List of All William Shakespeare’s Plays (By Type)
- Categories of Shakespeare's Plays. The three types of plays Shakespeare wrote are tragedies, comedies, and histories. ...
- Lost Works. There are a few plays that Shakespeare may have authored or co-authored, as well. ...
- A Prolific Playwright. How many plays did Shakespeare write? ...
- Evaluating the Success of Shakespeare's Plays. ...
- An Unrivaled Master. ...
What types of plays did Shakespeare write?
Tragedies, comedies and histories.
What are the 4 types of Shakespeare's plays?
Shakespeare's Play TypesComedy plays.History plays.Roman plays.Tragedy plays.
What 3 main types of plays did Shakespeare write?
Generally though, Shakespeare wrote three types of plays: Tragedy, Comedy, and History. These names help us understand the archetypes of a play and better analyze its events. After all, The Comedy of Romeo and Juliet would be a very different play from The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet.
What genre does William Shakespeare write?
Shakespeare's plays are typically divided into three categories: comedy, tragedy, and history.
What type of play is Romeo and Juliet?
tragedyRomeo and Juliet is officially classified as a tragedy, but in some respects the play deviates from the tragic genre. Unlike other Shakespearean tragedies such as Macbeth , King Lear , and Julius Caesar , Romeo and Juliet is not concerned with a noble character whose actions have widespread consequence.
What type of play is Macbeth?
The form of Macbeth is a dramatic play. More specifically, it is a tragedy. The simplest definition of a tragedy would be "a play with an unhappy ending".
What is Shakespeare's most famous play?
Romeo and Juliet1597Hamlet1869Macbeth1623A Midsummer Night's Dre...1605King Lear1606The Tempest1611William Shakespeare/Plays
How many Shakespeare plays are there?
Shakespeare wrote at least 38 plays and over 150 short and long poems, many of which are considered to be the finest ever written in English.
What are the main themes in Shakespeare plays?
It's possible to see common themes that appear in all the plays. The four most prominent are: appearance and reality; change; order and disorder; and conflict. Those were matters that deeply affected Shakespeare as he walked about and observed the world around him.
What are two of Shakespeare's most famous plays?
A Tragedy, Romeo and Juliet written by Shakespeare early in his career is a tale of two teenage star-crossed lovers whose passing finally reconciles their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime and along with Hamlet, is one of his most frequently performed plays.
How many plays did Shakespeare write?
The English Medieval playwright William Shakespeare wrote 38 (or so) plays during the reigns of Queen Elizabeth I (ruled 1558–1603) and her successor, James I (ruled 1603–1625). The plays are important works still today, insightfully exploring the human condition in prose, poetry, and song. His understanding of human nature led him to blend elements of human behavior—great goodness and great evil—in the same play and sometimes even in the same character.
What literary devices did Shakespeare use?
Shakespeare is known for using literary devices such as genre, plot, and characterization in revolutionary ways to expand on their dramatic potential. He used soliloquies—long speeches by characters spoken to the audience—not only to push along the plot of a play but also to display a character's secret life, such as in "Hamlet" and "Othello."
What are the themes of Shakespeare's tragedies?
Shakespearean tragedies are plays with somber themes and dark endings. Tragic conventions used by Shakespeare feature the death and destruction of well-meaning people brought down by either their own fatal flaws or the political machinations of others. Flawed heroes, the fall of a noble person, and the triumph of external pressures such as fate, spirits, or other characters over the hero are featured.
What are the four categories of Shakespeare plays?
Shakespearean critics have broken the plays into four categories: tragedies, comedies, histories, and "problem plays.". This list contains some of the plays that fall into each category. However, you will find that different lists place some plays into different categories.
What is Shakespeare's comedy?
Comedies. Shakespearean comedies are, on the whole, more light-hearted pieces. The point of these plays may not necessarily be to make the audience laugh, but to think. Comedies feature the clever use of language to create wordplay, metaphors, and smart insults.
What are Shakespeare's problem plays?
Problem Plays. Shakespeare's so-called "problem plays" are plays that do not fit into any of these three categories. Although most of his tragedies contain comic elements, and most of his comedies have bits of tragedy, the problem plays shift rapidly between truly dark events and comic material.
What are some examples of Shakespeare's influence on the English language?
Many English words used in today's lexicon are attributed to Shakespeare's pen. For example, "swagger," "bedroom," "lackluster," and "puppy dog" were all coined by the Bard of Avon.
What are the names of the plays that Shakespeare wrote?
Antony and Cleopatra. King Lear. Macbeth. Othello. Titus Andronicus. When it comes to Shakespeare tragedies and Shakespeare comedies there are a broad range of dramatic types in each and, whatever those two terms may mean, none of the plays fits comfortably into either of them.
What are the different types of Shakespeare plays?
Traditionally Shakespeare play types are defined as: Comedy plays. History plays.
What is the theme of Romeo and Juliet?
Romeo and Juliet with the same theme of forbidden love seems to be developing towards a joyful conclusion but suddenly and unexpectedly falls into the deepest darkness. (Read about more Romeo and Juliet themes .)
What is a masque play?
Shakespeare’s Masque Plays. A masque is a form of courtly entertainment containing music, dancing, singing and acting out a story. It was popular in England during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, although it originated in Italy. Henry VIII.
What is the genius of Antony and Cleopatra?
Antony and Cleopatra, shows the ultimate genius of a mind that doesn’t respect classification boxes in that it produces a real tragic feeling from a completely comic structure. That play alone confounds the efforts of all the scholars bent on classifying Shakespeare’s dramas.
What are the most widely used categories of Shakespeare plays?
The most widely used categories are ‘ Romance plays ’, ‘ Problem plays ’, and Shakespeare’s ‘Tragicomedy Plays’. The plays in those categories have much in common, but there are enough differences to prevent some of them to fall into all three.
What is Shakespeare's comedy?
Shakespeare’s Comedy Plays. Shakespeare’s comedies are generally identifiable as plays full of fun, irony and dazzling wordplay. They also abound in disguises and mistaken identities, with very convoluted plots that are difficult to follow with very contrived endings. All’s Well That Ends Well. As You Like It.
Who authored all of Shakespeare's plays?
Another controversial question regarding Shakespeare's bibliography is whether the Bard actually authored all of the plays assigned to his name. In the 19th century, a number of literary historians popularized the so-called "anti-Stratfordian theory," which held that Shakespeare's plays were actually the work of Francis Bacon, Christopher Marlowe, or possibly a group of playwrights. Subsequent scholars, however, have dismissed this theory, and the current consensus is that Shakespeare—the man born in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564—did, in fact, write all of the plays that bear his name.
How many plays did Shakespeare write?
Scholars of Elizabethan drama believe that William Shakespeare wrote at least 38 plays between 1590 and 1612. These dramatic works encompass a wide range of subjects and styles, from the playful "A Midsummer Night's Dream" to the gloomy "Macbeth.".
What was Shakespeare's first play?
Shakespeare's first play is generally believed to be "Henry VI Part I ," a history play about English politics in the years leading up to the Wars of the Roses. The play was possibly a collaboration between Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe, another Elizabethan dramatist who is best known for his tragedy "Doctor Faustus.".
What are the three genres of Shakespeare's plays?
Shakespeare's plays can be roughly divided into three genres—comedies, histories, and tragedies —though some works, such as "The Tempest" and "The Winter's Tale," straddle the boundaries between these categories.
What is the chronological order of Shakespeare's plays?
Shakespeare's Plays in Chronological Order. The exact order of the composition and performances of Shakespeare’s plays is difficult to prove —and therefore often disputed. The dates listed below are approximate and based on the general consensus of when the plays were first performed: "Henry VI Part I" (1589–1590)
How is Shakespeare's chronology based?
Current consensus is based on a constellation of different data points, including publication information (e.g. dates taken from title pages), known performance dates, and information from contemporary diaries and other records. Though each play can be assigned a narrow date range, it is impossible to know exactly in which year any one of Shakespeare's plays was composed. Even when exact performance dates are known, nothing conclusive can be said about when each play was written.
Who wrote the two Noble Kinsmen?
Another play, "The Two Noble Kinsmen," was co-written with John Fletcher, who also worked with Shakespeare on the lost play "Cardenio." Some scholars believe that Shakespeare may have also collaborated with George Peele, an English dramatist and poet; George Wilkins, an English dramatist and inn-keeper; and Thomas Middleton, a successful author of numerous stage works, including comedies, tragedies, and pageants.
What are some examples of Shakespeare's plays?
Some examples you might recognize are As You Like It, Twelfth Night, Winter’s Tale, and Measure for Measure. This style of Shakespeare's plays are pretty much the exact opposite of comedies. The protagonist is usually a hero, noble and wealthy, but always has some sort of character flaw.
What are the three tragedies that Shakespeare wrote?
There are three types of tragedies: classical, medieval, and renaissance. Some tragedies he wrote were Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar, Hamlet, Macbeth, and Othello. Histories.
What is the difference between old Shakespearean and modern comedies?
Comedies. Old Shakespearean comedies are different from the modern. In his plays, all the comedies included marriage and involved some sort of happy ending. Unlike his other types of plays, this particular one does not treat certain topics seriously, such as love. He uses puns, insults, and metaphors as to further express his humor.
Is Shakespeare's Macbeth a historical play?
Despite the name of this type of play, Shakespearean histories weren't historically accurate. They gave you a sense of entertainment and hid underlying messages of his time rather than the implied setting in the book. They were all based on the lives of English kings or Roman history; this is why Macbeth and King Lear are regarded as tragedies and not histories. Particular examples include Henry (IV-VIIII), King John, Richard II, and Richard III.
What are some of the plays that Shakespeare wrote?
Plays possibly by Shakespeare 1 Arden of Faversham – The middle portion of the play (scenes 4–9) may have been written by Shakespeare. 2 Edmund Ironside – Contains numerous words first used by Shakespeare, and, if by him, is perhaps his first play. 3 Sir Thomas More – A collaborative work by several playwrights, including Shakespeare. There is a "growing scholarly consensus" that Shakespeare was called in to re-write a contentious scene in the play and that "Hand D" in the surviving manuscript is that of Shakespeare himself. 4 The Spanish Tragedy – Additional passages included in the fourth quarto, including the "painter scene", are likely to have been written by him.
How many plays are there in Shakespeare's play?
Shakespeare's plays are a canon of approximately 39 dramatic works written by English poet, playwright, and actor William Shakespeare. The exact number of plays—as well as their classifications as tragedy, history, or comedy —is a matter of scholarly debate. Shakespeare's plays are widely regarded as being among the greatest in the English language and are continually performed around the world. The plays have been translated into every major living language .
Why did Shakespeare rely on earlier sources?
His dependence on earlier sources was a natural consequence of the speed at which playwrights of his era wrote; in addition, plays based on already popular stories appear to have been seen as more likely to draw large crowds. There were also aesthetic reasons: Renaissance aesthetic theory took seriously the dictum that tragic plots should be grounded in history. For example, King Lear is probably an adaptation of an older play, King Leir, and the Henriad probably derived from The Famous Victories of Henry V. There is speculation that Hamlet (c. 1601) may be a reworking of an older, lost play (the so-called Ur-Hamlet ), but the number of lost plays from this time period makes it impossible to determine that relationship with certainty. (The Ur-Hamlet may in fact have been Shakespeare's, and was just an earlier and subsequently discarded version.) For plays on historical subjects, Shakespeare relied heavily on two principal texts. Most of the Roman and Greek plays are based on Plutarch 's Parallel Lives (from the 1579 English translation by Sir Thomas North), and the English history plays are indebted to Raphael Holinshed 's 1587 Chronicles. This structure did not apply to comedy, and those of Shakespeare's plays for which no clear source has been established, such as Love's Labour's Lost and The Tempest, are comedies. Even these plays, however, rely heavily on generic commonplaces.
What is Shakespeare's comedy of errors?
In comedy, Shakespeare strayed even further from classical models. The Comedy of Errors, an adaptation of Menaechmi, follows the model of new comedy closely. Shakespeare's other Elizabethan comedies are more romantic.
What are the Elizabethan tragedies?
Shakespeare's Elizabethan tragedies (including the history plays with tragic designs, such as Richard II) demonstrate his relative independence from classical models. He takes from Aristotle and Horace the notion of decorum; with few exceptions, he focuses on high-born characters and national affairs as the subject of tragedy. In most other respects, though, the early tragedies are far closer to the spirit and style of moralities. They are episodic, packed with character and incident; they are loosely unified by a theme or character. In this respect, they reflect clearly the influence of Marlowe, particularly of Tamburlaine. Even in his early work, however, Shakespeare generally shows more restraint than Marlowe; he resorts to grandiloquent rhetoric less frequently, and his attitude towards his heroes is more nuanced, and sometimes more sceptical, than Marlowe's. By the turn of the century, the bombast of Titus Andronicus had vanished, replaced by the subtlety of Hamlet .
Why do Shakespeare plays use soliloquies?
Shakespeare's plays are also notable for their use of soliloquies, in which a character makes a speech to him- or herself so the audience can understand the character's inner motivations and conflict.
Which is more sceptical, Shakespeare or Marlowe?
Even in his early work, however, Shakespeare generally shows more restraint than Marlowe; he resorts to grandiloquent rhetoric less frequently, and his attitude towards his heroes is more nuanced, and sometimes more sceptical, than Marlowe's.
Who is the greatest dramatist of all time?
William Shakespeare. William Shakespeare, English poet, dramatist, and actor often called the English national poet and considered by many to be the greatest dramatist of all time.…. Edward III. Edward III, play in five acts sometimes attributed to William Shakespeare, though without much evidence other than the resemblances ...
Who is Edward III attributed to?
Edward III and Cardenio ( Double Falsehood) have also been attributed wholly or partly to Shakespeare, but that attribution is not generally accepted. See also list of Shakespeare characters. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by J.E. Luebering, Executive Editorial Director.
Who wrote the play Double Falsehood?
Double Falsehood, tragicomedy in five acts presented by Lewis Theobald at Drury Lane Theatre in 1727. According to Theobald, it was based on a lost play by William Shakespeare (and, scholars now believe, John Fletcher) called Cardenio. The play was probably first….
What is an encyclopedia editor?
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. ...
Shakespeare's Innovation
Tragedies
- Shakespearean tragediesare plays with somber themes and dark endings. Tragic conventions used by Shakespeare feature the death and destruction of well-meaning people brought down by either their own fatal flaws or the political machinations of others. Flawed heroes, the fall of a noble person, and the triumph of external pressures such as fate, spi...
Comedies
- Shakespearean comediesare, on the whole, more light-hearted pieces. The point of these plays may not necessarily be to make the audience laugh, but to think. Comedies feature the clever use of language to create wordplay, metaphors, and smart insults. Love, mistaken identities, and convoluted plots with twisted outcomes are also integral aspects of a Shakespearean comedy. …
Histories
- Despite their category's name, Shakespearean historiesare not historically accurate. While the histories are set in Medieval England and explored class systems of that time, Shakespeare was not trying to depict the past authentically. He used historical events as a base but developed his own plot based on prejudices and social commentaries of his time. Shakespeare's histories are …
Problem Plays
- Shakespeare's so-called "problem plays" are plays that do not fit into any of these three categories. Although most of his tragedies contain comic elements, and most of his comedies have bits of tragedy, the problem plays shift rapidly between truly dark events and comic material. 1. "All's Well That Ends Well:"A lowborn French woman convinces a countess's son that she is w…