramatization of William Shakespeare's play, a pastoral romance set in the Forest of Arden in medieval France, in which Rosalind is forced by political circumstances to pose as a man, falls in love with Orlando but cannot declare her feelings, and is loved in turn by Phebe who believes her to be a handsome young man.

Presents a dramatization of William Shakespeare's play, originally produced by the BBC and Time-Life Films for television broadcast in 1978.

A play about power, assassination and revenge. Presents a broad range of historical personalities as complicated human beings in agonizing conflict with one another and themselves.

After the murder of Richard II, Henry assumes the throne, and is immediately confronted with rebellion by Owen Glendower, Douglas of Scotland, Northumberland and his son Hotspur. The play also treats the moral development of the king's son Hal (later Henry V) as he appears to waste his youth in London taverns in the company of the irresponsible Sir John Falstaff.