Shakespeare Research Paper

When hearing Shakespeare’s plays, what instantly springs into your mind? Comment below and let me know. As for me, two names will always spring in my mind, Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet.

William Shakespeare’s plays are well known to be the greatest plays ever written in the English language and in western literature. Shakespeare’s 37 plays mainly consist of three main genres, tragedy, history and comedy. These 37 plays are now preformed and taught all around the word and have been translated into every major living language.

Unfortunately, Shakespeare never published any of his plays and therefore none of the original manuscripts survived. However, Eighteen unauthorized versions of William Shakespeare's plays where published by unscrupulous publishers during his lifetime in quarto editions. (There were no copyright laws protecting Shakespeare and his works during the Elizabethan Era). William Shakespeare’s collection of work remained as eighteen quartos until 1623 (a full seven years after his death). When two of his fellow actors, John Hemminge’s and Henry Condell, posthumously recorded his work and published 36 of William Shakespeare's plays in the First Folio.

More about the plays genres?

Although the three genres seemed very straightforward, it is very difficult for people to categorize the plays. Especially since the genres sync together, as the histories blur comedy and tragedy, the comedies contain elements of tragedy, and so on, the cycle continues.

Tragedy:

Shakespeare’s tragedies are usually the easiest to identify, as they always follow the rise and fall of a heroic figure (often powerful noblemen). This character usually has a fatal flaw such as jealousy or ambition that leads them to their bloody end (usually dea...

... middle of paper ...

... language used today is very different than the language used in 16th century Elizabethan era that is used in Shakespeare’s plays. It is therefore not surprising that we are oblivious to some of the words contained in the plays and take a long time and multiple reads until we can get the hang of the play. Shakespeare wrote the way he did for poetic and dramatic purposes. As he used the language to create a specific poetic rhythm, to emphasize a certain word, to give a character a specific speech pattern, which only complicated the play and made it harder for us modernized people to understand his plays.

Where were Shakespeare’s plays preformed???

William Shakespeare's plays were traditionally performed at the Black Friar and Globe theatres in London. The theatres in the Elizabethan era were usually three stories high, and built around an open space at the center.