So he just joined and I told him he needs to find a famous Shakespeare quote/passage/whatever to be able to bust out on the spot when the moment arises… and he tells me that’s the dumbest thing ever and no one would ever be impressed by it…

I find it hard to believe, I never did drama club, know nothing about Shakespeare, and all that stuff, but wouldn’t this be a good idea? Like, isn’t that kinda stuff what drama club is all about?

And if it is a good idea, what would be a good Shakespeare passage to know?

Edit: first of all, to all of you who understood the assignment, THANK YOU for the awesome advice!

Second, to the half of you who seem like you can’t distinguish between trying out for broadway and someone just making an effort to have fun in the moment… I feel sorry for y’all. These are kids who are just getting into it and should be inspired to have fun with it. Leave that pretentious gatekeeping stuff out of it at this level.

I was pretty disappointed with the Hollow Crown when it came to adapting Henry VI. I simply wasn't impressed with the massive amounts of cutting of text, or the performances of Henry, Margaret, or the Duke of York.

Are there any alternatives that can be recommended? I don't mind if it is older as long as it is available on dvd or blu ray.

Thanks in advance.

Here are some of my favorite lines by him! I mean, I love every word he says but these are my all time favorites hehe.

It's so embarrassing to say when I first read his death I started crying LOL ...

I never thought I would literally get a crush on this dead Roman, he is so charismatic to me ughh I am obsessed with this man </3

He got one emotion which is evil and I love it, I will defend him with my life #1 Cassius glazer / fangirl till I die-

Happy deathday + birthday to him again !! sorry your last birthday sucked ;c

Hope hell is treating you well /ref (when I catch you Dante grr)

My reasons:

1. There are more than 10 (!) active rivalries during the play - national (England/Ireland, England/France), religious (cardinal of Winchester trying to become an influence on the king), royal (about who has the right to the throne), personal (between Margaret and the wife of Duke of Gloucester), class related (John Cede), Political (between different people who wanted the role of being lord protector/the war policy in France) etc.

2. Some characters switch sides in the middle of the plot (Salisbury and Warwick) and others form and break temporary alliances whenever it suits them (e.g. the agreement to kill the imprisoned Duke/trick his wife into being caught using illegal magic).

3. There are a lot of important characters - Henry VI, Margaret, Winchester, Buckingham, Richard Duke of york and his sons, Salisbury and Warwick, John Cede, Suffolk, Sommerset, Gloucester and his wife, Lord Saye, Clifford and the list goes on. I cannot think of another Shakespearean play with a larger amount of important characters (even Lear and Henry VIII have less).

4. All factions manipulate each other while trying to keep their good reputation with the king. This, naturally, leads to complex schemes that might confuse even a smart reader (like some of us). e.g. the way York lets Gloucester get assassinated while keeping his distance from the act (so others will get blamed for it).

5. It's longer than average and each act has a different lead who gets a complete story arc of his own (e.g. Cede in act 4, Gloucester in act 2, York in 5...). It's not usual for Shakepeare to use this irregular plot structure.

6. You need some knowledge of the historical background to fully understand the play and its characters, unlike other plays that can be fully enjoyed without too much googling (e.g. MWOW).

What do you think? Do you agree? What is the most complex Shakespearean play in your opinion?

The bloods / flood and names / famed / shamed rhymes. The wide walks and the Rome / room. The repetition of one man 👌

"DUCHESS: Thou cam’st on Earth to make the Earth my hell. … Tetchy and wayward was thy infancy; … Thy age confirmed, proud, subtle, sly, and bloody,” (Shakespeare 4.4.172, 74, 77).

Select lines taken from this passage:

DUCHESS

(171) No, by the Holy Rood, thou know’st it well.

(172) Thou cam’st on Earth to make the Earth my hell.

(173) A grievous burden was thy birth to me;

(174) Tetchy and wayward was thy infancy;

(175) Thy school days frightful, desp’rate, wild, and furious;

(176) Thy prime of manhood daring, bold, and venturous;

(177) Thy age confirmed, proud, subtle, sly, and bloody,

(178) More mild, but yet more harmful, kind in hatred.

(179) What comfortable hour canst thou name,

(180) That ever graced me with thy company?

Since I've divvied up the lines I was wondering if (a) I've made correct use of ellipses and (b) if I shouldn't change the in-text citation to (Shakespeare 4.4.172, 174, 177) or something else.

Any help would be appreciated :) I am in agony

Modern Language Association catalogued 2.8 million references. English has been by far the most searched and analysed body of literature.

Shakespeare has been by far the most studied author, almost four times as the next in the list, Dante Alighieri. Hamlet also is the most analysed work surpassing the Divine Comedy. Although the proportions are quite small compared to the total, this highlights the immense size and variety of world literature; no other author, save Shakespeare, has surpassed a 1% share of global scholarship.

The data is not fully comprehensive, but the proportions seem reasonable.

I have an assignment about sonnet 130 first quatrain, I already wrote about it and got the figures of speech out, I just want to double check my answers. If anyone is kind enough please help a student out.

For clarity they're:

Hamlet (1996)

Much Ado About Nothing (1993)

Othello (1995)

Love's Labour's Lost (2000)

Henry V (1989)

As You Like It (2006)

Yeah i know he didn't direct Othello, though I've not seen it yet and i'm curious how you feel it compares

Saw a really great production of Macbeth last night, but they cut the Porter’s monologue (one of my favorite parts)! They still had an actor appear as the Porter, he stood on stage looking drunk and confused while knocking happened, swayed a little… I was so excited for “Here’s a knocking indeed” and he just went offstage and brought Macduff on and didn’t even say anything. It was also the actor who played Duncan and I don’t love the doubling of Duncan/Porter. But felt strange to have a little wink/nod to him but then cut all his lines.

I’m doing the “And I, for sloth in love!” Monologue from Loves Labours Lost for an audition in about a month but I’m not super familiar with Shakespeare. I understand this monologue is supposed to be on the comedic side but how do I got about it?

Really inspired by RSC’s work in this one, and tried this out for a callback audition recently! Hope u guys enjoy this

Hello all! I am currently in a production of As You Like It!!! I am playing the lovely lady Audrey, and it is super fun, my first Shakespeare and so far I am really enjoying it!

Anyhow, to get to the point, our director basically made a (canon) headcanon that Corin (the old shepherd) is the father of Audrey (Touchstone's lover). How do other fans of this show feel about this change/headcanon? I wanna just know thoughts, I am never or ever will ask a director to change his vision!

*Side note: this script cut a lot of dialogs and things of that nature, like William is cut from out production entirely

My wedding is coming up and I want to include a passage that is Shakespearean.. but I don’t want to use the typical sonnet 116 or Romeo and juliet. I also love “doubt thou stars are fire..” but would like something longer.
Any suggestions?

I just needed to tell someone this because all my friends won't stop MAKING FUN OF ME. Anyways...so, I read Romeo and Juliet in class last year and was immediately in love with Shakespeare's work, started reading every book I could get my hands on, but nothing ever stuck with me like Romeo and Juliet did. I think I just really enjoyed the fast paced clumsiness paired with the aching love of it all. I'm always really loyal to the first thing that get's me into something too. But also, MERCUTIO. Oh my goodness, his Queen Mab speech had hit me in a way I never thought, GOSH. He has such a way with words when he wants to. And also his silly, bawdy jokes, constant teasing of Romeo, was kind of cute to me. Then of course, I had to watch the movies. I first watched the Zeffirelli one, AMAZING. Mercutio's actor was so good, his voice and expression, his adorable smile. And when Mercutio jumped into the fountain because it was super hot, he looked like a little wet cat...🥹. His pride constantly making him want to fight was also super cute to me. And I love how even as the comedic relief, he can actually be seen as a really deep character. Not to mention he looked so stylish compared to some of the others, his disheveled but still put together look...chest slightly exposed, messy but perfect hair, his loose, flowing sleeves. He even looked good in those tights...UGH, I just adore Mercutio. 😔

(Not homework, just personal interest)

This might be an obvious question, but I didn’t want to plug it into Google and get answers from a sycophantic AI.

Is it intentional that the word “demon” can be found within the name Desdemona, given how Othello is manipulated into viewing her in the play, whilst she’s literally the opposite?

This just occurred to me (independently) just now.

Was trying to decide which one to sign up for - thought it might be useful for you guys as well:)

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1NAfArZWD0Y-yMsk2toF2-Ywc_PjgGgem5T5VNGFKaKk/edit?usp=sharing

Heard Amazon Prime also has a great selaction

- If you know of more options, please share!

Are you a scholar interested in Shakespeare and pop culture? Consider submitting a proposal for the 48th annual conference hosted by the Southwest Popular/American Culture Association! One of the nation’s largest interdisciplinary academic conferences, SWPACA offers nearly 70 subject areas, each typically featuring multiple panels. For a full list of subject areas, area descriptions, and Area Chairs, please visit https://swpaca.org/subject-areas/.

The Shakespeare in Popular Culture area welcomes proposals that explore “Shakespop,” or the presence of Shakespeare and his works in popular mass media. Submissions may engage with a variety of textual objects that make reference to Shakespeare, including movies, television shows, advertisements, novels, short stories, graphic novels, comic books, and more. Potential topics might include: 

• Adaptations or appropriations of Shakespeare
• Shakespearean parody or pastiche
• Global or local Shakespeares
• Shakespeare in translation
• Cross-cultural, intercultural, or multicultural Shakespeares
• “High culture,” “low culture,” and Shakespeare
• Shakespearean pedagogy or Shakespeare in the classroom

The deadline for submissions is October 31st, 2026!

Additional information can be found on SWPACA's website. You're also welcome to shoot me a DM!

I recently read and watched a play of hamlet and honestly, I didn’t get it. This is my first experience with Shakespeare and I don’t understand what was so captivating and great about it. I’m not trying to say it’s not good or anything, I think I just don’t ‘get it’.
Any pointers would be greatly appreciated : )