Shakespeare the writer

Shakespeare

William Shakespeare is the most famous writer in the English language

He lived from 1564 - 1616. Elizabeth I was Queen. These were dangerous and exciting times in England, in 1688, the ships of the Spanish Armada tried to attack England, and were beaten back by the small English ships that went out to tight them in the English Channel.

Shakespeare the writer

Shakespeare wrote poems, sonnets, and three kinds of plays: tragedies, comedies, and histories. In tragedies, the main character is responsible for a terrible event, usually without intending to. Comedies are not so serious and usually have a happy ending. In histories, the stories tell the story of English Kings, often making a point about people or politics in his own lifetime.

Shakespeare's plays have been used as the basis for many famous films. These films use Shakespeare's plots to tell a modern story.

Shakespeare was born and brought up in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, and became a member of the Lord Chamberlain's Men. After the Queen died in 1603, James I ordered them to change their name to The King's Men.

Shakespeare's Plays

Shakespeare wrote over 40 plays, and some of the most famous are listed below

Tragedies

Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet is a story about the power of young love, which is demonstrated in the violent battles between the two families. These attitudes lead to the deaths of many characters, including Romeo and Juliet.

1601 Hamlet

Hamlet is Prince of Denmark and his father, the king, has been murdered. His uncle becomes king and marries his mother, swearing to take the throne. The play deals with Hamlet's doubts and suffering as he tries to carry out his promise to take the throne. In the end, Hamlet and his mother and uncle die in a fight.

Othello

Othello is a play about jealousy and how it can destroy people's judgment and love for each other. Yago is an officer serving Othello, who hates him and wants to destroy him. Othello believes Yago and kills his young wife before killing himself.

Macbeth

Macbeth is a play about the desire for power and the evil that can result from it. Macbeth murders the present King and commits further murders, leading Lady Macbeth to madness and Macbeth to the belief that life has no meaning in the end. He is killed by Macduff, whose family he had murdered.

Comedies

A Midsummer Night's Dream

A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play about love and magic. It follows Oberon and Titania, the King and Queen of the fairies, and Puck, Oberon's servant. Puck uses his magic to make the actors fall in love with the wrong people, leading to some amusing situations. The play ends happily when all the right couples are together.

Histories

King Richard III

Richard III murders his brother and nephews to become king, but the play is not about power. Richard wants to make others unhappy and destroy the peace of the country. An army of rebels meets his army at Bosworth Field and Richard's horse is killed, calling for another one.

Famous sayings

Shakespeare was very clever with words. A lot of lines from his plays are very famous.

All that glitters is not gold is a common saying It means that some things are simply not as good as they seem to be at first.

It stinks to high heaven. People say this if something smells horrible. The expression began in Hamlet.

Why then, the world's mine oyster. From The Merry Wives of Windsor.  when people say "the world's your oyster" they mean that you can do or achieve anything you want to.

There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamed of in your philosophy. From Harmlet. People often say "there are more things In heaven and earth" to mean that we cannot think of everything that might happen or that might exist..

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