Shakespeare

Play
Summaries
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Here’s a brief Macbeth summary:

King Duncan’s generals, Macbeth and Banquo, encounter three strange

women on a bleak Scottish moorland on their way home from quelling a
rebellion. The women prophesy that Macbeth will be given the title of Thane
of Cawdor and then become King of Scotland, while Banquo’s heirs shall be
kings. The generals want to hear more but the weird sisters disappear.
Duncan creates Macbeth Thane of Cawdor in thanks for his success in the
recent battles and then proposes to make a brief visit to Macbeth’s castle.

Lady Macbeth receives news from her husband of the prophecy and his new
title and she vows to help him become king by any means she can. Macbeth’s
return is followed almost at once by Duncan’s arrival. The Macbeths plot
together and later that night, while all are sleeping and after his wife has
given the guards drugged wine, Macbeth kills the King and his guards. Lady
Macbeth leaves the bloody daggers beside the dead king. Macduff arrives and
when the murder is discovered Duncan’s sons, Malcolm and Donalbain flee,
fearing for their lives, but they are nevertheless blamed for the murder.

Macbeth is elected King of Scotland but is plagued by feelings of guilt and

insecurity. He arranges for Banquo and his son, Fleance to be killed, but the
boy escapes the murderers. At a celebratory banquet, Macbeth sees the ghost
of Banquo and disconcerts the courtiers with his strange manner. Lady
Macbeth tries to calm him but is rejected.

Macbeth seeks out the witches and learns from them that he will be safe until
Birnam Wood comes to his castle, Dunsinane. They tell him that he need fear
no-one born of woman, but also that the Scottish succession will come from
Banquo’s son. Macbeth embarks on a reign of terror and many, including
Macduff’s family, are murdered, while Macduff himself has gone to join
Malcolm at the court of the English king, Edward. Malcolm and Macduff
decide to lead an army against Macbeth.

Macbeth feels safe in his remote castle at Dunsinane until he is told that
Birnam Wood is moving towards him. The situation is that Malcolm’s army is
carrying branches from the forest as camouflage for their assault on the
castle. Meanwhile, Lady Macbeth, paralysed with guilt, walks in her sleep and
gives away her secrets to a listening doctor. She kills herself as the final battle
commences.

Macduff challenges Macbeth who, on learning his adversary is the child of a

Caesarian birth, realises he is doomed. Macduff triumphs and brings the head
of the traitor to Malcolm who declares peace and is crowned king.
Here’s a brief Othello summary:

In the opening scene, Iago complains to Roderigo that Othello, his

Commander, has passed him over to promote the handsome young Cassio to
be his Lieutenant. He vows to get revenge. Iago first asks Roderigo to tell
Desdemona’s father, Brabantio, that his daughter has left to marry Othello, a
marriage Brabantio opposes because Othello is a Moor. Brabantio confronts
Othello, and they take their argument to the Duke, who has summoned
Othello to ask him to sail to Cyprus to stop a Turkish invasion. Convinced by
Othello and Desdemona that they love each other deeply despite their
differences, the Duke gives Desdemona permission to travel with Othello. By
the time they reach Cyprus the foreign threat has gone.
Iago manipulates Cassio to make him drunk and gets Roderigo to draw him
into a street fight. Iago has his revenge on Cassio when Othello strips Cassio
of his rank for misbehavior. Then Iago decides to make Othello believe his
wife is unfaithful. He encourages Cassio to ask Desdemona to plead with
Othello to be reinstated. Iago suggests to Othello that Desdemona is Cassio’s
lover. Trusting Iago, and mad with jealousy, Othello promotes Iago and asks
Iago to help him kill Cassio and Desdemona.
Iago plants Desdemona’s handkerchief in Cassio’s room. Cassio gives it to his
mistress, Bianca. Othello believes Bianca’s possession of the handkerchief is
proof that Desdemona and Cassio are lovers. He verbally abuses his wife in
front of others, who are shocked at the change in the noble and powerful
man.
Iago has manipulated Roderigo into trying to kill Cassio. The attempt goes
wrong, and Cassio wounds Roderigo; Iago stabs Cassio in the leg. Othello
hears Cassio cry out and thinks Iago has killed him. He returns home, ready
to kill Desdemona. Meanwhile, Iago “finds” the wounded Cassio and accuses
Bianca of causing Cassio’s injury. Iago quietly kills Roderigo and sends Emilia
(Iago’s wife) to Desdemona with news of what has happened.
Othello reaches the sleeping Desdemona first. He kisses her, wakes her, and
accuses her again. Over her protests that she loves him and is innocent, he
smothers her. Emilia enters and Desdemona revives for a moment, declaring
herself guiltless but saying, as she dies, that Othello is innocent of her death.
Iago and others enter, and Emilia defends Desdemona’s innocence,
recognizing that Iago is behind the tragedy. Othello sees the truth and tries to
kill Iago. Iago kills Emilia and flees; Othello condemns himself and commits
suicide. Iago is seized and taken away.
Here’s a brief Romeo and Juliet summary:

On a hot morning fighting by young servants of the Capulet and Montague

families is stopped by the Prince who tells them that the next person who
breaks the peace will be punished with death.
Capulet plans a feast to introduce his daughter, Juliet, who is almost fourteen,
to the Count Paris who would like to marry her. By a mistake of the illiterate
servant Peter, Montague’s son, Romeo, and his friends Benvolio and the
Prince’s cousin Mercutio, hear of the party and decide to go in disguise.
Romeo hopes he will see his adored Rosaline but instead he meets and falls in
love with Juliet.
Juliet’s cousin Tybalt recognises the Montagues and they are forced to leave
the party just as Romeo and Juliet have each discovered the other’s identity.
Romeo lingers near the Capulet’s house and talks to Juliet when she appears
on her balcony. With the help of Juliet’s Nurse the lovers arrange to meet next
day at the cell of Friar Lawrence when Juliet goes for confession, and they are
married by him.
Tybalt picks a quarrel with Mercutio and his friends and Mercutio is
accidentally killed as Romeo intervenes to try to break up the fight. Romeo
pursues Tybalt in anger, kills him and is banished by the Prince for the deed.
Juliet is anxious that Romeo is late meeting her and learns of the fighting
from her Nurse. With Friar Lawrence’s help it is arranged that Romeo will
spend the night with Juliet before taking refuge at Mantua.
To calm the family’s sorrow at Tybalt’s death the day for the marriage of
Juliet to Paris is brought forward. Capulet and his wife are angry that Juliet
does not wish to marry Paris, not knowing of her secret contract with Romeo.
Friar Lawrence helps Juliet by providing a sleeping potion that will make
everyone think she’s dead. Romeo will then come to her tomb and take her
away. When the wedding party arrives to greet Juliet next day they think she
is dead. The Friar sends a colleague to warn Romeo to come to the Capulet’s
family monument to rescue his sleeping wife but the message doesn’t get
through and Romeo, hearing instead that Juliet is dead, buys poison in
Mantua.
He returns to Verona and goes to the tomb where he surprises and kills the
mourning Paris. Romeo takes the poison and dies just as Juliet awakes from
her drugged sleep. She learns what has happened from Friar Lawrence but
she refuses to leave the tomb and stabs herself as the Friar returns with the
Prince, the Capulets and Romeo’s father. The deaths of their children lead the
families to make peace, promising to erect a monument in their memory.
Here’s a brief The Merchant of Venice summary:

A young Venetian, Bassanio, needs a loan of three thousand ducats so that he

can woo Portia, a wealthy Venetian heiress. He approaches his friend Antonio,
a merchant. Antonio is short of money because all his wealth is invested in his
fleet, which is currently at sea. He goes to a Jewish moneylender, Shylock,
who hates Antonio because of Antonio’s anti-semitic behaviour towards him.
Shylock nevertheless agrees to make the short-term loan, but, in a moment of
dark humour, he makes a condition – the loan must be repaid in three
months or Shylock will exact a pound of flesh from Antonio. Antonio agrees,
confident that his ships will return in time.
Because of the terms of Portia’s father’s will, all suitors must choose from
among three caskets, one of which contains a portrait of her. If he chooses
that he may marry Portia, but if doesn’t he must vow never to marry or court
another woman. The Princes of Morocco and Arragon fail the test and are
rejected. As Bassanio prepares to travel to Belmont for the test, his friend
Lorenzo elopes with Shylock’s daughter, Jessica. Bassanio chooses the lead
casket, which contains her picture, and Portia happily agrees to marry him
immediately.
Meanwhile, two of Antonio’s ships have been wrecked and Antonio’s
creditors are pressuring him for repayment. Word comes to Bassanio about
Antonio’s predicament, and he hurries back to Venice, leaving Portia behind.
Portia follows him, accompanied by her maid, Nerissa. They are disguised as a
male lawyer and his clerk. When Bassanio arrives the date for the repayment
to Shylock has passed and Shylock is demanding his pound of flesh. Even
when Bassanio offers much more than the amount in repayment, Shylock,
now infuriated by the loss of his daughter, is intent on seeking revenge on the
Christians. The Duke refuses to intervene.
Portia arrives in her disguise to defend Antonio. Given the authority of
judgment by the Duke, Portia decides that Shylock can have the pound of
flesh as long as he doesn’t draw blood, as it is against the law to shed a
Christian’s blood. Since it is obvious that to draw a pound of flesh would kill
Antonio, Shylock is denied his suit. Moreover, for conspiring to murder a
Venetian citizen, Portia orders that he should forfeit all his wealth. Half is to
go to Venice, and half to Antonio.
Antonio gives his half back to Shylock on the condition that Shylock
bequeaths it to his disinherited daughter, Jessica. Shylock must also convert
to Christianity. A broken Shylock accepts. News arrives that Antonio’s
remaining ships have returned safely. With the exception of Shylock, all
celebrate a happy ending to the affair.
Here is a brief Troilus & Cressida summary:

The Greek king, Agamemnon, and his brother Menelaus, together with their
counsellors, Ulysses and the aged Nestor, are camped outside the Trojan
walls. The problem is that the great military hero, Achilles, is sulking in his
tent, refusing to fight, and talking only to his friend, Patroclus.
In Troy itself, King Priam and his sons, the general, Hector and his brother
Paris, whose theft of Menelaus’ wife, Helen, had started the war seven years
before, are arguing. Their priestess sister, Cassandra, prophesies destruction
for all while their younger brother Troilus is not paying attention to the
conflict, as he has met and fallen in love with Cressida, whose father, Calchas,
has defected to the Greek camp.
Cressida’s uncle, Pandarus, assists the lovers to consummate their union but
on the same night there is an exchange of prisoners and despite her protests
Cressida is sent to join her father in the Greek camp, swearing eternal loyalty
to Troilus.
A challenge from Hector is answered by the Greek hero, Ajax, but Hector
withdraws as Ajax is related to his family.
In the Greek camp, Cressida is pursued by Diomedes. She is confused by what
has happened and believes that she’ll never see Troilus again. Not knowing
that Troilus has secretly left Troy to seek her, she responds to Diomedes.
Troilus and Ulysses overhear their encounter, and Troilus realises that his
love has turned against her vows of faithfulness, and he returns to the city to
fight more determinedly against the Greeks.
In the final battle Hector kills Patroclus, and Achilles is finally provoked by
this death to join the fighting. At first, overcome briefly by Hector, but
spared, Achilles succeeds in trapping the great champion, and Hector,
unarmed, is slaughtered by Achilles’ troop of thuggish soldiers, the
Myrmidons. Troilus swears revenge for his brother’s death, and mourns the
end of his innocence with the loss of his beloved Cressida.
Here is a brief Twelfth Night summary:

Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night opens with the lovesick, Orsino, Duke of Illyria feeling
sorry for himself as his beautiful neighbour, Countess Olivia, has been rejecting his
advances. She has sworn to have nothing to do with men for seven years as she
plans to spend that time mourning the death of her brother.
On the coast of Illyria there has been a shipwreck. A young woman, Viola, has
survived and is stranded on the beach. She has heard reports that her twin brother
was drowned in the stormy sea. In spite of her grief, she decides to be positive and
seek a job in Illyria. She has heard of the Duke and, with the help of a sea captain
she disguises herself as a boy and is appointed as a page in Orsino’s household.
Orsino is determined to woo Olivia in one way or another and he sends Viola, now
known as Cesario, to do it on his behalf. The first complication is that Viola has
fallen in love with Orsino at first sight. The next is that after going through the
wooing process she is pursued by Olivia’s pompous steward, Malvolio to give her a
ring from Olivia, who has fallen in love with the young page.
Olivia has a large household with several servants and guests, including her fat,
gluttonous, drunkard uncle, Sir Toby Belch, who lives permanently with her. He
has welcomed the absurd Sir Andrew Aguecheek, who is visiting him in the hope of
being able to woo his niece, and encourages him in his hopeless venture, taking
money from him and making fun of him. Their late night drinking and carousing
has angered Malvolio, who threatens them. With the help of some servants,
including one of Olivia’s ladies in waiting, Maria, they use a false letter to trick him
into believing that Olivia is in love with him. In the letter she tells the black-clad
puritan to appear in the latest fashion – yellow stocking and cross-garters – and to
smile, something no-one has ever seen him do. He does that and Olivia is horrified.
Malvolio is locked up in a dark cell as a madman.
We now learn that Viola’s twin brother, Sebastian, has also survived the shipwreck,
and with the help of Antonio, a pirate captain, goes into the town. He meets Olivia
who thinks he is Cesario. She declares her love for him and they become engaged.
Sir Andrew, jealous of the disguised Viola, led on by Sir Toby, challenges the young
page to a duel. Neither wants to fight but, egged on by Sir Toby, they begin the duel.
Antonio, passing by, thinking that Cesario is Sebastian, intervenes and recognised
by the police as the wanted pirate, is arrested.
All the confusion is resolved when everyone sees the twins together. The plot
against Malvolio is exposed and he is released, assuring the plotters that he will get
his revenge on them. Orsino realises that he is in love with Viola and promises to
marry her as soon as she dresses as a woman. Olivia and Sebastian celebrate their
union.
Here’s a brief A Midsummer Night’s Dream summary:

Theseus, the Duke of Athens, is preparing for his marriage to Hippolyta,

Queen of the Amazons, A courtier seeks the Duke’s intervention because his
daughter, Hermia, will not agree to his choice of Demetrius as a husband:
she’s in love with Lysander. The Duke tells Hermia to obey her father, or
either die or accept a life as a nun in Diana’s temple. Lysander and Hermia
plan to elope, and they tell Helena, who is in love with Demetrius, that he
hates her and loves Hermia. The lovers run away from Athens but get lost in
the woods. They are followed by Demetrius, and then by Helena, who has told
him of their intentions.
Oberon, king of the fairies, who lives in the woods, has quarrelled with his
queen, Titania, over an Indian boy she refuses to give him. Oberon overhears
Helena and Demetrius arguing and sends his mischievous servant, Puck, to
get a flower whose juice has the power to make people fall in love with the
first creature they see when the juice is placed on their eyelids while asleep.
He instructs Puck to put some drops on Demetrius’ eyes. Mistaking the
Athenian he seeks, Puck puts the flower juice on the eyes of the sleeping
Lysander so that when he is woken by Helena he immediately falls in love
with her and rejects Hermia.
Some artisans are rehearsing a play about the tragic love story of Pyramus
and Thisbe to present before Theseus on his wedding day. Bottom, the
weaver, is to play the lover, Pyramus, while Flute, the bellows-mender, is to
play Thisbe. The others play the parts of the Moon, the Wall, and the Lion and
they are directed by Quince, the carpenter. Puck overhears their rehearsals in
the wood and he plays a trick on them by giving Bottom an ass’s head which
frightens the others away. Bottom is lured towards the sleeping Titania
whom Oberon has treated with the flower juice. On waking, she falls in love
with the ass and entertains him with her fairies, but when Bottom falls asleep
beside her, Oberon restores Titania’s sight and wakes her. She is appalled at
the sight of what she has been in love with and is reunited with Oberon.
Puck removes the ass’s head and Bottom returns to Athens and rejoins his
friends as they prepare to perform their play. Meanwhile, the lovers’
arguments tire them out as they chase one another through the woods and
when Demetrius rests, Oberon puts magic juice on his eyes so that both he
and Lysander pursue Helena until the four lovers fall asleep, exhausted. Puck
puts juice on Lysander’s eyes before the lovers are woken by Theseus and
Hippolyta and their dawn hunting party. Happily reunited with each other,
Lysander with Hermia, Demetrius with Helena, they agree to share the
Duke’s wedding day. The rustics perform the play of Pyramus and Thisbe
before the wedding guests. As the three couples retire Puck and the fairies
return to bless the palace and its people.
Here is a brief The Tempest summary:

Alonso, the king of Naples, is returning from his daughter’s wedding in Tunis. He
is accompanied by his son, Ferdinand, his brother, Sebastian, and Antonio, the
Duke of Milan. An old Milanese courtier, Gonzalo, is also on board. The ship is
wrecked in a storm and all the passengers and crew are thrown into the furious
sea.
Prospero, the former Duke of Milan, and his fifteen year-old daughter, Miranda,
are watching the shipwreck from an island. He tells her, for the first time, how
they came to be on the island. Twelve years before, when he had been Duke of
Milan, his brother Antonio had usurped him, but with Gonzalo’s help, he had
escaped in a small boat with his baby daughter, Miranda, and his library of books
about magic. They had ended up on the island and Prospero had turned the only
inhabitant, Caliban, a deformed and savage creature, into his slave. There are also
spirits on the island. One of them, Ariel, had been imprisoned in a tree trunk by
Caliban’s mother, the witch, Sycorax, who had then died. Prospero used his magic
abilities to rescue him and he made the spirit swear to serve him.
The ship’s passengers are cast upon the island unharmed, and even their clothes
are not wet or damaged. Alonso believes his son to be dead, but Ferdinand has
landed on another part of the island. He encounters Miranda and they fall in love
at first sight. He is the first man, apart from her father and Caliban that she has
ever seen. Prospero puts Ferdinand to work manually, controlling all his
movements with magic. Ariel pesters Prospero for his freedom and Prospero
promises it once he has done some things for him, regarding the newcomers.
Ariel leads the party towards Prospero’s cell. During this journey, Antonio and
Sebastian plan to kill Alonso so that Sebastian can be king. Two other members of
the party, Trinculo, the court jester, and Stephano, a boisterous butler, are also
wandering about on the island. Caliban recruits them to help him overthrow
Prospero. They all get drunk then set off for Prospero’s cell. Ariel reports the plot
to Prospero.
Prospero has released Ferdinand and given his blessing to the marriage of the two
young people. When the three would-be usurpers arrive at his cell they are
distracted by some brightly coloured clothes that have been hung out for them,
then they are chased away by a band of spirits who have taken on the form of
dogs.
Ariel brings the party to the cell. Prospero renounces his magic and reveals
himself. He forgives his brother and prepares to return to Milan to resume his
dukedom. Miranda and Ferdinand are betrothed. Sailors arrive and announce that
the ship hasn’t been wrecked after all, and is safely anchored off the island. Ariel
is set free. Caliban and the drunken servants are also forgiven. There is a final
celebration of their reunion.
Here is a short The Two Gentlemen of Verona summary:

Two close friends living in Verona, Valentine and Proteus, take leave of each
other. Valentine is setting out on his travels on his own because Proteus will
not leave his beloved Julia, and has decided to stay in Verona. Julia is
interested in Proteus’ attention and treasures the love letter he has sent her,
but feigns a mild rather than a passionate interest.
Proteus’ father, Antonio, sends him on a mission to Milan. When he arrives at
the Duke of Milan’s court he finds that Valentine is there and has fallen in
love with Silvia, the duke’s daughter, who returns his love. Proteus, who has
sworn love and fidelity to Julia falls in love with Silvia at first sight. In the
meantime, the duke is planning the marriage of Silvia to the foolish Thurio.
Valentine plans to elope with Silvia, but the jealous Proteus tells the duke of
the plot, and Valentine is caught carrying a rope ladder to Silvia’s window.
The duke banishes Valentine and Proteus woos Silvia with songs and
declarations of love. She scorns him and reminds him about Julia.
Julia arrives in Milan, disguised as a pageboy, Sebastian. Proteus sends her (as
a pageboy) with the ring that she, Julia, has given him. Silvia has promised
him a picture of herself, although she is still devoted to the absent Valentine.
In the meantime, Valentine has been captured by a band of aristocratic
outlaws, who make him their chief. Silvia persuades a courtier, Sir Eglamour,
to accompany her to Mantua to find Valentine, and she is also captured by the
outlaws. The duke and Thurio go after her, taking Proteus with them. Julia,
still disguised, follows him. Proteus rescues Silvia. He tries to force himself on
her but Valentine prevents him. They quarrel and are reconciled. All this is
heard by Julia and, misunderstanding, she thinks that Valentine is yielding
his interest in Silvia to Proteus. She faints in front of them. Proteus
recognises the ring he has given her, and when her identity is revealed,
Proteus’ love for her is revived.
The outlaws have captured the duke and Thurio. They trick Thurio into
showing his cowardice by denying Silvia. The duke approves the marriage of
Silvia and Valentine; the two couples agree to share a wedding day and the
duke pardons the outlaws.
Here is a short The Two Noble Kinsmen summary:

Duke Theseus of Athens is marrying the Amazon queen Hippolyta.

Immediately after the wedding three queens petition him to wage war on
Thebes, as Creon, the King of Thebes, has deprived their husbands of proper
burial rites.
Two Thebian cousins, Palamon and Arcite decide to join their uncle, Creon’s
campaign to defend Thebes, even though they hate Creon, who is an
unpleasant tyrant. They perform heroically in the battle, but Theseus is
victorious. The cousins are imprisoned in Athens, and from their prison they
see Hippolyta’s sister Emilia passing by. Both fall instantly in love with her.
Arcite is set free, but rather than return to Thebes he disguises himself and
stays in Athens. With the help of the jailor’s daughter, who has fallen in love
with him, Palemon, escapes. The cousins meet each other and decide together
that they must fight each other to the death, with the winner having the love
of Emilia. Theseus discovers them and asks Emilia which of the two she
wants, but she is unable to decide. He decrees that there is to be a jousting
tournament and the winner will marry Emilia. The loser will lose his head.
Before the tournament starts all three principals go to the temples of their
particular favourite god. Arcite prays to Mars, the god of war; Palemon to
Venus, the goddess of love, and Emilia to Diana, the huntress, goddess of
virgins, asking her to give victory to the one who loves her best. Arcite wins
and Palemon is to be executed. However, before that can happen Arcite is
thrown from his horse and killed. As Arcite is dying he bequeaths Emilia to
his cousin.
Below is a brief The Winter’s Tale summary:

King Leontes of Sicily and King Polixenes of Bohemia are old friends and the
play opens with Polixenes about to return home after a six-month visit to
Sicily. Although he is anxious to go, at the bidding of her husband, Leonte’s
wife, Hermione, persuades him to stay longer. Her successful intervention
leads to Leontes becoming obsessed with the idea that his pregnant wife has
been unfaithful to him with Polixenes. He arranges with a courtier to poison
Polixenes but the servant warns the king of Bohemia and Polixenes and the
courtier, Camillo, escape together.
Leontes locks Hermione up in a prison, where her baby girl is born. Another
courtier, Paulina, confronts Leontes, arguing that he has the duty to accept
the baby as his daughter. Leontes instructs her husband, Antigonus, to get rid
of the baby. Leontes consults the Delphic oracle who tells him that Hermione
is innocent. Their little son dies of a broken heart because of his mother’s
imprisonment. Leontes is shocked by the death of his son and he becomes
remorseful about his treatment of Hermione. But she has collapsed and he
has received word that she has died. It is also too late to do anything about
the new-born baby. When Antigonus had taken the baby away, at one point
he had placed her on a beach. But he was attacked and killed by a bear and the
baby was left alone on the beach.
Two shepherds, father and son, find the baby and take her home with them.
Leontes spends the next sixteen years mourning the deaths of his wife and
children. He does not know that Hermione is alive, living in seclusion,
believing that her daughter is alive somewhere and will be found at some
time. Meanwhile, Polixenes’ son, Florizel, has met a shepherd’s daughter in
Bohemia and fallen in love with her. One day Polixenese and Camillo disguise
themselves as common men and attend a sheepshearing festival, which is
being organised by the shepherdess, Perdita. When Polixenese realises that
his son is involved with her he reveals his identity, and intervenes,
threatening the shepherds for facilitating the relationship between the prince
and the young shepherdess.
Camillo and a roguish minstrel, Autolycus, help the lovers to escape to Sicily.
The shepherds follow them and Polixenes follows the shepherds. Florizel goes
to the court of Sicily and introduces Perdita to Leontes. When the shepherds
and Polixenes also arrive the whole thing begins to unravel with one
revelation after another. Paulina takes them all to see a new statue of
Hermione, and while they are looking at it, it moves. The lovers are to be
married as Leontes and Hermione reunited. Paulina and Camillo are also to be
married.
Here is a short Timon of Athens summary:

Timon, a kindly, friendly and generous Athenian nobleman, has many friends
because of his generosity. He loves to spend money and holds frequent
parties. A day comes, however, when he falls into debt, and his many
creditors put pressure on him to pay them what he owes. His steward,
Flavius, tells him that he’s completely out of money. Timon sends servants to
his friends to ask whether they can lend him the money he needs, but they
are met with excuses. Timon is disappointed and angered. He invites all his
friends to a final feast, where he presents them with only warm water. He
makes a speech denouncing them, and also harangues them with a bitter
tirade against mankind generally.
Elsewhere, an Athenian army general, Alcibiades, is trying to get the senators
to change their minds about the death sentence they have imposed on one of
his men. They don’t like his persistence and he is banished. He decides to turn
against them, and to also influence the army to join him. He hears about
Timon, who has gone to live in isolation in a cave away from Athens.
Timon has, in the meantime, found a stash of gold as he was digging for roots
to eat. When Alcibiades arrives Timon offers him gold if he will march on
Athens. Alcibiades agrees and uses some of the gold to bribe the army. He
then marches on Athens. A band of pirates visit Timon, and he offers them
gold to put pressure on Athens with pirate attacks. Timon sends his faithful
steward away and is left completely on his own.
Alcibiades enters Athens and meets with little resistance. The Senate sends to
Timon to intervene on their behalf, but he refuses. He offers them the tree at
the mouth of his cave, on which he tells them they can all hang themselves.
The senators then hand Alcibiades’ enemies over to him, as well as Timon’s
former companions. Alcibiades then agrees to withdraw and promises peace
in Athens. This is a victory for Timon, but just at that point a soldier enters
and informs them that Timon has died, all alone, in his cave.
Here is a brief Titus Andronicus summary:

The Roman general, Titus Andronicus, returns to a hero’s welcome after

defeating the Goths in a ten-year campaign. Among his captives is the queen
of the Goths, Tamora, and her three sons, Alarbus, Demetrius and Chiron.
Also accompanying her is her lover Aaron, a Moor.
Titus has lost many sons in the war. To give them a fitting funeral, Lucius, one
of Titus’s three surviving sons, suggests a human sacrifice. Titus singles out
Alarbus, Tamora’s eldest son, and although she pleads for her son’s life Titus
is unrelenting. Lucius seizes Alarbus. And he and his men hew his limbs and
make a sacrifice of him.
The emperor dies and the crown is available. When it is offered to Titus, he
declines and recommends Saturninus, the oldest son of the dead emperor. He
suggests that Saturninus take his beautiful daughter Lavinia as his wife and
empress.
After Saturninus is crowned, he frees Tamora and her sons. Bassianus,
Saturninus’ brother, objects to the proposed marriage of Saturninus and
Lavinia because Lavinia is already betrothed to him. With the help of
Lavinia’s brothers, he steals her away. Titus is angered and he kills his son,
Mucius, when he tries to prevent Titus from pursuing the lovers. Later,
Saturninus decides that he prefers Tamora to Lavinia, then marries Tamora
and makes her empress. Tamora begins plotting revenge against Titus for
allowing the slaughter of her son. Before the palace, Tamora’s lover, Aaron,
exalts Tamora and predicts that she will bring ruin to Rome.
Tamora’s sons Demetrius and Chiron have both fallen in love with Lavinia,
and they quarrel over her. Each claims the right to take her from Bassianus.
After failing to dissuade them from pursuing her, Aaron suggests that they
share the lovely Lavinia by taking turns raping her in the seclusion of a forest.
The occasion will come during a hunt in the woods for game. Emperor
Saturninus, Queen Tamora, and many others are to take part in the hunt. On
the day of the hunt, Aaron and Tamora rendezvous in the woods. Aaron gives
her a letter to present to Saturninus. Its contents will aid Tamora’s desire to
bring down Titus.
When Bassianus and Lavinia discover Aaron and Tamora together, Tamora
fears that the intruders will tell the emperor. She calls out for her sons. When
they arrive, Tamora pretends Bassianus has threatened her. The sons kill
Bassianus and throw him in a pit, then drag Lavinia off to rape her. Not only
do they rape her, they also mutilate her, cutting off her hands and tearing out
her tongue. Aaron leads Titus’s sons Quintus and Martius toward the pit
where Bassianus lies dead.
Martius falls in. While Aaron goes to fetch Saturninus, Quintus falls in, too,
trying to rescue Martius. Saturninus arrives with Aaron, along with Titus,
Lucius, and attendants. Martius, who has discovered the body, informs
Saturninus that his brother, Bassianus, is dead. Tamora then presents Aaron’s
letter to Saturninus. It falsely implicates Martius and Quintus in the murder
of Bassianus.
Saturninus imprisons them, and the court later sentences them to death in
spite of Titus’s pleas on their behalf. Lavinia cannot testify in their favor, for
she has no tongue. When Titus, Lucius, and Titus’s brother Marcus discuss
their options, the evil Aaron arrives and tells them that Saturninus will free
the sons of Titus, if Marcus, Lucius, or Titus cuts off his hand and sends it to
the emperor. It is Titus, though, who allows Aaron to cut off his hand and take
it to Saturninus. Within a half-hour, however, the emperor returns the hand,
together with the heads of Titus’s imprisoned sons, in a show of scorn and
contempt. Titus orders his son Lucius to flee the city and enlist an army of
Goths to overthrow Saturninus. The loss of his sons takes a severe toll on
Titus. He begins to go mad. Then Lavinia informs Titus and others about her
rape and mutilation by writing in sand with a stick held in her mouth.
Meanwhile, Tamora has a baby. It is obviously Aaron’s because it has the dark
complexion of a Moor. Worried that the emperor will find out about it,
Tamora wants it killed. Aaron has other plans. First, he kills the baby’s
midwife and nurse to keep secret the baby’s existence. Next, he substitutes a
white baby for his own, then leaves with his child to go to the Goths to have
them raise it. By this time, Lucius is marching on Rome with his army of
Goths. Aaron and his baby, who have been captured, appear. Aaron agrees to
tell all he knows if his child is allowed to live. Titus cuts the throats of
Tamora’s sons Demetrius and Chiron, then has a pie prepared of their flesh
and serves it to Saturninus and Tamora. He kills Lavinia to put her out of her
misery, then kills Tamora. Saturninus kills Titus in retaliation, and Lucius
kills Saturninus. Lucius takes command of Rome as the new emperor. Lucius
orders Aaron to be buried up to his chest and starved to death.
Here is a short All’s Well That Ends Well summary:

Bertram, the son of a widowed countess sets off from Roussilon with his
friend, Parolles, and the Lord Lafeu, to the French court. He is the ward of the
French king. He is unaware that Helena, the orphan daughter of the countess’
physician, raised in the household of the countess, is in love with him. The
countess gives her permission to try and cure the king’s illness. No-one has
been able to cure him, but Helena succeeds and as a reward, the king invites
her to choose a husband from among his wards. She chooses Bertram.
Bertram’s ambitions for a wife go beyond her, however, and although he
marries her on the king’s orders, he runs away with Parolles to fight in the
wars in Italy. He writes a letter to Helena, telling her that he will not
recognise the marriage until she can demonstrate that she is wearing his
heirloom ring and carrying his child.
Helena goes home and prepares to seek Bertram out. She disguises herself as
a pilgrim and goes to Florence where she is befriended by a widow and her
daughter, Diana. In the meantime, Bertram has fallen in love with Diana.
Helena fakes her death and Bertram returns to the French court. His mother
and Lafeu, also believing Helena to be dead, arrange for Bertram to marry
Lafeu’s daughter. Bertram gives Lafeu a ring that Helena, as Diana, had given
him at the late-night meeting in Florence, and it becomes apparent that it is
the ring that the king had given Helena on her marriage to Bertram.
In the midst of the confusion, Diana arrives with Bertram’s ring and accuses
him of seducing and abandoning her. Bertram denies it, but Lafeu withdraws
his daughter from the marriage. The king orders that Diana be taken to
prison, but then Helena appears as a witness to the truth of Diana’s story. She
is pregnant and her story soon comes out. Bertram accepts her as his wife.
The king offers Diana a choice of husbands from among his courtiers, with a
rich dowry. The play ends with everyone being more or less satisfied.
Here is a short Love’s Labour’s Lost summary:

King Ferdinand, King of Navarre, decides to have a three year period of study
and contemplation at his court. To avoid distraction he imposes a ban on
women, who will not be allowed within a mile of the court. One of the
courtiers, Berowne, has reservations about the ban on women. He reminds
the King that he has an ambassadorial meeting on that very day with the
Princess of France. As they prepare to meet the Princess the King sends his
court fool, Costard, to Don Armado to be punished, for breaking the rules by
dallying with a country girl, Jacquenetta.
The Princess, refused entry to the court, is insulted by the ban, and in protest,
she and her entourage camp in tents in front of the court. They begin plotting
ways of taking revenge. In the meantime, Don Armado, himself in love with
Jacquenetta, lets Costard off his punishment in return for Costard delivering
a love letter to her. Before he can deliver it he is approached by Berowne, who
asks him to take a letter to Rosaline. Some comic action is set up when
Costard gets the letters mixed up.
The courtiers are all in love with various women in the embassy, including
Ferdinand, who is in love with the Princess. They pay a visit to the women’s
camp in disguises but the women, in turn, greet them, also in disguise. There
is great confusion and as the men return to the court the women make fun of
them.
Having all broken the rules, including Ferdinand himself, they decide to stop
the silly game. Just as they are all sitting down to a pageant, news comes that
the King of France has died, so the Princess has to leave immediately. She
tells Ferdinand that if he spends a full year in solitude in a hermitage, in
penance for being an oath-breaker, she will consider his marriage proposal.
The other women in the embassy tell their respective suitors that if they also
do that penance, they will return in a year and decide whether their lovers
have been faithful, before agreeing to marry them.
Here is a brief Measure for Measure summary:

Depravity and sexual licence have become an issue in Vienna, and the Duke,
Vincentio, who has decided to take a break from ruling, appoints Angelo to
rule in his absence, assisted by a trusted councillor, Escalus. The first thing
Angelo does is pronounce that he is going to enforce the immorality laws, to
try and stamp out the epidemic of ‘loose’ living.
A citizen, Claudio, has got his fiancée, Juliet, pregnant. He is tried and
sentenced to death. His sister, Isabella, who lives in a convent, about to take
her vows as a nun, hears the news. She hurries to Angelo to beg for mercy on
behalf of her brother. Angelo denies her request but as she persists he is
overwhelmed by lust for her and tells her he will think about it, and that she
should return the next day to hear his verdict. She goes back the next day and
he tells her that he will pardon her brother if she will have sex with him.
In the meantime, Duke Vincentio has not left Vienna but disguised himself as
an itinerant friar, and is moving about among the people to observe the effect
of Angelo’s rule. He tells Juliet to prepare for Claudio’s death, assuring her
that there is no way around it.
Isabella is horrified by Angelo’s proposition and refuses. She visits Claudio in
prison and tells him about it, making it clear that she will not subject herself
to that, and that he will have to die. The Duke overhears their conversation
and suggests a solution. He tells her that she should agree to it and he will
arrange for Mariana, who has been jilted by Angelo because her dowry was
lost at sea, to take Isabella’s place and sleep with Angelo, who will not know it
isn’t Isabella in the dark.
Angelo is preparing to double-cross Isabella, however, and gives instructions
for Claudio’s execution. The Duke, still disguised, persuades the prison
governor to execute a long-term prisoner, Barnadine, instead, and deliver his
head to Angelo as demanded, claiming that it is Claudio’s head. Barnadine
refuses to agree, so they decide to use the head of a prisoner who has just
died.
Marianna fulfils her part of the bargain, sleeping with Angelo, who believes
that she is Isabella. The next day the ‘friar’ tells Isabella that Angelo has
deceived her and had Claudio executed. He also announces his return, as the
Duke, to Vienna. Isabella and Marianna decide to go together to greet him and
complain about what has happened.
The Duke arrives in Vienna with a big public display. Isabella begs for justice.
The two women tell their story and Angelo is exposed in public. He is forced
to marry Marianna. Claudio and Juliet are reunited.
The play ends with the Duke proposing to Isabella.
Here is a brief Much Ado About Nothing summary:

In Messina, as Don Pedro, the Prince of Arragon, and his officers return from
a recently concluded war, a message comes to Leonato that the prince
intends to visit his house for a month. The Duke’s party arrives with Count
Claudio, who had before the war been attracted by Leonato’s only daughter,
Hero. Another of the visitors is Benedick, a bachelor, who enjoys speaking his
mind in witty argument with Hero’s cousin and companion, the Lady
Beatrice.
Leonato holds a masked ball to celebrate the end of the war and the
engagement of Claudio to Hero is arranged, while the Duke’s brother, Don
John, resenting the celebrations, seeks a way to spoil the general happiness.
Don John plots with the soldiers, Borachio and Conrade, to deceive Claudio
into believing Hero is false to him. As a result, a trick is carried out with the
unwitting assistance of Hero’s maid, Margaret, who talks from Hero’s
bedroom window with Borachio at night, while Claudio and the Duke watch
secretly from a distance under the delusion that the girl at the window is
Hero.
Hero and Don Pedro meanwhile are convinced that Benedick and Beatrice are
ideal partners, and by means of overheard conversations the two realise they
do indeed love one another.
At the wedding Claudio denounces Hero and leaves her apparently dead from
shock, while her father, Beatrice, and Benedick, amazed at the situation,
decide that with the aid of the priest, Hero’s recovery should be concealed
until her name can be cleared. Help is at hand as the village constable,
Dogberry, and his assistants have arrested Borachio and Conrade after
overhearing them boasting of their deception of Claudio and the Duke.
The play comes to a joyful conclusion when Dogberry’s information is,
eventually, after some difficulty, given to Leonato and Don Pedro. Claudio
agrees to accept Leonato’s ‘niece’ whom he has never met, in place of Hero,
whom he believes has been killed by his slander. The ‘niece’ turns out to be
Hero, and as the lovers are reunited, Benedick and Beatrice announce that
they will share the wedding day. Don John has been captured while trying to
escape and is left for future trial, while the play ends with a merry dance.
Here is a short Pericles summary:

Pericles, the Prince of Tyre, flees Antioch and goes back to Tyre, because he
knows that Antiochus, the King of Antioch, is having an incestuous affair with
his daughter. Antiochus is determined to kill him and pursues him. Pericles
flees again, first to Tyre and then to Pentopolis. He leaves Tyre in the care of
his counsellor, Helicanus. En route, the ship is wrecked and Pericles is the
only survivor.
While in Pentopolis, Pericles wins a tournament where the prize is Thaisa, the
beautiful daughter of Simonides. They fall in love and Pericles marries her.
Soon after that, the news arrives that Antiochus is dead: also that the people
of Tyre want their prince to return to them. Thaisa is pregnant now, and on
the way to Tyre a storm at sea brings about the birth of her child, whom
Pericles calls Marina. Thaisa apparently dies in childbirth. The grieving
Pericles seals her in a watertight coffin and buries her at sea.
The coffin floats on the sea and finally ends up on the coast of Ephesus.
Cerimon revives Thaisa. She mistakenly believes that Pericles has been lost at
sea and she commits herself as a votress (a nun) in the Temple of Diana. In the
meantime, Pericles has visited Tarsus and left Marina with Cleon, the
governor of Tarsus, and his wife, Dionyza, who have undertaken to raise her.
There is then a sixteen year gap in the action. Marina is now a beautiful young
woman. Dionyza is jealous of her and makes up her mind to have her killed.
She instructs a servant to take her out in a ship and murder her, but before he
can do that she is captured by pirates. The servant returns and tells Dionyza
that he’s killed her. Cleon builds a monument to her.
When Pericles visits Tarsus he sees the monument and falls into a pit of
despair. In the meantime, the pirates have sold Marina to a brothel in
Mitylene but she is almost immediately freed by the governor, Lysimachus.
Pericles arrives in Mitylene and encounters her. He talks to her without at
first knowing who she is. He soon recognises her, however, and there is a
joyful reunion. Lysimachus proposes to Marina and she accepts him. Pericles
then has a dream in which he is instructed to go to Ephesus. He goes and
takes Marina with him. When they arrive they meet Thaisa, who is now the
head priestess of Diana, and the family is happily reunited.
Here is a brief Richard II summary:

Shakespeare’s Richard II opens in the court of King Richard II in Coventry,

where a dispute between Henry Bolingbroke, the son of John of Gaunt, and
Thomas Mowbray, the Duke of Norfolk, is to be resolved by a tournament.
Bolingbroke has accused Mowbray of being implicated in the death of the
king’s uncle, the Duke of Gloucester. At the last minute, Richard stops the
contest: he banishes Mowbray for life, and giving in to pleas on behalf of
Bolingbroke, commutes his banishment to six years.
Richard is an ineffectual king, subject to flattery and misled into
misgovernment by sycophants – his cousin, Aumerle, and companions,
Bushy, Bagot, and Green. John of Gaunt, deeply affected by his son’s
banishment, dies after expressing disillusionment with Richard’s rule.
Instead of learning a lesson from Gaunt, Richard appropriates his estate,
using the money to fund an expedition against the Irish. Bolingbroke,
resenting the confiscation of his inheritance, returns to England where his
army is enthusiastically welcomed by the English, led by Henry Percy, the
Earl of Northumberland.
When Richard returns he finds that his Uncle, the Duke of York, whom he left
as regent, has joined Bolingbroke; his Welsh allies have abandoned him, and
his friends have been executed on the orders of Bolingbroke. He agrees to go
to London where Parliament will mediate in the dispute. He is forced to
abdicate in favour of Bolingbroke, who is crowned Henry IV.
Richard is imprisoned in Pontefract castle. Pierce of Exton murders him,
wrongly believing that that was Henry’s wish. King Henry vows to make
reparation for his cousin’s death by going on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
Here is a brief Richard III summary:

Richard, Duke of Gloucester, is determined to gain the crown of England from

his brother, the Yorkist King Edward IV. He woos the widow, Lady Ann, at the
funeral of her father-in-law, King Henry VI. She yields to his advances and
marries him. In the meantime, Richard organises the murder of his brother
George, Duke of Clarence, whom he has had imprisoned in the Tower of
London.
The king, Edward IV is ill and Richard, assisted by Lord Hastings, is appointed
as regent. He places the young sons of Edward in the Tower and consolidates
his power with the help of Buckingham, who gains the support of the Lord
Mayor of London and his followers on Richard’s behalf. The king dies and
Richard is proclaimed king. He has Hastings executed for attempting to
frustrate his plans. The young princes are murdered in the Tower. Edward’s
widow, Elizabeth, flees with the sons of her first marriage, fearing for their
lives. Buckingham is suspicious of Richard’s role in the murder of the young
princes. He tries to blackmail Richard, demanding an earldom, and when his
demand is denied he tries to raise an army against Richard. He is captured
and executed. Richard plans to marry Edward IV’s daughter, Elizabeth.
Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, the heir to the Lancastrian claim to the
throne, makes war on Richard. They meet at Bosworth. On the eve of the
battle, Richard is haunted by the ghosts of his victims. He is killed in the
battle and Henry Tudor succeeds him, becoming Henry VII of England. The
play ends with him planning to marry Elizabeth of York and end the Wars of
the Roses.
Here is a short The Comedy of Errors summary:

The Comedy of Errors is probably the most complicated of all Shakespeare’s

plays, involving two sets of identical twins with multiple identity confusions.
It begins with a Syracuse merchant, Egeon, being led to his execution for
defying the ban against travel between Syracuse and Ephesus. As he is taken
to the gallows he tells Duke Solinus, the Ephesian ruler, that he has come in
search of his wife and one of his twin sons, who were lost twenty-five years
before in a shipwreck. The other twin is also searching for his mother and
brother. The Duke feels sorry for Egeon and gives him a day’s stay of
execution, to allow him to raise the ransom that would save his life.
What Egeon doesn’t know is that the son he has raised, Antipholus, and his
slave, Dromio, have also arrived in Ephesus and that the missing son lives in
Ephesus and has become a prosperous man, involved in the civic life of the
city. He is well-known as Antipholus of Ephesus. He also has a slave, called
Dromio who is the identical twin brother of Dromio of Syracuse. They had
been separated at birth.
Antipholus of Ephesus’s wife, Adriana, encounters Antipholus of Syracuse
and mistakes him for her husband. She insists that he go home with her to
dinner. He leaves his slave to guard the door, and when Antipholus of
Ephesus comes home, Dromio of Syracuse refuses him entry to the house.
When Antipholus of Syracuse sees Adriana’s sister, Luciana, he falls in love
with her. Believing him to be her brother-in-law, she is shocked by his
flirtatious behaviour.
Another confusion occurs when Antipholus of Syracuse receives a gold chain
bought by his brother. When Antipholus of Ephesus refuses to pay for the
chain on the grounds that he hasn’t received it, he is arrested for debt.
Adriana, not used to such behaviour from him, thinks that he has gone crazy
and orders servants to tie him up and lock him in the basement. Antipholus of
Syracuse and his slave are finding events in Ephasus unreal and decide to
leave the city but are pursued by Adriana and the debt collector. They elude
them and claim asylum in an abbey.
Adriana goes to the Duke and appeals to him to remove the man she believes
to be her husband from the abbey and hand him over to her. Antipholus of
Ephesus, her actual husband, has broken out of the cellar and demands that
the Duke take action against his wife for what she has done to him. All the
complications unravel when Emelia, the Abbess, brings the two sets of twins
together. She turns out to be the long-lost wife of Egeus. The brothers are
reconciled with each other and their parents; the couples are united and the
two Dromios embrace.
Here is a brief The Merry Wives of Windsor summary:

Sir John Falstaff is in financial difficulties. On top of that, Justice Shallow and his youthful
cousin, Slender, have come to Windsor because Falstaff has conned them out of money.
Falstaff decides to woo the wives of two of Windsor’s leading merchants, Page, and Ford,
to get money out of them. He sends his page, Robin, to each of the wives with a letter.
The wives compare the letters and find that they are identical.
They decide to teach him a lesson and devise a plan. They invite him to Mistress Ford’s
house at a time when Ford will be out bird shooting. Falstaff’s companions, Pistol and
Nym, tell Ford about Falstaff’s intentions and Ford, a naturally jealous man, resolves to
catch his wife out. He disguises himself as a shy man, Master Brook, with a passion for
Mistress Ford, and goes to Falstaff and offers him money to woo her on his behalf. Falstaff
tells him that a meeting has already been arranged, and agrees to Master Brook’s request.
Slender has made friends with a local clergyman, Parson Evans. Slender has fallen for
Page’s daughter, Anne, who is already secretly meeting a young courtier, Fenton, of
whom Page disapproves. Anne’s mother, Mistress Page, is determined that she will marry
the French doctor, Caius. When Caius hears about Slender’s suit he challenges Parson
Evans to a duel. The landlord of the Garter Inn confuses matters by setting different
places for the duel, which results in the antagonists making up their differences.
Falstaff arrives at Mistress Ford’s house, but his wooing is interrupted by Mistress Page’s
announcement that the men are returning. They hide Falstaff in a large laundry basket
and he is carried out. Ford searches the house. Falstaff is tipped out on a muddy
riverbank. The wives, amused by the episode, decide to repeat the incident and invite
Falstaff to come again. He is reluctant but Master Brook persuades him to accept and his
visit is again interrupted by Ford’s return. Ford searches the laundry basket but this time
Falstaff is disguised as the elderly aunt of one of the servants. When Ford finds nothing in
the laundry basket he loses his temper and angrily beats the ‘aunt’ out of the house. The
wives laughingly tell their husbands about the trick, and Page suggests that they should
publicly humiliate Falstaff to stop him from preying on honest wives.
Mistress Ford invites Falstaff to meet her at night in Windsor Park, disguised as Hearne
the Hunter. Parson Evans organises Anne and some children to dress as fairies. Anne
plans to elope with Fenton, while her parents are plotting her kidnapping by Caius and a
secret marriage to him. They all meet in the park and Falstaff is pinched and taunted by
the fairies. Anne escapes and returns as Fenton’s wife, while Caius and Slender both find
that they have eloped with boys. The play ends with the Pages giving their blessing to
Anne’s marriage, and everyone laughing at the evening’s antics and the humiliation of
Falstaff.
Here is a brief The Taming of the Shrew summary:

A wealthy Padua merchant, Baptista, has two daughters. One day Lucentio, a
student, comes to Padua, sees Bianca, the younger sister, and falls madly in
love with her. He has heard, though, that Baptista will not allow Bianca to be
married before her older sister, Katherina – a very forceful character who has
a scornful attitude to men and expresses that without restraint.
The situation regarding Bianca is very complicated, and Lucentio’s entry into
the equation makes things even more complicated. Two local men, Hortensio
and the elderly Gremio are pursuing Bianca, but she doesn’t like either of
them so they have to resort to a range of tactics to try and further their
interest. Gremio hires Lucentio, disguised as a Latin tutor, to woo Bianca on
his behalf. Hortensio poses as a musician to try and get into her company.
While all this is going on, Petruchio, a young friend of Hortensio from Verona,
pays a visit to his friend and hears the story about the feisty Kate. He sees her
as a challenge, which he decides to rise to. Baptista welcomes this as he is fed
up with Kate’s disruptive behaviour, which makes family life difficult. He
accepts Petruchio’s offer of marriage and although Kate opposes it, she
cannot do anything about a father’s right to marry his daughter off.
Petruchio arrives at the church outlandishly dressed and whisks her off to
Verona as soon as the marriage is pronounced. During the journey, Kate
rebels against her husband, but he begins training her to obey him. On arrival
at his house, Petruchio mistreats her and instructs his servants to do the
same. She is denied everything she wants for a civilised life, including food
and sleep. She is not allowed new clothes or any luxury. This treatment wears
her resistance down and eventually, she submits and becomes an obedient
wife.
It is time to visit her father where Petruchio plans to demonstrate his wife’s
obedience.
In the meantime, Hortensio has given up on Bianca and married a widow.
Lucentio and Bianca, having fallen in love, have run off and married secretly.
They return now, while Petruchio and Kate are visiting, and Baptista, relieved
that it’s all turned out better than he thought it would, hosts a party for his
daughters. They all have a good time, and as the men gather together after the
meal Petruchio challenges Lucentio and Hortensio to a competition to see
which of their wives is the most obedient. Each one is to command his wife to
come to him. Bianco and the widow fail to respond, whereas Kate does and,
furthermore, delivers a lecture to the other wives on the duties of a wife.
Here is a short Antony and Cleopatra summary:

After defeating Brutus and Cassius, following the assassination of Julius

Caesar, Mark Antony becomes one of the three rulers of the Roman Empire,
together with Octavius Caesar and Lepidus, and is responsible for the eastern
part of the empire. He falls in love with Cleopatra, the Queen of Egypt, and
settles in Alexandria. However, he is compelled to return to Rome when the
empire is threatened by the rebellion of Sextus Pompey, the son of Pompey,
who had been defeated by Julius Caesar.
As his wife has just died, Antony marries Octavius’ sister, Octavia, in an
attempt to heal the rift between the two emperors. They make peace with
Pompey. When Cleopatra hears about Antony’s marriage she flies into a
jealous rage, but knows that Antony does not love Octavia. Antony goes to
Athens, but when war breaks out between Caesar and Pompey, Antony sends
Octavia back to Rome and returns to Egypt.
Caesar is incensed with Antony’s behaviour and he declares war on both
Antony and Cleopatra. When the Romans arrive Antony is offered a choice of
how to fight, and despite being renowned as the world’s greatest soldier, he
chooses to fight on sea. The Egyptian navy is inadequate and when
Cleopatra’s navy turns and flees, Antony follows them and Caesar defeats
him.
Cleopatra goes to her tomb and sends a message to Antony that she is dead.
Antony is devastated and decides to kill himself. He botches the suicide and
wounds himself without dying. His followers take him to Cleopatra’s tomb,
where he dies in her arms.
Cleopatra’s life is in tatters. Having lost Antony and being at the mercy of
Caesar, she resolves to commit suicide. She has someone bring her some
poisonous snakes and incites them to bite her. Caesar arrives just after her
death and orders that the two lovers be buried together.
Here is a short As You Like It summary:

Orlando, the youngest son of Sir Roland de Boys, is ill-treated by his brother
Oliver. When he responds to the general challenge issued by the Duke’s
wrestler, Charles, Oliver tells Charles to injure Orlando if he can manage it.
The Duke’s daughter, Celia, and her cousin, Rosalind, watch the match and
Rosalind falls in love with Orlando. Orlando wins but the Duke gets angry
when he discovers that Orlando is the son of his old enemy, Sir Roland de
Boys. Rosalind gives Orlando a chain to wear and he falls in love with her.
The Duke unexpectedly banishes Rosalind and she decides to find her father,
the real Duke, who has been overthrown by his brother, Celia’s father,
Frederick. Duke Senior lives in the forest of Arden. Together with the court
jester, Touchstone, the girls set out, disguised as a country boy, Ganymede,
and his sister, Aliena. Coincidentally, Orlando, fearing for his life, has also left
home, accompanied by his father’s servant, Adam.
In the forest, the group from the court encounters a young shepherd, Silvius,
and watch him being rejected by a shepherdess, Phoebe, as he declares his
love for her. They meet an old shepherd, Corin, who is looking for someone to
take over the sheep farm. Ganymede, who wants to settle in the forest, buys
the lease.
Duke Senior, unaware that his daughter is looking for him, is living a simple
life with some courtiers and huntsmen. One of them is the melancholy
Jaques, who reflects constantly on life. Orlando and Adam arrive and the
outlaws welcome them and feed them.
Orlando hangs some love poems that he has written to Rosalind from the
branches of trees. Rosalind and Aliena find them. Ganymede helps him to
cure his lovesickness by wooing him, Ganymede, as though he/she were
Rosalind. A country girl, Audrey, falls in love with Touchstone and abandons
her faithful William because of her love for the fool.
Oliver is searching for his brother. He has an accident and Orlando saves his
life. Orlando is slightly injured and when he tells Ganymede about it she
faints. Oliver and Celia fall in love. Phoebe falls in love with Ganymede. It all
becomes very complicated. Hymen leads a masque; Rosalind re-emerges as a
woman, and her father gives her to Orlando; Phoebe accepts Silvius;
Orlando’s older brother returns from university with the news that Celia’s
father, Frederick, has retired as Duke to become a hermit; Jaques goes to join
him. There is a joyful dance to celebrate the four marriages and the happy
ending.
Here is a short Cardenio summary*:

The Tyrant has usurped King Govianus and attempts to woo away The Lady,
the sweetheart of Govianus. However, she vows loyalty to Govianus. Even
under pressure from her father, Helvetius, to accept the Tyrant, she remains
true to her lover. The Tyrant then imprisons her with Govianus and attempts
to force her to love him. Refusing to give in, she begs Govianus to kill her. He
cannot because of his love for her. She then kills herself. The Tyrant,
determined to have her, even if dead, removes her body from her tomb to
reign as his queen.
Meantime, Anselmus, wishing to test his wife’s fidelity, asks his friend,
Votarius, to attempt to seduce her. But when Votarius rendezvous with
Anselmus’ wife, they fall in love. Worried that Anselmus will discover their
affair, they form a plan. While Anselmus is within earshot, she will pretend to
rebuff the advances of Votarius. To make it realistic she will wave a sword
and perhaps even give Votarius a small wound. When the occasion arises she
wields the sword to rebuff Votarius. A servant has poisoned the tip of the
sword: she grazes Votarius skin, and he dies.
Govianus, in prison, has a vision of the ghost of The Lady. The ghost informs
him of The Tyrant’s morbid preoccupation with her dead body. Govianus
begins to plan his revenge. He is eventually released from prison and he puts
his plan into action. He applies poison to the corpse’s lips then paints her face
to make her appear to have come back to life. When the tyrant sees her, he
says, “O, she lives again!”, kisses her and then dies. The nobles proclaim
Govianus the rightful king.
Here is a short Coriolanus summary:

Rome is in a mutinous mood. The citizens are protesting about their rulers’
incompetence and the shortage of food. A popular senator, Menenius Agrippa,
has just managed to calm them when the arrogant and fiery young general,
Caius Martius, arouses their emotions again by confronting them. He tells
them that tribunes, including Sicinius Velutus and Junius Brutus, have been
appointed to speak on their behalf.
Martius leads the Roman army against the Volscian forces, led by Tullus
Aufidius, which are threatening Rome. Martius defeats the Volscians in their
own city, Corioli, with great personal valour, and is given the title of
‘Coriolanus’. When he returns to Rome the senate elects him to succeed
Cominius as Consul. He accepts the honour but refuses to subject himself to
the endorsement of the common people in the market place. He finally – very
reluctantly – agrees to it, but although he achieves the people’s approval, it is
not a ringing endorsement. Urged on by the tribunes, Sicinius and Brutus,
they reverse their endorsement. Coriolanus shows his contempt for them by
denying their right to corn. His mother, Volumnia, and some senators do
everything they can to smooth matters between him and the people, but they
are unsuccessful. He is expelled from Rome.
Coriolanus goes to to the Volscian city of Antium in disguise and is welcomed
by his former enemy, Aufidius. The Roman tribunes celebrate Coriolanus’
departure until the news arrives that he has joined forces with Aufidius to
challenge the city. All diplomatic attempts to stop him fail until his mother,
his wife, Virgilia, and his young son, approach him. He is unable to resist their
entreaties and agrees to make peace.
Aufidius, filled with a sense of betrayal, kills Coriolanus.
Here is a short Cymbeline summary:

Cymbeline is a late Shakespeare play and he brings some of his most

persistent ideas on to the stage. Appearance and reality in the form of deceit
is strong in this play. There is also a powerful interest for the audience in its
theatrical acts of pursuit and seduction.
Cymbeline is the King of Britain. He marries an unpleasant woman who has
an arrogant son called Cloten. Cymbeline arranges the marriage of his
beautiful daughter, Imogen, to Cloten but she defies him and marries the
poor but worthy Posthumus Leonatus in secret.
Cymbeline banishes Posthumus, who goes to Rome. Imogen gives him a
diamond ring and he gives her a bracelet.
Several plot lines follow, involving disguises, mistaken identity, deceit,
treachery, and poison. The villain of the play is Iachimo, who bets a large sum
of money against Posthumus’ ring that he can seduce Imogen when he goes
to Britain. Arriving there, he realises that she cannot be seduced, but, he hides
in her bedroom, spies on her, and on the basis of what he sees, manufactures
‘evidence’ that convinces Posthumus that he has won the wager.
Posthumus commissions his servant Pisanio to kill Innogen at Milford Haven,
but instead, Pisanio helps her to disguise herself as Fidele, a page, and she
goes to Wales. Cloten pursues her to Wales disguised as Posthumus. He is
determined to rape her and kill Posthumus. Instead, he is killed by one of her
brothers, and his body is laid beside Imogen, who has taken a potion that
makes her appear to be dead.
Posthumus wages war against the Romans and defeats them.
The play has a traditional comic ending. Iachimo confesses to his
misdemeanors, the characters reveal themselves, all the misunderstandings
are resolved and the lovers are reunited.
Here’s a brief Hamlet summary:
Prince Hamlet’s student friend, Horatio, goes to the battlements of Denmark’s
Elsinore castle late at night to meet the guards. They tell him about a ghost they
have seen that resembles the late king, Hamlet. It reappears and they decide to tell
the prince. Hamlet’s uncle, Claudius, having become king, has now married
Hamlet’s widowed mother, Gertrude.
In the court, after envoys are sent to Norway, the prince is dissuaded from
returning to university. Hamlet still mourns his father’s death and hearing of the
ghost from Horatio he determines to see it for himself. Laertes, son of the courtier,
Polonius, departs for France, warning his sister, Ophelia, against thinking too much
of Hamlet’s attentions.
The ghost appears to Hamlet and tells him that he was murdered by Claudius. The
prince swears vengeance and his friends are sworn to secrecy as Hamlet decides to
feign madness while he tests the truth of the ghost’s allegations. He rejects Ophelia,
as Claudius and Polonius spy on him seeking to find a reason for his sudden strange
behaviour. Guildenstern and Rosencrantz, former student friends of Hamlet, are
summoned by Claudius and their arrival coincides with that of a group of travelling
actors. The prince knows these players well and they rehearse together before
arranging to present Hamlet’s choice of play before the king and queen, which will
include scenes close to the circumstances of the old king’s death. At the
performance Hamlet watches closely as Claudius is provoked into interrupting the
play and storming out, resolving to send the prince away to England. Hamlet is
summoned by his distressed mother and, on the way he spares Claudius whom he
sees kneeling, attempting to pray. To kill him while he is praying would send his
soul to heaven rather than to the hell he deserves.
Polonius hides in Gertrude’s room to listen to the conversation, but Hamlet detects
movement as he upbraids his mother. He stabs the concealing tapestry and so kills
the old man. The ghost reappears, warning his son not to delay revenge, nor to
upset his mother.
As the army of Norway’s King Fortinbras crosses Denmark to attack Poland,
Hamlet is sent to England, ostensibly as an ambassador, but he discovers Claudius’s
plan to have him killed. Outwitting this plot Hamlet returns alone, sending
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to their deaths in his stead. During Hamlet’s
absence, Ophelia goes mad as a result of her father’s death and she is drowned.
Hamlet returns and meets Horatio in the graveyard. With the arrival of Ophelia’s
funeral Hamlet confronts Laertes who, after attempting a revolt against Claudius,
has taken his father’s place at the court. A duel is arranged between Hamlet and
Laertes at which Claudius has plotted for Hamlet to die either on a poisoned rapier
or from poisoned wine. The plans go wrong and both Laertes and Hamlet are
wounded, while Gertrude unwittingly drinks from the poisoned cup. Hamlet, in his
death throes, kills Claudius, and Horatio is left to explain the truth to the new king,
Fortinbras, who returns, victorious, from the Polish wars.
Here is a short Henry IV Part 1 summary:

Henry Bolingbroke has usurped his cousin, Richard II, to become King of
England. News comes of a rebellion in Wales, where his cousin, Edmund
Mortimer, has been taken prisoner by Owen Glendower, and in the North,
where Harry Hotspur, the young son of the Earl of Northumberland, is
fighting the Earl of Douglas.
The king’s problems mount up and he is forced to postpone his proposed
participation in a crusade. Moreover, his heir, Henry, known as Hal, shows no
interest in princely matters, and spends all his time in the London taverns
with disreputable companions, particularly one dissolute old knight, Sir John
Falstaff.
Falstaff will do anything to finance his eating and drinking. He carries out a
robbery with two of his friends, but Hal and Poins rob them in turn. Hal
protects Falstaff from the law and returns the money to the victims.
Although Hotspur has been forced to agree to support the king, he joins a plot
with his father and his uncle, Worcester, to support Glendower, Mortimer,
and Douglas against the king.
Hal returns to the court, makes his peace with his father, and is given a
command in the army that is preparing to meet Hotspur. Falstaff has also
been given a command, but he has taken bribes and filled his ranks with
beggars instead of recruiting able men. The King offers to pardon Hotspur if
he will withdraw his opposition. Glendower’s troops and those of
Northumberland have been unable to contact Hotspur, and Worcester
withholds the King’s offer from Hotspur and the battle of Shrewsbury begins.
Falstaff’s conduct in the war is disreputable and behaves in a cowardly way,
while Hal saves his father’s life in combat with the Scotsman, Douglas. He
encounters Hotspur, who is killed. Falstaff, having feigned death to avoid
injury, claims to have fought and killed Hotspur. The king’s army triumphs
over the rebels and Worcester is condemned to death. Hal frees Douglas while
Henry takes his troops to continue the war against Mortimer and the Welsh,
and the remnants of the Northumberland forces.
Here is a short Henry IV Part 2 summary:

King Henry IV has been victorious at the battle of Shrewsbury, but the Earl of
Northumberland hears rumours that his son, Harry Hotspur, has been the
victor. Northumberland and the Archbishop of York decide to oppose the
king’s forces, led by Prince John. The news of Hotspur’s death finally comes
however, and Hotspur’s widow and Lady Northumberland urge them not to
continue with their rebellion.
The Lord Chief Justice criticises Sir John Falstaff for his behaviour during the
wars, but gives his blessing to him in his intention to join Prince John’s forces.
Before Falstaff can leave he is arrested for his debt to Mistress Quickly, the
landlady of the Boar’s Head tavern. They both land up in court where Falstaff
persuades her to patch up their differences. Prince Hal and his friend Poins,
arrive at the tavern, disguised as servants. Acquaintances between Hal and
Falstaff and his companions are renewed. Pistol arrives and tells Falstaff that
he should have departed for the wars by now. Hal and his friends remain, still
dressed as servants, although the king is sick, and worried about the
succession. Falstaff recruits men, conforming to his usual corrupt methods.
York, Mowbray, and Hastings prepare for battle. The Earl of Westmorland
arrives from Prince John to hear their grievances, and they come to a peace
arrangement. As soon as the rebel armies disperse, however, Westmorland
arrests the three leaders for treason.
The king is very ill. Hall arrives from London. He thinks the sleeping king is
dead and he lifts the crown and tries it on. The king wakes up and is angered
by this. They make up and are reconciled before the king prepares himself for
death.
When Falstaff hears of the king’s death and Hal’s succession to the throne as
King Henry V he sets out to attend the coronation, expecting to be given high
office. However, the king denies knowing Falstaff and banishes him,
commanding him to come no nearer than ten miles of his court. The play ends
with Falstaff left hurt and hoping that the king will change his mind, while
King Henry plans a war against France.
Here is a short Henry V summary:

Henry V’s father Bolingbroke (Henry IV) was never able to rule comfortably
because he had usurped Richard II. On his succession King Henry V is
determined to prove his right to rule, including over France. An ambassador
arrives from the French Dauphin with a provocative gift of tennis balls. Henry
responds by preparing to invade France. Three of the king’s friends, Scroop,
Cambridge and Grey, are discovered to be plotting against him and he
condemns them to death. Pistol, Nym, and Bardolph, the companions of
Henry’s dissolute days in London, join the king’s forces and set off for the
wars. The news comes of Sir John Falstaff’s death.
The English take the town of Harfleur and the king moves on towards Calais.
The two armies prepare for battle near Agincourt. The night before the battle
the king visits his troops in disguise. The French numbers are superior but
Henry inspires his troops with a powerful, patriotic speech. The battle begins
and the French are defeated, with heavy losses, whereas the English losses are
light. Henry returns to London in triumph before making peace with the
French king. Henry woos the French Princess Katherine and their marriage
links England and France.
Here is a brief Henry VI Part 1 summary:

The play opens in the aftermath of the death of King Henry V.

News reaches England of military setbacks in France, and the scene shifts to
Orleans, where ‘La Pucelle’ (Joan of Arc) is encouraging the Dauphin to resist.
She defeats an English army led by Talbot.
In England, Richard, Duke of York, quarrels with John Beaufort, 1st Duke of
Somerset about his claim on the throne. The lords select red or white roses,
depending on whether they favour the House of Lancaster or the House of
York. Edmund Mortimer, a leading claimant to the throne, is a prisoner in the
Tower of London and declares Richard his heir. The young Henry VI honours
both Richard and Talbot.
Talbot dies bravely in his next battle against the French. In the meantime,
King Henry is married off to a young French princess, Margaret of Anjou.
Suffolk intends to control the king through Margaret. Ill feeling between him
and the Duke of Gloucester continues to grow.
This play ends without a resolution, and the story is continued in Henry VI
Part 2.
Here is a brief Henry VI Part 2 summary:

This play begins with the marriage of King Henry VI to the young Margaret of
Anjou. William de la Pole, Earl of Suffolk, aims to influence the king through
her. The major obstacle to this plan is the regent of the crown, Humphrey,
Duke of Gloucester, who is very popular with the people. Queen Margaret
vies with his wife, Eleanor, for precedence at court. Eleanor is lured by an
agent of Suffolk into dabbling in necromancy, and then arrested, to the
embarrassment of her husband, Gloucester. Nevertheless, the demon she has
summoned delivers some accurate prophecies concerning the fates of several
characters in the play. Gloucester is then accused of treason and imprisoned,
and afterward assassinated by agents of Suffolk and the Queen.
Meanwhile, Richard, Duke of York, who has a tenuous claim to the throne,
schemes to make himself king.
The Earl of Suffolk is banished for his role in Gloucester’s death and killed by
Walter the pirate, leaving Margaret without her mentor.
Meanwhile, Richard of York has managed to become commander of an army
to suppress a revolt in Ireland. York enlists a former officer, Jack Cade, to lead
a rebellion that threatens the whole kingdom so that he can bring his army
from Ireland into England and seize the throne.
As Cade’s rebels are routed, York, who has brought his army over on the
pretext of protecting the King from Somerset, declares open war on the king,
supported by his sons, Edward (the future King Edward IV) and Richard (the
future King Richard III).
The English nobility now take sides, and the Battle of St Albans ensues. The
Duke of Somerset is killed by the future Richard III. Young Lord Clifford,
whose father has been killed by the Duke of York, vows revenge on the
Yorkists, and allies himself with King Henry’s other supporters.
Here is a brief Henry VI Part 3 summary:

The Earl of Warwick is presiding over a dispute between Richard, Duke of

York, and the reigning King Henry, in the course of which Henry agrees to
make York his heir. The Queen, Margaret, makes it clear that she will not
agree to this, and declares war on the Yorkists, with the assistance of the
young Lord Clifford and other supporters, including her son, Edward, Prince
of Wales.
The Yorkists are defeated at the Battle of Wakefield. Clifford murders York’s
young son, the Earl of Rutland. Margaret and Clifford taunt the duke of York
before killing him. The Earl of Warwick now takes York’s eldest son, Edward
under his wing. At the Battle of Towton, they take revenge on Margaret’s
army, and Clifford is killed. Following the battle, Edward is proclaimed king,
and his two brothers, George and Richard, are created Dukes of Clarence and
Gloucester respectively.
Warwick turns against Edward when he marries Lady Grey, and he changes
sides, joining Queen Margaret and allowing his daughter to marry her son,
the Prince of Wales. The Duke of Clarence goes over to Warwick, marrying his
other daughter, and Edward IV is taken prisoner. He is rescued by his brother
Richard and the faithful Lord Hastings.
King Henry VI has been restored to the throne, and the young Earl of
Richmond (the future King Henry VII) goes into exile in France to escape the
Yorkists. Edward defeats and kills Warwick at the Battle of Barnet. In a
subsequent battle, he kills the Prince of Wales and captures Queen Margaret.
Richard of Gloucester begins his campaign to remove all obstacles in his path
to the throne by murdering King Henry VI, who is a captive in the Tower of
London. Henry prophesies Richard’s career of villainy and his future
notoriety. However, King Edward’s wife has just given birth to a son, the
future King, Edward V of England, and the play ends here.
Here is a brief Henry VIII summary:

Cardinal Wolsey, a close advisor to Henry VIII’s father, Henry VII, has framed
the Duke of Buckingham for treason, who is executed. The Queen, Katherine,
hates Wolsey and he is also hated by the people because of the plot against
Buckingham and the harsh, unfair taxes he is imposing in the King’s name.
The King goes to a party hosted by Wolsely and falls in love with Anne Bullen,
a lady-in-waiting to the Queen.
Henry, married to Katherine for twenty years, decides that the marriage is
not legal because she is the widow of his brother, and it is therefore incest. He
asks Wolsey for his advice. Because of this Wolsey becomes even more hated,
both by Katherine and the people, so he can’t agree to Henry’s solution of a
divorce, but he agrees to put it the Pope, who will send someone to
investigate and make a ruling. Katherine regards the marriage as sacred but
she has to submit to the proceedings.
Wolsey’s enemies are active, and the situation compounded by some bad
luck, he begins to lose the confidence of Henry. Also, Henry sees him as a
stumbling block to the divorce. Wolsey knows that Henry is determined to
marry Anne Bullen so he advises the Pope to postpone a decision. With
Wolsey in disgrace, Henry goes ahead with the divorce and the remarriage
without any regard to the Pope’s opinion. Wolsey then dies, followed soon
after by Katherine.
The new Archbishop of Canterbury has a plot hatched against him by
Wolsey’s secretary, Gardiner, who is tried and executed for treason. Henry
has a daughter, Elizabeth, by Anne Bullen. Cranmer christens her and makes a
speech foretelling a noble rule for Elizabeth, and a glorious period of history
during her reign.
Here is a brief Julius Caesar summary:

The tribunes, Marullus and Flavius, break up a gathering of Roman citizens

who seek to celebrate Julius Caesar’s triumphant return from war. The
victory is marked by public games in which Caesar’s friend, Mark Antony,
takes part. On his way to the arena Caesar is stopped by a stranger who warns
that he should ‘beware the ides of March’ (find out more about the ides of
March).
Fellow senators, Caius Cassius and Marcus Brutus are suspicious of Caesar’s
reactions to the power he holds in the Republic. They fear he will accept
offers to become Emperor. Cassius, a successful general himself, is jealous,
while Brutus has a more balanced view of the political position. Cassius,
Casca, and their allies visit Brutus at night to persuade him of their views, and
they plan Caesar’s death. Brutus is troubled but will not confide in his
devoted wife, Portia.
On the 15th March Caesar is urged not to go to the Senate by his wife,
Calphurnia, who has had dreams that he will be murdered, and she fears the
portents of the overnight storms. He is nevertheless persuaded by flattery to
go, and as petitioners surround him Caesar is stabbed and dies as Brutus
gives the final blow. Against Cassius’s advice Mark Antony is allowed by
Brutus to speak a funeral oration in the market place after Brutus has
addressed the people of Rome to explain the conspirators’ reasons and their
fears for Caesar’s ambition. Brutus calms the crowd, but Antony’s speech stirs
them to riot and the conspirators are forced to flee from the city.
Brutus and Cassius gather an army in Northern Greece and prepare to fight
the forces led by Mark Antony, who has joined with Caesar’s great-nephew,
Octavius, and Lepidus. Away from Rome, Brutus and Cassius are filled with
doubts about the future and they quarrel bitterly over funds for their
soldiers’ pay. They make up the argument and despite the misgivings of
Cassius over the site they prepare to engage Antony’s army at Philippi.
Brutus stoically receives news of his wife’s suicide in Rome, but he sees
Caesar’s ghost as he rests, unable to sleep on the eve of the conflict.
In the battle, the Republicans at first appear to be winning but when his
messenger’s horse seems to be overtaken by the enemy Cassius fears the
worst and gets his servant, Pindarus, to help him to a quick death. Brutus,
finding Cassius’s body, commits suicide as the only honourable action left to
him. Antony, triumphant on the battlefield, praises Brutus as ‘the noblest
Roman of them all’, and orders a formal funeral before he and Octavius return
to rule in Rome.
Here is a brief King John summary:

King John has been betrayed by his nephew, Arthur, who is conducting a
rebellion backed by the French King. The King of France demands that he
surrender his throne but, instead, John sends a force against him under Philip
Faulconbridge. The armies clash at Angiers but there is no decisive victory.
John makes a peace settlement with the French King.
John is, in the meantime, having a problem with the Pope. The Pope has
excommunicated him, and his envoy, Pandulph, orders the French King to
resume hostilities with John. During one of the battles, John captures his
nephew, Arthur. He gives orders for his execution but his chamberlain,
Hubert, disobeys the order. While trying to escape, Arthur falls to his death.
The nobles accuse John of murder, and defect to the French side. John is
forced to hand over his crown to Pandulph, although receives it back, but his
kingdom is now under the Pope’s control.
Pandulph now tries to stop the conflict, but the French won’t co-operate and
the armies meet at Edmundsbury. The nobles don’t trust the French King and
they return to John. The French King comes to terms with John through
Pandulph, but John is not there to see that as he is poisoned by a monk while
staying at Swinstead Abbey. He is succeeded by his son, King Henry III.
Here is a brief King Lear summary, outlining the plot in a five-minute read:

The Earl of Gloucester introduces his illegitimate son, Edmund, to the Earl of Kent at court.
Lear, King of Britain, enters. Now that he is old, Lear has decided to abdicate, retire, and divide
his kingdom between his three daughters. Each will receive a portion of the kingdom according
to how much they love him. Goneril, Duchess of Albany, the oldest, and Regan, Duchess of
Cornwall, the second, both speak eloquently and receive their portion, but Cordelia, the
youngest, can say nothing. Her declaration that she loves him according to a daughter’s duty to
a father enrages him and she is disowned.
One of Cordelia’s suitors, the Duke of Burgundy, rejects her once she is dowerless, but the King
of France understands her declaration and takes her as his wife, while the Earl of Kent is
banished for taking Cordelia’s part against the King. The kingdom is shared between Goneril
and Regan. Lear tells them that he intends to live alternately with each of them.
Meanwhile, Edmund is determined to be recognised as a rightful son of Gloucester and
persuades his father that his legitimate brother, Edgar, is plotting against Gloucester’s life,
using a deceitful device. Edmund warns Edgar that his life is in danger. Edgar flees and
disguises himself as a beggar. Goneril becomes increasingly exasperated by the behaviour of
Lear’s followers, who are disturbing life at Albany’s castle. Kent has returned in disguise and
gains a place as a servant to Lear, supporting the King against Goneril’s ambitious servant,
Oswald. Lear eventually curses Goneril and leaves to move in with Regan.
Edmund acts as a messenger between the sisters and is courted by each in turn. He persuades
Cornwall that Gloucester is an enemy because, through loyalty to his King, Gloucester assists
Lear and his devoted companion, the Fool, when they are turned away by Regan and told to
return to Goneril’s household. Despairing of his daughters and regretting his rejection of
Cordelia, Lear goes out into the wilderness during a fierce storm. He goes mad. Gloucester takes
them into a hut for shelter and seeks the aid of Kent to get them away to the coast, where
Cordelia has landed with a French army to fight for her father against her sisters and their
husbands.
Edgar, pretending to be mad, has also taken refuge in the shelter and the Fool, the mad king and
the beggar are companions until Edgar finds his father wandering and in pain. Gloucester has
been blinded by Regan and Cornwall for his traitorous act in helping Lear. Cornwall has been
killed by a servant after blinding Gloucester, but Regan continues to rule with Edmund’s help.
Not recognised by his father, Edgar leads him to the coast and helps him during the journey, to
come to an acceptance of his life. Gloucester meets the mad Lear on Dover beach, near
Cordelia’s camp and, with Kent’s aid, Lear is rescued and reunited with Cordelia. Gloucester,
although reconciled with Edgar, dies alone.
The French forces are defeated by Albany’s army led by Edmund, and Lear and Cordelia are
captured. Goneril has poisoned Regan in jealous rivalry for Edmund’s attention, but Edgar,
disguised now as a loyal knight, challenges Edmund to a duel and wounds him mortally. Seeing
no way out, Goneril kills herself. The dying Edmund confesses his crimes, but it is too late to
save Cordelia from the hangman. Lear’s heart breaks as he carries the body of his beloved
daughter in his arms, and Albany and Edgar are left to re-organise the kingdom.
Here is a short Love’s Labour’s Lost summary:

King Ferdinand, King of Navarre, decides to have a three year period of study
and contemplation at his court. To avoid distraction he imposes a ban on
women, who will not be allowed within a mile of the court. One of the
courtiers, Berowne, has reservations about the ban on women. He reminds
the King that he has an ambassadorial meeting on that very day with the
Princess of France. As they prepare to meet the Princess the King sends his
court fool, Costard, to Don Armado to be punished, for breaking the rules by
dallying with a country girl, Jacquenetta.
The Princess, refused entry to the court, is insulted by the ban, and in protest,
she and her entourage camp in tents in front of the court. They begin plotting
ways of taking revenge. In the meantime, Don Armado, himself in love with
Jacquenetta, lets Costard off his punishment in return for Costard delivering
a love letter to her. Before he can deliver it he is approached by Berowne, who
asks him to take a letter to Rosaline. Some comic action is set up when
Costard gets the letters mixed up.
The courtiers are all in love with various women in the embassy, including
Ferdinand, who is in love with the Princess. They pay a visit to the women’s
camp in disguises but the women, in turn, greet them, also in disguise. There
is great confusion and as the men return to the court the women make fun of
them.
Having all broken the rules, including Ferdinand himself, they decide to stop
the silly game. Just as they are all sitting down to a pageant, news comes that
the King of France has died, so the Princess has to leave immediately. She
tells Ferdinand that if he spends a full year in solitude in a hermitage, in
penance for being an oath-breaker, she will consider his marriage proposal.
The other women in the embassy tell their respective suitors that if they also
do that penance, they will return in a year and decide whether their lovers
have been faithful, before agreeing to marry them.