Elizabethan Era

In this collection, you'll find expert analyses on major literary works from the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603) including William Shakespeare's plays, Michel de Montaigne's essays, and Philip Sidney's poems.

Publication year 1595

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love

Tags Lyric Poem, Elizabethan Era


Publication year 1592

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Identity: Sexuality, Identity: Femininity, Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed

Tags Play: Tragedy, Elizabethan Era, Mystery / Crime Fiction

Arden of Faversham is an Elizabethan play originally performed in 1592. The play’s authorship is disputed. While potential authors include Thomas Kyd, Christopher Marlowe, and Thomas Watson, computer stylometric analyses attribute probable authorship to William Shakespeare. The Oxford Shakespeare attributes the play to Shakespeare and an anonymous collaborator, potentially Watson.The play is the first extant example of English domestic tragedy, which would subsequently flourish throughout Elizabeth and Jamesian drama and be rekindled in the 1700s... Read Arden of Faversham Summary


Publication year 1599

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Identity: Gender, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Relationships: Siblings

Tags Elizabethan Era, Play: Comedy / Satire, Romance, Education, Education, Humor, Classic Fiction

As You Like It is a pastoral comedy that features romance by William Shakespeare. The date of its first performance is unknown, but it is believed to have been written in 1599. As You Like It was first published in 1623 in the First Folio, the first of the posthumously published collections of Shakespeare’s plays.This summary refers to the 2019 Folger Shakespeare Library updated edition. Your edition’s line numbers and spellings may vary slightly.Plot SummaryWhen... Read As You Like It Summary


Publication year 2012

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Life/Time: The Past, Relationships: Marriage, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies

Tags History: World, History: European, Historical Fiction, British Literature, Elizabethan Era

Bring Up the Bodies (2012) is a Tudor-era historical novel by British writer Hilary Mantel. It is the second novel in a trilogy depicting the life and career of Thomas Cromwell, a 16th-century English politician and advisor to King Henry VIII. Bring Up the Bodies followed Wolf Hall (2009) and preceded The Mirror and The Light (2020). It received significant critical acclaim and was awarded the 2012 Man Booker Prize. BBC produced a television adaptation... Read Bring Up The Bodies Summary


Publication year 1608

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Identity: Masculinity, Society: Nation, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed

Tags Classic Fiction, Elizabethan Era, Play: Tragedy, Historical Fiction, British Literature, Education, Education, Drama / Tragedy

Coriolanus is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, likely written around 1607-1608. The play is set in Ancient Rome, much like Shakespeare’s other plays Julius Caesar, Titus Andronicus, and Antony and Cleopatra. Coriolanus dramatizes the life of the legendary Roman soldier Gnaeus Marcius Coriolanus, a patrician who was exiled from the Roman Republic in the 5th century BC after an unsuccessful bid to become consul. Through this narrative, Shakespeare explores themes of the difficulties of controlling... Read Coriolanus Summary


Publication year 1589

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Life/Time: Mortality & Death

Tags Classic Fiction, Elizabethan Era, Play: Tragedy

In the play Doctor Faustus, an ambitious scholar sells his soul to the devil in exchange for knowledge and power. Written by Christopher Marlowe, the work was first produced in 1592 in London, where it caused a sensation, influenced Shakespeare’s plays, and launched a cottage industry in books, music, and other arts about the man who risked eternal damnation for the chance to control reality.Christopher Marlowe was born in Canterbury, England, in 1564 and died... Read Doctor Faustus Summary


Publication year 1593

Genre Play, Fiction

Tags Classic Fiction, Elizabethan Era, Education, Education, History: World, Drama / Tragedy, Historical Fiction, LGBTQ

Christopher Marlowe published the Elizabethan play Edward II in 1593, basing it on the life of the English king of the same name. The play, for the most part, is an accurate depiction of Edward II’s tragic reign and demise. It is highly stylized, however, according to the theatrical traditions of the time. Edward II is notable for its clever treatment of the homosexual relationship between the king and Gaveston, his consort. Over five acts... Read Edward II Summary


Publication year 1609

Genre Play, Fiction

Tags Classic Fiction, Elizabethan Era, British Literature, Education, Education, Drama / Tragedy, Historical Fiction

First performed in 1609, Hamlet is a classic play and one of the best known and most influential works of the playwright William Shakespeare (1564-1616). This summary refers to the 2001 Pelican edition of the play.Plot SummaryOn a dark night, sentinels see a ghost stalking the battlements of Elsinore Castle, the royal seat of Denmark. It is the dead king, who has returned to tell his son Hamlet to avenge him. He was murdered by... Read Hamlet Summary


Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Femininity, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos

Tags Historical Fiction, History: European, Gender / Feminism, Health / Medicine, Arts / Culture, British Literature, Elizabethan Era, History: World


Publication year 1597

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Fathers, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal

Tags Classic Fiction, Elizabethan Era, British Literature, Play: Historical, Play: Drama, Education, Education, History: World, Drama / Tragedy, Historical Fiction

Henry IV, Part 1 is the second play in English playwright William Shakespeare’s Henriad tetralogy, preceded by Richard II. The play was written sometime prior to 1597, and it was a hit with critics and audiences. Henry IV, Part 1 introduces Sir John Falstaff, one of Shakespeare’s most enduringly popular characters, who also appears in Henry IV, Part 2 and The Merry Wives of Windsor. The play follows the wayward Prince Hal, the son of... Read Henry IV, Part 1 Summary


Publication year 1580

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Values/Ideas: Literature

Tags Lyric Poem, Renaissance, Elizabethan Era

Along with his contemporary Philip Sidney, Edmund Spenser is one of the most important literary figures from the English Renaissance (c. 1550-1660), also known as the Early Modern Period. Spenser’s work was greatly influenced by his studies of Classical and Italian Renaissance poets, including Virgil, Ludovico Ariosto, and Torquato Tasso. His faith and study of Christianity also informed his work. With Sidney, who was also an influence, and his friend Gabriel Harvey, Spenser belonged to... Read Iambicum Trimetrum Summary


Publication year 1599

Genre Play, Fiction

Tags Classic Fiction, Elizabethan Era, British Literature, Play: Tragedy, Play: Historical, Education, Education, Drama / Tragedy, Historical Fiction

Book DetailsThe Tragedy of Julius Caesar is a history play and tragedy written by William Shakespeare and first performed in 1599. The play dramatizes the events surrounding the 44 BCE assassination of Julius Caesar, a Roman general and statesman. Shakespeare’s main source material for the play was Plutarch’s Lives, a series of biographies of famous men, published in the second century CE and translated into English by Thomas North in 1579. Shakespeare sometimes deviated from... Read Julius Caesar Summary


Publication year 1606

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies

Tags Classic Fiction, Elizabethan Era, Education, Education, British Literature, Drama / Tragedy

King Lear is a play written around 1606 by the English playwright William Shakespeare. Widely considered one of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies, King Lear tells the story of a king who goes mad after bequeathing his fortune and power to his daughters. It is loosely based on the myth of Leir of Britain, a legendary monarch said to have ruled Ancient Britons in the eighth century B.C.This guide refers to the 1999 Pelican Shakespeare edition. Please... Read King Lear Summary


Publication year 1623

Genre Play, Fiction

Tags Classic Fiction, Elizabethan Era, British Literature, Education, Education, Historical Fiction

Macbeth is one of William Shakespeare’s most celebrated plays. Classified as a tragedy and thought to be performed for the first time in 1606, it tells the story of a Scottish nobleman who becomes obsessed with power and is driven mad by guilt.Plot SummaryThe play opens with three witches, who make plans to meet again. In a military camp, King Duncan of Scotland hears the news of his generals’ success. Macbeth and Banquo have defeated... Read Macbeth Summary


Publication year 1592

Genre Essay Collection, Nonfiction

Themes Relationships: Friendship

Tags Philosophy, Elizabethan Era, French Literature

Montaigne: Selected Essays comes from the pen of Michel de Montaigne, a 16th-century French jurist, advisor, and diplomat whose many adventures would make a compelling autobiography. Instead, Montaigne writes a series of short works that examine his innermost thoughts and feelings, attitudes and beliefs, preferences and daily habits. This would seem a dull topic, but Montaigne’s charm, wit, and wisdom shine through and make the mundane seem fascinating. His attitude is tolerant and open-minded for... Read Montaigne: Essays Summary


Publication year 1598

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Relationships: Marriage, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal

Tags Classic Fiction, Elizabethan Era, Play: Comedy / Satire, Modern Classic Fiction, Love / Sexuality, Relationships, Class, Gender / Feminism, Renaissance, Education, Education, Romance, Humor

Much Ado About Nothing, a comedy dating from the mid-career period of William Shakespeare was probably written just prior to 1600. The play has the trappings of a theatrical farce with its use of assumptions and misunderstandings. Main characters Benedick and Beatrice are duped into announcing their love for each other while Claudio is fooled into spurning Hero at the altar when he mistakenly believes that she has not been faithful to him. The theme of lovers being tricked... Read Much Ado About Nothing Summary


Publication year 1779

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed

Tags Play: Historical, Religion / Spirituality, Relationships, Elizabethan Era, Drama / Tragedy, Philosophy, Philosophy, Classic Fiction


Publication year 1604

Genre Play, Fiction

Tags Classic Fiction, British Literature, Elizabethan Era, Education, Education, Drama / Tragedy

William Shakespeare’s Othello is a tragedy written in approximately 1603 and published in 1622. The play begins in Venice, where Iago, a subordinate of Othello’s and a captain in the Venetian defense forces, tells Roderigo that Othello has passed him over for promotion. Instead, Othello, a Moor, has chosen the noble and popular Michael Cassio to be his lieutenant. Iago tells Roderigo that he will have his revenge on Othello but behave as a loyal... Read Othello Summary


Publication year 1595

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Fate

Tags Classic Fiction, Elizabethan Era, British Literature, Education, Education, Drama / Tragedy

Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy by the English playwright William Shakespeare. It is among Shakespeare’s best-known plays and, like its author, has been highly influential in shaping the course of English-language literature. First performed before 1597 (the date of its earliest known printing), it has been popular ever since. Like most of Shakespeare’s plays, it employs a combination of blank verse (unrhymed iambic pentameter) and prose, with occasional deviations in form; for example, Shakespeare... Read Romeo and Juliet Summary


Publication year 1609

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love

Tags Lyric Poem, Elizabethan Era, Love / Sexuality, History: World, Classic Fiction