William Shakespeare: Widely Regarded As The Greatest Writer in English Literature

William Shakespeare
Widely regarded as the greatest writer in English

Literature
Shakespeare: The Bio
Lived 1563-1616
Lived in Stratford-on-Avon, England
Wrote 37 plays
About 154 sonnets
Started out as an actor

Stage Celebrity
Actor for Lord Chamberlain’s Men (London theater co.)
Also principal playwright for them 1599
Lord Ch. Co. built Globe Theater where most of Sh. Play’s
were perform
The Genres
Comedy (e.g. A Midsummer Night’s Dream and
Twelfth Night)
Tragedy (Othello and Hamlet)
History (Richard III)
Romance (The Tempest)
The Problem Play/ Mixed Genre (Measure for

Measure)
Comedy
Definition: a drama, novel, film, text that moves toward
a happy ending and implies a re-ordering of the world.
Plot structure is that at the beginning the world is “out

of order” but through the course of the play the
natural/normal order is restored equaling a “happy
ending”
Comedies often have humor, but it is not a prerequisite
e. g. The Divine Comedy by Dante

Comedy Cont.
Comedies often take us to the brink of tragedy, but it is the lack of
death or serious harm that make these plots a comedy.
Comedies focus on a group or a community, and often have general

titles because of it.
Comedies usually resolve in the last 5 minutes and often end in

marriage.
Types of comedy: farce, satire, slapstick, intrigue comedy, romantic

comedy, tragicomedy, religious comedy, black comedy and mannered
comedy.
Shakespeare always mixes the types of comedy in his plays never

adhering to just one format.
Tragedy
Tragedy is when a text moves from order to disorder
Tragedy usually focuses on one individual not the society as a

whole
The end of the play should bring about a catharsis
The hero of a tragedy is usually of an elite class and has a

“tragic flaw” that will be exposed and exploited through the
play
Tragedy involves choices and there consequences
Often have a fatalistic tone

Romance
"Romance" was not a generic classification in
Shakespeare's time. The modern term "romance"
refers to a new kind of play, a hybrid of comic and
tragic elements
It was developed by Francis Beaumont and John

Fletcher with their play Plilaster in 1609
Shakespeare took on this genre at the end of his career

with: The Tempest, The Winter’s Tale, Cymbeline, and
Pericles
Romance Cont.
Sometimes called tragi-comedies because they combine
elements of those two genres.
Plots of romances involve a tragic event that leads to

reconciliation or restoration and forgiveness
However, the endings are always muted happiness as opposed

to the “pure” happiness of a comedy
Plots usually focus on the whole human community and

healing rifts.
Finally, the plots of romances always contain supernatural

elements
Characters are either larger than life or one-dimensional

History
• History plays focus on historical events, but often contain
opinionated subtext about the event
• Shakespeare wrote about two types of history: Roman and
English
• For the English Histories, Holinshed's Chronicles (1587),
but he also drew on other sources, e.g. the anonymous
history play The Famous Victories of Henry the Fifth
(1598)
• The main source for the Roman plays was Plutarch (which
Shakespeare would have studied in grammar school)
The Problem Plays
These plays focus on a problem in society, but they have no true
solution or ending; instead, their endings are awkward.
In these plays, the situation faced by the protagonist is put

forward by the author as a representative instance of a
contemporary social problem
Shakespeare's "problem plays" set out to explore specific moral

dilemmas and social problems through their central characters.
The problem plays are characterized by their complex and

ambiguous tone, which shifts violently between dark,
psychological drama and more straightforward comic material
Theater in the Ren.
Theater was NOT a high class affair.
It was a red light district activity, which meant that it

was competing with Bear baiting, sex shows, sword
fights, punch and judy shows, etc. for an audience
Pick pockets were a major concern at theater
All the actors were men
The classes were separated in the theater seating.

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William Shakespeare

Widely regarded as the greatest writer in English

Lived in Stratford-on-Avon, England

About 154 sonnets

Started out as an actor

Also principal playwright for them 1599

Tragedy (Othello and Hamlet)

History (Richard III)

Romance (The Tempest)

The Problem Play/ Mixed Genre (Measure for

Plot structure is that at the beginning the world is “out

Comedies often have humor, but it is not a prerequisite

e. g. The Divine Comedy by Dante

Comedies focus on a group or a community, and often have general

Comedies usually resolve in the last 5 minutes and often end in

Types of comedy: farce, satire, slapstick, intrigue comedy, romantic

Shakespeare always mixes the types of comedy in his plays never

Tragedy usually focuses on one individual not the society as a

The end of the play should bring about a catharsis

The hero of a tragedy is usually of an elite class and has a

Tragedy involves choices and there consequences

Often have a fatalistic tone

It was developed by Francis Beaumont and John

Shakespeare took on this genre at the end of his career

Plots of romances involve a tragic event that leads to

However, the endings are always muted happiness as opposed

Plots usually focus on the whole human community and

Finally, the plots of romances always contain supernatural

Characters are either larger than life or one-dimensional

In these plays, the situation faced by the protagonist is put

Shakespeare's "problem plays" set out to explore specific moral

The problem plays are characterized by their complex and

It was a red light district activity, which meant that it

Pick pockets were a major concern at theater

All the actors were men

The classes were separated in the theater seating.

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