Which play should I read next?

[APenForYourTho…]

Hello! I've only read three Shakespeare plays so far, but I really loved the ones I've read and would like to read more. I read Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet in school, and I read The Tempest on my own. What would you guys recommend?

[Everyman]

If you think you're old enough for it, read King Lear. Four times at least.

And re-read Hamlet at least twice more.

Then try:
The Taming of the Shrew
Midsummer Night's Dream
Henry IV

heck, just read them all!

[APenForYourTho…]

Thanks, Everyman! I plan on reading most, if not all, of Shakespeare's plays eventually, but this will help me get started. I'm sure I will be rereading Hamlet as well; it was my favorite of the three I've read. Thanks again!

[APenForYourTho…]

Okay, I picked up "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare" at Barnes and Noble today. The cashier was a Shakespeare fan, so she recommended "Much Ado About Nothing", "King Lear", and "Measure for Measure". So it looks like "King Lear" is the most recommended so far!

[Melissa_W Moderator]

"Henry V" is always a favorite of mine, especially the speeches by the Chorus (for a great performance of that role check out the film directed by Kenneth Branaugh - Derek Jacobi opens the film: "O for a muse of fire" ).

Also read A Midsummer Night's Dream, Much Ado About Nothing, Othello, and Twelfth Night.

Like Everyman says, just read them all

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APenForYourThoughts wrote:
Hello! I've only read three Shakespeare plays so far, but I really loved the ones I've read and would like to read more. I read Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet in school, and I read The Tempest on my own. What would you guys recommend?

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Message Edited by pedsphleb on 07-30-2007 11:25 PM

[Phebemarie]

I love Henry V as well, but I'd recommend starting with Henry IV, part 1. Reading that will give you some great background and introduce you to Falstaff, one of Shakespeare's most interesting characters. (If you like Falstaff, he also appears in The Merry Wives of Windsor in a purely comic role and in the second part of Henry IV).
I agree with Pedspleb that the Kenneth Brannaugh production of Henry V is terrific. I let one of my students borrow it; he liked it so well, he never brought it back.

Message Edited by Phebemarie on 08-12-2007 09:43 PM

[apara001]

I like to tackle them by genres myself...it helps me understand how a tradgedy, a comedy, a history play, etc is constructed and what is unique about them.

I love Ceasar, Lear, twelfth night, and measure for measure as well as many others. I dont think you can go wrong.

[deacontomc]

I've always been partial to Othello. Is it just me, or do others think that his tragedies are actually more accessible than his comedies.
I saw Love's Labour Lost at the Globe in London this summer, and liked it very much, but I don't know if I'd read it as easily. In OCtober, locally, I expect to see the Tempest and the Merchant of Venice.

Tom

[Everyman]

I am almost unable to read Othello -- I find it very painful to read such deliberate cruelty.

OTOH, I adore Lear. It's by far my favorite of his plays.

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deacontomc wrote:
I've always been partial to Othello. Is it just me, or do others think that his tragedies are actually more accessible than his comedies.
I saw Love's Labour Lost at the Globe in London this summer, and liked it very much, but I don't know if I'd read it as easily. In OCtober, locally, I expect to see the Tempest and the Merchant of Venice.

Tom

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[apemantus]

I think the tragedies are more accessible on the page than the comedies. But as most summer Shakespeare festivals will show you, the comedies seem better at putting the people in the seats.
Love's Labour's Lost is probably the most difficult reading play. Arden3 does a very good job at explaining all the arcane references, which this play seems to have in just about every line. It's not my favorite, but I do find myself returning to it quite a bit. Sort of like a very difficult puzzle that I just can't put aside. (Coriolanus is like that, too: a better play than I give it credit for....if that makes sense.)

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deacontomc wrote:
I've always been partial to Othello. Is it just me, or do others think that his tragedies are actually more accessible than his comedies.
I saw Love's Labour Lost at the Globe in London this summer, and liked it very much, but I don't know if I'd read it as easily. In OCtober, locally, I expect to see the Tempest and the Merchant of Venice.

Tom

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[Phantom1313]

You must read King Lear. It's a fantastic play. Any father can relate to it. Simply, it's about a kind and generous father who is ruined in the end by his three daughtes. Excellent tragedy. Another good one is A Midsummer's Night's Dream. If you translate it into modern language, it's as good as any modern comedy.

[Everyman]

I agree that Lear is a must read -- many times over.

But I would disagree a bit with your characterization of it. He isn't, I suggest, ruined by three of his daughters. To the extent that he is ruined, it is by two of them. But really he is ruined by his failure to understand the characters of his daughter. He He completely misunderstands his daughters, being unable to see through their words to their hearts. Either he was a very uninvolved and distant father, or he was remarkably unperceptive, a trait he also displays when he banishes Kent.

It is, I suggest, really a play about a man whom power has, if not corrupted, made totally unable to recognize the characters of the people who surround him. He is so used to receiving flattery and adulation as king that he cannot any longer distinguish when it is real and when it is faked. And his pride prohibits him from recognizing that sometimes it is love, not hate, that makes people disagree with one.

In the end, he comes to recognize, bitterly, his errors, and learns, late but not too late, humility.

But as you say, it is unquestionably a must read. Over and over.

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Phantom1313 wrote:
You must read King Lear. It's a fantastic play. Any father can relate to it. Simply, it's about a kind and generous father who is ruined in the end by his three daughtes. Excellent tragedy. Another good one is A Midsummer's Night's Dream. If you translate it into modern language, it's as good as any modern comedy.

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[historybuff234]

Hey everyone. I bought The Complete Works of William Shakespearre when I was at a BN last week and thought I shouod consult with you guys before I read one. I have never read a play by Shakespearre before and I feel a little intimidated by the shear amount of his plays, how I'm undecided on what I should read first, I don't know what would be good to read first, and my best friend had to read Julius Caeser for school this year and hated it.

So what's your expert opinion Everyman? I began to read a little of Timon of Athens and I liked it. but maybe I should read another play first. I was thinking Macbeth, King Lear, Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, or maybe one of his comedies. Although I do plan on reading every single one of Shakespearre's plays many times.

And I am wondering, what's the difference between a play and a sonnet? And why is there so much conspiracy about Shakespearre's sonnets?

Message Edited by historybuff234 on 10-12-2007 07:32 PM

[Everyman]

I would suggest you start with the more popular plays -- there's a reason they're popular. Macbeth, As You Like It, Taming ofthe Shrew, Midsummer Night's Dream, Romeo and Juliet. Save King Lear and Hamlet until you're a bit more accustomed to reading Shakespeare.

The sonnets are individual poems written in the sonnet form, 14 lines of iambic pentameter with one of several specific rhyme schemes. Totally different thing from a play.

[Luthien]

I've been reading The Complete Works, and I've just been going in order. I've liked them all so far, although some are a bit odd. I thought Titus Andronicus was interesting, although twisted. I enjoyed Henry VI, but that was pretty long, since there were three parts to it. Hmm... I guess I have no real advice to give actually, hehe.

[Benedict]

Of course they are all good. You said that you liked Hamlet the most, therefore I would suggest Caesar. However, as a name I’m using Benedict, a name from ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ also a very good read.

[Sleuth16]

Much Ado About Nothing and Julius Ceasar are both great reads. You might try those.

[alfprof212]

Two of my favorites are A Midsummer Night's Dream and Othello. Both are very good stories and Iago is probably the greatest villain ever penned. He is so deliciously evil!

[dulcinea3]

My favorite is The Taming of the Shrew. I find it absolutely hilarious!

BTW, the movie Ten Things I Hate about You (starring the late Heath Ledger) is based on this play. And, of course, there is the classic one with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.

[Monqiue]

I personally would recommend that you read King Lear, Richard III, and The Merchant of Venice.