Shakespeare the dramatist

Many Shakespeare’s plays were printed during his lifetime, usually after being performed. So it’s
very difficult to date them because few records survive. Therefore, Shakespeare’s plays can be
dated by three kinds of evidence:
-External: this is the most important kind of evidence and it consists of a clear mention or reference
to a play. Rarely external evidence gives the date of a play but it shows that a play was written
before a date;
-Internal: this kind of evidence is when the play itself includes a reference to an event;
-Stylistic: this is the most difficult kind of evidence. The changes in Shakespeare’s style are so
noticeable that a play can be placed in a specific period.

A Shakespearean play: general features

One of the most important characteristics in Shakespeare’s plays is the gradual clarification of
things which, at the beginning of a play, are mysterious. Major scenes are preceded and followed by
shorter scenes that provide some information. Shakespeare sometimes leaves an open question so
that we can continue to talk about the possible answer after the play is over.
Shakespeare didn’t give great importance to the division between acts. In the Elizabethan theatre
the plays were performed without an interval so the structure of a play is very flexible. This division
was introduced later. Shakespeare used some conversion (conventions?), such as soliloquies or
asides, on a stage where the contact between actors and audience was very close.
Most stage directions were added by stage directors especially during the 18 th century. They were
given indirectly, by the use of question or metaphor.
Shakespeare didn’t take his characters from one social class. Generally, there is almost one member
of royal or aristocratic blood. Then the poet descends to clergy and finally to rustics or servants.
Another important characteristic is the importance of family ties such as father or mother with sons
or daughters. Finally, there are symmetrical correspondences such as three lords and three ladies,
two lovers etc...
Shakespeare used different levels of speech and action to portray his characters from different
angles.
Shakespeare’s language is characterised by many rhetorical figures such as alliteration, assonance,
similes, metaphors etc… some plays have a characteristic image motif, for example lights and dark
in Romeo and Juliet or corruption and death in Hamlet. He also invented new dramatic words.