Decided to check out the local village volunteer library where you can pick up used books for a small donation. Got some stuff for the kids but just had to grab this one!

I’ve long wanted to read more of the great works. So far I’ve read/seen R&J, Hamlet, some of Macbeth, Richard III, some of Julius Caesar.

What do you consider the other “must reads”? I’ve never actually read Macbeth all the way start to finish, so I may start there. Also, what are the best comedies?

Thanks in advance!

I don't know if it can be interpreted in this way, yet I felt as though Orsino seemed to already have feelings for viola/ Cesario as immediately upon finding out viola is a lady [minutes later] he proposes marriage, mind you, viola hadn't changed into her female attire and Orsino had been distraught over Olivia just minutes earlier. He adjusts into the idea that Cesario aka viola is a lady who loves him so quickly that it makes me think as though this man had feelings for 'him' [viola].

fairy tales are omnipresent, here and there. In Shakespeare’s late romance (trage/comedy) there is some traces of the tale we know as Snow White best known today from the brothers Grimm and the brothers Disney. But in what form and from what collection would William Shakespeare have known it? Did a collection of fairy tales exist in his days? Or was it just something you’ve learn from your mother (and elsewhere ) as a child?
I’m kinda looking for little Williams collection of fairy tales. 🛖🍎👻

Technically referring to specific sections, but easily generalisable to the whole play.

I’m a professional actor who has had some moderate success in Shakespearean roles over the years (Polonius, Lord Capulet, etc.) but I’ve auditioned for Richard III and will be playing the titular man himself. I find the character very fun to explore, and there’s so much potential in what I’m able to do with him, but I find myself overwhelmed with all of the potential and the sheer amount of time I’m going to be central to the performance.

Some tips or important keys to keeping this character’s portrayal strong would be appreciated.

Basically: What do you think makes a good Richard performance work?

I'm looking to find a short monologue (around 1 minute) to use from one of Shakespeare's comedies for an upcoming play (The Complete Works of Shakespeare Abridged) I long to be apart of. As an actor who thrives in physical comedy, I've settled on either Launce's speech from The Two Gentlemen from Verona or Gobbo's speech from The Merchant of Venice, although a bit hesitant because I believe they are two minutes each despite being very good content. Which would be safer to condense into a shorter performance, if not what monologues match the vibes and are also really funny and short? Thank y'all in advance!

Is there an edition of the plays that highlights/marks Shakespearean coinages or first recorded usages in the text of the plays themselves? I’ve found lists of Shakespearean words but I’d like to see them in context.

Starting Richard II tonight! I'd love to catch all its nuances and details. Tell me everything I need to know! Thanks!

If anyone has any suggestions, I'm looking for books and critiques on Hamlet that put forth new or interesting ideas. They don't necessarily even have to be good, I just want to look at a new viewpoint on the play that has some creativity to it, whether it's an inspired book based on the original work or an interesting critique. Any help is greatly appreciated, I'm just reading for enjoyment.

Having read The Tempest, Macbeth, Julius Caesar and Romeo and Juliet, I feel like Hamlet is much more difficult to understand. I’ve read the first two acts and although I’m enjoying it, it feels much more dense and packed than his other plays by far. Is this a common experience?

hiya!! i've been looking at ma shakespeare studies at kcl as well as ma shakespeare at birmingham. i'm aware kcl is a lot more expensive than birmingham but it has a well-known reputation for research and high quality facilities. could anyone who's done ma shakespeare studies provide me insight on what the course is like? also, does having access to the globe theatre and the indoor Sam Wanamaker playhouse benefit your devising ability?

I’m working on marking the iambic pentameter in this monologue. I am confused because I am trying to go with the da-DUM rhythm, but also keep the integrity of how some words are said.

What dictates a trochee?

Are my markings correct?

Any help is greatly appreciated :)

I’m wondering if there are any groups that meet online to read/examine shakespeare or even run through versions of the plays together. I love reading shakespeare but I have a busy job with awkward hours that makes it difficult to commit to a play rehearsal so I was wondering if anything existed where people are given roles and perform read throughs over zoom?

I’ve just added Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet to my project that aims to render old, public domain literature and philosophy easier to read.  The project currently provides a web interface with the following for each text: 

• Aligned simplifications: The original text is displayed directly alongside a simplified, modern, colloquial version, so that it’s easy to check the approximate meanings for difficult phrases.
• A collapsible outline: An outline of succinct notes summarizes the text, and makes it possible to navigate more easily.

It’s all free, there are no ads, and you don’t have to login.  My current intention is to get a sense of whether it’s feasible to make old literature and philosophy more accessible in a way that widens the audience who will potentially read it. You can also read more about my general motivations here.

I’ve used LLMs to generate the outlines and simplified texts, so there may be some occasional (but hopefully infrequent) slop mixed in.  I’ve attempted to minimize such slop using algorithms that construct and align the generated content to the original texts in a very fine-grained, piecemeal way.  I find the current result to be at least good enough to be somewhat helpful for me when I’m reading the original texts, and I intend to keep iterating to improve the quality over time.

(Also, side-note: This is not a vibecoded project.  I’ve written most of the code by hand over the past couple years.)

I’m curious about whether people in this community are interested in this sort of thing.  If so, I’m happy to take suggestions for other Shakespeare plays that I should prioritize adding to the project.  I’d also be interested if people have suggestions for additional annotations or features that would be especially helpful for reading these plays.

I'm looking for Shakespeare monologues that are comedic, over the top, or very charismatic. Basically any monologues by more comedic or eccentric characters. I'd prefer to stay away from any of the most popular tragedies. All your recommendations are helpful!

Please remove if not allowed, but I wanted to share this slate of free Shakespeare across the US!

Next week Elsewhere Shakespeare, alongside several partner production companies, will be presenting 12 different productions of Hamlet! One component is a tour from Troy, NY to Salem, MA, with a different actor playing Hamlet each night. The other component is satellite shows in various cities across the US on October 20. If you’re interested in seeing one of these shows, please visit the Elsewhere Shakespeare website for more details.

I just got done doing my very first Shakespeare, playing (a very specific version of) Macbeth! And I HAD to commemorate closing with an ode to one of my absolute favorite lines! Thought yall would like it!