Shakespeare
Globe's most famous
Shakespeare refers to William Shakespeare (1564–1616), the English playwright and poet whose works—*Hamlet*, *Macbeth*, *Romeo and Juliet*, *A Midsummer Night's Dream*—are considered foundational to Western literature.
The name often stands for his collected works or his cultural authority: Have you read your Shakespeare?
To invoke Shakespeare is to invoke literary greatness itself.
Something Shakespearean suggests grand drama, tragic flaws, or linguistic richness.
Danish prince's revenge tragedy
- MacbethAmbitious thane's downfall
- OthelloVenetian military commander
- Romeo and JulietTragedy of rival households
- Julius CaesarRoman dictator and general
King Lear · Coriolanus · Antony and Cleopatra · fatal flaw · hubris · catharsis · downfall · revenge
Feather used for writing
- folioSingle-fold page format
- GlobeFamous Elizabethan theatre
- ElizabethanOf late 1500s England
- scriptWritten words for performance
dramaturge · stagecraft · dialogue · dramatization · prologue · epilogue · masque · interlude
Final Yuletide evening
- Midsummer Night's DreamShakespearean fairy romantic comedy
- Much Ado About NothingElizabethan comedy of courtship
- As You Like ItPastoral romantic comedy
- mistaken identityWrongly recognized as another
wordplay · wit · jest · fool · Puck · Falstaff · cross-dressing · lovers
Famous Elizabethan theatre
- stageRaised performance platform
- actorOne who portrays characters
- performanceCarrying out a task
- audienceGathered viewers collectively
groundlings · soliloquy · monologue · aside · act · scene · costume · rehearsal
Fourteen-line metered poem
- verseMetered poetic passage
- rhymeMatching terminal sounds
- iambicVerse rhythm type
- pentameterFive-foot poetic line
couplet · quatrain · meter · imagery · metaphor · beloved · bard · lyric
Accepted authoritative works
- influencePower to affect others
- adaptationFitting to new conditions
- quotationCited passage or price
- curriculumEducational program's content plan
Folger · universal · timeless · authorship · repertoire · revival · modernization · translation
Hamlet
Danish prince's revenge tragedy
- MacbethAmbitious thane's downfall
- OthelloVenetian military commander
- Romeo and JulietTragedy of rival households
King Lear · Julius Caesar · Coriolanus · Antony and Cleopatra · fatal flaw · hubris · catharsis · downfall · revenge · betrayal
quill
Feather used for writing
- folioSingle-fold page format
- GlobeFamous Elizabethan theatre
- ElizabethanOf late 1500s England
script · dramaturge · stagecraft · dialogue · dramatization · prologue · epilogue · masque · interlude · chronicle
Twelfth Night
Final Yuletide evening
- Midsummer Night's DreamShakespearean fairy romantic comedy
- Much Ado About NothingElizabethan comedy of courtship
- As You Like ItPastoral romantic comedy
mistaken identity · wordplay · wit · jest · fool · Puck · Falstaff · cross-dressing · lovers · reconciliation
Globe
Famous Elizabethan theatre
- stageRaised performance platform
- actorOne who portrays characters
- performanceCarrying out a task
audience · groundlings · soliloquy · monologue · aside · act · scene · costume · rehearsal · playhouse
sonnet
Fourteen-line metered poem
pentameter · couplet · quatrain · meter · imagery · metaphor · beloved · bard · lyric · alliteration
canon
Accepted authoritative works
- influencePower to affect others
- adaptationFitting to new conditions
- quotationCited passage or price
curriculum · Folger · universal · timeless · authorship · repertoire · revival · modernization · translation · Restoration
- literaturebooks, book, fiction, poetry, stories
- AuthorsMark Twain, Twain, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Fitzgerald, Hemingway
- BritainEngland, Wales, Scotland, London, Northern Ireland
- British historyWilliam the Conqueror, Victorian era, Elizabethan era, English Civil War, Tudor era
- British LiteratureDickens, Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, Austen, Chaucer
- dramaTV drama, acting, television drama, drama school, playwright
ShakespeareDan Brown
E.L. James · Danielle Steel · pulp fiction · airport novel · dime novel
- William Shakespeare
- shakespeare character
- Shakespearean playWork by Stratford's playwright
- Shakespearean sonnetFourteen-line poem, ABAB pattern
- Shakespearean tragedyFatal stage work, sixteenth century
- Shakespearean actorPerformer of Elizabethan drama