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Shakespeare’s Works

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Shakespeare, William Shakespeare

Shakespeare: Resources on the Man and His Work

“He was not for an age but for all time,” Ben Jonson declared in the dedication to the 1623 First Folio of the plays of William Shakespeare. His poetry and plays are still published, produced, discussed, translated and analyzed in the 21st century, but Shakespeare himself remains the subject of speculation and mystery. Use this Web Guide to Shakespeare to examine the man and the controversies, as well as his work and its central place in English-speaking culture today.

William Shakespeare’s Life

Considering the scope of his fame, little is known about William Shakespeare's ... read more »

Shakespeare’s Works

Shakespeare has more books written about him than any other writer, he’s the most produced playwright and there are more films based on Shakespeare's works than on any other writer, including ones you might not immediately recognize, like “10 Things I Hate About You” and “The Lion King.” It’s safe to say that Shakespeare is one of the most influential writers of all time. The Web sites below take you on a whirlwind tour of Shakespeare’s huge body of work, including the plays and the sonnets.

Insights for Shakespeare’s Works

  • Shakespeare’s canon (works accepted as authentic) consists of 37 plays, 154 sonnets and two long narrative poems—“Venus and Adonis” and “The Rape of Lucrece”—with many others attributed to him. Access it all through Bartleby’s online version of W.J. Craig’s 1914 Oxford edition of the “Complete Works of William Shakespeare,” considered one of the best.

Top Sites for Shakespeare’s Works

Shakespeare's plays…
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, provides the full text of Shakespeare’s works, divided into comedy, history, tragedy and poetry.
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Mr. William Shakespeare and the Internet links to criticism of individual Shakespeare plays around the Web.
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Shakespeare's sonnets…
Bartleby.com provides the full text of all 154 Shakespearean sonnets.
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Poets.org, a Web site from the Academy of American Poets, offers a more detailed discussion of the sonnet form of poetry. Access more poems by Shakespeare on the right of his biography page.
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eHow teaches the art of writing a sonnet, the poetic form for which Shakespeare is most famous.
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Shakespeare’s Authorship

Not only do Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets exhibit broad knowledge of the works of classical ... read more »

The Age of Shakespeare

Shakespeare lived and worked between 1564 and 1616, placing him squarely in the long and important ... read more »

Shakespeare’s Plays

Like learning a second language, learning to love Shakespeare's plays can ... read more »

Shakespeare and the English Language

Shakespeare is called the greatest author in the English language not only because his works are in ... read more »

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