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Shakespeare’s Sonnets (written before 1598, published in 1609) contain 154 poems. Sonnets 1-125 are addressed to an unknown man, a blond young aristocrat. In the first 17 sonnets, the poet tries to convince the youth to marry, but later the mood changes and the sonnets become more intimate. The last group of sonnets (126-154) is related to an unknown woman, or the Dark Lady, who is married and physically attractive. One of the main themes of the collection is the passing time, the imminent ephemeris. Sonnets attracted a lot of critical attention because of the belief they were autobiographical.

Venus and Adonis (1593) was Shakespeare’s first published work. It achieved a great success, mostly because of its fashionable eroticism.  This narrative poem is Ovidian (borrowing from the Latin poet’s greatly popular Metamorphoses) and “etiological” because it provides a mythical explanation for the existence of a particular flower, for example. The seeming cause for its creation is thus to account for anemone, said to have grown out of Adonis’ blood after the boar has killed him. Shakespeare uses the version of the myth, presumably inspired by a Titian painting, in which Adonis is reluctant to accept the aggressive and passionate Venus as a lover. Apart from characteristics typical for this type of poetry, such as rhetorical wooing, the use of developed metaphors and decorative digressions, this poem differs from the convention because it is completely turned to realistic descriptions of nature and events.

Other notable Shakespeare poems are Rape of Lucrece and The Phoenix and Turtle.

In order to better understand this play, it is important to know its historical background, especially the War of the Roses: the struggle between the Lancaster family, symbolised by a red rose, and the York family, symbolised by a white rose. Before the events described in this play, the Lancastrian Henry VI was murdered, together with his son and heir to the throne, Edward of Wales, by the Yorks: King Edward IV, Clarence, and their younger brother Richard of Gloucester, the future Richard III. The king and his son leave widows: Queen Margaret, who bitterly curses the Yorks, and Lady Anne, who mourns the death of her husband, but later marries Richard III.

Major Themes

The Allure of Evil: As the main protagonist who addresses the audience, Richard inevitably draws sympathy of the viewers. He uses his deformity and malicious accusation of others to justify his evil actions. Some characters, like Lady Anne, Buckingham and Hastings, allow themselves to be taken in by his charisma, adn they become complicit in their own destruction.

The Power of Language: Richard’s extraordinary skill with words enables him to manipulate, confuse and control those around him. He uses his eloquence to woo Lady Anne, blame the king for Clarence’s death, accuse the Queen and the Woodvilles of a plot, achieve Hastings’ execution and accomplish his own crowning.

The Connection Between Ruler and State: The so-called window scenes in this play–the depiction of the relationship between the court and the common people–provides a glimpse into how the drama in the royal palace affects the inhabitants. The fate of England under Richard suggests that the moral righteousness of a political ruler has a direct bearing on the health of the state.

The Birth of the Tudor Dynasty: Since the fate of Shakespeare’s career in the theatre depended directly on Queen Elizabeth, a Tudor, the playwright had to portray the fall of the Yorks and the ascension of the Tudor dynasty with the victory of Earl of Richmond, later King Henry VII, as a triumph of peace and justice.

The Supernatural: The determination of historical events by divine providence is reflected in the women’s prophetic curses, Clarence and Stanley’s prophetic dreams, and the parade of eleven ghosts who condemn Richard and encourage Richmond before the final battle.

The story of As You Like It came from the novel by Thomas Lodge, Rosalynde, a popular contemporary pastoral and romantic adventure, which were then fashionable. Shakespeare entirely rewrote the dialogue, changed the ending, and added new characters: Jaques is a representative of the melancholic “humour,” a reflection of the growing interest in the psychological types of the period; the Clown, Touchstone, satirises the novel with cynical and sophisticated comments he makes when the forest lovers become sentimental; William and Audrey, the two yokels, provide a comic contrast to the pretty ladies and gentlemen who play shepherds.

Major Themes

The Therapeutic Effect of Nature: This play, and pastoral comedies in general, suggest that the oppressions of the city can be remedied by a trip to the woods and fields, and that a person’s emotional and spiritual state can be restored by conversations with uncorrupted shepherds and shepherdesses. Since the exiled Duke and his retinue finally return to the court, the life in the forest proves a temporary affair, and the main task of every individual is to find a balance between the two.

The Joys of Love: The play attempts to reverse the conventions of poetry and literature that love is a disease bringing suffering and torment to the lover, or the assumption that the male lover is the slave or servant of his mistress. Rosalind makes fun of Orlando’s statements about the suffering caused by his love, counsels Silvius against prostrating himself in front of Phoebe, and scolds Phoebe for the arrogance in playing the shepherd’s disdainful love object. She propagates love as a source of happiness and fulfillment.

Human Change: Characters in this play demonstrate how completely human beings can change, and their transformation is always positive. Some of these changes have to do with the restorative, almost magical effects of life in the forest. They also happen almost instantenously: Oliver, for instance, learns to love both his brother Orlando and Celia immediately after entering the forest, and the vengeful, ambitious Duke Frederick decides to give up his throne after a single conversation with a religious old man.

Gender Reversals: Rosalind, played by a boy in theatre, disguises into a boy named Ganymede, Jove’s young, male lover in Greek mythology. Orlando seems to enjoy practicing his wooing skills on a boy, and Phoebe is more attracted to the effeminate Ganymede than to the real male, Silvius. A comment on the ban on actresses in Elizabethan theatre, this crossdressing also carries strong homoerotic and homosexual connotations.

Shakespeare’s major tragedies are all about large figures in extremely trying situations, and this emphasis on extremes is the source of their special power. The marriage between Othello and Desdemona joins not just a man and a woman, but a middle-aged black soldier and a young white Venetian lady of noble birth. This marriage, so hated by Desdemona’s father, is for both of them a symbol of perfection. It seems that Shakespeare sets for himself the task of creating the reality of an extraordinary relationship and then completely destroying it. The contrasting marriage of Iago and Emilia with its bitter jokes and spiteful remarks, as well as the casual flirtation between Cassio and Bianca, make us see more clearly the special beauty of the initial love between Othello and Desdemona.

Othello may be seen as a morality play, with all the forces of good represented by Desdemona’s beauty, honesty and faith balanced by the forces of evil embodied in Iago’s envy, cowardice and cynicism. Between them stands Othello, a man calm when faced by enemy swords, Senators and raging sea, but insecure about his race, age, and status in the Venetian society. At the beginning of the play we admire his assurance, eloquence and the love he inspires in Desdemona, but we watch in horror when he is lured into doubts, questions, and, finally, murderous jealousy. Our frustration is increased because the reliable companion who might stop him from his error is the very villain who sets the tragic events in motion.

Characters such as Desdemona, Iago and Othello are not only powerful figures, but they are also immensely challenging for actors to portray. An actor playing Iago, for instance, has to consider the numerous motives for his actions, choose and emphasise the one crucial for the destruction he seeks. Othello must be a believable combination of both a great general and an immature bridegroom, showing both the strength of a military hero and the vulnerability of a lover. The contemporary theme of interracial marriage the play develops is still very topical in today’s multiethnic societies.

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (1564-1616)

Shakespeare is the greatest English and one of the greatest world dramatists. He was born at Stratford-upon-Avon as the third child of one of the most prosperous men in the town. In 1582 he married Ann Hathaway and had three children with her. He began his career as a playwright and actor in London somewhere between 1585 and 1592. By 1598 he was well known and his plays were extremely popular. His playing company, the Lord Chamberlain’s Man (the King’s Men after 1603) built their own theatre, the Globe, in 1599. After 1607, he lived mostly at Stratford, and after 1611 in retirement. He died on April 23, the same day he was born. During his lifetime, fourteen of his plays were separately published in booklets called Quartos. In 1623, two of his fellow actors published a collection of 36 plays in one volume, known as the Folio.

Shakespeare’s work is usually divided into four periods:
1. Experimental (until 1594)
2. Comedies and histories (1594-1600)
3. Tragedies and dark (bitter) comedies (1600-1608)
4. Dramatic romances (tragicomedies) (after 1608).

His best known plays:
Comedies: All’s Well that Ends Well, As You Like It, The Merchant of Venice, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Much Ado About Nothing, Twelfth Night, The Tempest (tragicomedy).
Histories: Richard II, Henry IV (two parts), Henry V, Henry VI (three parts), Richard III
Tragedies: Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar, Macbeth, Hamlet, King Lear, Othello, Anthony and Cleopatra