ArBLOGgedon

Plays of William Shakespeare

The poetry of William Shakespeare cannot be compared in the history of humanities. He was a versatile English poet, playwright and actor. He has written about 38 plays, 154 sonnets and innumerable verse forms between the years 1582–1612, which are remembered even up to now. They had great contribution on English literature and western theater. All his writings have been interpreted into all known languages and they are performed around over the world more than a million times.

Though most of his works were written for English audience the appeal was worldwide. Christopher Marlowe greatly influenced his writing style. In 1594, Shakespeare became part owner of Lord Chamberlain’s Men, a dramatic play company. It was that time he started acting, along with writing plays. Under his presence the company became popular the reason why King James acquire the company and then it was named as King’s men.

His works revolved around comedy, romance, history, and tragedy. He started his career reworking on other writers work which was common at that time. Since then he helped the playwrights to finish their work fast. Like Hamlet was the new adaptation of a lost play named Ur-Hamlet and King Lear was the new version of King Leir. His plays on history were inspired by the Greek, Roman and English history. Plays like Plutarch’s Parallel Lives and Raphael Holinshed’s The Chronicle of England inspired plays like Macbeth and King Lear. Tempest was his original work.

Shakespeare’s early works of 1590s were based on romantic comedies and historic nostalgia which were the storyline of works like A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Henry IV, Part I. After the plague, he started incorporating rhymed couplets and dramatic dialogues in his work. His middle period plays focused around betrayal, murder, egoism, power, ambition, lust, tragedy and comedy. Plays like Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello King Lear, Troilus and Cressida were based on them. His later works were mostly romantic and fantasies such as The Winter’s Tale and The Tempest. His works were also published in press as a series of quartos. Two actors named John Heminges and Henry Condell started First Folio to reward and publish Shakespeare’s work exclusively during the year 1623. Categories such as comedies, tragedies and histories were made in First Folio. Modern critics have added up categories like problem-play and tragic-comedies.

The exact order of his plays is not known and has been the subject of debate during that period, plays weren’t authoritatively printed. Many of his plays had many different blueprints and because of technical glitches like printing errors and reading mistakes, so the recognition of his original work is a problem. Shakespeare coined many words. He had a habit of writing his plays number of time using those different words and spellings. After his death, there came the questions on the authenticity of his work. There have been very little record about the events that happened in his life and nor even his will gives details regarding his ownership of the Globe theater. There were rumors that they might be writings of Christopher Marlowe or Francis Bacon.

The works that have been lost are Quixote, Cardenio, and Love’s Labour’ Won. Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, King Lear, As You Like It, Hamlet, The Taming of the Shrew, Othello, Julius Caesar, The Tempest, The Merchant of Venice, Twelfth Night, Macbeth and Richard III are some the critically acclaimed works of William Shakespeare.

No related posts.