Shakespeare's Greatest Works

By: Samantha Rimbey, Mary Slack, Celeste Robinson

Tragedies

Romeo and Juliet is one of his most famous plays.

His four best written tragedies are Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth.

They were written between 1600 and 1606.

One of his best was Hamlet.

“She was false as water” - Othello

Comedies

Shakespeare's comedies are normally written around love.

One of his most famous comedies was the Taming of the Shrew.

The Taming of the Shrew

A drunk man named Christopher Sly was tricked by a nobleman into thinking he was a lord. He was brought to a mansion and the servants performed a play called, “The Taming of the Shrew”.

“Thy husband is thy lord, thy life, thy keeper, thy head, thy sovereign----- one that cares for thee.”

Histories

Shakespeare's histories were drawn from British historians.

They usually deal with gain and loss of power.

They also show politics as rivalries between families of human ambition and arrogant

pride.“I shall despair. There is no creature loves me; And if I de, no soul

will pity me” - Richard III

Shakespeare’s Actors

Actors required acting and fencing skills.

Most actors specialized in Shakespeare’s plays.

Theaters had poor acoustics so they had to speak very loudly.

Exaggerated gestures were key in furthering the production.