Plays William Shakespeare

procession of characters shakespeare s plays unknown 19th-century artist

most playwrights of period typically collaborated others @ point, , critics agree shakespeare did same, , late in career. attributions, such titus andronicus , history plays, remain controversial while 2 noble kinsmen , lost cardenio have well-attested contemporary documentation. textual evidence supports view several of plays revised other writers after original composition.

the first recorded works of shakespeare richard iii , 3 parts of henry vi, written in 1590s during vogue historical drama. shakespeare s plays difficult date precisely, however, , studies of texts suggest titus andronicus, comedy of errors, taming of shrew, , 2 gentlemen of verona may belong shakespeare s earliest period. first histories, draw heavily on 1587 edition of raphael holinshed s chronicles of england, scotland, , ireland, dramatise destructive results of weak or corrupt rule , have been interpreted justification origins of tudor dynasty. plays influenced works of other elizabethan dramatists, thomas kyd , christopher marlowe, traditions of medieval drama, , plays of seneca. comedy of errors based on classical models, no source taming of shrew has been found, though related separate play of same name , may have derived folk story. 2 gentlemen of verona, in 2 friends appear approve of rape, shrew s story of taming of woman s independent spirit man troubles modern critics , directors.

oberon, titania , puck fairies dancing. william blake, c. 1786. tate britain.

shakespeare s classical , italianate comedies, containing tight double plots , precise comic sequences, give way in mid-1590s romantic atmosphere of acclaimed comedies. midsummer night s dream witty mixture of romance, fairy magic, , comic lowlife scenes. shakespeare s next comedy, equally romantic merchant of venice, contains portrayal of vengeful jewish moneylender shylock, reflects elizabethan views may appear derogatory modern audiences. wit , wordplay of ado nothing, charming rural setting of it, , lively merrymaking of twelfth night complete shakespeare s sequence of great comedies. after lyrical richard ii, written entirely in verse, shakespeare introduced prose comedy histories of late 1590s, henry iv, parts 1 , 2, , henry v. characters become more complex , tender switches deftly between comic , serious scenes, prose , poetry, , achieves narrative variety of mature work. period begins , ends 2 tragedies: romeo , juliet, famous romantic tragedy of sexually charged adolescence, love, , death; , julius caesar—based on sir thomas north s 1579 translation of plutarch s parallel lives—which introduced new kind of drama. according shakespearean scholar james shapiro, in julius caesar, various strands of politics, character, inwardness, contemporary events, shakespeare s own reflections on act of writing, began infuse each other .

hamlet, horatio, marcellus, , ghost of hamlet s father. henry fuseli, 1780–5. kunsthaus zürich.

in 17th century, shakespeare wrote so-called problem plays measure measure, troilus , cressida, , s ends , number of best known tragedies. many critics believe shakespeare s greatest tragedies represent peak of art. titular hero of 1 of shakespeare s famous tragedies, hamlet, has been discussed more other shakespearean character, famous soliloquy begins or not be; question . unlike introverted hamlet, fatal flaw hesitation, heroes of tragedies followed, othello , king lear, undone hasty errors of judgement. plots of shakespeare s tragedies hinge on such fatal errors or flaws, overturn order , destroy hero , loves. in othello, villain iago stokes othello s sexual jealousy point murders innocent wife loves him. in king lear, old king commits tragic error of giving powers, initiating events lead torture , blinding of earl of gloucester , murder of lear s youngest daughter cordelia. according critic frank kermode, play offers neither characters nor audience relief cruelty . in macbeth, shortest , compressed of shakespeare s tragedies, uncontrollable ambition incites macbeth , wife, lady macbeth, murder rightful king , usurp throne until own guilt destroys them in turn. in play, shakespeare adds supernatural element tragic structure. last major tragedies, antony , cleopatra , coriolanus, contain of shakespeare s finest poetry , considered successful tragedies poet , critic t. s. eliot.

in final period, shakespeare turned romance or tragicomedy , completed 3 more major plays: cymbeline, winter s tale, , tempest, collaboration, pericles, prince of tyre. less bleak tragedies, these 4 plays graver in tone comedies of 1590s, end reconciliation , forgiveness of potentially tragic errors. commentators have seen change in mood evidence of more serene view of life on shakespeare s part, may merely reflect theatrical fashion of day. shakespeare collaborated on 2 further surviving plays, henry viii , 2 noble kinsmen, john fletcher.

performances

it not clear companies shakespeare wrote plays. title page of 1594 edition of titus andronicus reveals play had been acted 3 different troupes. after plagues of 1592–3, shakespeare s plays performed own company @ theatre , curtain in shoreditch, north of thames. londoners flocked there see first part of henry iv, leonard digges recording, let falstaff come, hal, poins, rest ... , scarce shall have room . when company found in dispute landlord, pulled theatre down , used timbers construct globe theatre, first playhouse built actors actors, on south bank of thames @ southwark. globe opened in autumn 1599, julius caesar 1 of first plays staged. of shakespeare s greatest post-1599 plays written globe, including hamlet, othello, , king lear.

the reconstructed globe theatre, london

after lord chamberlain s men renamed king s men in 1603, entered special relationship new king james. although performance records patchy, king s men performed 7 of shakespeare s plays @ court between 1 november 1604, , 31 october 1605, including 2 performances of merchant of venice. after 1608, performed @ indoor blackfriars theatre during winter , globe during summer. indoor setting, combined jacobean fashion lavishly staged masques, allowed shakespeare introduce more elaborate stage devices. in cymbeline, example, jupiter descends in thunder , lightning, sitting upon eagle: throws thunderbolt. ghosts fall on knees.

the actors in shakespeare s company included famous richard burbage, william kempe, henry condell , john heminges. burbage played leading role in first performances of many of shakespeare s plays, including richard iii, hamlet, othello, , king lear. popular comic actor kempe played servant peter in romeo , juliet , dogberry in ado nothing, among other characters. replaced around 1600 robert armin, played roles such touchstone in , fool in king lear. in 1613, sir henry wotton recorded henry viii set forth many extraordinary circumstances of pomp , ceremony . on 29 june, however, cannon set fire thatch of globe , burned theatre ground, event pinpoints date of shakespeare play rare precision.

textual sources

title page of first folio, 1623. copper engraving of shakespeare martin droeshout.

in 1623, john heminges , henry condell, 2 of shakespeare s friends king s men, published first folio, collected edition of shakespeare s plays. contained 36 texts, including 18 printed first time. many of plays had appeared in quarto versions—flimsy books made sheets of paper folded twice make 4 leaves. no evidence suggests shakespeare approved these editions, first folio describes stol n , surreptitious copies . nor did shakespeare plan or expect works survive in form @ all; works have faded oblivion friends spontaneous idea, after death, create , publish first folio.

alfred pollard termed of pre-1623 versions bad quartos because of adapted, paraphrased or garbled texts, may in places have been reconstructed memory. several versions of play survive, each differs other. differences may stem copying or printing errors, notes actors or audience members, or shakespeare s own papers. in cases, example, hamlet, troilus , cressida, , othello, shakespeare have revised texts between quarto , folio editions. in case of king lear, however, while modern editions conflate them, 1623 folio version different 1608 quarto oxford shakespeare prints them both, arguing cannot conflated without confusion.