As You Like It (1599)
Introduction “All the world’s a stage”, declaims the melancholy Jacques in 2.7 of “As You Like It” – and “all the men and women merely players”. Other than Hamlet, there are few characters in Shakespeare’s plays more drawn to acting – to playing – than Rosalind, the central character in this play and (in terms […]
Measure for Measure (1604)
Introduction At the heart of this play is a dilemma about how society should be governed: the play asks whether every marginal infringement of the law should be punished to the maximum severity – or should we rather temper justice with mercy? The governing establishment in Vienna thinks justice should be severe. It’s been a […]
The Merry Wives of Windsor (1600)
Introduction Great writers create memorable characters, and Shakespeare created any number who live vividly in the imagination: Shylock, Lady Macbeth, Romeo, Iago, Cleopatra, Hamlet. It’s a long list, and even people who have never read a word of Shakespeare could add another half-a-dozen to the sequence. One character who would crop up on many people’s […]
The Taming of the Shrew (1592)
Introduction Shakespeare often raises dilemmas in his plays, which he then expresses through two contrasting characters. For example, in “Henry IV Part One”, Prince Hal’s loyalties are torn between his pious, God-fearing father on one side and his hard-drinking, high-living old friend Falstaff on the other. In the end he chooses his father’s path, and […]
Twelfth Night (1601)
Introduction Shakespearean Theatre was male through and through. True, women were part of the audience, and female characters appeared on stage. But there the role of women ended. Yet Shakespeare’s plays are full of dynamic female characters. From Portia to Lady Macbeth, from “Antony and Cleopatra” to “The Merry Wives of Windsor”, his plays are […]