A26
Shakespeare's Plays
Shakespeare wrote over 40 plays, and some of the most famous are listed below.
Tragedies
1595 Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is a story about the power of young love. Romeo and Juliet, whose families hate each other, are prepared to do anything to be together. The strength of young feeling is also shown in the violent battles between the young men of the two families, who are prepared to die for their honour. Romeo and Juliet suffer because of these unreasonable attitudes. These attitudes lead to the deaths of many characters, and of Romeo and Juliet.
1601 Hamlet
Hamlet is Prince of Denmark and his father, the king, has been murdered by his uncle. Only Hamlet knows that his father's death was murder. His uncle becomes king, and marries Hamlet's mother. Hamlet swears to his dead father that he will take revenge. The play deals with Hamlet's doubts and suffering as he tries to deal with his situation and to carry out his promise. He thinks of killing himself, and he behaves very strangely and violently. In the last scene, he kills an old friend in a fight, and Hamlet and his mother and uncle also die.
1604 Othello
Othello is a play about jealousy and how it can destroy people's judgment and their love for each other. It is also the study of an evil person, in the character of Iago. Othello is a great general, who loves his wife Desdemona, and Iago is an officer serving him. Iago hates Othello and wants to destroy him. He makes Othello think that Desdemona has a lover, although she has not. Othello is almost mad with doubt and sadness. Finally he believes Iago and he kills his young wife before killing himself.
1606 Macbeth
Macbeth is a play about the desire for power and the evil that can result from this. Macbeth believes that he will one day be King of Scotland, and he does not want to wait. His wife, Lady Macbeth, encourages him, and he murders the present King, Duncan. Macbeth becomes King, but he commits further murders because he is afraid people will find out he killed Duncan. Macbeth and his wife have extremely guilty feelings, which lead Lady Macbeth to madness, and Macbeth to the belief that life has no meaning. In the end, Macbeth is killed by Macduff, whose family he had murdered.
Comedies
1596 A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play about love and magic. In a wood near Athens, we meet Oberon and Titania, the King and Queen of the fairies, and Oberon's servant, Puck. Puck uses his magic to