Shakespeare

Readers would be hard-pressed to find a figure who has had more influence on the English language and literature than poet and playwright William Shakespeare. Our Shakespeare study guide collection will help teachers, students, and general readers alike interpret and analyze the language, themes, and symbols in some of Shakespeare's most monumental plays, including Macbeth, Hamlet, and King Lear.

Publication year 1595

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Natural World: Appearance & Reality

Tags British Literature, Play: Comedy / Satire, Fantasy, Fairy Tale / Folklore, Arts / Culture, Love / Sexuality, Relationships, Animals

A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a comedic play by William Shakespeare that was likely first written and performed around 1600. The first certifiably recorded performance took place in 1604. Set in the Greek city-state of Athens, the play centers on an impending marriage. Before the wedding, the characters find themselves in a forest where a group of fairies manipulates and tricks them. A Midsummer Night’s Dream is one of Shakespeare’s most popular and most performed... Read A Midsummer Night's Dream 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 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 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 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 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 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 1597

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Society: Politics & Government, Self Discovery

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

The Tragedy of King Richard II is a play by William Shakespeare. It was probably first performed in 1595, and published in 1597. The play covers the last two years of Richard II’s life, from 1398 to 1400, during which he was deposed by Henry Bolingbroke, who became Henry IV in 1399. The play explores Richard’s growing unpopularity and ineffective leadership, leading to his overthrow by Bolingbroke, who not only has a taste for power... Read Richard II Summary


Publication year 1609

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love

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


Publication year 1609

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Identity: Sexuality, Emotions/Behavior: Regret

Tags Lyric Poem, Love / Sexuality


Publication year 1609

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Gratitude, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Values/Ideas: Beauty, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies

Tags Lyric Poem, Play: Comedy / Satire, Relationships, Love / Sexuality

William Shakespeare is the author of “Sonnet 130.” The sonnet is one of 154 sonnets that Shakespeare published in 1609 under the title Shakes-spears Sonnets. The first 126 sonnets address a young man, while Sonnets 127-152 focus on a mysterious woman. As with “Sonnet 130,” the sonnets about the enigmatic woman concern ideas of love and beauty and directly undercut typical representations of both. Thus, “Sonnet 130” is satire; it makes fun of how adored... Read Sonnet 130 Summary


Publication year 1599

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride

Tags Lyric Poem, Relationships


Publication year 1609

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Values/Ideas: Beauty

Tags Classic Fiction, Elizabethan Era, Lyric Poem, Religion / Spirituality, Relationships

“Sonnet 55” (1609) is an English love sonnet by renowned poet William Shakespeare (1564-1616). The sonnet is part of Shakespeare’s Fair Youth sonnet sequence, which makes up the first 126 of his sonnets. This sonnet follows a number of the Fair Youth sonnets in the way it praises the fair youth’s beauty and claims his beauty is eternal. In this sonnet specifically, Shakespeare claims that the subject’s beauty will outlive all monuments of princes and... Read Sonnet 55 Summary


Publication year 1609

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Natural World: Environment, Values/Ideas: Beauty

Tags Lyric Poem, Classic Fiction


Publication year 1609

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Aging, Life/Time: Mortality & Death

Tags Lyric Poem, Elizabethan Era


Publication year 1609

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Apathy, Emotions/Behavior: Hope

Tags Relationships


Publication year 1596

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Society: Class, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Natural World: Appearance & Reality

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

The Merchant of Venice is a play by English playwright William Shakespeare. It is one of Shakespeare’s many comedies, which include As You Like It, Twelfth Night, and The Taming of the Shrew. Written in the 1590s, it concerns a Jewish moneylender in Venice named Shylock who is determined to extract a pound of flesh from a merchant who failed to pay a debt on time. As the narrative unfolds, it considers themes like The... Read The Merchant of Venice Summary


Publication year 1593

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Marriage, Identity: Gender, Society: Class

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

The Taming of the Shrew is one of William Shakespeare’s earliest comedies, probably first performed around 1593. While the play’s depiction of women is the subject of much debate among modern readers and scholars, its popularity endures, and the play continues to be reproduced in various mediums. Notable adaptations include the 1967 film starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, and the 1999 romantic comedy 10 Things I Hate About You.This guide refers to the 2014... Read The Taming of the Shrew Summary