William Shakespeare
Universally regarded as the greatest writer in the English language, Shakespeare's plays encompass the full range of human experience with unparalleled insight and poetry. His 37 plays and 154 sonnets have been translated into every major language. He transformed the English theater and remains its central figure.
Works
- Sonnets154 short poems on love, time, and beauty
- Venus and AdonisNarrative poem depicting goddess of love's seduction of the beautiful youth Adonis
- The Rape of LucreceNarrative poem narrating the rape of Roman noblewoman and her tragic response
- The Phoenix and the TurtleLyric poem mourning the death of a mysterious beloved through mythological symbolism
- HamletTragedy of a Danish prince haunted by his father's ghost
- King LearAn aging king divides his kingdom and reaps tragedy
- MacbethA Scottish thane seizes the crown through prophecy and murder
- OthelloA Venetian general undone by a lieutenant's whispered lies
- A Midsummer Night's DreamComedy of young lovers navigating magic, mistaken identity, and mischievous forest spirits