Hamlet - Folger Shakespeare Library
WEBHamlet is Shakespeare’s most popular, and most puzzling, play. It follows the form of a “revenge tragedy,” in which the hero, Hamlet, seeks vengeance against his father’s murderer, his uncle Claudius, now the king of Denmark. Much of its fascination, however, lies in its uncertainties. Among them: What is the Ghost—Hamlet’s father ...
Romeo and Juliet - Entire Play | Folger Shakespeare Library
WEBJul 31, 2015 · Toggle Contents Act and scene list. Characters in the Play ; Entire Play The prologue of Romeo and Juliet calls the title characters “star-crossed lovers”—and the stars do seem to conspire against these young lovers.Romeo is a Montague, and Juliet a Capulet. Their families are enmeshed in a feud, but the moment they meet—when Romeo and his friends attend a party at Juliet’s house in ...
Shakespeare's Sonnets | Folger Shakespeare Library
WEBMay 30, 2023 · Introduction to the Sonnets. Few collections of poems—indeed, few literary works in general—intrigue, challenge, tantalize, and reward as do Shakespeare’s Sonnets. Almost all of them love poems, the Sonnets philosophize, celebrate, attack, plead, and express pain, longing, and despair, all in a tone of voice that rarely rises above a ...
Hamlet - Act 1, scene 1 | Folger Shakespeare Library
WEBJun 2, 2020 · Act 1, scene 1. Scene 1 . Synopsis: On the guards’ platform at Elsinore, Horatio waits with Barnardo and Marcellus to question a ghost that has twice before appeared. The Ghost, in the form of the late King Hamlet of Denmark, appears but will not speak. Horatio decides to tell his fellow student, Prince Hamlet, about the …
Othello - Folger Shakespeare Library
WEBAug 14, 2024 · Introduction to the play. In Othello, William Shakespeare creates powerful drama from a marriage between the exotic Moor Othello and the Venetian lady Desdemona that begins with elopement and mutual devotion and ends with jealous rage and death. Shakespeare builds many differences into his hero and …
Macbeth - Act 4, scene 1 | Folger Shakespeare Library
WEBJul 31, 2015 · Act 4, scene 1. Scene 1. Synopsis: Macbeth approaches the witches to learn how to make his kingship secure. In response they summon for him three apparitions: an armed head, a bloody child, and finally a child crowned, with a tree in his hand. These apparitions instruct Macbeth to beware Macduff but …
A Midsummer Night’s Dream - Act 1, scene 1 - Folger …
WEBJul 31, 2015 · Contents. Act 1, scene 1. ⌜ Scene 1 ⌝. Synopsis: Theseus, duke of Athens, is planning the festivities for his upcoming wedding to the newly captured Amazon, Hippolyta. Egeus arrives with his daughter Hermia and her two suitors, Lysander (the man she wants to marry) and Demetrius (the man her father wants her to marry).
Julius Caesar - Folger Shakespeare Library
WEBJulius Caesar was published for the first time in the 1623 First Folio, and that text is the source of all later editions of the play. First Folio (1623) Second Folio (1632) Read and download Julius Caesar for free. Learn about this Shakespeare play, find scene-by-scene summaries, and discover more Folger resources.
The Merchant of Venice - Act 4, scene 1 - Folger Shakespeare Library
WEBJul 31, 2015 · Toggle Contents Act and scene list. Characters in the Play ; Entire Play Antonio, the merchant in The Merchant of Venice, secures a loan from Shylock for his friend Bassanio, who seeks to court Portia. Shylock, a Jewish moneylender, recalls past insults from Antonio and, instead of asking interest on the loan, asks instead—in what he calls a “merry sport”—that if the loan is not repaid ...
Macbeth - Entire Play | Folger Shakespeare Library
WEBJul 31, 2015 · Macbeth - Entire Play. Jump to. Contents. Synopsis: Macbeth, set primarily in Scotland, mixes witchcraft, prophecy, and murder. Three “Weïrd Sisters” appear to Macbeth and his comrade Banquo after a battle and prophesy that Macbeth will be king and that the descendants of Banquo will also reign. When Macbeth arrives at his castle, he and ...