William´s Plays

William Shakespeare´s plays have the reputation of being among the greatest in the English language and in Western literature . Traditionally, the 38 plays are divided into the genres of tragedy, history, and comedy; they have been translated into every major living language , in addition to being continually performed all around the world.

Many have linked these plays to Aristotle's precept about tragedy: that the protagonist must be an admirable but flawed character, with the audience able to understand and sympathize with the character. Certainly, all of Shakespeare's tragic protagonists are capable of both good and evil.

Common Features of the Shakespeare Tragedies

The Shakespeare tragedies share a number of common features, as outlined below:

The fatal flaw: Shakespeare’s tragic heroes are all fundamentally flawed. It is this weakness that ultimately leads to their downfall. The bigger they are, the harder they fall. The Shakespeare tragedies often focus on the fall of a nobleman. By presenting the audience with a man with excessive wealth or power, his eventual downfall fall is all the more tragic.

External pressures: Shakespeare’s tragic heroes often fall victim to external pressures. Fate, evil spirits and manipulative characters all play a hand in the hero’s downfall.

Tragedies:

     Antony and Cleopatra (1607-1608)

   Troilus and Cressida
  Coriolanus (1607-1608).

  Cymbeline
 Hamlet (1600-1601)
 Julius Ceasar (1599-1600)
 King Lear (1605-1606). 
 Macbeth (1605-1606)
 Othello  (1604-1605)
 Romeo and Juliet (1594-1595)
 Timon of Athens (1607-1608)
 Titus Andronicus (1593-1594)

Julius Caesar

This tragedy is believed to have been written in 1599. It portrays the conspiracy against the Roman dictator of the same name, his assassination and its aftermath. It is one of several Roman plays that Shakespeare wrote, based on true events from Roman history, which also include “Coriolanus” and “Anthony and Cleopatra.” Although the title of the play is “Julius Caesar,” Caesar is not the central character in its action; he appears in only three scenes and is killed at the beginning of the third act. The protagonist of the play is Marcus Brutus and the central psychological drama is his struggle between the conflicting demands of honor, patriotism and friendship. The play reflected the general anxiety of England over succession of leadership. At the time of its creation and first performance, Queen Elizabeth, a strong ruler, was elderly and had refused to name a successor, leading to worries that a civil war similar to that of Rome might break out after her death.

Summary: Julius Caesar has returned from successful campaigns in Gaul(France)and Hispania(Spain)and has also deposed his most powerful ruler Gnaius Pompey. He has also secured Egypt thereby ensuring a constant grain supply for Rome and is now the most powerful man in the city. Jealous of his success, a group of powerful conspirators led by Cassius, Casca and Metellius Cimber plan to assassinate Caesar before he secures his power fully. To do this they win over Marcus Brutus, Caesar's close friend and ally by convincing him that it is in the best interests of the Roman Republic that it remains a Republic; with the power in the hands of the citizens and thus the senators; rather than an Empire with all the power in Caesars hands. Being an idealist who idolizes the Republic, Brutus is swayed and accedes to aid them in their plot and agrees to assassinate Caesar in the Senate building, where traditionally the entrants are required to doff all armour and remove weaponry. Meanwhile, Caesar is unaware of the grim fate awaiting him and confident in his power and popularity among the people, he pays little heed to the bad omens perceived by his wife Calpurnia and to the warnings of a Soothsayer who bids him to 'Beware the Ides of March'. As Caesar enters the Senate, the conspirators fall upon and assassinate him by means of daggers concealed in their garments, Caesar dies after mortal blows to his body and upon perceiving the treachery of Brutus whom he considered among his closest friends. Next, Marcus Brutus speaks to the clamouring citizens who demand to know of the cause of death of their beloved hero. Brutus tries and explains to them how killing Caesar was necessary for the Republic and how his ambition threatened its continuity. Brutus's speech is followed by Marc Antony, another one of Caesar's closest friends who questions the motives of the conspirators in public and moves them to grief over the assassination. He subtly sways the crowd and by the end has the crowd mobilized against the conspirators. The next acts describe the hunting down of the conspirators one by one by Antony and Octavian: Caesar's nephew and successor culminating in the Battle of Phillipi before which the ghost of Caesar appears and taunts Brutus. The play ends after Antony pays tribute to the deceased Brutus, lauding him as the noblest Roman of all because he alone had acted out of patriotism for the Republic rather than personal motives.

Histories

The histories were those plays based on the lives of English kings. Therefore they can be more accurately called the "English history plays," a less common designation.

Shakespeare was living in the reign of Elizabeth I, the last monarch of the house of Tudor, and his history plays are often regarded as Tudor propaganda because they show the dangers of civil war and celebrate the founders of the Tudor dynasty. In particular, Richard III depicts the last member of the rival house of York as an evil monster , a depiction disputed by many modern historians, while portraying the usurper, Henry VII in glowing terms. Political bias is also clear in Henry VIII, which ends with an effusive celebration of the birth of Elizabeth. However, Shakespeare's celebration of Tudor order is less important in these plays than his presentation of the spectacular decline of the medieval world. Moreover, some of Shakespeare's histories—and notably Richard III—point out that this medieval world came to its end when opportunism and machiavelism infiltrated its politics. By nostalgically evoking the late Middle Ages, these plays described the political and social evolution that had led to the actual methods of Tudor rule, so that it is possible to consider history plays as a biased criticism of their own country.

List of Shakespeare histories:

   Henry IV, part I(1597-1598) 
 Henry IV, part II(1597-1598)
  Henry V(1598-1599)
 Henry VI, part I (1591-1592)
  Henry VI, part II (1590-1591)
  Henry VI, part III (1590-1591)
 Henry VIII (1612-1613)
  King John(1596-1597)
  Richard II (1595-1596)
 Richard III (1592-1593)

The Summary of King John

This drama is one of the great history themed plays by William Shakespeare. John is the weak son of King Henry II and brother of the late King Richard the Lion heart. The plot covers the conflicts between family members. And war between France and England. The consequences of the disputes result in murder.  The son of Richard the Lion heart, Arthur, dies. Constance kills herself and Queen Elinor also dies. King John is poisoned. Cardinal Pandulph, the Pope's legate, forges a peace agreement between England and France, and John's son Henry becomes the next King of England.

Comedies

"Comedy", in its Elizabethan usage, had a very different meaning from modern comedy. A Shakespearean comedy is one that has a happy ending, usually involving marriages between the unmarried characters, and a tone and style that is more light-hearted than Shakespeare's other plays. Patterns in the comedies include movement to a "green world", both internal and external conflicts. Shakespearean comedies tend to also include:

•          A greater emphasis on situations, than characters.

•          A struggle of young lovers to overcome difficulty.

•          Separation and re-unification.

•          Deception among characters.

•          Disputes between characters, often within a family

•          Multiple, intertwining plots.

•          Use of all styles of comedy (slapstick, puns, dry humor, earthy humor, witty banter, practical jokes).

•          Happy Ending.

List of Shakespeare comedies:

     All´s Well That Ends Well (1602-1603)
  As You Like It (1599-1600)
 The Comedy of Errors (1592-1593)

  Cymbeline(1609-1610)
  Love´s Labours Lost (1594-1595)
 Measure for Measure (1604-1605)
  The Merry Wives of Windsor (1600-1601)

  The Merchant of Venice (1596-1597)

  A Midsummer Night´s Dream (1595-1596)
  Much Ado About Nothing (1598-1599)
  Pericles, Prince of Tyre(1608-1609)
  The Taming of the Shrew (1593-1594)

  The Tempest(1611-1612)
  Troilus and Cressida (1601-1602)
  Twelfth Night (1599-1600)
  Two Gentlemen of Verona (1594-1595)
  The Winter´s Tale (1610-1611)

The Merry Wives of Windsor the play by William Shakespeare

Summary of the plot or story:

Falstaff first deceives the wives. The wives, Mr. Ford and Mistress Quickly and then deceive Falstaff. Falstaff gets into trouble because he is insincere, pretending to be loves truck when all he is really interested in is money. The ladies turn the tables on Falstaff, and he gets his just deserts.

It is believed that The Merry Wives of Windsor was first performed between 1600 and 1601. In the Elizabethan era there was a huge demand for new entertainment and The Merry Wives of Windsor would have been produced immediately following the completion of the play.

The most important characters in the drama are:

Sir John Falstaff and Mistress Ford, Mistress Page

All characters and plot are purely fictitious.