Day 31: The Merchant of Venice--Some Facts

The Merchant of Venice

Full Title: The Comical History of the Merchant of Venice, or Otherwise Called the Jew of Venice

Category: Comedy (but a tragic comedy)

Date Written: 1598

Most Famous Lines: The "Hath not a Jew eyes" speech by Shylock:

Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs,dimensions, senses, affections, passions; fed withthe same food, hurt with the same weapons, subjectto the same diseases, heal'd by the same means,warm'd and cool'd by the same winter and summeras a Christian is? If you prick us, do we not bleed?If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us,do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?If we are like you in the rest, we will resemble you in that.If a Jew wrong a Christian, what is his humility?Revenge. If a Christian wrong a Jew, what should hissufferance be by Christian example? Why, revenge.The villainy you teach me, I will execute,and it shall go hard but I will better the instruction.(Act III, scene I)

Title Character: Antonio, a merchant in Venice

Villain: Shylock, a rich Jew and money lender who demands from Antonio "a pound of flesh." Since the mid 19th century, Shylock has typically been portrayed sympathetically but prior to that he was almost always portrayed as a cartoonish villain, a reflection of the anti-Semitism of Elizabethan England. Though some would argue that the complexity Shakespeare gives to the character of Shylock is in contrast to the "judeophobia" of his society, in that he explains that the character's evil choices are a reaction to being ostracized by Christian society.

Day 30: The Merchant of Venice Word Cloud

Oooh! This wordle is so pretty! I love the colours!

Day 29: New Play Tuesday! The Merchant of Venice

Al Pacino as Shylock in 2004's Merchant of Venice

After reading Macbeth, considered an unlucky play, it's probably good luck to read The Merchant of Venice, which is considered a lucky one. In fact, some superstitious actors even believe that the so-called curse of Macbeth (bad luck befalling anyone who says the name "Macbeth" out loud when referring to the play) can be undone by immediately reciting some lines from The Merchant of Venice.

Day 28: What I Learned: Macbeth

John Singer Sargent's Ellen Terry as Lady Macbeth (1889)

Macbeth is DARK. I expected it to be bloody, but I thought it would be "stage bloody" like The Tempest is "stage stormy." No, it's BLOODY. There are murdered children, visions of bloody babies and onstage decapitation. WHAT THE HELL, SHAKESPEARE? Thanks for the nightmares, bard!

I can see why this play has captured the imaginations of actors and actresses for generations. There are so many meaty parts. (Oh no, now I'm thinking about all the murder and dismemberment again. Ick.) Plus there are so many parts for women, very few of which are just as simpering daughters or doting wives. The women in Macbeth--particularly Lady Macbeth--mean business. Plus there are so many opportunities to portray desperation, fear, madness, the whole gamut. It's the sort of play that would excite me to no end if I were an actor. 

And it would probably intimidate me. I mean, if you can't make Macbeth spectacular, what's wrong with you? It's already spectacular (and bloody, did I mention bloody?). All you have to do is live up to it. I would find it a little nerve-wracking. Maybe that's the real reason for all those Scottish play superstitions.

It's an eraser!!

Day 27: Shakespeare on film: A Playboy Macbeth??

I was searching for the definitive "Macbeth movie" and I came up a little short. Is there one? I'm not sure. But here are some of the ones I came across...

Scotland, PA (2001)

Scotland, PA (2001) was a modern retelling of Shakespeare's tragic play, following the life of Joe Mcbeth, a line cook at a greasy spoon called Duncan's. Of course his wife has big plans for how he can advance his career...

I remember really wanting to see Scotland, PA when it first came out and now I wish I had because it's kind of hard to find online. Bummer.

Day 26: The Scottish Play

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Everyone knows the superstition. Don't say "Macbeth," when referring to the play, especially when in the theatre in which it is being performed. Call it instead "The Scottish Play," or possibly "MacBee" or the play about "Mr. and Mrs. M." The so-called curse has been blamed for all manner of misfortunes over the years, particularly the Astor Place Riot of 1849.

Some claim that there are ways to reverse the curse, such as running around the theatre three times, or reciting various silly chants (see the scene from Black Adder above) or my personal favourite, reciting lines from The Merchant of Venice, considered to be a lucky play. And it just so happens, The Merchant of Venice is the play I'm reading right after Macbeth The Scottish Play, so I'm covered!

Day 25: Double, Double, Toil and Trouble

So the witches in Macbeth may seem absurd or even a little silly today (why did they have so many ingredients in their brew? Surely some of those ingredients were much harder to get than the thing they were making the potion in order to get...) but they were serious business for Shakespeare's contemporary audience. Witchcraft in the early 1600's was scary and could get you killed. So seeing witches spewing curses on stage was, as Ben Crystal points out in Shakespeare on Toast, probably a little like seeing terrorists build a bomb on stage today. 

Sexy flapper witches, from Approaching Shakespeare's page about teaching Macbeth to middle-graders, which I think is a terrible idea because Macbeth is HELLA DARK!

Still, some of those witches' curses may have had some long-lasting effects. Apparently the infamous "curse of Macbeth" which causes amateur and professional theatre folk alike to refer to it only as "The Scottish Play" when in the vicinity of the theatre, may have its origins in the belief that Shakespeare cursed the play by including "real spells" in the witches' dialogue. So, silly or not, those witches still cause some fear, even if it is just in the form of theatrical superstition.

Day 24: I know I'm supposed to be reading Macbeth, but...

I was just thinking about the last two plays I read, Twelfth Night and The Winter's Tale, and I was thinking how they are sort of opposites in some respects. Specifically, the theme of "clothes making the man" is approached from opposite angles in the two plays.

In Twelfth Night, or What You Will, the idea is that a character is nearly completely transformed simply by changing their costume. When Viola dresses as a man, everyone accepts that she is a man (except a notably hairless and young-looking one). When Malvolio receives a letter from Maria signed as Olivia, he completely accepts that it is from Olivia because it looks like her handwriting. Later, when Malvolio is visited by the "priest" he accepts that it is an actual priest because he's wearing priest's robes even though Malvolio is in complete darkness and couldn't have seen what his visitor was wearing. In other words, appearance is EVERYTHING. All of the characters in the play support this premise. 

In The Winter's Tale, on the other hand, appearances are challenged at every turn. Everyone (including the audience) is certain that Hermione is faithful and her children are fathered by the king, but Leontes challenges it relentlessly. Even though Perdita is raised by a shepherd in the wilderness, the other characters remark frequently on her "other quality" which suggests that she may be of noble blood. When the rogue Autolycus dons the prince's robes, no one fully believes that he is an aristocrat, despite his courtly appearance. Both Hermione's death and reappearance as a statue are questioned (and rightly so...she was neither dead nor a statue). In other words, appearances are not to be believed.

I don't have a further scholarly opinion on the meaning of the theme of appearance versus reality in these two plays. It's just an observation. 

"I'm a belly dancer!" "I'm the Bloggess!" "I'm Hamlet!" No, guys, you're just dead mice.

(photo from Jenny Lawson's blog,  The Bloggess, which I cannot recommend highly enough)

Day 23: Macbeth word cloud...funny the words "Scottish play" aren't in it

I guess they weren't afraid of bad luck because they said "Macbeth" A LOT. Love these Wordle word clouds!

Day 22: New Play Tuesday! MacBeth!

This is--by far--the play I'm most excited to read this year. I've never read it and I've always meant to. I had debated forcing myself to leave it until the end to give myself something to look forward to, but I don't think I can. I'm really excited!

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On the other hand, I hope I don't hate it because it might sour me from completing the rest of the year. Oh well, it's the risk I'll have to take. 

Let's go, Scottish play. Let's go.

Day 21: What I Learned: The Winter's Tale

I love this image from a Berkshire production of The Winter's Tale.

I've read a fair bit of literary criticism of The Winter's Tale this past week (and not all of it on Wikipedia!) but I'm just going to tell you what I personally thought of it. Don't cite me in your essays, kids. I'm not a good source.

First of all, I loved this play. It was one of my favourites as a teenager (back when I read a lot of Shakespeare) and even though I didn't remember anything about it until I re-read it this week, I can still see why. It's still one of my favourites. It's sad, it's messy, it's a tad unresolved, and in its surrealism it's actually quite real.

King Leontes is a moody, jealous asshole who has way too much power to act on his moods. Most jealous boyfriends and abusive husbands don't have the power of an entire court and army behind them but if they did, I can imagine quite a few of them behaving like Leontes does. He casts out his wife and children on the flimsiest of suspicions (mostly because he's grumpy and paranoid) and there's nothing she can do to reason with him. Although everyone agrees that he's paranoid, irrational and just plain wrong, the only one who stands up to him with any vigour is Paulina, another woman. There's a lot that's relatable about this. Women may have more power in society now than we did in Shakespeare's day, but some things never change. There are a lot of irrational Leonteses out there.

What I particularly love about this play is that Leontes never becomes sympathetic. Sure, he's repentant (sort of) and sure, he gets his wife back (sort of) in the end, but it's not like we're rooting for him. We're just glad that Hermione and Perdita are both alive and well. And let's face it, that had nothing to do with Leontes.

I also noticed that almost every male character in the play (except for Florizel and maybe Camillo) at some point threatens to kill, maim or abandon a woman. In most cases it was rhetorical, or to prove some point (like "if the queen can't be trusted, no woman can...therefore I'm going to kill my wife and daughters"...WTH??) but it's still striking, especially considering how dramatically King Leontes himself acted on those sentiments. For me, it makes me think about the relationship between the violent words said in passing and the violence that people actually commit, particularly against women. Again, the least violent characters are the most sympathetic, so I feel Shakespeare may have been making a point about the power men have over women and how unjust that can be. Am I projecting? Maybe. But he also included a scene in which the shepherdesses are offered dildos to buy, so maybe he was making a point about the need for female empowerment after all.

Okay, I'll leave it there. Once the discussion starts going into "dildos" it's hard to keep focus.

Day 20: So, uh, they talk about dildos in this play, y'all

I really don't understand why The Winter's Tale isn't more popular. It's one of my favourites, plus it has the AWESOME stage direction "Exit, pursued by a bear" AND (as if that weren't enough) it contains one of the earliest written usages of the word "dildos." 

Yup. You just read that. 

In the play, the character of Autolycus (pictured above in a painting by Thomas Charles Wageman, thanks to Wikipedia) is a travelling salesman (as well as a thief, a huckster, a con artist and all-around entertaining asshole) who sells, among other things, gloves and dildos. And no, it didn't have a different meaning then.

In this painting by Charles Robert Leslie, Autolycus is seen selling his wares. BUT WHERE ARE THE DILDOS? WHERE? I'm guessing he sold those first.

One of the shepherdesses, Mopsa (real name) asks her boyfriend to buy her some gloves. I guess she didn't know about the other things. 

Day 19: Another awesome word cloud!

Here's another amazing word cloud from SCCEnglish, this time of Twelfth Night. They say "sir" A LOT!

Day 18: Oh, I almost forgot!

Ooh I almost forgot about this amazing word cloud of The Tempest from SCCEnglish! I love how the whole thing looks like a rain cloud with little bits of sunshine poking through!

Day 17: Exit, Pursued by a Bear

Possibly the greatest stage direction of all time. After Antigonus has safely delivered King Leontes' banished infant to Bohemia (where she will ultimately be found and raised by a passing shepherd) he exits, saying "I am gone forever." Then the stage direction is "Exit, pursued by a bear." A motherfucking bear! Did Shakespeare intend to use a real bear for this one second scene? Was there someone in a bear costume? Was it just a growly noise and a furry shape? THERE'S NOT EVEN A BEAR MENTIONED IN THE CAST LIST! He just sort of throws it in there. CRAZY!

It has understandably become one of Shakespeare's most famous stage directions, and has inspired blogs, novels and even a band name. 

One thing's for sure: If I'm ever in a production of The Winter's Tale, I'm going to demand to play the bear.

Day 16: Bohemia, or I Do Not Think That Word Means What You Think It Means

One thing that I learned from Ben Crystal is that, though Shakespeare's plays were often set in far off lands, neither Will nor his audience had necessarily been to any of those places. They'd heard stories--oh the stories!--but more often than not, that was it. And sometimes that caught up to old Will.

Case in point:

In The Winter's Tale, some of the scenes take place in "Bohemia, a desert country near the sea." Except it's not! Bohemia corresponds roughly to the Czech Republic, which is land-locked, nowhere near the sea, and definitely not a desert. Could he have meant Persia?

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The reasons behind Shakespeare's Bohemian sea coast blunder are numerous and, ultimately, unsatisfying. He was apparently ridiculed for the error by Ben Johnson. Some sources say he was referencing an earlier story that also took place on the coast of Bohemia (and Ben Johnson hadn't made fun of THAT guy, so why was he teasing Shakespeare about it?). Others suggest he was referring to 13th-century Bohemia, whose empire did extend to the coast. Some suggested that the settings of Sicilia and Bohemia were originally reversed but he switched them due to political circumstances at the time (if that were true, Sicilia would have been the coastal country, but it wouldn't have explained calling it a desert). Some even say that Shakespeare deliberately made a fanciful version of Bohemia to add to the fairy tale quality of the story.

Personally, I think he simply hadn't been to Bohemia and wasn't that bothered about the geographical details when he had a play to put on.

Day 15: New Play Tuesday! The Winter's Tale

So this week I feel like I need a little catch-up time (already!) so I'm choosing a play I know I've already read, The Winter's Tale. I know I've read it because once, in college, I went to see a production of it and I remember saying, "Oh I've read this one! This'll be great!" Having said that, I remember nothing about the play, on page or on stage. If I had to guess, I'd say it was a manor house mystery? Like Gosford Park or something? That's probably not right. I'll look into it later.

In the meantime, check out this awesome word cloud of The Winter's Tale, courtesy of SCCEnglish!

Day 14: What I Learned: Twelfth's Night, or What You Will

What did I learn? I learned that the stupid "identical twin brother and sister" premise has been going on for centuries. Why would everyone in Twelfth Night meet Sebastian and think he was his sister Viola, who has been posing as a man the whole play? Because they're twins. And in the popular imagination that means that they look EXACTLY alike. No exceptions. 

Sigh.

This is particularly annoying to me because my brother and sister ARE twins (and no, they're not identical because THAT DOESN'T EXIST) and trust me, no amount of wigs would make them look alike. No amount.

So I guess I learned nothing from Twelfth Night because that one plot point was so distracting that it's all I can think about.

Oh, but I did watch a lot more Downton Abbey after reading it. But I probably would have anyway.

Wait, I did learn one thing! The quotes, "If music be the food of love, play on" (which sounds smarmy in any context) and "some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrown upon them" are from this play. That second quote I was sure was from Oscar Wilde. So yes, I learned something!

Day 13: Random and uninspired...you're welcome

Source: itv.com

I'm feeling a little uninspired at the moment. I know that Twelfth Night is filled with frivolity and hijinks, but I'm just not feeling it. It's not that I dislike it, I just find it doesn't read well on the page. It's like reading a book of jokes. It's just not the same as going to a comedy club, is it? 

I thought about blogging about some of the "condensed Shakespeare" videos I had come across, but most of them weren't very good and still felt FAR too long. Surely there's a "Complete Works in 2 minutes" out there? If not, I set the challenge!

The above image is--yes, you guessed it--not from Shakespeare but from Downton Abbey. I was a little confused why Twelfth Night has a line about "what midsummer madness is this" and I wondered if the play even took place during the twelfth day of Christmas, or the day before the Feast of the Epiphany (January 6th). Turns out, in England the Eve of the Epiphany (or "twelfth night") was long considered a night of revelry, particularly for servants, fools and courtiers, which totally fits with the theme of the play. All of the really interesting stuff goes on in the side stories with Olivia's maids, footmen and house guests and is much funnier (and bawdier) than the main story about the love triangle and the gender confusion.

Then it got me thinking, is the Servants' Ball on Downton Abbey actually a reference to this tradition of pre-Epiphany revelry? It's featured in the Christmas Special at the end of Season 2 and then again in the Christmas Special at the end of Season 3 (I don't want to say too much for those who haven't watched Season 3 yet, but the Christmas Special takes place in Scotland and that ball is actually called the Gillies' Ball).

Instead of doing further research, I decided to just slap on a picture of Maggie Smith and Rob James-Collier and go re-watch Downton Abbey instead. I'll read Shakespeare tomorrow!

Day 12: Thank heavens for Ben Crystal!

So back in October 2012 I reviewed a book called Shakespeare on Toast: Getting a Taste for the Bard, by Ben Crystal, on my blog, Cozy Little Book Journal. It was amazing! By far the best book I've ever read about reading Shakespeare. The things I remember most--and have been thinking about constantly as I've been reading--are these:

1. "Thou/Thy/Thine" and "You/Your/Yours" were not interchangeable and were not used randomly. 

"You/Your/Yours" was the more formal second-person pronoun, similar to "vous" in French , while "thou/thy/thine" was the more intimate address, similar to "tu" in French (this is counter-intuitive for us now because nobody says "thou" anymore unless they're trying to sound fancy). So if Shakespeare had a character address someone as "you," it meant that the person they were addressing was a superior, an elder, a deity or nobleman, or possibly that they were very far away. It could sometimes mean that the person was addressing more than one person collectively (not always though) or they could simply be speaking quite formally. If they use "thou," however, we can assume that the character is addressing someone they consider an equal or inferior, someone with whom they have an intimate personal relationship, and that the person is physically near them on the stage. 

Day 11: Hey! Twelfth Night has a teen comedy version! Like all of Shakespeare, apparently..

Did you know that Twelfth Night was the basis of the movie She's the Man? You did, didn't you? Okay, whatever. For some of us this is new information. If I get stuck, I could always just do a year of watching teen comedy films about Shakespeare. Remember when there was a new one out every few months?

Clearly I'll have to do a whole post about all of these film adaptations. Fun!

Day 10: My January Reading Schedule

So I probably should be doing this for the whole year, but so far I've only settled on which plays I'll be reading (and when) for the month of January. My goal is to average one play a week, so I'll have plenty of time left at the end of the year for catch-up or in case I decide to read all of the sonnets and poems too.

So here's the plan for January, for those of you playing along at home:

January 1: The Tempest
January 8: Twelfth Night, or What You Will
January 15: The Winter's Tale
January 22: Macbeth
January 29: The Merry Wives of Windsor The Merchant of Venice

That's the plan, anyway! Let's see how it goes!

Day 9: What I Learned: The Tempest

So this is a bit late, but here are some thoughts on the first play I read in my Shakespeare This Year Project, The Tempest:

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Plot: Prospero is a sorcerer and rightful Duke of Milan but he's been usurped (so he says) by his brother Antonio (though, to be fair, Prospero even admits that he sort of put Antonio in charge while he was too busy with his books and sorcery to be bothered with being a duke) and now he's exiled to an island with his daughter, Miranda. Thanks to a magical storm (or "tempest") Prospero manages to make sure that Antonio's boat is shipwrecked on his island, along with the King of Naples and his son, Ferdinand (and others). Prospero then arranges for Ferdinand and Miranda to fall in love, thus securing a position for his daughter, albeit through magical contrivance. Prospero is aided by his deformed slave (and son of a cursed witch) Caliban, his airy spirit servant Ariel and numerous spirits and goddesses, most of whom resent him and think he's a prat.

Interesting Facts: The Tempest contains more music than any other Shakespearen play. The audiobook staring Ian McKellen seems to think most of this music should be annoying and endless. Pity.

Influence: Like many of Shakespeare's plays, The Tempest has been the inspiration for manyother works of art, most notably Waterhouse's painting, "Miranda, The Tempest," Julie Taymor's 2010 film The Tempest, starring Helen Mirren as Prospera, and Erin Morgenstern's novel The Night Circus.

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Least notably, The Tempest was also the inspiration for the Western film, The Yellow Sky (1948) and the Sci-Fi classic Forbidden Planet (1956).

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Day 8: New Play Tuesday: Twelfth Night

So 37 plays in a year seemed like nothing. NOTHING! I could do that in my sleep, I thought. Then I realized that a year is only 365 days (Shut up. I didn't JUST realize it. I just...I don't know...just REALIZED it. Shut up.) So that means I need to read each play in less than 10 days. Even less than that if I want to have time to read all the poems and the sonnets at the end.

Right. So here's the new plan. A play a week. That'll take me about nine months (like having a baby!) and it'll give me plenty of time to read the poems and stuff at the end, or to catch up if I'm hopelessly behind. 

So since 2013 started on a Tuesday, I figure every Tuesday will be a new play. I shall call it New Play Tuesday. I should really come up with a schedule for the year.

For now, though, the second play I'll be reading (which I should have read first and I'm still mad about) is Twelfth Night, which takes place the night before the Feast of the Epiphany (so January 5th, I believe?). I think I'm going to like it, it has gender confusion and romantic farce and everything.


Also, I should do some sort of review or "Things I Learned" post about The Tempest, now that I've finally finished it. Aggh! It's like being in school except that the mean teacher and the lazy student ARE BOTH ME!

Day 7: Dammit! Why didn't I think of this sooner??

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So if I was going to do a Shakespeare-in-a-Year project, you'd think that I would have had the foresight to start with The Twelfth Night, which takes place on the Twelfth Day of Christmas, or January 5th, which was two days ago. Dammit! And I can't do it next January, because I'm supposed to have been done by then. 

I'm only one week in and I'm already messing this project up. CURSES! DAMN! AND BLAST!

Day 6: The Comedies: The Tempest...I'm totally reading it...really

So according to Wikipedia, The Tempest is a tragicomedy about Prospero, a conjurer and the rightful Duke of Milan, who conjures up a big storm (or tempest, just like the title!) to try to get his daughter Miranda back "to her rightful place" (I'm not sure what that means...her rightful place as duchess? Or, like, her rightful place in his house? I haven't read that far yet). 

Oh and hey look! That famous Waterhouse print (above) is actually of Miranda from The Tempest. Who knew? Well, a lot of people, I'm sure, but I didn't. All I know is that my friend Adrienne had about a million copies of it in college. Seriously, I think she had one in her bathroom. I wonder if she's read The Tempest? Probably.

Day 5: Maybe I'll start with a short one...

Ooh! The Comedy of Errors! So I heard this was one of Shakespeare's shortest plays and I was all like, "Sold! Let's start with this one!"

Apparently it involves two sets of identical twins who were separated at birth and was the basis of the movie Big Business starring Bette Midler and Lily Tomlin. Wahoo! I saw that movie in the 80's. I'm half-way home!

Oh shoot. Didn't I say I was going to start with The Tempest? Right. Dammit! Mike's probably done by now!

Day 4: Time for some new Shakespeare! Maybe an e-book?

The copy Mike lent me of The Complete Works of Shakespeare is fine, but it's so heavy. Was it always this heavy? I remember reading the Complete Works when I was a kid and I'm sure it was lighter. Was I just stronger then? Probably.

These have got to be available online. I'll just put them on my Kobo. See, I can't read now, I have to go looking for e-book versions of Shakespeare. I'm very busy! 

Oh I bet Mike is gloating because he's so much further ahead than I am.

Day 3: Now I remember why I stopped reading Shakespeare in the first place

When I was a teenager I remember reading Shakespeare all the time. I had this great copy of The Complete Works of Shakespeare that I got at a used book store. It was lovely and beautiful. I would take it to school with me to read look smart and also to read some of the naughtier poems to boys I liked (ever read Venus and Adonis? It's CRAZY HOT!). But then in my freshman year of university IT GOT STOLEN! Well, I lent it to someone named Creature Dave and he never gave it back. That's still stealing!

My partner Mike said I could borrow his copy. Actually, he said he'd do the project along with me. Hmm...that's good, right? I'll have someone to read with and discuss the plays with.

On the other hand, what if he reads faster than I do? Oh the race is on, buddy!

UPDATE: Turns out he does read faster than I do as he's already started his first play, The Tempest. I wasn't going to start with that one, but if he's already started it...yeah, I'm gonna read the hell out of it.

Day 2: How many plays ARE there?

Wahoo! I just found out that there are only 37 plays in the Complete Works, not 38.  No, I think there are still 38. So I'm already down one play and I just started! Yay me! This is going to be a breeze!

All right, but what are these 37 38 plays? I know a lot of them, especially if I had to read them in school or if they've been parodied on The Simpsons. But what the hell is Pericles, Prince of Tyre about? Why are there SEVEN plays about kings named Henry? Are the comedies meant to be actually funny? I think I need to do a little research. Thankfully, there's the internet. Here's what I found out so far (via www.shakespeare-online.com). All of Shakespeare's plays, divided up into tragedies, histories and comedies: Plus one two more at the end.

Tragedies

 Antony and Cleopatra (1606-1607)
The story of Mark Antony, Roman military leader and triumvir, who is madly in love with Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt. 

 Coriolanus (1607-1608)
The last of Shakespeare's great political tragedies, chronicling the life of the mighty warrior Caius Marcius Coriolanus.

 Hamlet (1600-1601)
Since its first recorded production, Hamlet has engrossed playgoers, thrilled readers, and challenged actors more so than any other play in the Western canon. No other single work of fiction has produced more commonly used expressions. 

 Julius Caesar (1599-1600)
Although there were earlier Elizabethan plays on the subject of Julius Caesar and his turbulent rule, Shakespeare's penetrating study of political life in ancient Rome is the only version to recount the demise of Brutus and the other conspirators. 

 King Lear (1605-1606)
The story of King Lear, an aging monarch who decides to divide his kingdom amongst his three daughters, according to which one recites the best declaration of love. 

 Macbeth (1605-1606)
Macbeth is one of Shakespeare's most stimulating and popular dramas. Renaissance records of Shakespeare's plays in performance are scarce, but a detailed account of an original production of Macbethhas survived, thanks toDr. Simon Forman. 

 Othello (1604-1605)
Othello, a valiant Moorish general in the service of Venice, falls prey to the devious schemes of his false friend, Iago. 

 Romeo and Juliet (1594-1595)
Celebrated for the radiance of its lyric poetry, Romeo and Juliet was tremendously popular from its first performance. The sweet whispers shared by young Tudor lovers throughout the realm were often referred to as "naught but pure Romeo and Juliet." 

 Timon of Athens (1607-1608)
Written late in Shakespeare's career,Timon of Athens is criticized as an underdeveloped tragedy, likely co-written by George Wilkins or Cyril Tourneur. Read the play and see if you agree. 

 Titus Andronicus (1593-1594)
A sordid tale of revenge and political turmoil, overflowing with bloodshed and unthinkable brutality. The play was not printed with Shakespeare credited as author during his lifetime, and critics are divided between whether it is the product of another dramatist or simply Shakespeare's underdeveloped first attempt at the genre. 

Histories

 Henry IV, Part I (1597-1598) 
One of Shakespeare's most popular plays, featuring the opportunistic miscreant, Sir John Falstaff. 

 Henry IV, Part II (1597-1598)
This is the third play in the second tetralogy of history plays, along with Richard II, Henry IV, Part 1, and Henry V. 

 Henry V (1598-1599)
Henry V is the last in the second tetralogy sequence. King Henry is considered Shakespeare's ideal monarch. 

 Henry VI, Part I (1591-1592)
The first in Shakespeare's trilogy about the War of the Roses between the houses of Lancaster and York. 

 Henry VI, Part II (1590-1591)
Part two of Shakespeare's chronicle play. Based on Hall's work, the play contains some historical inaccuracies. 

 Henry VI, Part III (1590-1591)
Part three begins in medias res, with the duke of Suffolk dead and the duke of York being named Henry VI's heir. 

 Henry VIII (1612-1613)
Many believe Henry VIIIto be Shakespeare's last play, but others firmly believe that he had little, if anything, to do with its creation. 

 King John (1596-1597)
In the shadow of Shakespeare’s second tetralogy of history plays lies the neglected masterpiece, King John. Although seldom read or performed today, King John was once one of Shakespeare's most popular histories, praised for its poetic brilliance. 

 Richard II (1595-1596)
More so than Shakespeare's earlier history plays, Richard IIis notable for its well-rounded characters. 

 Richard III (1592-1593)
The devious machinations of the deformed villain, Richard, duke of Gloucester, made this play an Elizabethan favourite.

Comedies

 All's Well That Ends Well (1602-1603)
Modern scholars contend that this is a problem play, due primarily to the character Helena and her ambiguous nature. Is she a virtuous lady or a crafty temptress?

 As You Like It (1599-1600)
As You Like It is considered by many to be one of Shakespeare's greatest comedies, and the heroine, Rosalind, is praised as one of his most inspiring characters. 

 The Comedy of Errors (1592-1593)
This is Shakespeare's shortest play, which he based on Menaechmiby Plautus.

 Cymbeline (1609-1610)
This play, modeled after Boccaccio'sDecameron, is often classified as a romance. It features the beautiful Imogen, considered by many to be Shakespeare's most admirable female character. 

 Love's Labour's Lost (1594-1595)
Love's Labours Lost fell out of favour for many years, criticized by scholars as muddled and confusing. But the play is making a comeback, and Kenneth Branagh's version has helped it along. 

 Measure for Measure (1604-1605)
Considered a "dark" comedy, Measure for Measure was inspired by Cinthio's Epitia and Whetstone's Promos and Cassandra. 

 The Merry Wives of Windsor (1600-1601)
The Merry Wives is unique amongst Shakespeare's plays because it is set in Shakespeare's England. It features the Bard's beloved character, Falstaff. 

 The Merchant of Venice (1596-1597)
The character of Shylock has raised a debate over whether the play should be condemned as anti-Semitic, and this controversy has overshadowed many other aspects of the play. 

 A Midsummer Night's Dream (1595-1596)
A magical exploration of the mysteries of love, and one of Shakespeare's best-known comedies. 

 Much Ado About Nothing (1598-1599)
The story of two very different sets of lovers, Beatrice and Benedick and Claudio and Hero. The witty banter between Beatrice and Benedick is the highlight of the play. 

 Pericles, Prince of Tyre (1608-1609)
Portions of Pericles are ripe with imagery and symbolism but the first three acts and scenes v and vi (the notorious brothel scenes) of Act IV are considered inadequate and likely the work of two other dramatists. The play was not included in the First Folio of 1623. In Shakespeare's sources, Pericles is named Apollonius. 

 The Taming of the Shrew (1593-1594)
The Taming of the Shrew revolves around the troubled relationship between Katharina and her suitor, Petruchio, who is determined to mold Katharina into a suitable wife. 

 The Tempest (1611-1612)
Hailed as a stunning climax to the career of England’s favorite dramatist, The Tempest is a play praising the glories of reconciliation and forgiveness. Some believe that Prospero’s final speeches signify Shakespeare’s personal adieu from the stage. 

 Troilus and Cressida (1601-1602)
Troilus and Cressida is difficult to categorize because it lacks elements vital to both comedies and tragedies. But, for now, it is classified as a comedy. 

 Twelfth Night (1599-1600)
Shakespeare loved to use the device of mistaken identity, and nowhere does he use this convention more skillfully than in Twelfth Night. 

 Two Gentlemen of Verona (1594-1595)
The tale of two friends who travel to Milan and learn about the chaotic world of courting. 

 The Winter's Tale (1610-1611)
The Winter's Tale is considered a romantic comedy, but tragic elements are woven throughout the play. We have a first-hand account of a production of the play at the Globe in 1611. It is one of Shakespeare's final plays. 

So that's it. Nope, there's one more:

The Two Noble Kinsmen (1613)

The wedding of Theseus, Duke of Athens, to Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons, is interrupted by three queens who have come to beg Theseus to wage war on the corrupt King of Thebes, Creon. This tragicomedy is attributed to William Shakespeare and John Fletcher.

And possibly another:

Edward III (1596)

This is attributed to Shakespeare, though it may have been co-written by Thomas Kyd. I'll get to it if I get to it.

I think I'll start with the comedies. I hope they're funny...