William Shakespeare Facts

William Shakespeare was an English poet, playwright, and actor. He was born on 26 April
1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon. His father was a successful local businessman and his mother
was the daughter of a landowner. Shakespeare is widely regarded as the greatest writer in
the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called
England's national poet and nicknamed the Bard of Avon. He wrote about 38 plays, 154
sonnets, two long narrative poems, and a few other verses, of which the authorship of some
is uncertain. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are
performed more often than those of any other playwright.

Marriage and career

Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway at the age of 18. She was eight years older than him.
They had three children: Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. After his marriage
information about his life became very rare. But he is thought to have spent most of his time
in London writing and performing in his plays. Between 1585 and 1592, he began a
successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part-owner of a playing company called
the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men.

Retirement and death

Around 1613, at the age of 49, he retired to Stratford , where he died three years later. Few
records of Shakespeare's private life survive. He died on 23 April 1616, at the age of 52. He
died within a month of signing his will, a document which he begins by describing himself as
being in "perfect health". In his will, Shakespeare left the bulk of his large estate to his elder
daughter Susanna.

His work

Shakespeare produced most of his known work between 1589 and 1613. His early plays
were mainly comedies and histories and these works remain regarded as some of the best
work produced in these genres. He then wrote mainly tragedies until about 1608,
including Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth, considered some of the finest works in
the English language. In his last phase, he wrote tragicomedies, also known as romances,
and collaborated with other playwrights.

Shakespeare's plays remain highly popular today and are constantly studied, performed,
and reinterpreted in diverse cultural and political contexts throughout the world.
 Romeo and Juliet
In the streets of Verona another brawl breaks out between the servants of the feuding noble
families of Capulet and Montague. Benvolio, a Montague, tries to stop the fighting, but is
himself embroiled when the rash Capulet, Tybalt, arrives on the scene. After citizens
outraged by the constant violence beat back the warring factions, Prince Escalus, the ruler of
Verona, attempts to prevent any further conflicts between the families by decreeing death for
any individual who disturbs the peace in the future.

Romeo, the son of Montague, runs into his cousin Benvolio, who had earlier seen Romeo
moping in a grove of sycamores. After some prodding by Benvolio, Romeo confides that he
is in love with Rosaline, a woman who does not return his affections. Benvolio counsels him
to forget this woman and find another, more beautiful one, but Romeo remains despondent.
Meanwhile, Paris, a kinsman of the Prince, seeks Juliet’s hand in marriage. Her father
Capulet, though happy at the match, asks Paris to wait two years, since Juliet is not yet even
fourteen. Capulet dispatches a servant with a list of people to invite to a masquerade and
feast he traditionally holds. He invites Paris to the feast, hoping that Paris will begin to win
Juliet’s heart.

Romeo and Benvolio, still discussing Rosaline, encounter the Capulet servant bearing the
list of invitations. Benvolio suggests that they attend, since that will allow Romeo to compare
his beloved to other beautiful women of Verona. Romeo agrees to go with Benvolio to the
feast, but only because Rosaline, whose name he reads on the list, will be there.

In Capulet’s household, young Juliet talks with her mother, Lady Capulet, and her nurse
about the possibility of marrying Paris. Juliet has not yet considered marriage, but agrees to
look at Paris during the feast to see if she thinks she could fall in love with him.
The feast begins. A melancholy Romeo follows Benvolio and their witty friend Mercutio to
Capulet’s house. Once inside, Romeo sees Juliet from a distance and instantly falls in love
with her; he forgets about Rosaline completely. As Romeo watches Juliet, entranced, a
young Capulet, Tybalt, recognizes him, and is enraged that a Montague would sneak into a
Capulet feast. He prepares to attack, but Capulet holds him back. Soon, Romeo speaks to
Juliet, and the two experience a profound attraction. They kiss, not even knowing each
other’s names. When he finds out from Juliet’s nurse that she is the daughter of Capulet—
his family’s enemy—he becomes distraught. When Juliet learns that the young man she has
just kissed is the son of Montague, she grows equally upset.

As Mercutio and Benvolio leave the Capulet estate, Romeo leaps over the orchard wall into
the garden, unable to leave Juliet behind. From his hiding place, he sees Juliet in a window
above the orchard and hears her speak his name. He calls out to her, and they exchange
vows of love.

Romeo hurries to see his friend and confessor Friar Lawrence, who, though shocked at the
sudden turn of Romeo’s heart, agrees to marry the young lovers in secret since he sees in
their love the possibility of ending the age-old feud between Capulet and Montague. The
following day, Romeo and Juliet meet at Friar Lawrence’s cell and are married. The Nurse,
who is privy to the secret, procures a ladder, which Romeo will use to climb into Juliet’s
window for their wedding night.
The next day, Benvolio and Mercutio encounter Tybalt—Juliet’s cousin—who, still enraged
that Romeo attended Capulet’s feast, has challenged Romeo to a duel. Romeo appears.
Now Tybalt’s kinsman by marriage, Romeo begs the Capulet to hold off the duel until he
understands why Romeo does not want to fight. Disgusted with this plea for peace, Mercutio
says that he will fight Tybalt himself. The two begin to duel. Romeo tries to stop them by
leaping between the combatants. Tybalt stabs Mercutio under Romeo’s arm, and Mercutio
dies. Romeo, in a rage, kills Tybalt. Romeo flees from the scene. Soon after, the Prince
declares him forever banished from Verona for his crime. Friar Lawrence arranges for
Romeo to spend his wedding night with Juliet before he has to leave for Mantua the
following morning.

In her room, Juliet awaits the arrival of her new husband. The Nurse enters, and, after some
confusion, tells Juliet that Romeo has killed Tybalt. Distraught, Juliet suddenly finds herself
married to a man who has killed her kinsman. But she resettles herself, and realizes that her
duty belongs with her love: to Romeo.

Romeo sneaks into Juliet’s room that night, and at last they consummate their marriage and
their love. Morning comes, and the lovers bid farewell, unsure when they will see each other
again. Juliet learns that her father, affected by the recent events, now intends for her to
marry Paris in just three days. Unsure of how to proceed—unable to reveal to her parents
that she is married to Romeo, but unwilling to marry Paris now that she is Romeo’s wife—
Juliet asks her nurse for advice. She counsels Juliet to proceed as if Romeo were dead and
to marry Paris, who is a better match anyway. Disgusted with the Nurse’s disloyalty, Juliet
disregards her advice and hurries to Friar Lawrence. He concocts a plan to reunite Juliet
with Romeo in Mantua. The night before her wedding to Paris, Juliet must drink a potion that
will make her appear to be dead. After she is laid to rest in the family’s crypt, the Friar and
Romeo will secretly retrieve her, and she will be free to live with Romeo, away from their
parents’ feuding.

Juliet returns home to discover the wedding has been moved ahead one day, and she is to
be married tomorrow. That night, Juliet drinks the potion, and the Nurse discovers her,
apparently dead, the next morning. The Capulets grieve, and Juliet is entombed according to
plan. But Friar Lawrence’s message explaining the plan to Romeo never reaches Mantua. Its
bearer, Friar John, gets confined to a quarantined house. Romeo hears only that Juliet is
dead.

Romeo learns only of Juliet’s death and decides to kill himself rather than live without her.
He buys a vial of poison from a reluctant Apothecary, then speeds back to Verona to take his
own life at Juliet’s tomb. Outside the Capulet crypt, Romeo comes upon Paris, who is
scattering flowers on Juliet’s grave. They fight, and Romeo kills Paris. He enters the tomb,
sees Juliet’s inanimate body, drinks the poison, and dies by her side. Just then, Friar
Lawrence enters and realizes that Romeo has killed Paris and himself. At the same time,
Juliet awakes. Friar Lawrence hears the coming of the watch. When Juliet refuses to leave
with him, he flees alone. Juliet sees her beloved Romeo and realizes he has killed himself
with poison. She kisses his poisoned lips, and when that does not kill her, buries his dagger
in her chest, falling dead upon his body.

The watch arrives, followed closely by the Prince, the Capulets, and Montague. Montague
declares that Lady Montague has died of grief over Romeo’s exile. Seeing their children’s
bodies, Capulet and Montague agree to end their long-standing feud and to raise gold
statues of their children side-by-side in a newly peaceful Verona.
 All's Well That Ends Well

Helena, the orphan daughter of a famous physician, is the ward of the Countess of
Rousillon, and hopelessly in love with her son, Count Bertram, who has been sent to the
court of the King of France. Despite her beauty and worth, Helena has no hope of attracting
Bertram, since she is of low birth and he is a nobleman. However, when word comes that the
King is ill, she goes to Paris and, using her father's arts, cures the illness. In return, she is
given the hand of any man in the realm; she chooses Bertram. Her new husband is appalled
at the match, however, and shortly after their marriage flees France, accompanied only by a
scoundrel named Parolles, to fight in the army of the Duke of Florence.

Helena is sent home to the Countess, and receives a letter from Bertram informing her that
he will never be her true spouse unless she can get his family ring from his finger, and
become pregnant with his child--neither of which, he declares, will ever come to pass. The
Countess, who loves Helena and approves of the match, tries to comfort her, but the
distraught young woman departs Rousillon, planning to make a religious pilgrimage.
Meanwhile, in Florence, Bertram has become a general in the Duke's army. Helena comes
to the city, and discovers that her husband is trying to seduce the virginal daughter of a
kindly Widow. With the connivance of the daughter, named Diana, she contrives to trick
Bertram: he gives Diana his ring as a token of his love, and when he comes to her room at
night, Helena is in the bed, and they make love without him realizing that it is her. At the
same time, two lords in the army expose Parolles as a coward and a villain, and he falls out
of Bertram's favor. Meanwhile, false messengers have come to the camp bearing word that
Helena is dead, and with the war drawing to a close, Bertram decides to return to France.
Unknown to him, Helena follows, accompanied by Diana and the Widow.

In Rousillon, everyone is mourning Helena as dead. The King is visiting, and consents to
Bertram marrying the daughter of an old, faithful lord, named Lafew. However, he notices a
ring on Bertram's finger that formerly belonged to Helena--it was a gift from the King after
she saved his life. (Helena gave the ring to Diana in Florence, and she in turn gave it to her
would-be lover.) Bertram is at a loss to explain where it came from, but just then Diana and
her mother appear to explain matters--followed by Helena, who informs her husband that
both his conditions have been fulfilled. Chastened, Bertram consents to be a good husband
to her, and there is general rejoicing.
 The Comedy of Errors

Egeon, a merchant of Syracuse, is condemned to death in Ephesus for violating the ban
against travel between the two rival cities. As he is led to his execution, he tells the Ephesian
Duke, Solinus, that he has come to Syracuse in search of his wife and one of his twin sons,
who were separated from him 25 years ago in a shipwreck. The other twin, who grew up with
Egeon, is also traveling the world in search of the missing half of their family. (The twins, we
learn, are identical, and each has an identical twin slave named Dromio.) The Duke is so
moved by this story that he grants Egeon a day to raise the thousand-mark ransom that
would be necessary to save his life.

Meanwhile, unknown to Egeon, his son Antipholus of Syracuse (and Antipholus' slave
Dromio) is also visiting Ephesus--where Antipholus' missing twin, known as Antipholus of
Ephesus, is a prosperous citizen of the city. Adriana, Antipholus of Ephesus' wife, mistakes
Antipholus of Syracuse for her husband and drags him home for dinner, leaving Dromio of
Syracuse to stand guard at the door and admit no one. Shortly thereafter, Antipholus of
Ephesus (with his slave Dromio of Ephesus) returns home and is refused entry to his own
house. Meanwhile, Antipholus of Syracuse has fallen in love with Luciana, Adriana's sister,
who is appalled at the behavior of the man she thinks is her brother-in-law.

The confusion increases when a gold chain ordered by the Ephesian Antipholus is given to
Antipholus of Syracuse. Antipholus of Ephesus refuses to pay for the chain (unsurprisingly,
since he never received it) and is arrested for debt. His wife, seeing his strange behavior,
decides he has gone mad and orders him bound and held in a cellar room. Meanwhile,
Antipholus of Syracuse and his slave decide to flee the city, which they believe to be
enchanted, as soon as possible--only to be menaced by Adriana and the debt officer. They
seek refuge in a nearby abbey.

Adriana now begs the Duke to intervene and remove her "husband" from the abbey into her
custody. Her real husband, meanwhile, has broken loose and now comes to the Duke and
levels charges against his wife. The situation is finally resolved by the Abbess, Emilia, who
brings out the set of twins and reveals herself to be Egeon's long-lost wife. Antipholus of
Ephesus reconciles with Adriana; Egeon is pardoned by the Duke and reunited with his
spouse; Antipholus of Syracuse resumes his romantic pursuit of Luciana, and all ends
happily with the two Dromios embracing.
 As you like it

Sir Rowland de Bois has recently died, and, according to the custom of primogeniture, the
vast majority of his estate has passed into the possession of his eldest son, Oliver. Although
Sir Rowland has instructed Oliver to take good care of his brother, Orlando, Oliver refuses to
do so. Out of pure spite, he denies Orlando the education, training, and property befitting a
gentleman. Charles, a wrestler from the court of Duke Frederick, arrives to warn Oliver of a
rumor that Orlando will challenge Charles to a fight on the following day. Fearing censure if
he should beat a nobleman, Charles begs Oliver to intervene, but Oliver convinces the
wrestler that Orlando is a dishonorable sportsman who will take whatever dastardly means
necessary to win. Charles vows to pummel Orlando, which delights Oliver.

Duke Senior has been usurped of his throne by his brother, Duke Frederick, and has fled to
the Forest of Ardenne, where he lives like Robin Hood with a band of loyal followers. Duke
Frederick allows Senior’s daughter, Rosalind, to remain at court because of her inseparable
friendship with his own daughter, Celia. The day arrives when Orlando is scheduled to fight
Charles, and the women witness Orlando’s defeat of the court wrestler. Orlando and
Rosalind instantly fall in love with one another, though Rosalind keeps this fact a secret from
everyone but Celia. Orlando returns home from the wrestling match, only to have his faithful
servant Adam warn him about Oliver’s plot against Orlando’s life. Orlando decides to leave
for the safety of Ardenne. Without warning, Duke Frederick has a change of heart regarding
Rosalind and banishes her from court. She, too, decides to flee to the Forest of Ardenne and
leaves with Celia, who cannot bear to be without Rosalind, and Touchstone, the court jester.
To ensure the safety of their journey, Rosalind assumes the dress of a young man and takes
the name Ganymede, while Celia dresses as a common shepherdess and calls herself
Aliena.

Duke Frederick is furious at his daughter’s disappearance. When he learns that the flight of
his daughter and niece coincides with the disappearance of Orlando, the duke orders Oliver
to lead the manhunt, threatening to confiscate Oliver’s lands and property should he fail.
Frederick also decides it is time to destroy his brother once and for all and begins to raise an
army.
Duke Senior lives in the Forest of Ardenne with a band of lords who have gone into voluntary
exile. He praises the simple life among the trees, happy to be absent from the machinations
of court life. Orlando, exhausted by travel and desperate to find food for his starving
companion, Adam, barges in on the duke’s camp and rudely demands that they not eat until
he is given food. Duke Senior calms Orlando and, when he learns that the young man is the
son of his dear former friend, accepts him into his company. Meanwhile, Rosalind and Celia,
disguised as Ganymede and Aliena, arrive in the forest and meet a lovesick young shepherd
named Silvius who pines away for the disdainful Phoebe. The two women purchase a
modest cottage, and soon enough Rosalind runs into the equally lovesick Orlando. Taking
her to be a young man, Orlando confides in Rosalind that his affections are overpowering
him. Rosalind, as Ganymede, claims to be an expert in exorcising such emotions and
promises to cure Orlando of lovesickness if he agrees to pretend that Ganymede is Rosalind
and promises to come woo her every day. Orlando agrees, and the love lessons begin.

Meanwhile, Phoebe becomes increasingly cruel in her rejection of Silvius. When Rosalind
intervenes, disguised as Ganymede, Phoebe falls hopelessly in love with Ganymede. One
day, Orlando fails to show up for his tutorial with Ganymede. Rosalind, reacting to her
infatuation with Orlando, is distraught until Oliver appears.
Oliver describes how Orlando stumbled upon him in the forest and saved him from being
devoured by a hungry lioness. Oliver and Celia, still disguised as the shepherdess Aliena,
fall instantly in love and agree to marry. As time passes, Phoebe becomes increasingly
insistent in her pursuit of Ganymede, and Orlando grows tired of pretending that a boy is his
dear Rosalind. Rosalind decides to end the charade. She promises that Ganymede will wed
Phoebe, if Ganymede will ever marry a woman, and she makes everyone pledge to meet the
next day at the wedding. They all agree.

The day of the wedding arrives, and Rosalind gathers the various couples: Phoebe and
Silvius; Celia and Oliver; Touchstone and Audrey, a goatherd he intends to marry; and
Orlando. The group congregates before Duke Senior and his men. Rosalind, still disguised
as Ganymede, reminds the lovers of their various vows, then secures a promise from
Phoebe that if for some reason she refuses to marry Ganymede she will marry Silvius, and a
promise from the duke that he would allow his daughter to marry Orlando if she were
available. Rosalind leaves with the disguised Celia, and the two soon return as themselves,
accompanied by Hymen, the god of marriage. Hymen officiates at the ceremony and marries
Rosalind and Orlando, Celia and Oliver, Phoebe and Silvius, and Audrey and Touchstone.
The festive wedding celebration is interrupted by even more festive news: while marching
with his army to attack Duke Senior, Duke Frederick came upon a holy man who convinced
him to put aside his worldly concerns and assume a monastic life. -Frederick changes his
ways and returns the throne to Duke Senior. The guests continue dancing, happy in the
knowledge that they will soon return to the royal court.
 King Lear

Lear, the aging king of Britain, decides to step down from the throne and divide his kingdom
evenly among his three daughters. First, however, he puts his daughters through a test,
asking each to tell him how much she loves him. Goneril and Regan, Lear’s older daughters,
give their father flattering answers. But Cordelia, Lear’s youngest and favorite daughter,
remains silent, saying that she has no words to describe how much she loves her father.
Lear flies into a rage and disowns Cordelia. The king of France, who has courted Cordelia,
says that he still wants to marry her even without her land, and she accompanies him to
France without her father’s blessing.

Lear quickly learns that he made a bad decision. Goneril and Regan swiftly begin to
undermine the little authority that Lear still holds. Unable to believe that his beloved
daughters are betraying him, Lear slowly goes insane. He flees his daughters’ houses to
wander on a heath during a great thunderstorm, accompanied by his Fool and by Kent, a
loyal nobleman in disguise.

Meanwhile, an elderly nobleman named Gloucester also experiences family problems. His
illegitimate son, Edmund, tricks him into believing that his legitimate son, Edgar, is trying to
kill him. Fleeing the manhunt that his father has set for him, Edgar disguises himself as a
crazy beggar and calls himself “Poor Tom.” Like Lear, he heads out onto the heath.

When the loyal Gloucester realizes that Lear’s daughters have turned against their father, he
decides to help Lear in spite of the danger. Regan and her husband, Cornwall, discover him
helping Lear, accuse him of treason, blind him, and turn him out to wander the countryside.
He ends up being led by his disguised son, Edgar, toward the city of Dover, where Lear has
also been brought.

In Dover, a French army lands as part of an invasion led by Cordelia in an effort to save her
father. Edmund apparently becomes romantically entangled with both Regan and Goneril,
whose husband, Albany, is increasingly sympathetic to Lear’s cause. Goneril and Edmund
conspire to kill Albany.

The despairing Gloucester tries to commit suicide, but Edgar saves him by pulling the
strange trick of leading him off an imaginary cliff. Meanwhile, the English troops reach Dover,
and the English, led by Edmund, defeat the Cordelia-led French. Lear and Cordelia are
captured. In the climactic scene, Edgar duels with and kills Edmund; we learn of the death of
Gloucester; Goneril poisons Regan out of jealousy over Edmund and then kills herself when
her treachery is revealed to Albany; Edmund’s betrayal of Cordelia leads to her needless
execution in prison; and Lear finally dies out of grief at Cordelia’s passing. Albany, Edgar,
and the elderly Kent are left to take care of the country under a cloud of sorrow and regret.
 Macbeth

The play begins with the brief appearance of a trio of witches and then moves to a military
camp, where the Scottish King Duncan hears the news that his generals, Macbeth and
Banquo, have defeated two separate invading armies—one from Ireland, led by the rebel
Macdonwald, and one from Norway. Following their pitched battle with these enemy forces,
Macbeth and Banquo encounter the witches as they cross a moor. The witches prophesy
that Macbeth will be made thane (a rank of Scottish nobility) of Cawdor and eventually King
of Scotland. They also prophesy that Macbeth’s companion, Banquo, will beget a line of
Scottish kings, although Banquo will never be king himself. The witches vanish, and
Macbeth and Banquo treat their prophecies skeptically until some of King Duncan’s men
come to thank the two generals for their victories in battle and to tell Macbeth that he has
indeed been named thane of Cawdor. The previous thane betrayed Scotland by fighting for
the Norwegians and Duncan has condemned him to death. Macbeth is intrigued by the
possibility that the remainder of the witches’ prophecy—that he will be crowned king—might
be true, but he is uncertain what to expect. He visits with King Duncan, and they plan to dine
together at Inverness, Macbeth’s castle, that night. Macbeth writes ahead to his wife, Lady
Macbeth, telling her all that has happened.

Lady Macbeth suffers none of her husband’s uncertainty. She desires the kingship for him
and wants him to murder Duncan in order to obtain it. When Macbeth arrives at Inverness,
she overrides all of her husband’s objections and persuades him to kill the king that very
night. He and Lady Macbeth plan to get Duncan’s two chamberlains drunk so they will black
out; the next morning they will blame the murder on the chamberlains, who will be
defenseless, as they will remember nothing. While Duncan is asleep, Macbeth stabs him,
despite his doubts and a number of supernatural portents, including a vision of a bloody
dagger. When Duncan’s death is discovered the next morning, Macbeth kills the
chamberlains—ostensibly out of rage at their crime—and easily assumes the kingship.
Duncan’s sons Malcolm and Donalbain flee to England and Ireland, respectively, fearing that
whoever killed Duncan desires their demise as well.

Fearful of the witches’ prophecy that Banquo’s heirs will seize the throne, Macbeth hires a
group of murderers to kill Banquo and his son Fleance. They ambush Banquo on his way to
a royal feast, but they fail to kill Fleance, who escapes into the night. Macbeth becomes
furious: as long as Fleance is alive, he fears that his power remains insecure. At the feast
that night, Banquo’s ghost visits Macbeth. When he sees the ghost, Macbeth raves fearfully,
startling his guests, who include most of the great Scottish nobility. Lady Macbeth tries to
neutralize the damage, but Macbeth’s kingship incites increasing resistance from his nobles
and subjects. Frightened, Macbeth goes to visit the witches in their cavern. There, they show
him a sequence of demons and spirits who present him with further prophecies: he must
beware of Macduff, a Scottish nobleman who opposed Macbeth’s accession to the throne;
he is incapable of being harmed by any man born of woman; and he will be safe until Birnam
Wood comes to Dunsinane Castle. Macbeth is relieved and feels secure, because he knows
that all men are born of women and that forests cannot move. When he learns that Macduff
has fled to England to join Malcolm, Macbeth orders that Macduff’s castle be seized and,
most cruelly, that Lady Macduff and her children be murdered.
When news of his family’s execution reaches Macduff in England, he is stricken with grief
and vows revenge. Prince Malcolm, Duncan’s son, has succeeded in raising an army in
England, and Macduff joins him as he rides to Scotland to challenge Macbeth’s forces. The
invasion has the support of the Scottish nobles, who are appalled and frightened by
Macbeth’s tyrannical and murderous behavior. Lady Macbeth, meanwhile, becomes plagued
with fits of sleepwalking in which she bemoans what she believes to be bloodstains on her
hands. Before Macbeth’s opponents arrive, Macbeth receives news that she has killed
herself, causing him to sink into a deep and pessimistic despair. Nevertheless, he awaits the
English and fortifies Dunsinane, to which he seems to have withdrawn in order to defend
himself, certain that the witches’ prophecies guarantee his invincibility. He is struck numb
with fear, however, when he learns that the English army is advancing on Dunsinane
shielded with boughs cut from Birnam Wood. Birnam Wood is indeed coming to Dunsinane,
fulfilling half of the witches’ prophecy.

In the battle, Macbeth hews violently, but the English forces gradually overwhelm his army
and castle. On the battlefield, Macbeth encounters the vengeful Macduff, who declares that
he was not “of woman born” but was instead “untimely ripped” from his mother’s womb (what
we now call birth by cesarean section). Though he realizes that he is doomed, Macbeth
continues to fight until Macduff kills and beheads him. Malcolm, now the King of Scotland,
declares his benevolent intentions for the country and invites all to see him crowned at
Scone.
 The Tempest

A storm strikes a ship carrying Alonso, Ferdinand, Sebastian, Antonio, Gonzalo, Stephano,
and Trinculo, who are on their way to Italy after coming from the wedding of Alonso’s
daughter, Claribel, to the prince of Tunis in Africa. The royal party and the other mariners,
with the exception of the unflappable Boatswain, begin to fear for their lives. Lightning
cracks, and the mariners cry that the ship has been hit. Everyone prepares to sink.

The next scene begins much more quietly. Miranda and Prospero stand on the shore of their
island, looking out to sea at the recent shipwreck. Miranda asks her father to do anything he
can to help the poor souls in the ship. Prospero assures her that everything is all right and
then informs her that it is time she learned more about herself and her past. He reveals to
her that he orchestrated the shipwreck and tells her the lengthy story of her past, a story he
has often started to tell her before but never finished. The story goes that Prospero was the
Duke of Milan until his brother Antonio, conspiring with Alonso, the King of Naples, usurped
his position. Kidnapped and left to die on a raft at sea, Prospero and his daughter survive
because Gonzalo leaves them supplies and Prospero’s books, which are the source of his
magic and power. Prospero and his daughter arrived on the island where they remain now
and have been for twelve years. Only now, Prospero says, has Fortune at last sent his
enemies his way, and he has raised the tempest in order to make things right with them
once and for all.

After telling this story, Prospero charms Miranda to sleep and then calls forth his familiar
spirit Ariel, his chief magical agent. Prospero and Ariel’s discussion reveals that Ariel brought
the tempest upon the ship and set fire to the mast. He then made sure that everyone got
safely to the island, though they are now separated from each other into small groups. Ariel,
who is a captive servant to Prospero, reminds his master that he has promised Ariel freedom
a year early if he performs tasks such as these without complaint. Prospero chastises Ariel
for protesting and reminds him of the horrible fate from which he was rescued. Before
Prospero came to the island, a witch named Sycorax imprisoned Ariel in a tree. Sycorax
died, leaving Ariel trapped until Prospero arrived and freed him. After Ariel assures Prospero
that he knows his place, Prospero orders Ariel to take the shape of a sea nymph and make
himself invisible to all but Prospero.

Miranda awakens from her sleep, and she and Prospero go to visit Caliban, Prospero’s
servant and the son of the dead Sycorax. Caliban curses Prospero, and Prospero and
Miranda berate him for being ungrateful for what they have given and taught him. Prospero
sends Caliban to fetch firewood. Ariel, invisible, enters playing music and leading in the
awed Ferdinand. Miranda and Ferdinand are immediately smitten with each other. He is the
only man Miranda has ever seen, besides Caliban and her father. Prospero is happy to see
that his plan for his daughter’s future marriage is working, but decides that he must upset
things temporarily in order to prevent their relationship from developing too quickly. He
accuses Ferdinand of merely pretending to be the Prince of Naples and threatens him with
imprisonment. When Ferdinand draws his sword, Prospero charms him and leads him off to
prison, ignoring Miranda’s cries for mercy. He then sends Ariel on another mysterious
mission.
On another part of the island, Alonso, Sebastian, Antonio, Gonzalo, and other miscellaneous
lords give thanks for their safety but worry about the fate of Ferdinand. Alonso says that he
wishes he never had married his daughter to the prince of Tunis because if he had not made
this journey, his son would still be alive. Gonzalo tries to maintain high spirits by discussing
the beauty of the island, but his remarks are undercut by the sarcastic sourness of Antonio
and Sebastian. Ariel appears, invisible, and plays music that puts all but Sebastian and
Antonio to sleep. These two then begin to discuss the possible advantages of killing their
sleeping companions. Antonio persuades Sebastian that the latter will become ruler of
Naples if they kill Alonso. Claribel, who would be the next heir if Ferdinand were indeed
dead, is too far away to be able to claim her right. Sebastian is convinced, and the two are
about to stab the sleeping men when Ariel causes Gonzalo to wake with a shout. Everyone
wakes up, and Antonio and Sebastian concoct a ridiculous story about having drawn their
swords to protect the king from lions. Ariel goes back to Prospero while Alonso and his party
continue to search for Ferdinand.

Caliban, meanwhile, is hauling wood for Prospero when he sees Trinculo and thinks he is a
spirit sent by Prospero to torment him. He lies down and hides under his cloak. A storm is
brewing, and Trinculo, curious about but undeterred by Caliban’s strange appearance and
smell, crawls under the cloak with him. Stephano, drunk and singing, comes along and
stumbles upon the bizarre spectacle of Caliban and Trinculo huddled under the cloak.
Caliban, hearing the singing, cries out that he will work faster so long as the “spirits” leave
him alone. Stephano decides that this monster requires liquor and attempts to get Caliban to
drink. Trinculo recognizes his friend Stephano and calls out to him. Soon the three are sitting
up together and drinking. Caliban quickly becomes an enthusiastic drinker, and begins to
sing.
Prospero puts Ferdinand to work hauling wood. Ferdinand finds his labor pleasant because
it is for Miranda’s sake. Miranda, thinking that her father is asleep, tells Ferdinand to take a
break. The two flirt with one another. Miranda proposes marriage, and Ferdinand accepts.
Prospero has been on stage most of the time, unseen, and he is pleased with this
development.

Stephano, Trinculo, and Caliban are now drunk and raucous and are made all the more so
by Ariel, who comes to them invisibly and provokes them to fight with one another by
impersonating their voices and taunting them. Caliban grows more and more fervent in his
boasts that he knows how to kill Prospero. He even tells Stephano that he can bring him to
where Prospero is sleeping. He proposes that they kill Prospero, take his daughter, and set
Stephano up as king of the island. Stephano thinks this a good plan, and the three prepare
to set off to find Prospero. They are distracted, however, by the sound of music that Ariel
plays on his flute and tabor-drum, and they decide to follow this music before executing their
plot.

Alonso, Gonzalo, Sebastian, and Antonio grow weary from traveling and pause to rest.
Antonio and Sebastian secretly plot to take advantage of Alonso and Gonzalo’s exhaustion,
deciding to kill them in the evening. Prospero, probably on the balcony of the stage and
invisible to the men, causes a banquet to be set out by strangely shaped spirits. As the men
prepare to eat, Ariel appears like a harpy and causes the banquet to vanish. He then
accuses the men of supplanting Prospero and says that it was for this sin that Alonso’s son,
Ferdinand, has been taken. He vanishes, leaving Alonso feeling vexed and guilty.
Prospero now softens toward Ferdinand and welcomes him into his family as the soon-to-be-
husband of Miranda. He sternly reminds Ferdinand, however, that Miranda’s “virgin-knot”
(IV.i.15) is not to be broken until the wedding has been officially solemnized. Prospero then
asks Ariel to call forth some spirits to perform a masque for Ferdinand and Miranda. The
spirits assume the shapes of Ceres, Juno, and Iris and perform a short masque celebrating
the rites of marriage and the bounty of the earth. A dance of reapers and nymphs follows but
is interrupted when Prospero suddenly remembers that he still must stop the plot against his
life.
He sends the spirits away and asks Ariel about Trinculo, Stephano, and Caliban. Ariel tells
his master of the three men’s drunken plans. He also tells how he led the men with his music
through prickly grass and briars and finally into a filthy pond near Prospero’s cell. Ariel and
Prospero then set a trap by hanging beautiful clothing in Prospero’s cell. Stephano, Trinculo,
and Caliban enter looking for Prospero and, finding the beautiful clothing, decide to steal it.
They are immediately set upon by a pack of spirits in the shape of dogs and hounds, driven
on by Prospero and Ariel.

Prospero uses Ariel to bring Alonso and the others before him. He then sends Ariel to bring
the Boatswain and the mariners from where they sleep on the wrecked ship. Prospero
confronts Alonso, Antonio, and Sebastian with their treachery, but tells them that he forgives
them. Alonso tells him of having lost Ferdinand in the tempest and Prospero says that he
recently lost his own daughter. Clarifying his meaning, he draws aside a curtain to reveal
Ferdinand and Miranda playing chess. Alonso and his companions are amazed by the
miracle of Ferdinand’s survival, and Miranda is stunned by the sight of people unlike any she
has seen before. Ferdinand tells his father about his marriage.

Ariel returns with the Boatswain and mariners. The Boatswain tells a story of having been
awakened from a sleep that had apparently lasted since the tempest. At Prospero’s bidding,
Ariel releases Caliban, Trinculo and Stephano, who then enter wearing their stolen clothing.
Prospero and Alonso command them to return it and to clean up Prospero’s cell. Prospero
invites Alonso and the others to stay for the night so that he can tell them the tale of his life
in the past twelve years. After this, the group plans to return to Italy. Prospero, restored to
his dukedom, will retire to Milan. Prospero gives Ariel one final task—to make sure the seas
are calm for the return voyage—before setting him free. Finally, Prospero delivers an
epilogue to the audience, asking them to forgive him for his wrongdoing and set him free by
applauding.
 Julius Caesar.

Two tribunes, Flavius and Murellus, find scores of Roman citizens wandering the streets,
neglecting their work in order to watch Julius Caesar’s triumphal parade: Caesar has
defeated the sons of the deceased Roman general Pompey, his archrival, in battle. The
tribunes scold the citizens for abandoning their duties and remove decorations from
Caesar’s statues. Caesar enters with his entourage, including the military and political
figures Brutus, Cassius, and Antony. A Soothsayer calls out to Caesar to “beware the Ides of
March,” but Caesar ignores him and proceeds with his victory celebration (I.ii.19, I.ii.25).

Cassius and Brutus, both longtime intimates of Caesar and each other, converse. Cassius
tells Brutus that he has seemed distant lately; Brutus replies that he has been at war with
himself. Cassius states that he wishes Brutus could see himself as others see him, for then
Brutus would realize how honored and respected he is. Brutus says that he fears that the
people want Caesar to become king, which would overturn the republic. Cassius concurs
that Caesar is treated like a god though he is merely a man, no better than Brutus or
Cassius. Cassius recalls incidents of Caesar’s physical weakness and marvels that this
fallible man has become so powerful. He blames his and Brutus’s lack of will for allowing
Caesar’s rise to power: surely the rise of such a man cannot be the work of fate. Brutus
considers Cassius’s words as Caesar returns. Upon seeing Cassius, Caesar tells Antony
that he deeply distrusts Cassius.

Caesar departs, and another politician, Casca, tells Brutus and Cassius that, during the
celebration, Antony offered the crown to Caesar three times and the people cheered, but
Caesar refused it each time. He reports that Caesar then fell to the ground and had some
kind of seizure before the crowd; his demonstration of weakness, however, did not alter the
plebeians’ devotion to him. Brutus goes home to consider Cassius’s words regarding
Caesar’s poor qualifications to rule, while Cassius hatches a plot to draw Brutus into a
conspiracy against Caesar.

That night, Rome is plagued with violent weather and a variety of bad omens and portents.
Brutus finds letters in his house apparently written by Roman citizens worried that Caesar
has become too powerful. The letters have in fact been forged and planted by Cassius, who
knows that if Brutus believes it is the people’s will, he will support a plot to remove Caesar
from power. A committed supporter of the republic, Brutus fears the possibility of a dictator-
led empire, worrying that the populace would lose its voice. Cassius arrives at Brutus’s home
with his conspirators, and Brutus, who has already been won over by the letters, takes
control of the meeting. The men agree to lure Caesar from his house and kill him. Cassius
wants to kill Antony too, for Antony will surely try to hinder their plans, but Brutus disagrees,
believing that too many deaths will render their plot too bloody and dishonor them. Having
agreed to spare Antony, the conspirators depart. Portia, Brutus’s wife, observes that Brutus
appears preoccupied. She pleads with him to confide in her, but he rebuffs her.
Caesar prepares to go to the Senate. His wife, Calpurnia, begs him not to go, describing
recent nightmares she has had in which a statue of Caesar streamed with blood and smiling
men bathed their hands in the blood. Caesar refuses to yield to fear and insists on going
about his daily business. Finally, Calpurnia convinces him to stay home—if not out of
caution, then as a favor to her. But Decius, one of the conspirators, then arrives and
convinces Caesar that Calpurnia has misinterpreted her dreams and the recent omens.
Caesar departs for the Senate in the company of the conspirators.

As Caesar proceeds through the streets toward the Senate, the Soothsayer again tries but
fails to get his attention. The citizen Artemidorus hands him a letter warning him about the
conspirators, but Caesar refuses to read it, saying that his closest personal concerns are his
last priority. At the Senate, the conspirators speak to Caesar, bowing at his feet and
encircling him. One by one, they stab him to death. When Caesar sees his dear friend
Brutus among his murderers, he gives up his struggle and dies.
The murderers bathe their hands and swords in Caesar’s blood, thus bringing Calpurnia’s
premonition to fruition. Antony, having been led away on a false pretext, returns and pledges
allegiance to Brutus but weeps over Caesar’s body. He shakes hands with the conspirators,
thus marking them all as guilty while appearing to make a gesture of conciliation. When
Antony asks why they killed Caesar, Brutus replies that he will explain their purpose in a
funeral oration. Antony asks to be allowed to speak over the body as well; Brutus grants his
permission, though Cassius remains suspicious of Antony. The conspirators depart, and
Antony, alone now, swears that Caesar’s death shall be avenged.

Brutus and Cassius go to the Forum to speak to the public. Cassius exits to address another
part of the crowd. Brutus declares to the masses that though he loved Caesar, he loves
Rome more, and Caesar’s ambition posed a danger to Roman liberty. The speech placates
the crowd. Antony appears with Caesar’s body, and Brutus departs after turning the pulpit
over to Antony. Repeatedly referring to Brutus as “an honorable man,” Antony’s speech
becomes increasingly sarcastic; questioning the claims that Brutus made in his speech that
Caesar acted only out of ambition, Antony points out that Caesar brought much wealth and
glory to Rome, and three times turned down offers of the crown. Antony then produces
Caesar’s will but announces that he will not read it for it would upset the people inordinately.
The crowd nevertheless begs him to read the will, so he descends from the pulpit to stand
next to Caesar’s body. He describes Caesar’s horrible death and shows Caesar’s wounded
body to the crowd. He then reads Caesar’s will, which bequeaths a sum of money to every
citizen and orders that his private gardens be made public. The crowd becomes enraged
that this generous man lies dead; calling Brutus and Cassius traitors, the masses set off to
drive them from the city.

Meanwhile, Caesar’s adopted son and appointed successor, Octavius, arrives in Rome and
forms a three-person coalition with Antony and Lepidus. They prepare to fight Cassius and
Brutus, who have been driven into exile and are raising armies outside the city. At the
conspirators’ camp, Brutus and Cassius have a heated argument regarding matters of
money and honor, but they ultimately reconcile. Brutus reveals that he is sick with grief, for in
his absence Portia has killed herself. The two continue to prepare for battle with Antony and
Octavius. That night, the Ghost of Caesar appears to Brutus, announcing that Brutus will
meet him again on the battlefield.
Octavius and Antony march their army toward Brutus and Cassius. Antony tells Octavius
where to attack, but Octavius says that he will make his own orders; he is already asserting
his authority as the heir of Caesar and the next ruler of Rome. The opposing generals meet
on the battlefield and exchange insults before beginning combat.

Cassius witnesses his own men fleeing and hears that Brutus’s men are not performing
effectively. Cassius sends one of his men, Pindarus, to see how matters are progressing.
From afar, Pindarus sees one of their leaders, Cassius’s best friend, Titinius, being
surrounded by cheering troops and concludes that he has been captured. Cassius despairs
and orders Pindarus to kill him with his own sword. He dies proclaiming that Caesar is
avenged. Titinius himself then arrives—the men encircling him were actually his comrades,
cheering a victory he had earned. Titinius sees Cassius’s corpse and, mourning the death of
his friend, kills himself.
Brutus learns of the deaths of Cassius and Titinius with a heavy heart, and prepares to take
on the Romans again. When his army loses, doom appears imminent. Brutus asks one of his
men to hold his sword while he impales himself on it. Finally, Caesar can rest satisfied, he
says as he dies. Octavius and Antony arrive. Antony speaks over Brutus’s body, calling him
the noblest Roman of all. While the other conspirators acted out of envy and ambition, he
observes, Brutus genuinely believed that he acted for the benefit of Rome. Octavius orders
that Brutus be buried in the most honorable way. The men then depart to celebrate their
victory.
 Henry IV, Part 1

Note: 1 Henry IV has two main plots that intersect in a dramatic battle at the end of the play. The first plot
concerns King Henry IV, his son, Prince Harry, and their strained relationship. The second concerns a
rebellion that is being plotted against King Henry by a discontented family of noblemen in the North, the
Percys, who are angry because of King Henry’s refusal to acknowledge his debt to them. The play’s
scenes alternate between these two plot strands until they come together at the play’s end.
When the play opens, military news interrupts the aging King Henry’s plans to lead a
crusade. The Welsh rebel Glyndwr has defeated King Henry’s army in the South, and the
young Harry Percy (nicknamed Hotspur), who is supposedly loyal to King Henry, is refusing
to send to the king the soldiers whom he has captured in the North. King Henry summons
Hotspur back to the royal court so that he can explain his actions.

Meanwhile, King Henry’s son, Prince Harry, sits drinking in a bar with criminals and
highwaymen. King Henry is very disappointed in his son; it is common knowledge that Harry,
the heir to the throne, conducts himself in a manner unbefitting royalty. He spends most of
his time in taverns on the seedy side of London, hanging around with vagrants and other
shady characters. Harry’s closest friend among the crew of rascals is Falstaff, a sort of
substitute father figure. Falstaff is a worldly and fat old man who steals and lies for a living.
Falstaff is also an extraordinarily witty person who lives with great gusto. Harry claims that
his spending time with these men is actually part of a scheme on his part to impress the
public when he eventually changes his ways and adopts a more noble personality.

Falstaff’s friend Poins arrives at the inn and announces that he has plotted the robbery of a
group of wealthy travelers. Although Harry initially refuses to participate, Poins explains to
him in private that he is actually playing a practical joke on Falstaff. Poins’s plan is to hide
before the robbery occurs, pretending to ditch Falstaff. After the robbery, Poins and Harry
will rob Falstaff and then make fun of him when he tells the story of being robbed, which he
will almost certainly fabricate.

Hotspur arrives at King Henry’s court and details the reasons that his family is frustrated with
the king: the Percys were instrumental in helping Henry overthrow his predecessor, but
Henry has failed to repay the favor. After King Henry leaves, Hotspur’s family members
explain to Hotspur their plan to build an alliance to overthrow the king.

Harry and Poins, meanwhile, successfully carry out their plan to dupe Falstaff and have a
great deal of fun at his expense. As they are all drinking back at the tavern, however, a
messenger arrives for Harry. Harry’s father has received news of the civil war that is brewing
and has sent for his son; Harry is to return to the royal court the next day.

Although the Percys have gathered a formidable group of allies around them—leaders of
large rebel armies from Scotland and Wales as well as powerful English nobles and
clergymen who have grievances against King Henry—the alliance has begun to falter.
Several key figures announce that they will not join in the effort to overthrow the king, and
the danger that these defectors might alert King Henry of the rebellion necessitates going to
war at once.
Heeding his father’s request, Harry returns to the palace. King Henry expresses his deep
sorrow and anger at his son’s behavior and implies that Hotspur’s valor might actually give
him more right to the throne than Prince Harry’s royal birth. Harry decides that it is time to
reform, and he vows that he will abandon his wild ways and vanquish Hotspur in battle in
order to reclaim his good name. Drafting his tavern friends to fight in King Henry’s army,
Harry accompanies his father to the battlefront.

The civil war is decided in a great battle at Shrewsbury. Harry boldly saves his father’s life in
battle and finally wins back his father’s approval and affection. Harry also challenges and
defeats Hotspur in single combat. King Henry’s forces win, and most of the leaders of the
Percy family are put to death. Falstaff manages to survive the battle by avoiding any actual
fighting.

Powerful rebel forces remain in Britain, however, so King Henry must send his sons and his
forces to the far reaches of his kingdom to deal with them. When the play ends, the ultimate
outcome of the war has not yet been determined; one battle has been won, but another
remains to be fought (Shakespeare’s sequel to this play, 2 Henry IV, begins where 1 Henry
IV leaves off).
 Love's Labor’s Lost.

The King of Navarre and his three lords, Berowne, Longaville, and Dumaine, swear an oath
to scholarship, which includes fasting and avoiding contact with women for three years. They
receive a letter from Don Armado, a Spaniard visiting the King's court, telling them that he
has caught Costard, a fool, and Jaquenetta, a country wench, consorting in the park. The
King announces Costard's sentence, and he and the lords go off to begin their oath.

Don Armado confesses to Moth, his page, that he has fallen in love with Jaquenetta. He
writes her a letter that he asks Costard to deliver.
Meanwhile, the Princess of France has arrived to visit the King. Because of his oath,
however, the King cannot receive the Princess and her party at his court; he and his lords
must visit them at their camp outside the castle. The three lords fall in love with the three
ladies, as does the King with the Princess. Berowne gives Costard a letter to deliver to
Rosaline, but Costard accidentally switches it with the letter from Don Armado to Jaquenetta.
When he gives Berowne's letter to Jaquenetta, she brings it to the learned Holofernes and
Sir Nathaniel to read for her. They tell her that the letter was meant for someone else and to
deliver it to the King.

Berowne watches the King from a hiding spot as he reads about his love for the Princess.
Longaville enters, and the King hides as well; he and Berowne observe Longaville reading of
his love for Maria. Dumaine enters, Longaville hides, and all three see Dumaine reading an
ode he has written to Katherine. Longaville advances and tells Dumaine that he is not alone
in love. The King then advances and scolds the two men for breaking their oath. Berowne
advances and reveals that the King is in love as well. Jaquenetta arrives and gives Berowne
the letter, which he rips up. However, Dumaine picks up a piece of the letter with Berowne's
name on it, and Berowne confesses that he is in love as well. The four men decide to court
their women.

The King and his lords arrive at the Princess's pavilion dressed as Muscovites. The women
heed Boyet's prior warnings and decide to switch favors, so that the men will mistake them
for each other. After the men leave and reappear as themselves, the women reveal their
prank. They all watch a show of the Nine Worthies, performed by Don Armado, Sir
Nathaniel, and Holofernes. A messenger arrives to tell the Princess that her father has died,
and she prepares to return to France. The women tell their suitors to seek them again in a
year, and the play ends with their departure.
 Measure for Measure

Shakespeare's Measure for Measure centers around the fate of Claudio, who is arrested by

Lord Angelo, the temporary leader of Vienna. Angelo is left in charge by the Duke, who
pretends to leave town but instead dresses as a friar to observe the goings-on in his
absence. Angelo is strict, moralistic, and unwavering in his decision-making; he decides that
there is too much freedom in Vienna and takes it upon himself to rid the city of brothels and
unlawful sexual activity. Laws against these behaviors and institutions already exist, and
Angelo simply decides to enforce them more strictly. Claudio is arrested for impregnating
Juliet, his lover, before they were married. Although they were engaged and their sexual
intercourse was consensual, Claudio is sentenced to death in order to serve as an example
to the other Viennese citizens.

Isabella, Claudio's sister, is about to enter a nunnery when her brother is arrested. She is
unfailingly virtuous, religious, and chaste. When she hears of her brother's arrest, she goes
to Angelo to beg him for mercy. He refuses, but suggests that there might be some way to
change his mind. When he propositions her, saying that he will let Claudio live if she agrees
to have sexual intercourse with him, she is shocked and immediately refuses. Her brother
agrees at first but then changes his mind. Isabella is left to contemplate a very important
decision.

Isabella is, in a way, let off the hook when the Duke, dressed as a friar, intervenes. He tells
her that Angelo's former lover, Mariana, was engaged to be married to him, but he
abandoned her when she lost her dowry in a shipwreck. The Duke forms a plan by which
Isabella will agree to have sex with the Angelo, but then Mariana will go in her place. The
next morning, Angelo will pardon Claudio and be forced to marry Mariana according to the
law.

Everything goes according to plan, except that Angelo does not pardon Claudio, fearing
revenge. The provost and the Duke send him the head of a dead pirate, claiming that it
belonged to Claudio, and Angelo believes that his orders were carried out. Isabella is told
that her brother is dead, and that she should submit a complaint to the Duke, who is due to
arrive shortly, accusing Angelo of immoral acts.

The Duke returns in his usual clothes, saying that he will hear all grievances immediately.
Isabella tells her story, and the Duke pretends not to believe her. Eventually, the Duke
reveals his dual identity, and everyone is forced to be honest. Angelo confesses to his
misdeeds, Claudio is pardoned, and the Duke asks Isabella to marry him.
 The Merchant of Venice

Antonio, a Venetian merchant, complains to his friends of a melancholy that he cannot

explain. His friend Bassanio is desperately in need of money to court Portia, a wealthy
heiress who lives in the city of Belmont. Bassanio asks Antonio for a loan in order to travel in
style to Portia’s estate. Antonio agrees, but is unable to make the loan himself because his
own money is all invested in a number of trade ships that are still at sea. Antonio suggests
that Bassanio secure the loan from one of the city’s moneylenders and name Antonio as the
loan’s guarantor. In Belmont, Portia expresses sadness over the terms of her father’s will,
which stipulates that she must marry the man who correctly chooses one of three caskets.
None of Portia’s current suitors are to her liking, and she and her lady-in-waiting, Nerissa,
fondly remember a visit paid some time before by Bassanio.

In Venice, Antonio and Bassanio approach Shylock, a Jewish moneylender, for a loan.
Shylock nurses a long-standing grudge against Antonio, who has made a habit of berating
Shylock and other Jews for their usury, the practice of loaning money at exorbitant rates of
interest, and who undermines their business by offering interest-free loans. Although Antonio
refuses to apologize for his behavior, Shylock acts agreeably and offers to lend Bassanio
three thousand ducats with no interest. Shylock adds, however, that should the loan go
unpaid, Shylock will be entitled to a pound of Antonio’s own flesh. Despite Bassanio’s
warnings, Antonio agrees. In Shylock’s own household, his servant Launcelot decides to
leave Shylock’s service to work for Bassanio, and Shylock’s daughter Jessica schemes to
elope with Antonio’s friend Lorenzo. That night, the streets of Venice fill up with revelers, and
Jessica escapes with Lorenzo by dressing as his page. After a night of celebration, Bassanio
and his friend Gratiano leave for Belmont, where Bassanio intends to win Portia’s hand.
In Belmont, Portia welcomes the prince of Morocco, who has come in an attempt to choose
the right casket to marry her. The prince studies the inscriptions on the three caskets and
chooses the gold one, which proves to be an incorrect choice. In Venice, Shylock is furious
to find that his daughter has run away, but rejoices in the fact that Antonio’s ships are
rumored to have been wrecked and that he will soon be able to claim his debt. In Belmont,
the prince of Arragon also visits Portia. He, too, studies the caskets carefully, but he picks
the silver one, which is also incorrect. Bassanio arrives at Portia’s estate, and they declare
their love for one another. Despite Portia’s request that he wait before choosing, Bassanio
immediately picks the correct casket, which is made of lead. He and Portia rejoice, and
Gratiano confesses that he has fallen in love with Nerissa. The couples decide on a double
wedding. Portia gives Bassanio a ring as a token of love, and makes him swear that under
no circumstances will he part with it. They are joined, unexpectedly, by Lorenzo and Jessica.
The celebration, however, is cut short by the news that Antonio has indeed lost his ships,
and that he has forfeited his bond to Shylock. Bassanio and Gratiano immediately travel to
Venice to try and save Antonio’s life. After they leave, Portia tells Nerissa that they will go to
Venice disguised as men.
Shylock ignores the many pleas to spare Antonio’s life, and a trial is called to decide the
matter. The duke of Venice, who presides over the trial, announces that he has sent for a
legal expert, who turns out to be Portia disguised as a young man of law. Portia asks
Shylock to show mercy, but he remains inflexible and insists the pound of flesh is rightfully
his. Bassanio offers Shylock twice the money due him, but Shylock insists on collecting the
bond as it is written. Portia examines the contract and, finding it legally binding, declares that
Shylock is entitled to the merchant’s flesh. Shylock ecstatically praises her wisdom, but as
he is on the verge of collecting his due, Portia reminds him that he must do so without
causing Antonio to bleed, as the contract does not entitle him to any blood. Trapped by this
logic, Shylock hastily agrees to take Bassanio’s money instead, but Portia insists that
Shylock take his bond as written, or nothing at all. Portia informs Shylock that he is guilty of
conspiring against the life of a Venetian citizen, which means he must turn over half of his
property to the state and the other half to Antonio. The duke spares Shylock’s life and takes
a fine instead of Shylock’s property. Antonio also forgoes his half of Shylock’s wealth on two
conditions: first, Shylock must convert to Christianity, and second, he must will the entirety of
his estate to Lorenzo and Jessica upon his death. Shylock agrees and takes his leave.

Bassanio, who does not see through Portia’s disguise, showers the young law clerk with
thanks, and is eventually pressured into giving Portia the ring with which he promised never
to part. Gratiano gives Nerissa, who is disguised as Portia’s clerk, his ring. The two women
return to Belmont, where they find Lorenzo and Jessica declaring their love to each other
under the moonlight. When Bassanio and Gratiano arrive the next day, their wives accuse
them of faithlessly giving their rings to other women. Before the deception goes too far,
however, Portia reveals that she was, in fact, the law clerk, and both she and Nerissa
reconcile with their husbands. Lorenzo and Jessica are pleased to learn of their inheritance
from Shylock, and the joyful news arrives that Antonio’s ships have in fact made it back
safely. The group celebrates its good fortune.
 The Merry Wives of Windsor

Justice Shallow, Master Slender, and Sir Hugh Evans enter, discussing Shallow's anger at
Sir John Falstaff. Evans changes the topic to the young Anne Page, whom he would like to
see Slender marry. They arrive at Master Page's door, where Shallow confronts Falstaff and
his entourage. The men enter to dine, but Slender drifts around outside, trying
unsuccessfully to converse with Anne Page until he goes inside.

Falstaff and his entourage settle in at the Garter Inn, where Falstaff reveals his plan to
seduce Mistress Page and Mistress Ford, both of whom have control over their husband's
money, which he desires. He sends Pistol and Nim to deliver letters to the women, but they
refuse. Instead they plot to stymie Falstaff's plans by telling Page and Ford of his intentions.
Mistress Quickly talks to Slender's servant Simple, sent by Evans, and agrees that she will
consent to speak positively of Slender to Anne Page. Her master, Doctor Caius, enters and
encounters Simple. When he hears about his errand, he becomes angry and drafts a letter
to Evans. Caius too is in love with Anne Page and blames Evans for encouraging Slender;
hence he challenges him to a duel. He threatens Quickly, who had promised him she would
encourage Anne to look favorably on him. Later Fenton enters; he's also in love with Anne
and wants to know if Quickly has related his affections to her.

Mistress Page enters with a letter from Falstaff. She's astonished that he has the gall to try
to seduce her and wonders how she will seek revenge. Mistress Ford appears with her own
letter, which they discover is exactly the same. They decide to lead Falstaff on until he is
ruined and humiliated. Mistress Ford agrees to anything that won't harm her honor.
Meanwhile, Pistol and Nim enter, conversing with Ford and Page; they reveal Falstaff's
plans. The husbands are astonished. Page doesn't think his wife will fall for Falstaff, but Ford
is horribly jealous and convinced his wife will dishonor him.

Shallow and the Host of the Garter Inn enter with news of a fight between Caius and Evans.
Page goes with them to watch, while Ford makes a deal with the Host to be introduced to
Falstaff in disguise, in order to find out how far Falstaff has gotten in his plan.

At the Garter Inn, Quickly enters with a message from Mistresses Ford and Page for Falstaff.
She reports that Ford will be out the next morning, and Mistress Ford will be expecting a visit
from him. Mistress Page has not yet gotten her husband to leave the house, so she'll make a
date at a later time. Then Ford enters in disguise, announced under the name Brooke. He
tells Falstaff that he's in love with Mistress Ford, but that she has always rebuffed his
advances, claiming that she's too honorable to cheat on her husband. He asks Falstaff to
seduce Mistress Ford, thus destroying her honor, so she won't be able to turn him down in
the future. Falstaff reports his date the next morning with Mistress Ford. Alone, Ford curses
his wife for preparing to cheat on him and thinks Page is foolish to trust his wife.
Caius awaits Evans for their duel, but Evans is nowhere to be found. Meanwhile, Evans has
been wandering around looking for Caius. They meet and prepare to fight. The other men
take their swords away, and Caius and Evans speak quietly to each other of their suspicion
that the Host has plotted to make them look like fools because he scorns Evans for his
Welsh accent and Caius for his French one. They agree to work together to get revenge
against the Host.

On the way back from the fight, the men discuss Anne's marriage options. Page says he
favors Slender, but his wife prefers Caius. What about Fenton?, asks one, but Page
dismisses him entirely. Ford invites the men back to his house to catch Falstaff.

Falstaff has arrived at Mistress Ford's house; he hides when Mistress Page is announced.
She comes in and speaks loudly of the imminent arrival of Ford, who angrily suspects his
wife of cheating. Falstaff comes out and asks them to help him flee. They hide him in a
laundry basket. Ford and his buddies enter as Mistress Ford's men carry the laundry out.
Ford is unable to find Falstaff, and the Mistresses are doubly delighted to have fooled both
Falstaff and Ford. They decide to humiliate Falstaff further in the service of making Ford get
over his jealousy.

Fenton and Anne Page speak. He says her father objects to him because he suspects him
of just wanting Anne's money, since he is high-born but poor. Fenton admits that that was
his intention at first, but, since getting to know her, he has come to feel differently. Shallow,
Slender, and Quickly enter; Quickly draws Fenton away, while Shallow tries to get Slender to
talk to Anne. Slender only makes a fool of himself by speaking nonsense. Page and his wife
enter, and they invite the favored Slender inside. Fenton asks Quickly to continue to
campaign on his behalf with Anne. Alone, Quickly notes that she likes him better than the
other two men who have asked her to sway Anne's opinion.

Falstaff arrives at the Garter Inn, soaked after having been thrown in the river with the
laundry. Quickly enters with a second invitation from Mistress Ford. Ford enters in disguise
as Brooke and asks how Falstaff's date with Mistress Ford went. He tells how it ended, but
says he is visiting again that night!

Falstaff returns to Mistress Ford's house, and again Mistress Page enters soon after. Falstaff
hides, and Mistress Page warns Mistress Ford of her husband's approach. How will they
hide Falstaff this time? He emerges and refuses to go in the laundry again. Mistress Ford
suggests that he wear the clothes of her servant's fat aunt to escape in disguise. He does,
and when Ford arrives, he beats Falstaff and chases him away because he hates the fat
aunt. Mistress Ford and Mistress Page are pleased; they think they have proven their point,
and so they decide to tell their husbands of their schemes.

Ford apologizes to his wife for his jealousy, and he promises never to suspect her again.
They decide that it would be fun to work together to humiliate Falstaff publicly. They plan to
have Mistress Ford invite Falstaff to meet her in an allegedly haunted wood, and they'll dress
their children up as ghosts and monsters to terrify and embarrass Falstaff. Then, having
caught him in the act of trying to meet Mistress Ford secretly, they can tell the story all
around town.
Fenton speaks to the Host of a letter he has received from Anne. She says that her parents
want to use the chaos of disguised children in the haunted wood as an opportunity for her
suitors to elope with her. Her mother wants her to run off with Caius and her father prefers
Slender. Each instructs her to wear a specific outfit so each suitor may find her. But she
intends to deceive them both. Fenton asks the Host to help him find a vicar who will marry
them that night.

Meanwhile, Caius and Evans avenge themselves on the Host by stealing three of his horses
in a scheme that had him believing he had lent the horses to three German lords on their
way to the royal court.

Falstaff arrives in the haunted woods. The disguised children hide and wait. Ford and Page
and their friends arrive to watch, and Mistress Ford and Mistress Page approach Falstaff.
He's delighted to see they have both come to meet him. Then they hear a noise and the
women run away. Falstaff is surrounded by disguised elves and ghouls and is terrified.
Mistress Quickly, playing the fairy queen, says they should try to burn the human they have
encountered, and if he doesn't burn then he is pure. They burn Falstaff with candles and
encircle him and pinch him.

Finally, the disguised children depart, and Page and Ford enter. Falstaff sees that he has
been fooled and humiliated. Evans tells Falstaff that he should give up on his lusts and tells
Ford that he should trust his wife. Meanwhile, they all wonder where Anne is. Slender arrives
upset; in the confusion, he eloped with a young boy in Anne's outfit. Then Caius enters, in a
rage that he has married a boy wearing Anne's assigned color outfit. Then Anne herself
enters with Fenton. Fenton scolds the Pages for having thought to send Anne into a
marriage without love. He and Anne have long been in love, he says, and now it has been
finalized.

Ford says that love has won out, and Page and his wife realize their mistake in not having
listened to the wishes of their daughter. Falstaff is pleased that their plan to humiliate him
backfired partially in the marriage of Anne and Fenton. They adjourn to celebrate the
marriage and invite Falstaff to join them.
 A Midsummer Night's Dream

Theseus, duke of Athens, is preparing for his marriage to Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons,
with a four-day festival of pomp and entertainment. He commissions his Master of the
Revels, Philostrate, to find suitable amusements for the occasion. Egeus, an Athenian
nobleman, marches into Theseus’s court with his daughter, Hermia, and two young men,
Demetrius and Lysander. Egeus wishes Hermia to marry Demetrius (who loves Hermia), but
Hermia is in love with Lysander and refuses to comply. Egeus asks for the full penalty of law
to fall on Hermia’s head if she flouts her father’s will. Theseus gives Hermia until his wedding
to consider her options, warning her that disobeying her father’s wishes could result in her
being sent to a convent or even executed. Nonetheless, Hermia and Lysander plan to
escape Athens the following night and marry in the house of Lysander’s aunt, some seven
leagues distant from the city. They make their intentions known to Hermia’s friend Helena,
who was once engaged to Demetrius and still loves him even though he jilted her after
meeting Hermia. Hoping to regain his love, Helena tells Demetrius of the elopement that
Hermia and Lysander have planned. At the appointed time, Demetrius stalks into the woods
after his intended bride and her lover; Helena follows behind him.

In these same woods are two very different groups of characters. The first is a band of
fairies, including Oberon, the fairy king, and Titania, his queen, who has recently returned
from India to bless the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. The second is a band of
Athenian craftsmen rehearsing a play that they hope to perform for the duke and his bride.
Oberon and Titania are at odds over a young Indian prince given to Titania by the prince’s
mother; the boy is so beautiful that Oberon wishes to make him a knight, but Titania refuses.
Seeking revenge, Oberon sends his merry servant, Puck, to acquire a magical flower, the
juice of which can be spread over a sleeping person’s eyelids to make that person fall in love
with the first thing he or she sees upon waking. Puck obtains the flower, and Oberon tells
him of his plan to spread its juice on the sleeping Titania’s eyelids. Having seen Demetrius
act cruelly toward Helena, he orders Puck to spread some of the juice on the eyelids of the
young Athenian man. Puck encounters Lysander and Hermia; thinking that Lysander is the
Athenian of whom Oberon spoke, Puck afflicts him with the love potion. Lysander happens
to see Helena upon awaking and falls deeply in love with her, abandoning Hermia. As the
night progresses and Puck attempts to undo his mistake, both Lysander and Demetrius end
up in love with Helena, who believes that they are mocking her. Hermia becomes so jealous
that she tries to challenge Helena to a fight. Demetrius and Lysander nearly do fight over
Helena’s love, but Puck confuses them by mimicking their voices, leading them apart until
they are lost separately in the forest.

When Titania wakes, the first creature she sees is Bottom, the most ridiculous of the
Athenian craftsmen, whose head Puck has mockingly transformed into that of an ass. Titania
passes a ludicrous interlude doting on the ass-headed weaver. Eventually, Oberon obtains
the Indian boy, Puck spreads the love potion on Lysander’s eyelids, and by morning all is
well. Theseus and Hippolyta discover the sleeping lovers in the forest and take them back to
Athens to be married—Demetrius now loves Helena, and Lysander now loves Hermia. After
the group wedding, the lovers watch Bottom and his fellow craftsmen perform their play, a
fumbling, hilarious version of the story of Pyramus and Thisbe. When the play is completed,
the lovers go to bed; the fairies briefly emerge to bless the sleeping couples with a protective
charm and then disappear. Only Puck remains, to ask the audience for its forgiveness and
approval and to urge it to remember the play as though it had all been a dream.
 Much Ado about Nothing

Leonato, a kindly, respectable nobleman, lives in the idyllic Italian town of Messina. Leonato
shares his house with his lovely young daughter, Hero, his playful, clever niece, Beatrice,
and his elderly brother, Antonio (who is Beatrice's father). As the play begins, Leonato
prepares to welcome some friends home from a war. The friends include Don Pedro, a
prince who is a close friend of Leonato, and two fellow soldiers: Claudio, a well-respected
young nobleman, and Benedick, a clever man who constantly makes witty jokes, often at the
expense of his friends. Don John, Don Pedro’s illegitimate brother, is part of the crowd as
well. Don John is sullen and bitter, and makes trouble for the others.

When the soldiers arrive at Leonato’s home, Claudio quickly falls in love with Hero.
Meanwhile, Benedick and Beatrice resume the war of witty insults that they have carried on
with each other in the past. Claudio and Hero pledge their love to one another and decide to
be married. To pass the time in the week before the wedding, the lovers and their friends
decide to play a game. They want to get Beatrice and Benedick, who are clearly meant for
each other, to stop arguing and fall in love. Their tricks prove successful, and Beatrice and
Benedick soon fall secretly in love with each other.

But Don John has decided to disrupt everyone’s happiness. He has his companion Borachio
make love to Margaret, Hero’s serving woman, at Hero’s window in the darkness of the
night, and he brings Don Pedro and Claudio to watch. Believing that he has seen Hero being
unfaithful to him, the enraged Claudio humiliates Hero by suddenly accusing her of lechery
on the day of their wedding and abandoning her at the altar. Hero’s stricken family members
decide to pretend that she died suddenly of shock and grief and to hide her away while they
wait for the truth about her innocence to come to light. In the aftermath of the rejection,
Benedick and Beatrice finally confess their love to one another. Fortunately, the night
watchmen overhear Borachio bragging about his crime. Dogberry and Verges, the heads of
the local police, ultimately arrest both Borachio and Conrad, another of Don John’s followers.
Everyone learns that Hero is really innocent, and Claudio, who believes she is dead, grieves
for her.

Leonato tells Claudio that, as punishment, he wants Claudio to tell everybody in the city how
innocent Hero was. He also wants Claudio to marry Leonato’s “niece”—a girl who, he says,
looks much like the dead Hero. Claudio goes to church with the others, preparing to marry
the mysterious, masked woman he thinks is Hero’s cousin. When Hero reveals herself as
the masked woman, Claudio is overwhelmed with joy. Benedick then asks Beatrice if she will
marry him, and after some arguing they agree. The joyful lovers all have a merry dance
before they celebrate their double wedding.
 The Taming of the Shrew

In the English countryside, a poor tinker named Christopher Sly becomes the target of a
prank by a local lord. Finding Sly drunk out of his wits in front of an alehouse, the lord has
his men take Sly to his manor, dress him in his finery, and treat him as a lord. When Sly
recovers, the men tell him that he is a lord and that he only believes himself to be a tinker
because he has been insane for the past several years. Waking in the lord’s bed, Sly at first
refuses to accept the men’s story, but when he hears of his “wife,” a pageboy dressed in
women’s clothing, he readily agrees that he is the lord they purport him to be. Sly wants to
be left alone with his wife, but the servants tell him that a troupe of actors has arrived to
present a play for him. The play that Sly watches makes up the main story of The Taming of
the Shrew.
In the Italian city of Padua, a rich young man named Lucentio arrives with his servants,
Tranio and Biondello, to attend the local university. Lucentio is excited to begin his studies,
but his priorities change when he sees Bianca, a beautiful, mild young woman with whom
Lucentio instantly falls in love. There are two problems: first, Bianca already has two suitors,
Gremio and Hortensio; second, Bianca’s father, a wealthy old man named Baptista Minola,
has declared that no one may court Bianca until first her older sister, the vicious, ill-tempered
Katherine, is married. Lucentio decides to overcome this problem by disguising himself as
Bianca’s Latin tutor to gain an excuse to be in her company. Hortensio disguises himself as
her music teacher for the same reason. While Lucentio pretends to be Bianca’s tutor, Tranio
dresses up as Lucentio and begins to confer with Baptista about the possibility of marrying
his daughter.

The Katherine problem is solved for Bianca’s suitors when Hortensio’s friend Petruchio, a
brash young man from Verona, arrives in Padua to find a wife. He intends to marry a rich
woman, and does not care what she is like as long as she will bring him a fortune. He agrees
to marry Katherine sight unseen. The next day, he goes to Baptista’s house to meet her, and
they have a tremendous duel of words. As Katherine insults Petruchio repeatedly, Petruchio
tells her that he will marry her whether she agrees or not. He tells Baptista, falsely, that
Katherine has consented to marry him on Sunday. Hearing this claim, Katherine is strangely
silent, and the wedding is set.

On Sunday, Petruchio is late to his own wedding, leaving Katherine to fear she will become
an old maid. When Petruchio arrives, he is dressed in a ridiculous outfit and rides on a
broken-down horse. After the wedding, Petruchio forces Katherine to leave for his country
house before the feast, telling all in earshot that she is now his property and that he may do
with her as he pleases. Once they reach his country house, Petruchio continues the process
of “taming” Katherine by keeping her from eating or sleeping for several days—he pretends
that he loves her so much he cannot allow her to eat his inferior food or to sleep in his poorly
made bed.

In Padua, Lucentio wins Bianca’s heart by wooing her with a Latin translation that declares
his love. Hortensio makes the same attempt with a music lesson, but Bianca loves Lucentio,
and Hortensio resolves to marry a wealthy widow. Tranio secures Baptista’s approval for
Lucentio to marry Bianca by proposing a huge sum of money to lavish on her. Baptista
agrees but says that he must have this sum confirmed by Lucentio’s father before the
marriage can take place. Tranio and Lucentio, still in their respective disguises, feel there is
nothing left to do but find an old man to play the role of Lucentio’s father.
Tranio enlists the help of an old pedant, or schoolmaster, but as the pedant speaks to
Baptista, Lucentio and Bianca decide to circumvent the complex situation by eloping.
Katherine and Petruchio soon return to Padua to visit Baptista. On the way, Petruchio forces
Katherine to say that the sun is the moon and that an old man is really a beautiful young
maiden. Since Katherine’s willfulness is dissipating, she agrees that all is as her husband
says. On the road, the couple meets Lucentio’s father, Vincentio, who is on his way to Padua
to see his son. In Padua, Vincentio is shocked to find Tranio masquerading as Lucentio. At
last, Bianca and Lucentio arrive to spread the news of their marriage. Both Vincentio and
Baptista finally agree to the marriage.

At the banquet following Hortensio’s wedding to the widow, the other characters are shocked
to see that Katherine seems to have been “tamed”—she obeys everything that Petruchio
says and gives a long speech advocating the loyalty of wives to their husbands. When the
three new husbands stage a contest to see which of their wives will obey first when
summoned, everyone expects Lucentio to win. Bianca, however, sends a message back
refusing to obey, while Katherine comes immediately. The others acknowledge that
Petruchio has won an astonishing victory, and the happy Katherine and Petruchio leave the
banquet to go to bed.
 The Two Gentlemen of Verona

Bosom buddies Valentine and Proteus bid a tearful farewell on a street in Verona. Valentine
is off to improve himself, venturing out to see the world, while Proteus stays home in Verona,
tied by his love for Julia. After Valentine departs, his servant, Speed, enters. Proteus
inquires whether or not Speed delivered a letter to Julia, to which Speed replies affirmatively.
Julia, meanwhile, asks her maid, Lucetta, with which man she should fall in love, and Lucetta
recommends Proteus. Lucetta admits that she has a letter for Julia from Proteus. After much
bickering, Julia tears up the letter, only to regret this act an instant later.

Antonio decides to send Proteus, his son, to the Duke's court in Milan, a decision with which
neither Proteus nor Julia is particularly happy. They exchange rings and promises to keep
loving each other. Meanwhile, Valentine has fallen in love with the Duke's feisty daughter,
Silvia. When Proteus arrives at court, he too falls in love with Silvia, and vows to do anything
he can to win her away from Valentine. When Valentine confesses that he and Silvia plan to
elope, Proteus notifies the Duke of their plans, gaining favor for himself and effecting
Valentine's banishment from court. Back in Verona, Julia has hatched a plan to disguise
herself as a man so that she can journey to Milan to be reunited with Proteus. Upon arriving
at court, she witnesses Proteus and Thurio wooing Silvia.

The banished Valentine, while traveling to Mantua, is apprehended by a group of outlaws.

The outlaws, all of whom are banished gentlemen as well, demand Valentine to become
their king. Since they threaten to kill him if he refuses, Valentine accepts. Silvia and Julia,
who is disguised as the page Sebastian, meet when Julia delivers the ring Proteus had given
her to Silvia on behalf of Proteus. Julia does not reveal her identity. Silvia calls on her friend
Sir Eglamour to help her escape her father's oppressive will (he wants her to marry Thurio)
and to find Valentine. However, while traveling through the forest, she and Eglamour are
overtaken by a band of outlaws. Eglamour runs away, leaving Silvia to fend for herself
against the outlaws. By this time, the Duke, Proteus, and Thurio, with Sebastian/Julia in tow,
have organized a search party for Silvia.

Proteus wrests Silvia away from the outlaws. Valentine watches the interaction unseen.
Proteus demands that Silvia give him some sign of her favor for freeing her, but she refuses.
He tries to rape her for her resistance, but Valentine jumps out and stops him. Proteus
immediately apologizes, and Valentine offers to give him Silvia as a token of their friendship.
At this moment, Sebastian faints and his true identity becomes clear. Proteus decides that
he really loves Julia better than Silvia, and takes her instead. The Duke realizes that Thurio
is a thug and says that Valentine is far nobler and can marry Silvia. Valentine asks for
clemency for the outlaws, and suggests that his marriage to Silvia and Proteus' marriage to
Julia should take place on the same day.
 The Winter’s Tale
King Leontes of Sicilia begs his childhood friend, King Polixenes of Bohemia, to extend his
visit to Sicilia. Polixenes protests that he has been away from his kingdom for nine months,
but after Leontes's pregnant wife, Hermione, pleads with him he relents and agrees to stay a
little longer. Leontes, meanwhile, has become possessed with jealousy—convinced that
Polixenes and Hermione are lovers, he orders his loyal retainer, Camillo, to poison the
Bohemian king. Instead, Camillo warns Polixenes of what is afoot, and the two men flee
Sicilia immediately.

Furious at their escape, Leontes now publicly accuses his wife of infidelity, and declares that
the child she is bearing must be illegitimate. He throws her in prison, over the protests of his
nobles, and sends to the Oracle of Delphi for what he is sure will be confirmation of his
suspicions. Meanwhile, the queen gives birth to a girl, and her loyal friend Paulina brings the
baby to the king, in the hopes that the sight of the child will soften his heart. He only grows
angrier, however, and orders Paulina's husband, Lord Antigonus, to take the child and
abandon it in some desolate place. While Antigonus is gone, the answer comes from Delphi
—Hermione and Polixenes are innocent, and Leontes will have no heir until his lost daughter
is found. As this news is revealed, word comes that Leontes's son, Mamillius, has died of a
wasting sickness brought on by the accusations against his mother. Hermione, meanwhile,
falls in a swoon, and is carried away by Paulina, who subsequently reports the queen's
death to her heartbroken and repentant husband.

Antigonus, meanwhile abandons the baby on the Bohemian coast, reporting that Hermione
appeared to him in a dream and bade him name the girl Perdita and leave gold and other
tokens on her person. Shortly thereafter, Antigonus is killed by a bear, and Perdita is raised
by a kindly Shepherd. Sixteen years pass, and the son of Polixenes, Prince Florizel, falls in
love with Perdita. His father and Camillo attend a sheepshearing in disguise and watch as
Florizel and Perdita are betrothed—then, tearing off the disguise, Polixenes intervenes and
orders his son never to see the Shepherd's daughter again. With the aid of Camillo,
however, who longs to see his native land again, Florizel and Perdita take ship for Sicilia,
after using the clothes of a local rogue, Autolycus, as a disguise. They are joined in their
voyage by the Shepherd and his son, a Clown, who are directed there by Autolycus.

In Sicilia, Leontes—still in mourning after all this time—greets the son of his old friend
effusively. Florizel pretends to be on a diplomatic mission from his father, but his cover is
blown when Polixenes and Camillo, too, arrive in Sicilia. What happens next is told to us by
gentlemen of the Sicilian court: the Shepherd tells everyone his story of how Perdita was
found, and Leontes realizes that she is his daughter, leading to general rejoicing. The entire
company then goes to Paulina's house in the country, where a statue of Hermione has been
recently finished. The sight of his wife's form makes Leontes distraught, but then, to
everyone's amazement, the statue comes to life—it is Hermione, restored to life. As the play
ends, Paulina and Camillo are engaged, and the whole company celebrates the miracle.
 Twelfth night
In the kingdom of Illyria, a nobleman named Orsino lies around listening to music, pining
away for the love of Lady Olivia. He cannot have her because she is in mourning for her
dead brother and refuses to entertain any proposals of marriage. Meanwhile, off the coast, a
storm has caused a terrible shipwreck. A young, aristocratic-born woman named Viola is
swept onto the Illyrian shore. Finding herself alone in a strange land, she assumes that her
twin brother, Sebastian, has been drowned in the wreck, and tries to figure out what sort of
work she can do. A friendly sea captain tells her about Orsino’s courtship of Olivia, and Viola
says that she wishes she could go to work in Olivia’s home. But since Lady Olivia refuses to
talk with any strangers, Viola decides that she cannot look for work with her. Instead, she
decides to disguise herself as a man, taking on the name of Cesario, and goes to work in the
household of Duke Orsino.

Viola (disguised as Cesario) quickly becomes a favorite of Orsino, who makes Cesario his
page. Viola finds herself falling in love with Orsino—a difficult love to pursue, as Orsino
believes her to be a man. But when Orsino sends Cesario to deliver Orsino’s love messages
to the disdainful Olivia, Olivia herself falls for the beautiful young Cesario, believing her to be
a man. The love triangle is complete: Viola loves Orsino, Orsino loves Olivia, and Olivia
loves Cesario—and everyone is miserable.

Meanwhile, we meet the other members of Olivia’s household: her rowdy drunkard of an
uncle, Sir Toby; his foolish friend, Sir Andrew Aguecheek, who is trying in his hopeless way
to court Olivia; Olivia’s witty and pretty waiting-gentlewoman, Maria; Feste, the clever clown
of the house; and Malvolio, the dour, prudish steward of Olivia’s household. When Sir Toby
and the others take offense at Malvolio’s constant efforts to spoil their fun, Maria engineers a
practical joke to make Malvolio think that Olivia is in love with him. She forges a letter,
supposedly from Olivia, addressed to her beloved (whose name is signified by the
letters M.O.A.I.), telling him that if he wants to earn her favor, he should dress in yellow
stockings and crossed garters, act haughtily, smile constantly, and refuse to explain himself
to anyone. Malvolio finds the letter, assumes that it is addressed to him, and, filled with
dreams of marrying Olivia and becoming noble himself, happily follows its commands. He
behaves so strangely that Olivia comes to think that he is mad.
Meanwhile, Sebastian, who is still alive after all but believes his sister Viola to be dead,
arrives in Illyria along with his friend and protector, Antonio. Antonio has cared for Sebastian
since the shipwreck and is passionately (and perhaps sexually) attached to the young man—
so much so that he follows him to Orsino’s domain, in spite of the fact that he and Orsino are
old enemies.

Sir Andrew, observing Olivia’s attraction to Cesario (still Viola in disguise), challenges
Cesario to a duel. Sir Toby, who sees the prospective duel as entertaining fun, eggs Sir
Andrew on. However, when Sebastian—who looks just like the disguised Viola—appears on
the scene, Sir Andrew and Sir Toby end up coming to blows with Sebastian, thinking that he
is Cesario. Olivia enters amid the confusion. Encountering Sebastian and thinking that he is
Cesario, she asks him to marry her. He is baffled, since he has never seen her before. He
sees, however, that she is wealthy and beautiful, and he is therefore more than willing to go
along with her. Meanwhile, Antonio has been arrested by Orsino’s officers and now begs
Cesario for help, mistaking him for Sebastian.
Viola denies knowing Antonio, and Antonio is dragged off, crying out that Sebastian has
betrayed him. Suddenly, Viola has newfound hope that her brother may be alive.

Malvolio’s supposed madness has allowed the gleeful Maria, Toby, and the rest to lock
Malvolio into a small, dark room for his treatment, and they torment him at will. Feste
dresses up as "Sir Topas," a priest, and pretends to examine Malvolio, declaring him
definitely insane in spite of his protests. However, Sir Toby begins to think better of the joke,
and they allow Malvolio to send a letter to Olivia, in which he asks to be released.

Eventually, Viola (still disguised as Cesario) and Orsino make their way to Olivia’s house,
where Olivia welcomes Cesario as her new husband, thinking him to be Sebastian, whom
she has just married. Orsino is furious, but then Sebastian himself appears on the scene,
and all is revealed. The siblings are joyfully reunited, and Orsino realizes that he loves Viola,
now that he knows she is a woman, and asks her to marry him. We discover that Sir Toby
and Maria have also been married privately. Finally, someone remembers Malvolio and lets
him out of the dark room. The trick is revealed in full, and the embittered Malvolio storms off,
leaving the happy couples to their celebration.
 Othello

Othello begins on a street in Venice, in the midst of an argument between Roderigo, a rich

man, and Iago. Roderigo has been paying Iago to help him in his suit to Desdemona. But
Roderigo has just learned that Desdemona has married Othello, a general whom Iago
begrudgingly serves as ensign. Iago says he hates Othello, who recently passed him over
for the position of lieutenant in favor of the inexperienced soldier Michael Cassio.

Unseen, Iago and Roderigo cry out to Brabanzio that his daughter Desdemona has been
stolen by and married to Othello, the Moor. Brabanzio finds that his daughter is indeed
missing, and he gathers some officers to find Othello. Not wanting his hatred of Othello to be
known, Iago leaves Roderigo and hurries back to Othello before Brabanzio sees him. At
Othello’s lodgings, Cassio arrives with an urgent message from the duke: Othello’s help is
needed in the matter of the imminent Turkish invasion of Cyprus. Not long afterward,
Brabanzio arrives with Roderigo and others, and accuses Othello of stealing his daughter by
witchcraft. When he finds out that Othello is on his way to speak with the duke, -Brabanzio
decides to go along and accuse Othello before the assembled senate.

Brabanzio’s plan backfires. The duke and senate are very sympathetic toward Othello. Given
a chance to speak for himself, Othello explains that he wooed and won Desdemona not by
witchcraft but with the stories of his adventures in travel and war. The duke finds Othello’s
explanation convincing, and Desdemona herself enters at this point to defend her choice in
marriage and to announce to her father that her allegiance is now to her husband. Brabanzio
is frustrated, but acquiesces and allows the senate meeting to resume. The duke says that
Othello must go to Cyprus to aid in the defense against the Turks, who are headed for the
island. Desdemona insists that she accompany her husband on his trip, and preparations
are made for them to depart that night.

In Cyprus the following day, two gentlemen stand on the shore with Montano, the governor
of Cyprus. A third gentleman arrives and reports that the Turkish fleet has been wrecked in a
storm at sea. Cassio, whose ship did not suffer the same fate, arrives soon after, followed by
a second ship carrying Iago, Roderigo, Desdemona, and Emilia, Iago’s wife. Once they have
landed, Othello’s ship is sighted, and the group goes to the harbor. As they wait for Othello,
Cassio greets Desdemona by clasping her hand. Watching them, Iago tells the audience that
he will use “as little a web as this” hand-holding to ensnare Cassio (II.i.169).

Othello arrives, greets his wife, and announces that there will be reveling that evening to
celebrate Cyprus’s safety from the Turks. Once everyone has left, Roderigo complains to
Iago that he has no chance of breaking up Othello’s marriage. Iago assures Roderigo that as
soon as Desdemona’s “blood is made dull with the act of sport,” she will lose interest in
Othello and seek sexual satisfaction elsewhere (II.i.222). However, Iago warns that
“elsewhere” will likely be with Cassio. Iago counsels Roderigo that he should cast Cassio
into disgrace by starting a fight with Cassio at the evening’s revels. In a soliloquy, Iago
explains to the audience that eliminating Cassio is the first crucial step in his plan to ruin
Othello. That night, Iago gets Cassio drunk and then sends Roderigo to start a fight with him.
Apparently provoked by Roderigo, Cassio chases Roderigo across the stage. Governor
Montano attempts to hold Cassio down, and Cassio stabs him. Iago sends Roderigo to raise
alarm in the town.
The alarm is rung, and Othello, who had left earlier with plans to consummate his marriage,
soon arrives to still the commotion. When Othello demands to know who began the fight,
Iago feigns reluctance to implicate his “friend” Cassio, but he ultimately tells the whole story.
Othello then strips Cassio of his rank of lieutenant. Cassio is extremely upset, and he
laments to Iago, once everyone else has gone, that his reputation has been ruined forever.
Iago assures Cassio that he can get back into Othello’s good graces by using Desdemona
as an intermediary. In a soliloquy, Iago tells us that he will frame Cassio and Desdemona as
lovers to make -Othello jealous.

In an attempt at reconciliation, Cassio sends some musicians to play beneath Othello’s

window. Othello, however, sends his clown to tell the musicians to go away. Hoping to
arrange a meeting with Desdemona, Cassio asks the clown, a peasant who serves Othello,
to send Emilia to him. After the clown departs, Iago passes by and tells Cassio that he will
get Othello out of the way so that Cassio can speak privately with Desdemona. Othello, Iago,
and a gentleman go to examine some of the town’s fortifications.

Desdemona is quite sympathetic to Cassio’s request and promises that she will do
everything she can to make Othello forgive his former lieutenant. As Cassio is about to
leave, Othello and Iago return. Feeling uneasy, Cassio leaves without talking to Othello.
Othello inquires whether it was Cassio who just parted from his wife, and Iago, beginning to
kindle Othello’s fire of jealousy, replies, “No, sure, I cannot think it, / That he would steal
away so guilty-like, / Seeing your coming” (III.iii.37–39).

Othello becomes upset and moody, and Iago furthers his goal of removing both Cassio and
Othello by suggesting that Cassio and Desdemona are involved in an affair. Desdemona’s
entreaties to Othello to reinstate Cassio as lieutenant add to Othello’s almost immediate
conviction that his wife is unfaithful. After Othello’s conversation with Iago, Desdemona
comes to call Othello to supper and finds him feeling unwell. She offers him her handkerchief
to wrap around his head, but he finds it to be “[t]oo little” and lets it drop to the floor
(III.iii.291). Desdemona and Othello go to dinner, and Emilia picks up the handkerchief,
mentioning to the audience that Iago has always wanted her to steal it for him.

Iago is ecstatic when Emilia gives him the handkerchief, which he plants in Cassio’s room as
“evidence” of his affair with Desdemona. When Othello demands “ocular proof” (III.iii.365)
that his wife is unfaithful, Iago says that he has seen Cassio “wipe his beard” (III.iii.444) with
Desdemona’s handkerchief—the first gift Othello ever gave her. Othello vows to take
vengeance on his wife and on Cassio, and Iago vows that he will help him. When Othello
sees Desdemona later that evening, he demands the handkerchief of her, but she tells him
that she does not have it with her and attempts to change the subject by continuing her suit
on Cassio’s behalf. This drives Othello into a further rage, and he storms out. Later, Cassio
comes onstage, wondering about the handkerchief he has just found in his chamber. He is
greeted by Bianca, a prostitute, whom he asks to take the handkerchief and copy its
embroidery for him.
Through Iago’s machinations, Othello becomes so consumed by jealousy that he falls into a
trance and has a fit of epilepsy. As he writhes on the ground, Cassio comes by, and Iago
tells him to come back in a few minutes to talk. Once Othello recovers, Iago tells him of the
meeting he has planned with Cassio. He instructs Othello to hide nearby and watch as Iago
extracts from Cassio the story of his affair with Desdemona.
While Othello stands out of earshot, Iago pumps Cassio for information about Bianca,
causing Cassio to laugh and confirm Othello’s suspicions. Bianca herself then enters with
Desdemona’s handkerchief, reprimanding Cassio for making her copy out the embroidery of
a love token given to him by another woman. When Desdemona enters with Lodovico and
Lodovico subsequently gives Othello a letter from Venice calling him home and instating
Cassio as his replacement, Othello goes over the edge, striking Desdemona and then
storming out.
That night, Othello accuses Desdemona of being a whore. He ignores her protestations,
seconded by Emilia, that she is innocent. Iago assures Desdemona that Othello is simply
upset about matters of state. Later that night, however, Othello ominously tells Desdemona
to wait for him in bed and to send Emilia away. Meanwhile, Iago assures the still-complaining
Roderigo that everything is going as planned: in order to prevent Desdemona and Othello
from leaving, Roderigo must kill Cassio. Then he will have a clear avenue to his love.

Iago instructs Roderigo to ambush Cassio, but Roderigo misses his mark and Cassio
wounds him instead. Iago wounds Cassio and runs away. When Othello hears Cassio’s cry,
he assumes that Iago has killed Cassio as he said he would. Lodovico and Graziano enter to
see what the commotion is about. Iago enters shortly thereafter and flies into a pretend rage
as he “discovers” Cassio’s assailant Roderigo, whom he murders. Cassio is taken to have
his wound dressed.

Meanwhile, Othello stands over his sleeping wife in their bedchamber, preparing to kill her.
Desdemona wakes and attempts to plead with Othello. She asserts her innocence, but
Othello smothers her. Emilia enters with the news that Roderigo is dead. Othello asks if
Cassio is dead too and is mortified when Emilia says he is not. After crying out that she has
been murdered, Desdemona changes her story before she dies, claiming that she has
committed suicide. Emilia asks Othello what happened, and Othello tells her that he has
killed Desdemona for her infidelity, which Iago brought to his attention.

Montano, Graziano, and Iago come into the room. Iago attempts to silence Emilia, who
realizes what Iago has done. At first, Othello insists that Iago has told the truth, citing the
handkerchief as evidence. Once Emilia tells him how she found the handkerchief and gave it
to Iago, Othello is crushed and begins to weep. He tries to kill Iago but is disarmed. Iago kills
Emilia and flees, but he is caught by Lodovico and Montano, who return holding Iago
captive. They also bring Cassio, who is now in a chair because of his wound. Othello
wounds Iago and is disarmed. Lodovico tells Othello that he must come with them back to
Venice to be tried. Othello makes a speech about how he would like to be remembered, then
kills himself with a sword he had hidden on his person. The play closes with a speech by
Lodovico. He gives Othello’s house and goods to Graziano and orders that Iago be
executed.
 Hamlet
On a dark winter night, a ghost walks the ramparts of Elsinore Castle in Denmark.
Discovered first by a pair of watchmen, then by the scholar Horatio, the ghost resembles the
recently deceased King Hamlet, whose brother Claudius has inherited the throne and
married the king’s widow, Queen Gertrude. When Horatio and the watchmen bring Prince
Hamlet, the son of Gertrude and the dead king, to see the ghost, it speaks to him, declaring
ominously that it is indeed his father’s spirit, and that he was murdered by none other than
Claudius. Ordering Hamlet to seek revenge on the man who usurped his throne and married
his wife, the ghost disappears with the dawn.

Prince Hamlet devotes himself to avenging his father’s death, but, because he is
contemplative and thoughtful by nature, he delays, entering into a deep melancholy and
even apparent madness. Claudius and Gertrude worry about the prince’s erratic behavior
and attempt to discover its cause. They employ a pair of Hamlet’s friends, Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern, to watch him. When Polonius, the pompous Lord Chamberlain, suggests that
Hamlet may be mad with love for his daughter, Ophelia, Claudius agrees to spy on Hamlet in
conversation with the girl. But though Hamlet certainly seems mad, he does not seem to love
Ophelia: he orders her to enter a nunnery and declares that he wishes to ban marriages.
A group of traveling actors comes to Elsinore, and Hamlet seizes upon an idea to test his
uncle’s guilt. He will have the players perform a scene closely resembling the sequence by
which Hamlet imagines his uncle to have murdered his father, so that if Claudius is guilty, he
will surely react. When the moment of the murder arrives in the theater, Claudius leaps up
and leaves the room. Hamlet and Horatio agree that this proves his guilt. Hamlet goes to kill
Claudius but finds him praying. Since he believes that killing Claudius while in prayer would
send Claudius’s soul to heaven, Hamlet considers that it would be an inadequate revenge
and decides to wait. Claudius, now frightened of Hamlet’s madness and fearing for his own
safety, orders that Hamlet be sent to England at once.

Hamlet goes to confront his mother, in whose bedchamber Polonius has hidden behind a
tapestry. Hearing a noise from behind the tapestry, Hamlet believes the king is hiding there.
He draws his sword and stabs through the fabric, killing Polonius. For this crime, he is
immediately dispatched to England with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. However, Claudius’s
plan for Hamlet includes more than banishment, as he has given Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern sealed orders for the King of England demanding that Hamlet be put to death.

In the aftermath of her father’s death, Ophelia goes mad with grief and drowns in the river.
Polonius’s son, Laertes, who has been staying in France, returns to Denmark in a rage.
Claudius convinces him that Hamlet is to blame for his father’s and sister’s deaths. When
Horatio and the king receive letters from Hamlet indicating that the prince has returned to
Denmark after pirates attacked his ship en route to England, Claudius concocts a plan to use
Laertes’ desire for revenge to secure Hamlet’s death. Laertes will fence with Hamlet in
innocent sport, but Claudius will poison Laertes’ blade so that if he draws blood, Hamlet will
die. As a backup plan, the king decides to poison a goblet, which he will give Hamlet to drink
should Hamlet score the first or second hits of the match. Hamlet returns to the vicinity of
Elsinore just as Ophelia’s funeral is taking place. Stricken with grief, he attacks Laertes and
declares that he had in fact always loved Ophelia. Back at the castle, he tells Horatio that he
believes one must be prepared to die, since death can come at any moment. A foolish
courtier named Osric arrives on Claudius’s orders to arrange the fencing match between
Hamlet and Laertes.
The sword-fighting begins. Hamlet scores the first hit, but declines to drink from the king’s
proffered goblet. Instead, Gertrude takes a drink from it and is swiftly killed by the poison.
Laertes succeeds in wounding Hamlet, though Hamlet does not die of the poison
immediately. First, Laertes is cut by his own sword’s blade, and, after revealing to Hamlet
that Claudius is responsible for the queen’s death, he dies from the blade’s poison. Hamlet
then stabs Claudius through with the poisoned sword and forces him to drink down the rest
of the poisoned wine. Claudius dies, and Hamlet dies immediately after achieving his
revenge.

At this moment, a Norwegian prince named Fortinbras, who has led an army to Denmark
and attacked Poland earlier in the play, enters with ambassadors from England, who report
that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead. Fortinbras is stunned by the gruesome sight of
the entire royal family lying sprawled on the floor dead. He moves to take power of the
kingdom. Horatio, fulfilling Hamlet’s last request, tells him Hamlet’s tragic story. Fortinbras
orders that Hamlet be carried away in a manner befitting a fallen soldier.
 Cymbeline

Imogen, the daughter of the British king Cymbeline, goes against her father's wishes and
marries a lowborn gentleman, Posthumus, instead of his oafish stepson, Cloten. Cloten is
the son of Cymbeline's new Queen, a villainous woman who has made the king her puppet.
Cymbeline sends Posthumus into exile in Italy, where he encounters a smooth-tongued
Italian named Iachimo. Iachimo argues that all women are naturally unchaste, and he makes
a wager with Posthumus that he will be able to seduce Imogen. He goes to the British court
and, failing in his initial attempt to convince the princess to sleep with him, resorts to trickery:
He hides in a large chest and has it sent to her room; that night he slips out, observes her
sleeping, and steals a bracelet that Posthumus once gave to her.

Cloten, meanwhile, continues to pursue Imogen, but she rebuffs him harshly. He becomes
furious and vows revenge, while she worries over the loss of her bracelet. In the meantime,
Iachimo has returned to Italy, and, displaying the stolen bracelet and an intimate knowledge
of the details of Imogen's bedchamber, convinces Posthumus that he won the bet.
Posthumus, furious at being betrayed by his wife, sends a letter to Britain ordering his
servant, Pisanio, to murder Imogen. But Pisanio believes in Imogen's innocence, and he
convinces her to disguise herself as a boy and go search for her husband, while he reports
to Posthumus that he has killed her.

Imogen, however, soon becomes lost in the wilds of Wales, and she comes upon a cave
where Belarius, an unjustly banished nobleman, lives with his two sons, Guiderius and
Arviragus. In fact, the two young men are not his sons but Cymbeline's; Belarius has
kidnapped them to avenge his banishment, though they themselves are ignorant of their true
parentage. They welcome Imogen, who is still dressed as a boy. Meanwhile, Cloten
appears, having come in pursuit of Imogen; he fights a duel with Guiderius, who kills him.
Imogen, feeling ill, drinks a potion the queen has given her. Although the queen told her it
was medicinal, the queen herself believed it to be a poison. However, the draught merely
induces a deep sleep that resembles death. Belarius and his adoptive sons come upon
Imogen and, heart-broken, lay her body beside that of the slain Cloten. Awaking after they
have left the scene, she mistakes the body of Cloten for that of Posthumus, and she sinks
into despair. A Roman army has invaded Britain, seeking the restoration of a certain tribute
Britain has ceased to pay. (A "tribute" here is a payment given to one nation by another in
return for a promise of non-aggression.) The disguised Imogen hires herself out to them as a
page.

Posthumus and Iachimo are traveling with the Roman army, but Posthumus switches to the
garb of a British peasant and fights valiantly for Britain. Indeed, in his combat he actively
seeks death: He believes his servant to have carried out his orders and killed Imogen, and
he regrets his actions. The Romans are defeated, thanks to the intervention of Belarius,
Guiderius, and Arviragus, and Posthumus, still trying to punish himself, switches back to
Roman garb and allows himself to be taken prisoner. That night, the god Jupiter promises
the spirits of Posthumus's dead ancestors that he will care for their descendant. The next
day, Cymbeline calls the prisoners before him, and the confusion is sorted out. Posthumus
and Imogen are reunited, and they forgive a contrite Iachimo, who confesses his deception.
The identity of Guiderius and Arviragus is revealed, Belarius is forgiven, and the Queen dies,
leaving the king free of her evil influence. As a final gesture, Cymbeline frees the Roman
prisoners and even agrees to resume paying the tribute.
 Richard III

After a long civil war between the royal family of York and the royal family of Lancaster,
England enjoys a period of peace under King Edward IV and the victorious Yorks. But
Edward’s younger brother, Richard, resents Edward’s power and the happiness of those
around him. Malicious, power-hungry, and bitter about his physical deformity, Richard begins
to aspire secretly to the throne—and decides to kill anyone he has to in order to become
king.

Using his intelligence and his skills of deception and political manipulation, Richard begins
his campaign for the throne. He manipulates a noblewoman, Lady Anne, into marrying him—
even though she knows that he murdered her first husband. He has his own older brother,
Clarence, executed, and shifts the burden of guilt onto his sick older brother King Edward in
order to accelerate Edward’s illness and death. After King Edward dies, Richard becomes
lord protector of England—the figure in charge until the elder of Edward’s two sons grows
up.

Next Richard kills the court noblemen who are loyal to the princes, most notably Lord
Hastings, the lord chamberlain of England. He then has the boys’ relatives on their mother’s
side—the powerful kinsmen of Edward’s wife, Queen Elizabeth—arrested and executed.
With Elizabeth and the princes now unprotected, Richard has his political allies, particularly
his right-hand man, Lord Buckingham, campaign to have Richard crowned king. Richard
then imprisons the young princes in the Tower and, in his bloodiest move yet, sends hired
murderers to kill both children.

By this time, Richard’s reign of terror has caused the common people of England to fear and
loathe him, and he has alienated nearly all the noblemen of the court—even the power-
hungry Buckingham. When rumors begin to circulate about a challenger to the throne who is
gathering forces in France, noblemen defect in droves to join his forces. The challenger is
the earl of Richmond, a descendant of a secondary arm of the Lancaster family, and
England is ready to welcome him.

Richard, in the meantime, tries to consolidate his power. He has his wife, Queen Anne,
murdered, so that he can marry young Elizabeth, the daughter of the former Queen
Elizabeth and the dead King Edward. Though young Elizabeth is his niece, the alliance
would secure his claim to the throne. Nevertheless, Richard has begun to lose control of
events, and Queen Elizabeth manages to forestall him. Meanwhile, she secretly promises to
marry young Elizabeth to Richmond.

Richmond finally invades England. The night before the battle that will decide everything,
Richard has a terrible dream in which the ghosts of all the people he has murdered appear
and curse him, telling him that he will die the next day. In the battle on the following morning,
Richard is killed, and Richmond is crowned King Henry VII. Promising a new era of peace for
England, the new king is betrothed to young Elizabeth in order to unite the warring houses of
Lancaster and York.
 Henry IV Part 2

In the first years of the 15th century, England is in the middle of a civil war. Powerful rebels
have assembled against King Henry IV in an attempt to overthrow him. They have just
suffered a major defeat at the Battle of Shrewsbury, but several rebel leaders--including the
Archbishop of York, Lord Mowbray, and Lord Hastings--remain alive and continue to wage
war against the king. King Henry, aging prematurely because of his anxiety over the war and
over his oldest son, Prince Hal, has recently become very ill.

Prince Hal has spent most of his teenage years raising hell in taverns with a group of lowlife
friends. His closest friend and mentor is Falstaff, a jovial, aging, witty criminal. Falstaff and
some of Hal's other friends have won wealth and power at the Battle of Shrewsbury. We
watch Falstaff, now an army captain, drink in a London tavern and travel around the
countryside to recruit young men to serve in the upcoming battles. Prince Hal, meanwhile,
knowing that he will have to take the reins of power when his father dies, has vowed to
change his ways and become responsible. He has started to spend less time with his old
friends.

The rebel leaders gather their forces to battle the king at the Forest of Gaultree. They are
disappointed when the powerful Earl of Northumberland does not offer soldiers to support
them. (This is the second time he had refused to offer aid; the first time, at the Battle of
Shrewsbury, his refusal led to his son's death in battle.) Prince John, the king's second son,
leads the king's army to meet them at the forest. Prince John says he will agree to all the
rebels' demands, but as soon as the relieved rebels have sent their soldiers home, he
arrests them for treason. The rebels protest this injustice, but the prince has them executed.

Meanwhile, at his palace in London, King Henry IV grows increasingly sick. He is worried
about what will happen when his wayward son becomes king. Prince Hal comes to the
palace; his father gives him a tongue-lashing, and Prince Hal, in an eloquent speech, vows
that he will be a responsible king. His father forgives him and then dies. Prince Hal, now
King Henry V, tells the Lord Chief Justice, the highest law official in England, that he will now
view him as a father figure.

After the rebels have been executed, Hal is formally crowned King Henry V. Falstaff and his
companions come to London to greet him, but in the middle of a public street, the king
rejects Falstaff, telling him he must never come within ten miles of the king or court again.
He may have a pension, but the king will have nothing more to do with him. Then the young
king goes to court to lay plans for an invasion of France.
 Henry VI part I

Henry V's funeral is attended by many of his noblemen, who speak sadly of the death of
such a great king. Several messengers arrive, announcing trouble in France. Several towns,
part of the English territory once won by Henry V, have been lost, the Dauphin Charles has
been crowned king, while the English hero Talbot has been taken prisoner. Hearing the
news, the noblemen rise to action, each taking on a different task to help reorganize the
kingdom and prepare the newly crowned king--the former king's son, Henry VI--for his
emergency duties in France.

Talbot's forces lay siege to Orléans, while Charles and his lords try to fight their way out. Yet
the English, although exhausted and starving, still beat them. The Bastard of Orléans brings
Joan to meet Charles. She says she has seen visions and can lead the troops. Charles
challenges her to single combat and she beats him. She assures the French that she will
break the siege that very day.

In London, the Protector of the kingdom, Gloucester, who will rule until the young king is old
enough to take over, comes to blows with the leader of the church, Winchester, at the Tower
of London. Winchester bars Gloucester from entering the Tower and accuses him of plotting
to take over the kingdom. Their serving men join in the fight, but soon the Mayor arrives to
split them up.

In France, Talbot has been released in exchange for a captured French lord. The French
launch an attack on the English forces, killing important leaders. Talbot and Joan fight, and
she gains the upper hand, but she says it is not his time to die, and she leaves him. Joan
succeeds in lifting the siege, and the French nobles celebrate her successes. Yet Talbot
engineers a sneak attack on Orléans and retakes the city, so that he can bury his dead
comrades within the city.

The Countess of Auvergne sends for Talbot. She says she wants to see this renowned man
in person. Talbot goes to her castle, where she now declares he has fallen into her trap. But
Talbot laughs, saying he is not as small as he looks. Rather, he is just one part of a great
army that will never be trapped. His soldiers arrive instantly.

Back in London many lords gather in the Temple Garden outside Parliament to dispute a
point of law. Richard Plantagenet and Somerset form the heads of opposing camps, and
they pluck white and red roses as symbols of their differing opinions. Their followers do the
same. Somerset insults Plantagenet's father and they each scorn each other. Warwick
predicts that the argument, though begun over something so small, will end in the deaths of
thousands.

Plantagenet goes to the Tower of London to talk to his uncle Mortimer and to ask about his
father. Mortimer says Plantagenet's father was once in line to the throne and had raised an
army to help him claim his right to power, but he was captured and executed, while the rest
of the Mortimer line, including this Mortimer, was suppressed. Mortimer dies, leaving
Plantagenet even more anxious to regain his birthright.
All of Parliament soon learns of Gloucester and Winchester's dispute when their serving men
crash into the room pelting each other with stones. King Henry urges them not to fight, for
civil dissention will weaken the nation. The two men promise to stop fighting for the moment.
Warwick presents Plantagenet's request to have his father's title passed on to him. The king
grants it, also giving him his uncle's former title, and, thus, renaming him the Duke of York.
Gloucester urges the king to go to France to deal with the unrest there, and Henry agrees.
Exeter comments on the growing factionalism resulting from the noblemen's quarrels--that of
Gloucester and Winchester and that of Plantagenet (now York) and Somerset--and refe rs to
a prophecy stating that Henry VI would lose all the territories that his father had won for
Britain.

Talbot's forces stand outside Rouen, prepared to attack. The French and English forces
insult each other repeatedly. Talbot asks the French to meet him in the field and fight a fair
fight rather than using their walled city to their advantage, but they refuse. The English
forces manage to beat the French forces anyway. Joan tells Charles not to worry about the
loss, because she has a new plan to weaken Talbot. Burgundy, a French leader fighting with
Talbot, constitutes the only threat to her plan, but she lures him to the French camp and
convinces him that he's fighting for the wrong side.

Henry arrives in Paris with his nobles. Talbot goes to meet him, where he receives a
message from Burgundy about his change of loyalty. Talbot goes with his forces to try to talk
to him. Meanwhile two underlings of York and Somerset ask the king for the right to have an
armed fight. This is the first the King learns of the struggle between the followers of the white
rose and the red rose. The king urges Somerset and York to put aside their differences while
they are in France, for their dissention will make Britain appear weak to its enemy. The king
says it shouldn't matter what rose he wears, since he loves both his lords--yet even as he
says this he picks Somerset's red rose. York is upset but he keeps it to himself. Henry
assigns the two men to new tasks in France, making York the leader of the English troops
and putting Somerset in charge of the cavalry.

Talbot prepares to attack Bordeaux, but the city is well defended and Charles' forces
approach from behind: he is trapped! A messenger from Talbot asks York to send the
cavalry reinforcements to save Talbot, but York has no troops to send. Convinced Somerset
has delayed the delivery of the cavalry out of dislike for him, York bemoans the imminent
death of Talbot and the loss of the lands hard won by Henry V. The same messenger goes
to Somerset, who says York is to blame for sending Talbot into battle without sufficient
troops and that York probably did so knowingly, wanting to take over Talbot's post. The
messenger says Somerset should have helped Talbot, and his death will be both
noblemen's shame.

Talbot's son John arrives on the battlefield, having come to learn about soldiering from his
father. But Talbot tells him he has arrived at a terrible moment and urges him to flee rather
than die in his first battle. But John refuses, saying he will disgrace the honor of the Talbot
name if he flees. The battle begins, and John is wounded; yet still he will not flee. Finally,
John is killed and Talbot dies of grief. The English army is defeated.
Back in London, Gloucester reads letters from the pope urging the English to make peace
with the French. Charles agrees to make an offer. Meanwhile in France, Charles' forces are
under attack by the united front of Somerset and York. Joan calls to her patron-demons to
advise her about the future, but they refuse to speak to her. York captures Joan in battle.

In the course of the battles, Suffolk has captured Margaret, a French girl, daughter to one of
Charles' nobles, René. Impressed with her beauty, he wants to woo her, but he is already
married. So he decides to woo her for Henry and asks René if he will consent to her
marriage to the English king.

York and Warwick hold Joan in trial. They ask if it is true that her father was a shepherd, but
she refuses to acknowledge this. She tries to convince them that they should not kill her, for
she is a virgin and, thus, able in her purity to communicate with powers on high; they will
incur a heavenly wrath if they execute her. York and Warwick nonetheless prepare to have
her burnt at the stake. She now suddenly claims that she is pregnant and they wouldn't dare
kill a pregnant woman, but York tells her that no matter what she says, she will die. She
curses the English and is led away.

Meanwhile, Winchester tries to engineer peace between Charles and the English. At first,
Charles resists, but his nobles advise him to accept the peace for the moment in order to
stop the massacre of his citizens; they can always break the treaty later.
Suffolk arrives in London and tells the king of Margaret's charms. Henry decides that he will
marry her, but Gloucester reminds him he is already engaged to the daughter of a relative of
Charles, a match that would soothe international politics. Margaret's father Rene is only a
minor earl with no money and, thus, a union with her would offer no real advantages. Yet
Henry insists on marrying her and tells Gloucester he must simply forgive his choice. Suffolk
has succeeded; now Margaret will rule the king and he will rule Margaret.
 Henry VI Part 2

Henry enters the court with his various lords. Suffolk has returned from France with
Margaret, whom he presents to the king as his new wife. He also brings a peace treaty from
France, which Gloucester reads. He falters when he comes to a passage about the French
keeping the territories of Anjou and Maine in return for Margaret. Gloucester is upset at this
loss of land, once hard-won by Henry V and by the other lords in recent French wars. He
prophecies the imminent loss of France and leaves. Beaufort speaks against Gloucester,
suggesting to Buckingham and Somerset that they plot to oust him. Salisbury and Warwick
talk with York about trying to suppress the influence of Suffolk and Beaufort, two ambitious
and prideful nobles. York, left alone, speaks of his belief in his claim to the throne and his
frustration that Henry willingly allows lands that are rightfully his own to be returned to the
French. Yet he can't make his claims yet; he plans to side with Warwick and Salisbury.

Gloucester speaks to his wife, the Duchess. He had a dream that his staff of office was
broken, but she dreamed that she was about to be crowned queen. He urges her not to
speak of her excessive ambition, since she is already the second woman in the kingdom,
behind Margaret. Hume enters, and the Duchess and Hume discuss her desire to hire a
witch and conjurer to summon spirits to ask about the future of Henry's reign.
Petitioners come to the court to ask for Gloucester's help. They encounter Suffolk and
Margaret and believe Suffolk is Gloucester. One petitioner, Peter, accuses his boss of
saying York is the rightful king, and Suffolk sees he has found a way to weaken York. Henry
and his court enter, discussing who should be the regent of English forces in France.
Gloucester suggests York, but after hearing Peter accusing his master Horner and casting
doubt on York, he recommends Somerset. Margaret insults Gloucester and asks him why he
is still protector of the kingdom; she also insults the Duchess. Gloucester suggests that
justice will be best served by single combat between Peter and Horner.

The Duchess welcomes the Witch and the conjurer, Bolingbroke. They summon a spirit and
ask it Margaret's questions about Henry's rule. The spirit gives ambiguous replies, then York,
Suffolk, and Somerset enter and arrest the Duchess for dabbling in the occult.

Henry and his queen and lords are hunting. Gloucester and Beaufort bicker. They meet a
poor man who claims to have had his sight restored by miracle, but Gloucester sees he is
lying and chases him away, "curing" his lameness, too. Then, Buckingham arrives with news
of the Duchess' arrest.

Richard speaks to Warwick and Salisbury, explaining the complex family tree that makes
him the more rightful heir to the throne than Henry. Both men believe him, call him the true
king, and swear allegiance.
Henry and his lords judge the Duchess and her sorcerers. She is banished and ordered to
do penance by being led through the streets of London before departing. Gloucester gives
up his staff and his office. Then, Peter and Horner enter for their combat. Peter thinks he
can't fight, but he is able to defeat and kill Horner, who arrives drunk. Later, Gloucester waits
in the street to see the Duchess paraded through the streets. She warns him that the lords
are out to get him, but he says he has always been honorable and, thus, is above blame. He
bids farewell to his wife.
Henry holds a meeting of the lords outside London, and Somerset enters to report that all
the French lands have been lost. Gloucester arrives late, and Suffolk arrests him for treason.
The lords all accuse him of wrongdoing. Henry says he hopes Gloucester can prove his
innocence, but Gloucester says the lords have all plotted against him, and he will not be able
to defend himself. Gloucester is taken away, and Henry mourns his inability to defend an
innocent Gloucester against the plots of the lords. He departs; the other lords discuss how
they shall come up with an excuse to kill Gloucester. A messenger arrives with news of
rebellions in Ireland; York is sent to take care of them and given an army. Left alone
onstage, York revels in the turn of events; all he had lacked was an army and now he has
one. While he is in Ireland, he has hired Jack Cade to raise trouble in England, to say he is a
York with a claim to the throne, to see what is the public response to such a gesture. If it's
positive, York will return and take over himself.

Gloucester is killed by murderers at his home. Henry and his lords arrive for his trial, but
Suffolk announces that Gloucester has died. Henry is distraught. Warwick and Salisbury
enter with reports of unsettled commoners, who suspect Gloucester was murdered.
Examining the body, they decide that Gloucester died in struggle and was murdered. The
commoners ask for the death or banishment of Suffolk. Henry grants their wish, and he
orders Suffolk to leave the country. Left alone, Margaret and Suffolk declare their feelings for
each other. She says she will try to have him returned or will be banished, too. He says he
can't live without her and wants to stay. She sends him away.

Meanwhile, Beaufort has been taken ill, raving in his bed. He dies miserably, signifying bad
behavior during his life. Suffolk is captured at sea but refuses to plead for his life. He insists
he can't be killed by such lowly men, but Suffolk is beheaded.

Cade speaks to his army of commoners, claiming to be the heir to the throne and promising
many changes in a new England. He promises to honor only workmen, not artisans or
people who can read. Stafford and his brother arrive with an army to convince Cade and his
men to lay down their arms, but the two armies come to blows. Stafford and his brother are
killed, and Cade drags their bodies to London.

Margaret holds Suffolk's disembodied head and mourns him. Henry listens to reports of
Cade's attack, and he determines to leave the city temporarily. Cade attacks London,
hunting for and killing Lord Saye, who Cade accuses of ruining England with literacy. Cade's
rabble asks Cade to create new, spoken laws. Cade wreaks havoc on London, until
Buckingham and Clifford arrive, reminding the commoners of the honorable rule of Henry V.
Soon, the rabble abandons Cade, who flees. Henry forgives the commoners and receives
word that York's army marches from Ireland, demanding the imprisonment of Somerset, who
York claims is a traitor. Meanwhile, Cade is starving in the countryside; he steals food from
Alexander Iden's garden. Iden arrives, and Cade threatens him. The two come to blows, and
Cade is killed.

York marches near London with his army. Buckingham arrives to ask about his intentions.
York claims he only wants Somerset imprisoned. Buckingham says he has been, so York
dismisses his army. Henry enters, followed by Margaret and Somerset. Seeing Somerset
free, York can contain himself no longer; he accuses Henry of being a weak, unfit king, and
he declares himself to be the rightful heir to the throne. Somerset orders York's arrest. York
refuses to budge and asks for his sons Edward and Richard and Salisbury and Warwick to
speak on his behalf. Salisbury and Warwick declare their allegiance to York. Henry agrees
there is nothing left to do but fight.
Richard fights with Somerset and kills him. Then, he fights with Clifford and kills him. York's
army is winning, so Margaret urges Henry to flee back to London, where he has support.
After the battle, York declares victory, but his enemy has fled. So he, with Edward and
Richard, Salisbury and Warwick, prepare to enter London.
 Henry VI Part 3

The Duke of York enters the throne room with his sons and followers, wondering where King
Henry has fled to after their recent battles. Warwick urges York to take the throne. As York
sits, Henry enters with his followers, who want to fight York right there. Henry urges calm
and asks York to descend from the throne. York makes public his alleged claim to the
throne, while Henry defends his hereditary possession of the crown. Suspecting that his
claim to the throne may be spurious, Henry asks York to let him rule while he lives, and he
will pass the throne on to the house of York on his death. York agrees and departs, but
Henry's nobles are astonished that he would deny his son the birthright of becoming king on
his father's death. Margaret, Henry's queen, arrives and accuses him of being an unnatural
father for having disinherited his son and a bad ruler for thinking that York will let him rule.

Back in the town of York, Richard's sons Edward and Richard, and his follower Montague,
urge York to take the throne immediately, rather than await Henry's death. York insists he
has sworn an oath to let Henry rule, but Richard easily convinces him that the oath was not
binding. Meanwhile, Margaret's forces arrive to challenge York

Richard's other son Rutland is captured and killed on the way home by Clifford, who wants
to avenge his father's death at York's hand. York's troops are losing the battle, and York is
captured by Margaret and Clifford. She offers him a handkerchief dipped in Rutland's blood
and challenges him to wipe his tears with it. He rails against her, calling her unnatural, and
Clifford and Margaret stab him to death.

Edward and Richard wonder about the fate of their father, when they see a vision of three
suns on the horizon, which Edward believes is a sign that the three York brothers must
become as one. Richard isn't so sure, preferring to keep his allegiance only to himself. A
messenger arrives with news of York's death, and the brothers are devastated. Warwick and
Montague prepare to march to spar again with Margaret's forces, this time bringing the aid of
York's other son George's troops.

Margaret and Clifford, with their followers, meet Henry at the town of York. Clifford urges
Henry to undo his disinheritance of his son, but Henry isn't convinced that sons automatically
appreciate that which their fathers leave them, since he didn't enjoy his father Henry V's
legacy. Edward and his men burst in and demand the throne. The nobles from each side
insult each other, and Henry tries to speak, but none will listen to him. Edward blames
Margaret's pride for the civil war, and he declares that they will have to argue on the field of
battle, since she won't let Henry speak.

Richard hunts Clifford on the field of battle in order to revenge his brother's and father's
death. The tides of the battle ebb and flow as Henry watches from afar. He sees two soldiers
drag dead bodies away from the scene of the fighting, trying to find valuables to steal. As the
soldiers remove the armor from the bodies, one discovers he has accidentally killed his own
father, and the other, his son. Henry mourns that the battles of the nation have come to this
level of unnaturalness. Henry's son Prince Edward urges him to flee.
Clifford is wounded and dies. Edward sees he has won the battle, though Henry is nowhere
to be found. They head to London to crown Edward and to give new titles to Richard and
George. Meanwhile, as Henry wanders through the forest, he is arrested by two men who
support Edward. Edward sends Warwick to France to ask for the hand of the king of
France's sister, and Margaret goes to France to ask for aid against Edward.

In London, Lady Gray petitions Edward to get her land back. He takes a liking to her and
asks her to marry him. His brothers are annoyed to hear Edward's enthused announcement
of his imminent marriage. Richard, alone, considers his potential route to the throne. Many
people stand in his way, but what alternative is there? He could enjoy the pleasures of the
court, but his physical abnormalities, including a hump back and withered arm, make him
undesirable. Therefore, nothing remains for him but to connive and plot to get the crown. He
decides he will play the role of the good brother and subject, while he plots ways to eliminate
everyone in his way to the throne.

In France, Warwick and Margaret arrive at the same time. King Louis decides to give the
hand of his sister, Lady Bona, to Edward, thus, denying Margaret aid, when a messenger
arrives with news of Edward's marriage. Insulted to have been sent on a futile errand,
Warwick changes sides, pledging his allegiance to Henry. Louis gives Margaret troops to
fight with Edward.

In England, Edward and his brothers and lords discuss his marriage. They receive news that
Warwick and Margaret have joined forces. George is so upset by Edward's new marriage
that he leaves with Somerset to join with Warwick. In preparations for the coming battles,
Edward is captured. Seeing George on the enemy's side, Edward gives up the throne and
consents to be imprisoned at Warwick's brother's estate. Yet Richard and Hastings soon
spring Edward from his gilded prison.

Warwick, George, and their nobles find Henry in the Tower and free him. Henry says he
wants to be king in name only, and he names Warwick and George as joint protectors of the
kingdom. They receive word that Edward has escaped to Brittany, from where he soon
returns with reinforcements. Returning to the town of York, Edward thinks he wants only to
be the Duke of York, but his followers urge him to seek the crown.

Henry's followers go to gather troops to battle Edward. Edward and Richard capture Henry
and send him to the Tower before they march to meet Warwick's army. Edward's army
meets Warwick's forces, and Edward asks Warwick if he will again swear allegiance to him.
Warwick refuses. Warwick's supporters arrive, including George. Richard convinces George
to break with Warwick, and the forces prepare to fight.

Warwick is wounded in battle and dies. Warwick's surviving supporters, Somerset and
Oxford, go to join Margaret's army. Margaret urges on her forces, and they meet Edward's
army. Edward wins this battle; he sends Somerset and Oxford away, kills Prince Edward,
and imprisons a mourning Margaret. Richard sneaks off to the Tower, where Henry awaits.
Henry prophesizes that thousands will suffer because of Richard's deeds, for Richard was
born under all the most inauspicious and evil signs. Richard kills Henry and declares himself
separated from the ties of family and brotherhood. Since he was punished by the heavens
with such unfortunate physical attributes, he will fight for himself alone hereafter. And with
Henry and his son out of the way, Richard's next goal is to eliminate George and Edward.

Edward's son has been born, and George and Richard kiss the child. Edward calls for
festivities to celebrate his attainment of the throne. At last there is no one to oppose him--
except his own brother.
 Edward III

Edward, having been persuaded by Artois that he has rights in France, is about to mount an
expedition there, when Lorraine brings a message from the French demanding Edward’s
allegiance. News also arrives of fresh invasions by the Scots King David, whose gains include
the castle where Warwick’s daughter, the Countess of Salisbury, lives.

David and Douglas are arguing over the spoils when the English army arrives and they flee.
Edward falls in love with the Countess, and asks his secretary Lodowick to write her a
courtship letter on his behalf. Edward’s attempt to seduce her is rebuffed. He then invokes
Warwick’s oath of loyalty to make him use his influence on her. Warwick reluctantly agrees,
and is delighted when she maintains her opposition.

Edward, in an ill-humour at his lack of progress, is distracted by the arrival of his son, Prince
Edward. He sees in his son’s face his wife’s image, and this makes him come to his senses.
The Countess approaches him and threatens to kill herself unless he ceases his advances; but
her offer is no longer required. Edward expresses respect for her courage, and leaves
immediately for France.

The French King John and his son Philip greet their Bohemian and Polish allies, and are told
of the arrival of the English fleet. The French are defeated at sea, but regroup on land. French
citizens discuss prophecies of impending doom. The English army makes progress and they
confront the French at Crécy. Edward and John parley, and Prince Edward is formally attired
for his first battle. The French begin to flee, but the Prince is surrounded. Edward refuses to
send him reinforcements, wishing him to prove himself. The Prince wins through and is
knighted. The English then continue their pursuit of the French.

Lord Mountford the Duke of Brittany wishes to support Edward, and asks Salisbury to carry a
symbolic coronet to him. Salisbury needs a safe-conduct to pass through the French lines,
and asks his prisoner Villiers to visit Charles Duke of Normandy to obtain it, trusting him to
return. Charles tries to dissuade Villiers from returning, but Villiers keeps his word. On his
way to Calais, Salisbury is taken by the French, but Charles persuades King John to let him
continue.

Prince Edward and Audley find themselves surrounded, but they reject three sarcastic French
offers to yield. The French army breaks up in disarray at the sight of ravens on the battlefield
and the English use of flintstones as weapons—events which had previously been
prophesied—and King John and Charles are taken.

Meanwhile, Edward has arrived at Calais, and received the town’s submission, having insisted
that the citizens humble themselves. Copland arrives from England, bringing King David as a
prisoner. Salisbury also arrives, bringing the allegiance of Mountford, and reports his belief
that Prince Edward is defeated. However, almost immediately the Prince arrives with the
French prisoners. All parties then return to England.
 Henry VIII

The figure of the Prologue comes onto the stage to declare that what follows is a serious
play. Several lords, including Buckingham, enter; Buckingham is angry that Cardinal Wolsey
has such powerful influence over the king. Buckingham suspects Wolsey of being ambitious
and disloyal. The other lords urge him to keep his words to himself, but just then, a guard
comes to arrest Buckingham with the charge of treason. He goes quietly to jail.

The king and queen attend a hearing in which Wolsey questions Buckingham's former
employee (the Surveyor) about his loyalties. This man declares that Buckingham fancied
himself next in line to the throne should the king die without an heir. Henry is angered and
sentences Buckingham to death for disloyalty. However, the queen thinks that the Surveyor
bears a grudge against Buckingham and has delivered lies in his testimony.

Many lords go to a dinner party at Wolsey's house, and the king comes in disguise. Wolsey
sees through the disguise, and the king meets Anne Bullen. He is very impressed with her
beauty.

Several men in the street discuss the trial of Buckingham, how he defended himself
eloquently but was sentenced to death. The common people hate Wolsey, they all agree.
Buckingham, speaks to the people, forgiving those who turned against him. He notes how
his own death resembles that of his father, who also was killed by the king to whom he was
loyal all his life.

Several lords hear talk of the king's plan to divorce his wife, Katharine. Anne hears the news,
too, and is sorry for Katharine, reflecting that she herself would never want to be the queen.
Then, she receives a new title and money from the king, as a sign of his fondness for her.
A cardinal from Rome arrives with the Pope's decision about whether Henry may divorce
Katharine. Katharine beseeches the king not to divorce her, saying that she has been a loyal
and honest wife to him for two decades. She calls Wolsey a traitor and refuses to submit to
his will, sweeping out of the court. The king enumerates his reasons for believing his
marriage to Katharine is unlawful and must be dissolved. Wolsey and the cardinal from
Rome speak to Katharine, trying to convince her to go along with the divorce so she may
stay under the king's care. She curses them for their role in her demise, which enrages her
after so much faithfulness.

The lords of the court now suspect Wolsey has been double-dealing in the divorce. But
before they can work out a scheme to bring him down, Wolsey falls through his own
inattention. The king intercepts an inventory of the possessions Wolsey has seized from
fallen lords and a letter Wolsey wrote to the Pope urging the Pope to refuse the divorce
request until Henry forgets his infatuation with Anne. The king confronts him and asks
Wolsey if he has been a good servant, and Wolsey replies affirmatively. Then, the king
shows him the papers he has uncovered. Wolsey knows he is lost. The lords deliver the
king's charges against Wolsey, stripping him of his title and belongings. Wolsey regrets his
ambitious behavior and sees that he was wrong to have tried to influence the affairs of state.
Saying that he finally knows himself, he leaves the court.
The king announces his marriage with Anne, and people in the street scramble to watch the
procession to her coronation. Katharine has now been demoted to "Princess Dowager," and
she expects that her demise will lead soon to her death. Hearing of the death of Wolsey, she
speaks against him again, but one of her attendants (Griffith) praises him. Katharine is, thus,
convinced to forgive Wolsey.

In the court, the lords hear that the queen (Anne) is in labor. The king discovers a plot
against his recently returned friend Cranmer, so he summons Cranmer to explain the
complaints against him. Cranmer is convinced that he will fall into traps set for him, so the
king gives him his ring as a sign of his support. Meanwhile, Anne gives birth to a female
child.

Cranmer is called before the Council, of which he is a member, to answer to complaints

against him. The king watches the proceedings from above. The lords tell Cranmer that
nothing can be done about the complaints while he is a Council member, so they want to
make him into a regular citizen by confining him to the Tower. When guards arrives to take
him away, Cranmer shows the lords the king's ring, and the king enters the Council to scold
the lords for infighting, urging them to get along with each other. Cranmer forgives those who
have plotted against him, specifically Gardiner.

Commoners gather in the street to view the baptism of the king's daughter. Cranmer
baptizes her as Elizabeth and speaks of her future greatness and the achievements both
she and her successors will have. The Epilogue comes on stage, urging the audience to
applaud.
 Richard II

Richard II, written around 1595, is the first play in Shakespeare's second "history tetralogy,"
a series of four plays that chronicles the rise of the house of Lancaster to the British throne.
(Its sequel plays are Henry IV, Parts 1 & 2, and Henry V.) Richard II, set around the year 1398,
traces the fall from power of the last king of the house of Plantagenet, Richard II, and his
replacement by the first Lancaster king, Henry IV (Henry Bolingbroke). Richard II, who
ascended to the throne as a young man, is a regal and stately figure, but he is wasteful in his
spending habits, unwise in his choice of counselors, and detached from his country and its
common people. He spends too much of his time pursuing the latest Italian fashions,
spending money on his close friends, and raising taxes to fund his pet wars in Ireland and
elsewhere. When he begins to "rent out" parcels of English land to certain wealthy noblemen
in order to raise funds for one of his wars, and seizes the lands and money of a recently
deceased and much respected uncle to help fill his coffers, both the commoners and the
king's noblemen decide that Richard has gone too far.

Richard has a cousin, named Henry Bolingbroke, who is a great favorite among the English
commoners. Early in the play, Richard exiles him from England for six years due to an
unresolved dispute over an earlier political murder. The dead uncle whose lands Richard
seizes was the father of Bolingbroke; when Bolingbroke learns that Richard has stolen what
should have been his inheritance, it is the straw that breaks the camel's back. When Richard
unwisely departs to pursue a war in Ireland, Bolingbroke assembles an army and invades
the north coast of England in his absence. The commoners, fond of Bolingbroke and angry
at Richard's mismanagement of the country, welcome his invasion and join his forces. One
by one, Richard's allies in the nobility desert him and defect to Bolingbroke's side as
Bolingbroke marches through England. By the time Richard returns from Ireland, he has
already lost his grasp on his country.

There is never an actual battle; instead, Bolingbroke peacefully takes Richard prisoner in
Wales and brings him back to London, where Bolingbroke is crowned King Henry IV.
Richard is imprisoned in the remote castle of Pomfret in the north of England, where he is
left to ruminate upon his downfall. There, an assassin, who both is and is not acting upon
King Henry's ambivalent wishes for Richard's expedient death, murders the former king.
King Henry hypocritically repudiates the murderer and vows to journey to Jerusalem to
cleanse himself of his part in Richard's death. As the play concludes, we see that the reign
of the new King Henry IV has started off inauspiciously
 King John

A messenger from France arrives in the English court, demanding that King John abdicate
his throne in favor of his nephew Arthur. The messenger speaks for King Philip of France,
who supports Arthur's claim as the rightful heir to the throne; when John refuses to step
down, France threatens war.

The Bastard and his younger brother enter to dispute their inherited lands. John rules that
the Bastard has the right to the lands, because a wife's offspring become a father's heir, no
matter who the actual father. John's mother, Eleanor, takes a liking to the Bastard, because
it is rumored that his father was her son and John's brother, Richard the Lionhearted. She
proposes that he leave his lands to his younger brother and join her armies under the name
of the Bastard of Richard the Lionhearted. He agrees, and John knights him.

In France, Philip and his forces prepare to attack the English-held town of Angers unless its
citizens swear allegiance to Arthur. John and his armies arrive; Arthur's mother, Constance,
and Eleanor insult each other, as various members of each side argue. Each king asks
Angers's citizens whom they support as the King of England, but the citizens say they
support the rightful king. Philip and John's armies go to war, but are so equally matched that
neither side wins. The citizens of Angers still won't decide between them. The Bastard
suggests that the English and French armies unite to conquer the disobedient town of
Angers, then fight each other later. They agree and prepare to attack. At this point, the
citizens of Angers suggest an alternative. Marry Philip's son Louis to John's niece Blanche,
they suggest, then peace can be settled. Louis and John are pleased with the idea, because
it strengthens John's ties to the throne, and Louis gains English-held French territory. The
Bastard marvels at the changeable minds of the nobles.

Constance is upset by the turn of events and blames Philip for having abandoned his
support for Arthur when presented with a more fruitful bond to the English throne. Louis and
Blanche are married when Pandolf, an ambassador from the pope, arrives. He charges John
with having disobeyed the pope in the matter of a posting of an archbishop, but John is not
about to obey the orders of the distant pope. Pandolf excommunicates John and charges
Louis with the duty of overthrowing John. Philip, whose family has just been linked to John's
by marriage, hesitates while his nobles try to influence him. Pandolf reminds him that his ties
to the church predate his connection with John and threatens excommunication. Finally
Philip gives in and breaks with John.

After inconclusive battles in which the English capture Arthur, John prepares to return to
England, leaving his mother in charge of English-held French territories and sending the
Bastard ahead to collect the finances of the English monasteries. John instructs Hubert to
look after Arthur and then asks him surreptitiously to kill him. Meanwhile Pandolf tries to
encourage the French to fight, suggesting to Louis that he now can lay the same claim to the
throne of England as Arthur, because he has married into a branch of the English royal
family. Louis agrees to attack England.
Hubert tries to kill Arthur but he is so enchanted with Arthur's innocence that he is unable.
He tells Arthur that no one can know he is alive. Meanwhile John's lords have asked for
Arthur to be released, so John agrees to order Arthur's freedom. Hubert enters and reports
that Arthur is dead; the lords believe Arthur was assassinated and depart to join Louis's
army. The Bastard returns from the monasteries, reporting that the people are not happy
about John robbing the monasteries, and they predict John's downfall. John yells at Hubert,
accusing him of having tricked him into ordering the death of Arthur, which he claims he
never wanted. Finally Hubert reveals that Arthur is alive. A relieved John sends him after the
departed lords to report the news.

Arthur tries to flee England but foolishly leaps off a castle wall and falls to his death. The
lords come upon his body and are horrified at the brutality they believe was used to kill the
boy. Hubert enters and reports that Arthur is alive; the lords point out Arthur's body and
accuse Hubert of having killed him. Hubert says Arthur was alive when he left him. The lords
depart to meet Louis.

John strikes a deal with Pandolf; he agrees to honor the pope if Pandolf can turn away the
French army. The Bastard arrives to report the departure of the lords; John tells him about
his deal with Pandolf. The Bastard wants to fight the French and leads John's army at his
behest.

John's departed lords swear allegiance to Louis. Pandolf arrives with news that John has
reconciled with Rome and tries to dissuade Louis from attacking, but Louis says he won't be
ordered around by anyone. The Bastard arrives to speak to Louis and threatens him with
terrible destruction at the hands of the English armies unless Louis retreats. Each side
prepares for battle.

A French lord is wounded, and he tells the English lords that Louis planned to kill them if he
won. He urges them to rejoin John, and they do so. Louis's reinforcements are lost at sea,
greatly dimming his prospects of victory. Meanwhile the Bastard meets Hubert, who reports
that John has been poisoned by a monk at a monastery, where he had been awaiting
reports from the Bastard. The English lords and John's son Prince Henry gather around the
ill King. The Bastard reports that he has lost many of his men, who drowned in a tide.
John dies from the monk's poison. The Bastard prepares to attack Louis, but the nobles
report that Pandolf had just brought them a peace treaty from Louis. The Bastard and the
lords swear allegiance to Henry, and the Bastard speaks of England and how it will never be
taken by foreign conquerors unless it is first damaged by internal strife.