King Lear
"King Lear" is one of the greatest and important tragedies by the Bard of Avon. King Lear, tormented by old age and greed, decides to divide his kingdom into three amongst his daughters. He does this...
SHAKESPEARE, William
Hamlet
Hold Hamlet, the king of Denmark, is dead. His widow Gertrude marries his brother, Claudius, who becomes king. Hamlet's son sees a ghost of his father who tells his son that Claudius poisoned him. His...
Macbeth
Returning victorious against rebels in Scotland, Macbeth meets three witches on the heath. They say he will become thane of Cawdor and then king, and Banquo's sons will be kings too. Lady Macbeth urges him...
Richard III
The deformed Richard of Gloucester proclaims on the deathbed of Edward IV of York, 'Now is the winter of our discontent'. He is ambitious, brave, cold, treacherous, murderous... and aims to take the throne...
Much Ado About Nothing
Claudio, Benedick and the prince of Arragon visit the duke of Messina, Lorenzo, the uncle of Beatrice and father of Hero. Beatrice and Benedick begin to like each other after being tricked into believing...
The Merchant of Venice
Antonio, a rich merchant, is told by his friend Bassanio, a Venetian nobleman, that he needs to pay 3,000 ducats if he is to gain the hand of the heiress Portia. Antonio borrows from the Jewish usurer...
As You Like It
When Frederick usurps his brother's dukedom, the brother has to live in Arden forest. His daughter Rosalind is a friend of Frederick's daughter Celia and they watch Orlando wrestle. He is the son of Rowland...
The Taming of the Shrew
A lord on the heath finds Christopher Sly drunk and the tinker is fed and invited to watch a play having been told he too is a lord who has lost his memory. The daughters of Baptista Minola of Padua,...
The Comedy of Errors
Any Syracusan found in Ephesus needed to pay a ransom of one thousand marks or else they die. The merchant Egeon is arrested and asked to explain his presence in Ephesus, and he says he is in search of his...
Julius Caesar
After success in Spain, Caesar returns to Rome in 44BC. There is a conspiracy by Cassius and Casca to murder him as he seems to want to restore the monarchy. In order to protect the Republic, Brutus joins...