Which Shakespeare play?

Question

Which shakespeare play do you like best? I am currently reading King Lear and sort of dislike it... shameful, I know. Anyway, I've already read comedy of errors, midsummer night's dream, romeo and juliet, and loved them all. so don't recommend those, plz.

Answer 1

Much Ado about Nothing is a great play. It actually has the aspects of both a comedy and a tragedy. If you have already read Romeo and Juliet you will see some similarities.

King Lear is not one of my favorite either.

Answer 2

Midsummer Night's Dream

Answer 3

Well... "Midsummer" is probably the play I have the most FUN with, but you've already discovered it. So I'll have to say Macbeth, with Richard III and Hamlet close behind. And Julius Caesar, and The Taming of the Shrew, and The Tempest, and even parts of Titus Andronicus (how can you NOT love a revenge play that involves feeding the evil queen a pie made out of the bodies of her own children?). And Henry V, and...

Lear can be hard to read, but great to watch (well, ALL the plays are better to see than to read, but Lear especially so). You can find a good rendition of Lear done by the BBC in the '70s, with Sir Laurence Olivier in the title role; it helps to see the people in the roles (I *always* spend at least 20% of my time trying to remember which one is Edmund and which is Edgar when I read Lear...)

The thing about Macbeth, though, is that it's a GREAT story -- I used it to introduce my son to Shakespeare, telling him scenes as bedtime stories (why, yes, we ARE twisted, and how are you?) And it's a fantastic play to see in person, as it's got everything -- witches, battles, swordfights, murder, beheading, walking forests, a man from his mother's womb untimely rip't, a floating dagger, regicide, a couple of ghosts, and a whole mess of Scotsmen in kilts. I mean, it just doesn't GET any better than Macbeth. It'd be a great one to read next. (And when you're done with that, you might enjoy Kurosawa's retelling of the story in feudal Japan, under the title "Throne of Blood." Typical Kurosawa brilliance, with the incomparable Toshiro Mifune in the Macbeth role.)

And for all that... Richard III has Shakespeare's greatest villain; Henry V has his most stirring speeches; Hamlet has the highest concentration of "Oh, THAT'S where that saying comes from!" of any piece of English literature (yes, including Paradise Lost); The Taming of the Shrew has the greatest badinage (technically, stychomathia, but who's counting?); Caesar has BRILLIANT micro-to-macro structure (Acts I, II and III start out with someone observing that the Universe is out of kilter in some fundamental way, and then they kill Caesar)... You can't go wrong with ANY of them.

On the other hand, don't try Troilus and Cressida or Measure for Measure next. You'll wish they really HAD been written by Bacon, so you could fry him. (Sorry.)

The Web site in the Sources field has all the plays on line, if you want to browse them. But get thee to a Shakespeare Festival, and see them in person, live and on stage. There's something truly magical about seeing Shakespeare live, by people who know what they're doing -- it all makes sense, it flows, and it is so vital and powerful and dynamic. I've included the link to the home page for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, one of the most respected in North America, and located in one of my favorite small cities in the world, Ashland, Oregon, in the Siskiyou foothills. Worth a trip.

Answer 4

-Tragedies: Othello - King Lear - Hamlet - Macbeth - Romeo and Juliet. -Histories: Henry V. -Comedies: The Taming of the Shrew -and- As You Like It. Did you know that Italian writer Luigi de Porto wrote the Story "Romeo and Juliet"? William Shakespeare was so inspired by it, and by a real event of a 16 year old couple in his times, that he wrote The Play, and with it The Majority of the Characters, situations, twists, and of course, a masterfully written drama. That was pure inspiration.

Answer 5

to offer something slightly off the beaten track, I very much like
"Measure for Measure"

I found it a fascinating and immediately accessible play, having first seen it in performance in the BBC Shakespeare series, without having previously read it.
There was also an excellent later version with Tom Wilkinson -
and I have just discovered there is about to be a new film version. (see sources)

It perhaps retains more interest for modern audiences than some of Shakespeare's other plays due to its mix of dramatic and comic elements and concern with a variety of issues, including sexuality, religion, ethics and politics.

Highly recommended for viewing and reading.

Answer 6

Yaa, grab Othello and figure out more of the brilliantly deployed triangles eg only 3 people die, action takes place in 3 places venice to cyprus and back., only 3 women we meet in the play,Desdemona's admirers are 3, 3 days and everything's over etc
You may want to know figure out also why is called the the demon with three two horns. See the demon in her name!!!
Shakespeare's best structured play!
Good reading!

Answer 7

Since this is an open-ended kind of question, I would recommend "Othello". The works mentioned that you say you love, I also love. And I also didn't like King Lear. So, since our tastes seem relatively close, I would think that you would also like "Othello", since I love it.

Answer 8

i stil have to read shakespeare. but my sister likes midsummer nights dream the best!! (iz funny, comedy an easy to understand ;)

Answer 9

I would have to say that 'Much Ado about Nothing', 'Titus Andronicus', and 'Measure for Measure' are my personal favorites.

Answer 10

Hamlet has always been my favorite. I hated Macbeth.