Category: Great Poets

     Macbeth was probably written between 1603 and 1606. It was penned during the reign of James VI, and Shakespeare’s relationship with sovereign nobility is best reflected in this play, which is also one of Shakespeare’s shorter tragedies.       In Verona, Italy, there were two families who were sworn enemies: the Capulets…

       There really was a king of Scotland named Macbeth, who died in 1057. Shakespeare’s play is based on the legend of his life. The real Macbeth was a ‘mormaer’ or chief, in the province of Moray, in northern Scotland. He later ascended the throne after killing his cousin King Duncan in a…

       Macbeth was a brave general, serving under King Duncan of Scotland. Once he was returning from a victorious campaign, with another general named Banquo. Three witches met them on the way, and prophesied that Macbeth would become thane (baron) of Cawdor, and also King of Scotland.        The witches then…

   ‘The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark’ is a great revenge tragedy. In this play Shakespeare strongly brings out the complexity of the human mind. Prince Hamlet is given the task of revenge, but he is not naturally suited to it. This leads to an inner turmoil which is unveiled brilliantly by Shakespeare. Combined…

       The story of Hamlet is actually much older than Shakespeare’s play. The earliest presentation of the story in a still existing literary form was in the 12th century, by Dane Saxo Grammaticus. This version was expanded by Francois de BeIleforest in ‘Histories Tragique’, in 1582. It is generally believed that this book…

     Hamlet was the Prince of Denmark. His father, the king died suddenly. Soon after the king’s death, his brother Claudius married the queen, Gertrude, and started to rule. Hamlet was very sad about these events.      Then a strange thing happened. The castle guards and Hamlet’s friend Horatio saw the ghost of…

     There are quite a few soulful heroines in Shakespeare’s plays. Desdemona, Lady Macbeth, Juliet, Portia, Ophelia, Rosalind, Cordelia, and Gertrude are some of them. Who played these characters on stage?      In reality, women were forbidden to perform in plays, as it was illegal for women to appear on stage. Therefore, there…

      Do we have all of Shakespeare’s plays? Is there any play lost to us? Many plays, which were once considered to have been written by Shakespeare, have now been discovered to be written by others. Shakespeare also has written plays in collaboration with others. A couple of his plays, however, are known…

     As can be easily imagined, Shakespeare’s plays were written primarily to be performed, and not to be read. Though Shakespeare authored so many plays, he never bothered about printing any of them as books. It was only after his death that his plays were compiled, and were made into respectable books. However, they…

     Did all the wonderful tales that Shakespeare told through his plays have their inception in Shakespeare’s brain? Did he fashion all those tales from scratch? In fact, the plots of most of his plays are borrowed from various sources. This, however, does not diminish his brilliance. The bard’s genius lies more in the…