William Shakespeare
1564–1616
Nationality: English
Historical Period: The Early Modern Period
William Shakespeare (1564-1616) is probably the best known poet and playwright of the English language. He is considered by many to be the greatest poet and dramatist of all time. The plays he wrote nearly four hundred years ago for a small theater in London are now performed in more countries and more often than those of any other playwright.
See the Liberty Matters online discussion on The Corrupting Influence of Power in Shakespeare’s Plays
Quotes from William Shakespeare:
- William Shakespeare on the powerful ruler who doesn’t hurt
- William Shakespeare on sweet love remembered
- William Shakespeare on the Duke of Burgundy asks the Kings of France and England why “gentle peace” should not be allowed to return France to its former prosperity
- William Shakespeare has King Henry IV reflect on the reasons for invading the Holy Land
- William Shakespeare in Pericles on how the rich and powerful are like whales who eat up the harding working “little fish”
- In Measure for Measure, William Shakespeare has Isabella denounce the Duke’s deputy for being corrupted by power
- In Shakespeare’s The Tempest, Caliban complains about the way the European lord Prospero taught him language and science then enslaved him and dispossessed him of the island on which he was born
- In Shakespeare’s Henry V, the king is too easily persuaded by his advisors that the English economy will continue to function smoothly, like obedient little honey-bees in their hive, while he is away with his armies conquering France
- In Shakespeare’s Henry V the soldier Williams confronts the king by saying that “few die well that die in a battle” and that “a heavy reckoning” awaits the king that led them to it
- William Shakespeare farewells his lover in a Sonnet using many mercantile and legal metaphors
Titles from William Shakespeare:
- Author: The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (The Oxford Shakespeare)
- Author: Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies (facs. 1st Folio 1623)
- Author: Shakespeares Sonnets (facs. ed. 1609 )
- Author: Shakespeare’s Sonnets And A Lover’s Complaint
- Author: Twenty-Five Sonnets of Shakespeare