William Shakespeare 1564 - 1616

English poet, playwright, and actor. World greatest writer and dramatist. Referred to as the national poet of England.

Shakespeare lived during the Renaissance, when arts, culture and though were flourishing. In this age, ideas on God and the universe were shifting.

Queen Elizabeth I encouraged literary and dramatic achievement.

Shakespeare invented (coined) dozens of new words. Examples: Addiction: Othello, Act II, Scene II Assassination: Macbeth, Act I, Scene VII Belongings: Measure for Measure, Act I, scene I.

He wrote about 38 plays. 154 sonnets. His plays were translated into major languages and performed.

Most of Shakespeare work was produced between 1589 and 1613. His early plays were mainly comedies and histories, which are considered the best works in these genres.

Shakespeare afterwards wrote primarily tragedies until 1608 Shakespeare afterwards wrote primarily tragedies until 1608. Such include Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth. These plays are considered the finest works in English.

In the final stages of his writing, he wrote tragicomodies, which is a feature of the Elizabethan era.

What do we mean by play?

A play is a literary form written by a playwright A play is a literary form written by a playwright. It usually consist of dialogues between the characters and is intended to be performed rather than just reading.

What do we mean by a tragedy?

Tragedy is a form of drama which is based on human suffering Tragedy is a form of drama which is based on human suffering. The heroic individual encounters terrible events.

What is a tragicomedy?

A tragicomedy is a literary work containing both tragedy and comedy.

The characters in tragicomedy are exaggerated. There may be a happy ending after unfortunate events. It includes jokes to lighten the tone.

The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice is one of the most popular tragicomedy examples.

The play has a comic structure The play has a comic structure. However, there are tragic characters like Shylock (a central character). There are tragic events like Antonio’s “loss” of life (he did not really die).

The play ends happily with the union of the lovers.

The feeling and mood of the play at the end is neither happy nor gloomy. This play has definitely a comic structure. However, it has a strong tragic story.