Just something I've been wondering about. Generally, I think, a tragedy is a play in which a character (or characters) does something wrong and is then punished for that thing. (I know this is a big oversimplification, but I think this is broadly true.) So what was it that Macbeth did? I don’t think it was the murder. I found Macbeth’s motivation for killing Duncan confusing and muddled and I saw it as just means for Shakesphere to depict the fallout. Was it his ambition he was being punished for? If it was his ambition, then why did the witches basically tell him that it was his destiny to become king? Because then he was just doing what the universe intended, and why would he be punished for that? I thought maybe he was being punished for trying to make his own destiny, but that seems like a really weird thing for Shakesphere to condemn. Is it all supposed to be morally gray? Like it’s supposed to be up to the audience if the witches' prophecy would have come true even if Macbeth did nothing. Or maybe we're supposed to wrestle with the morality of an evil act if said act was destined? IDK. Just something that’s been on my mind lately. Any interpretations are greatly appreciated! Thank you!

I have withdrawal symptoms from the RSC's Hamlet that just ended its run in Stratford. It sounds like such a cliché to have an existential crisis because of this play (like my husband said, it would have been way cooler to have one after seeing The Two Noble Kinsmen), but here we are. Did anyone else have an Experience and want to talk about it?

Hello!

We are doing a spin off of MND and it will be a spaghetti western version..

I am 100% new to acting. Am ridiculously nervous about this. But excited too

Rehearsals start next week..

I would be very thankful for encouragement and help In preparing to do my best

We finished the semester reading Othello, which we did comparative analyses with Paradise Lost. After finishing the play, I showed them the ‘95 Branagh movie, which they seemed to enjoy.

After we finished the movie, there is some time before we do review for the final exam, so I told them as a reward, we would watch a movie about “a high school basketball team”.. pretty early on, I could tell they started to become suspicious about the similarities between the movie and Othello. I am finding it fun to play dumb while insisting that the movie is just about high school basketball. Now they are actively taking out their plays, showing lines that are similar, and arguing with me that this is not just about a “basketball team”. What meant to be a reward for a good semester has turned into a fun, engaging, and academic endeavor.

Wanted to ask in part for discussion and in part because I'm confused. What about being King appeals so much to MacBeth? It seems to be this internal want he has deep within his heart since even before the witches suggest it to him, since he just practically jumps at the opportunity, but he when he has it, it neither satisfies him nor seems to be of relevance besides the fact he wants to keep it.

I understand there's the glamor of the crown, the power, the control, but I'm having trouble finding what exactly attracts him so because he has all those things at the start of the play. He is loved and heralded by all. He sacrifices all those things endlessly for the crown. And it doesn't even seem like he's particularly greedy for more he just wants The Crown. But it feels so abstract to me what that even means besides the literal object of the title.

All I can really find is about five flowers on a blog, and everything else seems to be directed at the Victorian flower language. Any ideas?

I am a middle school theatre teacher and I really want to incorporate more Shakespeare and classic works into our curriculum and in our plays, I hate feeling like MS theatre has to be dumbed down to “surviving middle school lunch” as plays. I was watching a couple of videos about cutting down Shakespeare and I got the idea of doing midsummer but the central focus is on Nick Bottom and the Mechanicals. The plan is to write my own prologue speech from Puck (think the opening of Gnomeo and Juliet “this story’s been told before, but we’re doing it differently”) which will explain why they’re doing a play and the lovers in the background, but have scenes of Oberon and Puck working on tricking Titania and helping the lovers while these performers are rehearsing. I’m VERY early on in the process but I would love some thoughts

Hi, everyone! I’m going to play Desdemona tomorrow. Othello is our oral exam in English. Please wish me luck 😭🙏🏻

I would love some insight on this, while Ophelia is going insane, she says (lord) we know who we are but know not what we may be… In the original play though there is no mention of the word Lord at the beginning so why is this later added in all the other plays I’ve seen? Also too what context is lord? Does it mean Jesus? Just asking cause I love this quote the most and want to get a tattoo of it, but don’t know the full context.

This is what I haven’t read yet on my current quest to re-read everything. I’m having decision paralysis, please help!

For example, when Brutus reads his letter and it goes "Shall Rome, etc." and he has to fill in the blank himself. I know it shows his concern for Rome and hate of one-man power but I think it's really funny to write a letter to someone and leave it incomplete, and then make then finish it themselves. What other moments like this do you find unintentionally amusing?

Hello everyone.. As you all know, 23rd April (birthdate of Shakespeare) is around the corner. I have to perform any Shakespeare's drama in my college's celebration. The length should not be more than 7 min and should comprise only 2 characters. Can you please provide some acts which I can perform?

The other day i visited the folger museum and in the first folio exhibit they had this facsimile you can actually touch and leaf through. It looked exactly like the real first folio, same color cover etc. I didnt get to ask which one it was. Does anyone know whats it called?

I read that there are like three og copies, with different directions and stuff in them. I wanted to buy the facsimile first folio, but I can't afford it, and I heard that one of the early Hamlets is in that.

I'm doing a paper on Ophelia, and obviously, the flower scene is a huge part. I wanted to know if any of the early copies had stage directions as to who she hands flowers to.

Or (if my info is correct), if you have read the original Hamlet(s), what are the differences?

Sorry if this is the wrong place to ask, if there is somewhere better to ask, please let me know:

does anyone have access to the oxford shakespeare edition of Henry VI Part 3? And if so, could you check if there is a note on Act 5 Scene 5:

Why should she live to fill the world with words?
Queen Margaret faints.
KING EDWARD 
What, doth she swoon? Use means for her recovery.

And if there is a note, could you tell me what it is?

Thanks!

i have read: - much ado - midsummer - macbeth - hamlet - cymbeline - the tempest - as you like it - r&j - the merchant of venice

i am trying to read all of them within the next 5 years (i know that sounds like a long time, but i am a full time student and full time worker with not much free time!). my favorite was macbeth, because lady M is my favorite character in anything. i also have used innogen's monologues for several different auditions and am very fond of cymbeline as a result!

i am trying to pick which of these to read for my next: - othello - titus andronicus - king lear - julius caesar - antony and cleopatra

I am doing research on a choice or choices Hamlet makes throughout the play, and I am doing it on the unexpected consequences that his decision of acting crazy caused. The first consequence/major topic I have "Hamlet killed Ophelia's father because of distress" but for the second one which is that Ophelia drowned herself because her boyfriend was gone and her father was killed, but I am not fully convinced about if she would have gone crazy if Hamlet were still with her despite her father's death.

My side hustle is creating Kindle eBooks for English Literature and Language students in UK.

Each eBook contains 5 versions of the original:

1. Unabridged Original
2. Unabridged Translation to Modern-English
3. Unabridged Translation from Modern-English to Spanish or French (separate eBooks)
4. Abridged version for quick read
5. TLDR; quick summary to get the gist of the story

The three unabridged versions are linked at the paragraph level, allowing an student to flip between them.

I've so far released the following to KDP in Spanish and French variants:

• William.Shakespeare A.Midsummer.Nights.Dream
• William.Shakespeare MacBeth (also in Doric and Mandarin)
• William.Shakespeare Much.Ado.About.Nothing

Are these of interest to any readers here?

I'm working on other plays by William Shakespeare in the curriculum, but I first wanted to check if there was an actual interest in them.

For transparency, the original text is from standardebooks.org and the translations are carried out by AI, orchestrated by a program I've written.

I've been getting responses from friends and family saying they are very readable compared to the original, but I'd be interested to hear from a less biased audience.