William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English playwright and poet of the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language.
His works—*Hamlet*, *Macbeth*, *Romeo and Juliet*, *A Midsummer Night's Dream*, among others—remain central to Western literature and theater.
Shakespeare coined countless words and phrases still in use: star-crossed lovers, break the ice, wild goose chase.
His name often stands for literary excellence itself: He's no Shakespeare, but he writes well enough.
Danish prince's revenge tragedy
- OthelloVenetian military commander
- MacbethAmbitious thane's downfall
- Julius CaesarRoman dictator and general
- Romeo and JulietTragedy of rival households
King Lear · Antony and Cleopatra · Coriolanus · fatal flaw · hubris · catharsis · downfall · vengeance
Historic circular London playhouse
- Stratford-upon-AvonWarwickshire market town
- TudorSixteenth-century English ruling family
- Queen Elizabeth ILast Tudor sovereign
- RenaissanceEuropean cultural reawakening
Blackfriars · folio · quarto · groundlings · King's Men · Anne Hathaway · Jacobean · patronage
Fourteen-line metered poem
- iambic pentameterUnstressed-stressed pattern, five feet
- quatrainFour-line poetic unit
- coupletTwo successive verse lines
- voltaRepeated section's alternate ending
rhyme · meter · verse · lyric · blank verse · imagery · alliteration · metaphor
Venue for live drama
- stageRaised performance platform
- dramaturgyArt of theatrical structure
- stagecraftTheater production expertise
- theatricalExaggeratedly emotional for effect
repertoire · masque · interlude · comedy · history · tragedy · romance · five acts
- Twelfth NightFinal Yuletide evening
- Much Ado About NothingElizabethan comedy of courtship
- The TempestLate Shakespearean island romance
- As You Like ItPastoral romantic comedy
wordplay · puns · wit · mistaken identity · disguise · marriage · fool · clown
Hamlet
Danish prince's revenge tragedy
- OthelloVenetian military commander
- MacbethAmbitious thane's downfall
- Julius CaesarRoman dictator and general
King Lear · Romeo and Juliet · Antony and Cleopatra · Coriolanus · fatal flaw · hubris · catharsis · downfall · vengeance · betrayal
Globe Theatre
Historic circular London playhouse
- Stratford-upon-AvonWarwickshire market town
- TudorSixteenth-century English ruling family
- Queen Elizabeth ILast Tudor sovereign
Renaissance · Blackfriars · folio · quarto · groundlings · King's Men · Anne Hathaway · Jacobean · patronage · nobility
sonnet
Fourteen-line metered poem
- iambic pentameterUnstressed-stressed pattern, five feet
- quatrainFour-line poetic unit
- coupletTwo successive verse lines
volta · rhyme · meter · verse · lyric · blank verse · imagery · alliteration · metaphor · conceit
theater
Venue for live drama
- stageRaised performance platform
- dramaturgyArt of theatrical structure
- stagecraftTheater production expertise
theatrical · repertoire · masque · interlude · comedy · history · tragedy · romance · five acts · prologue
A Midsummer Night's Dream
- Twelfth NightFinal Yuletide evening
- Much Ado About NothingElizabethan comedy of courtship
- The TempestLate Shakespearean island romance
As You Like It · wordplay · puns · wit · mistaken identity · disguise · marriage · fool · clown · Falstaff
soliloquy
Dramatic speech to oneself
verse · rhetoric · neologism · coinage · proverb · quotation · insult · double meaning · malapropism · thee
- AuthorsShakespeare, Mark Twain, Twain, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Fitzgerald
- British AuthorsCharles Dickens, Jane Austen, Agatha Christie, Roald Dahl, Shakespeare
- PlaywrightsShakespeare, Anton Chekhov, Chekhov, Ibsen, Sophocles
- British PlaywrightsShakespeare, Pinter, Stoppard, Coward, George Bernard Shaw
- Elizabethan LondonGlobe Theatre, Southwark, River Thames, Blackfriars, Shakespeare
- Renaissance PlaywrightsShakespeare, Christopher Marlowe, Marlowe, Jonson, Webster
William ShakespeareDanielle Steel