400 years ago today, the world lost the great playwright William Shakespeare. Known for his tragically beautiful plays, he is regarded as the greatest writer in English and England’s national poet. The ‘Bard of Avon’ made people fall in love with his witty comedies and romantic tragedies, inspiring many authors in the time to come. His work has been adapted many times and studied worldwide by literature fanatics. While UK and many other countries celebrate today in honour of Shakespeare and his work, we bring you some of his best works:
Romeo and Juliet
Genre: Romance
“Come, gentle night; come, loving, black-browed night;
Give me my Romeo; and, when I shall die,
Take him and cut him out in little stars,
And he will make the face of heaven so fine
That all the world will be in love with night…”
Macbeth
Genre: Tragedy
“Double, double, toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and cauldron bubble!”
Hamlet
Genre: Tragedy
“Doubt thou the stars are fire;
Doubt that the sun doth move;
Doubt truth to be a liar;
But never doubt I love.”
Julius Caesar
Genre: Tragedy
“The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves.”
“Et tu, Brute?”
Midsummer Night’s Dream
Genre: Fantasy, Comedy
“Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind,
And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.”
Othello
Genre: Tragedy
“O, beware, my lord, of jealousy;
It is the green-ey’d monster, which doth mock
The meat it feeds on. That cuckold lives in bliss,
Who, certain of his fate, loves not his wronger:
But O, what damnèd minutes tells he o’er
Who dotes, yet doubts, suspects, yet strongly loves!”
The Merchant of Venice
Genre: Comedy, Drama
“All that glisters is not gold;
Often have you heard that told:
Many a man his life hath sold
But my outside to behold:
Gilded tombs do worms enfold.”
Much Ado About Nothing
Genre: Comedy
“A dear happiness to women: they would else have been troubled with a pernicious suitor. I thank God and my cold blood, I am of your humour for that: I had rather hear my dog bark at a crow than a man swear he loves me.”
The Tempest
Genre: Romance, Comedy
“O, wonder!
How many goodly creatures are there here!
How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world,
That has such people in’t!”
The Comedy of Errors
Genre: Comedy
“A wretched soul, bruised with adversity,
We bid be quiet when we hear it cry;
But were we burdened with light weight of pain,
As much or more we should ourselves complain.”
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