There is no doubt that Mr Shakespeare is the greatest writer of modern English to date - his plays have been made into movies, his sonnets have appeared in books and music, and his works translated in to hundreds of different languages. His contribution to the English language is probably larger than that of anyone else. If you have not read all of the plays below, you should certainly try - I definitely will be [JFrater].
10 Othello, The Moor of Venice
This tragedy is believed to have been written in approximately 1603. The work revolves around four central characters: Othello, his wife Desdemona, his lieutenant Cassio and his trusted advisor Iago. Attesting to its enduring popularity, the play appeared in seven editions between 1622 and 1705. Because of its varied themes — racism, love, jealousy and betrayal — it remains relevant to the present day and is often performed in professional and community theatres alike. The play has also been the basis for numerous operatic, film and literary adaptations.
9 The Taming of the Shrew
This comedy is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1594. The play begins with a framing device in which a drunkard is deceived into thinking he is a nobleman who then watches the “play” itself, which depicts a nobleman, Petruchio, who marries an outspoken, intelligent and bad-tempered shrew named Katherine. Petruchio manipulates and “tames” her until she is obedient to his will. The main subplot features the courting of Katherine’s more conventional sister Bianca by numerous suitors. The content has become the subject of considerable controversy. The play has been adapted numerous times for opera, stage, screen and musical theatre.
8 Twelfth Night or What You Will
This play is named after the Twelfth Night holiday of the Christmas season. It was written around 1601 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. Like many of Shakespeare’s comedies, this one centers on mistaken identity. The leading character, Viola, is shipwrecked on the shores of Illyria during the opening scenes. She loses contact with her twin brother, Sebastian, whom she believes dead. Posing as a man and masquerading as a young page under the name Cesario, she enters the service of Duke Orsino. Orsino is in love with the bereaved Lady Olivia, whose brother has recently died and decides to use “Cesario” as an intermediary. Olivia, believing Viola to be a man, falls in love with this handsome and eloquent messenger. Viola, in turn, has fallen in love with the Duke, who also believes Viola is a man and who regards her as his confidant.
This tragedy is believed to have been written in 1599. It portrays the conspiracy against the Roman dictator of the same name, his assassination and its aftermath. It is one of several Roman plays that Shakespeare wrote, based on true events from Roman history, which also include “Coriolanus” and “Anthony and Cleopatra.” Although the title of the play is “Julius Caesar,” Caesar is not the central character in its action; he appears in only three scenes and is killed at the beginning of the third act. The protagonist of the play is Marcus Brutus and the central psychological drama is his struggle between the conflicting demands of honor, patriotism and friendship. The play reflected the general anxiety of England over succession of leadership. At the time of its creation and first performance, Queen Elizabeth, a strong ruler, was elderly and had refused to name a successor, leading to worries that a civil war similar to that of Rome might break out after her death.
The play is an unflattering depiction of the short reign of Richard III of England and is believed to have been written in approximately 1591. The play is sometimes classified as a tragedy (as in the earliest quarto); but it more correctly belongs to the histories, as classified in the First Folio. It picks up the story from Henry VI, Part III and concludes the historical series that stretches back to Richard II. After Hamlet it is Shakespeare’s second longest play and is the longest of the First Folio, whose version of Hamlet is shorter than the Quarto version. The length is generally seen as a drawback, for which reason it is rarely performed unabridged. It is often shortened by cutting peripheral characters.
This is among the best-known of Shakespeare’s plays and is his shortest tragedy, believed to have been written between 1603 and 1606. It is frequently performed at both amateur and professional levels and has been adapted for opera, film, books, stage and screen. Often regarded as archetypal, the play tells of the dangers of the lust for power and the betrayal of friends. For the plot Shakespeare drew loosely on the historical account of “King Macbeth of Scotland” by Raphael Holinshed and that by the Scottish philosopher Hector Boece. There are many superstitions centred on the belief the play is somehow “cursed” and many actors will not mention the name of the play aloud, referring to it instead as “The Scottish Play.”
4 Midsummer Night’s Dream
This romantic comedy was written sometime in the 1590’s and portrays the adventures of four young Athenian lovers; a group of amateur actors; their interactions with the Duke and Duchess of Athens, Theseus and Hippolyta; and with the fairies who inhabit a moonlit forest. The play is one of Shakespeare’s most popular works for the stage and is widely performed across the world.
Believed to be written in 1599, it’s based on the life of King Henry V of England and focuses on events immediately before and after the Battle of Agincourt during the Hundred Year’s War. The play is the final part of a tetralogy, preceded by “Richard II,” “Henry IV, Part 1″ and “Henry IV, Part 2.” The original audiences would thus have already been familiar with the title character, who was depicted in the “Henry IV” plays as a wild, undisciplined lad known as “Prince Hal.” In “Henry V,” the young prince has become a mature man and embarks on an attempted conquest of France.
This play is an early tragedy (and likely Shakespeare’s first) about two teenage “star-cross’d lovers” whose “untimely deaths” ultimately unite their feuding households. The play has been highly praised by literary critics for its language and dramatic effect. It was among Shakespeare’s most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with “Hamlet” is one of his most frequently performed plays. Its influence is still seen today, with the two main characters being widely represented as archetypal young lovers. This is the singularly greatest romance ever written and has been continuously adapted to each generation in musicals, cinema and the theatre.
Written between 1599 and 1601, this play is set in Denmark and recounts how Prince Hamlet exacts revenge on his uncle Claudius, who murdered the King, takes the throne and marries Hamlet’s mother. The play vividly charts the course of real and feigned madness — from overwhelming grief to seething rage — and explores themes of treachery, revenge, incest and moral corruption. “Hamlet” is Shakespeare’s longest play and among the most powerful and influential tragedies in the English language. During his lifetime the play was one of Shakespeare’s most popular works and it still ranks high among his most-performed, topping, for example, the Royal Shakespeare Company’s list since 1879. It has inspired writers from Goethe and Dickens to Joyce and Murdoch and has been described as “the world’s most filmed story after ‘Cinderella.’” The title role was almost certainly created for Richard Burbage, the leading tragedian of Shakespeare’s time. It’s arguably the greatest drama ever written and in the four hundred years since, it has been played by the greatest actors and sometimes actresses, of each successive age.
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Contributor: Heroajax
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莎士比亚最伟大的十部剧作 【Top List】
毫无疑问，莎士比亚先生是迄今为止，英国现代文学史上最伟大的作家——他的作品被改编为多部电影，他的十四行诗多次在一些书籍和乐曲中出现，而他的作品，则被译为数百种不同国家的语言。或许可以这样说，他对于英国文学的巨大贡献，其他任何人都无法与之比拟。如果以下所列这些剧作你没有全部看过，那么你确实应当把它们都通读一遍——如果是我的话，我一定会这样做的[JFrater]。
10 奥瑟罗，威尼斯的摩尔人
人们普遍地认为，这部悲剧大概创作于1603年。剧情的发展，是围绕四个重要角色展开的：奥瑟罗、他的妻子苔丝德梦娜、他的副将凯西奥、他所信任的谋士埃古。这部剧作于1622年至1705年间，曾被再版了七次，这也就印证了此剧在观众中的影响力经久不衰。由于这部剧作的主题多样——包括种族歧视、爱情、嫉妒、背叛——因此，即使是当今，这部剧作的内容，也与我们今天的社会生活有着许多相通之处，也正因为如此，这部作品常常被搬上职业剧场，还有社区剧院的舞台。并且，众多的歌剧、电影、其他形式的文学作品，也常常以这部剧作为基础，改编成多种版本。
9 驯悍记
这部喜剧，被认为是创作于1590至1594年间。这部剧的序幕，写的是一个醉汉，被人欺骗，误以为自己是个贵族，随后，他观看了这一戏剧表演，剧中描述了一个贵族，披特鲁乔，他娶了一个名叫凯萨琳娜的悍妇，这个女子言谈爽直，聪明伶俐，但却脾气很坏。披特鲁乔手段巧妙地应付，并且最终“驯服”了她，使她对自己言听计从。小说中的次要情节，主要写的是众多的求婚者，围着凯萨琳娜的妹妹，温柔贤淑的琵央加大献殷勤的情景。这部剧的内容，引起了相当大的争议。剧作多次被改编为歌剧、舞台剧、电影、音乐剧。
8 第十二夜，或你的愿望是什么
这部剧作的命名，取自于圣诞节期间，主显节前夜过后。写作于1601年左右，于1623年首次出版发行了《第一对开本》。正如莎士比亚的许多喜剧一样，这部剧作的情节，是围绕着认错了人而展开的。在第一幕中，主要角色，薇娥拉，由于她乘坐的船只在海中失事，因而在伊利里亚的海岸登陆。她与孪生哥哥瑟巴士显断了联系，因此，她认为自己的哥哥已经在海难中死了。她女扮男装为一个年轻的侍从，用了一个假名叫西萨里奥，成为了鄂西诺公爵的随侍。鄂西诺爱上了一个处于服丧期的女士奥丽薇霞，她的哥哥不久前去世了，因此，鄂西诺让“西萨里奥”在奥丽薇霞面前为自己穿针引线。奥丽薇霞，以为薇娥拉是个男子，爱上了这个俊美善辩的公爵信使。而薇娥拉，也在这一过程中，爱上了公爵，但公爵本人则以为薇娥拉是个少年，将她作为自己的心腹知己。
7 裘力斯·凯撒
这部悲剧，被认为创作于1599年。这部剧作描绘的是，为了反对同名的罗马独裁者而实施的阴谋，记述了对他的暗杀行动，以及这次暗杀所造成的后果。在莎士比亚有关罗马的几部戏剧中，这一部剧作，和《科利奥兰纳斯》，以及《安东尼与克莉奥佩屈拉》两部剧作一样，都取材于真实的罗马历史事件。虽然这部剧以《裘力斯·凯撒》命名，但在剧作中，凯撒并非是主要角色；他只在三场戏中，正面出场过，并且于第三幕的开始就被杀死了。剧中的主角是玛格斯·勃鲁脱斯，而剧中主要的心理冲突，则表现为，他在荣誉、爱国心，以及友谊之间进行选择的时候，所做的思想斗争。这部剧作反映了英国社会对于王权承袭的普遍焦虑。这部戏剧的创作以及首演的时候，极富魄力的统治者，伊丽莎白女王，已经上了年纪，并且，她不愿指定一名继承者，因此，人们普遍担心，正如罗马一样，在她死后，或者同样会爆发一场内战。
6 理查三世
这部剧作，以绝不奉迎的方式，描绘了英国理查三世的短暂执政时期，大约创作于1591年。在早期的四开本版本的时候，这部剧被归为悲剧类；但是正如它在作为《第一对开本》出版的时候，被列为历史剧那样，确切地说，它应当属于一部历史剧。本剧的故事，与《亨利六世》的内容相衔接，作为这一系列历史剧的第三部、及终结篇，最终又将故事回溯到《理查二世》。这部剧，是继《哈姆雷特》之后，莎士比亚第二部篇幅最长的作品，并且，也是《第一对开本》中篇幅最长的一部作品，因为在这一版本中，《哈姆雷特》比四开本的版本要短一些。由于这么长的篇幅一直被视为一个缺点，因此，这部剧在演出的时候，很少用未删节的完整版。通常，人们会删除一些次要人物，来压缩剧本情节。
5 麦科佩斯
这是莎士比亚最著名的剧作之一，也是他最短的一部悲剧作品，创作时间为1603至1606年间。无论是业余剧团，还是职业剧团，都会将这部剧作为常演剧目，它被改编为歌剧、电影、书籍、被搬上舞台、银屏。这部剧常常被人们作为原型加以引用，剧情讲述的是，对于权力的欲望，以及朋友间的背叛，对人们来说是十分危险的。这部剧的阴谋情节，莎士比亚只是信手取自苏格兰哲学家赫克托·伯依斯的历史剧《苏格兰国王麦克白》，以及拉法埃尔·贺林歇德的观点。关于这部剧，有很多迷信，集中为，人们相信，这部剧似乎受到了“诅咒”，而演员在谈起这部剧的时候，也是小声低语，将它称作“那部苏格兰的戏剧”。
4 仲夏夜之梦
这部浪漫色彩的喜剧，大约创作于1590年，写的是四个坠入爱河的年轻雅典人，还有一群业余演员；他们同雅典的公爵提修斯、公爵夫人喜坡丽妲，以及居住在月光下森林里的一群仙子之间，所互相影响、彼此发生的冒险故事。这是莎士比亚最流行的舞台剧作之一，演出于世界各地。
3 亨利五世
这部剧被认为是创作于1599年，取材于英国国王亨利五世的生平，故事集中发生于英法百年战争期间，阿金库尔战役的前后。这部作品，作为四部曲的终篇，列在《理查二世》、《亨利四世，第一部》、《亨利四世，第二部》之后。看过前三部的观众，对本剧中的主要角色，即与作品同名的主角，都已经相当熟悉了，这位主角，在《亨利四世》一剧中，作为“亨利五子”，被描绘成一个任性的、缺乏教养的少年。在《亨利五世》中，这位年轻的王子，成长为一个男子汉，试图征服法兰西。
2 罗密欧与朱丽叶
这是莎士比亚早期的一部悲剧作品（或者是他的第一部悲剧作品），内容是关于两个十几岁的“被灾星笼罩着的恋人”，他们“过早的死亡”，最终使两个敌对的家庭摒弃了前嫌。许多文学批评家们，都对这部剧的语言和戏剧效果给予了极高的赞扬。在莎士比亚的一生之中，这部剧是他最受欢迎的剧作之一，和《哈姆雷特》一样，是最常被搬上舞台的戏剧之一。直到今天，这部戏剧依然具有它的影响力，两个主要角色，总是被广泛地用于描绘年轻的恋人们。这是文学史上罕有的伟大浪漫作品，一代又一代的人们，不断地将它改编为音乐剧、影片，及戏剧。
1 哈姆雷特
这部剧作，创作于1599至1601年间，故事情节设定在丹麦，讲述了哈姆雷特王子，是如何对他的叔父克劳迪斯进行复仇的，后者谋杀了国王，篡夺了王位，娶了哈姆雷特的母亲。剧作栩栩如生地展示了复仇的真实过程，以及伪装的疯狂——从无法压抑的悲痛，发展到沸腾而起的愤怒——也探讨了背叛、复仇、乱伦、还有道德的沦丧这些主题。《哈姆雷特》是莎士比亚篇幅最长的剧作，在英国文学史上，是最有力度，最有影响力的悲剧之一。在莎士比亚的一生中，这部剧作是他最受大众喜爱的一部，至今，它仍然是莎士比亚最常被出演的一流作品之一，例如，自从1879年始，“皇家莎士比亚公司”所列出的剧目名单中，就一直将这部作品视为演出次数最多，也最杰出的作品之一。这部剧作曾激发一些作家的创作灵感，从歌德、狄更斯，直到乔伊斯、默多克，都曾受过它的启发，而，人们将之描述为“是自灰姑娘‘辛迪瑞拉’的故事之后，被世界各地搬上银幕次数最多的作品”。这一剧名角色，几乎是为理查德·伯比奇量身定做的，后者为莎士比亚时期，最杰出的悲剧演员。事实证明，这是文学史上最伟大的一部剧作，自从四百年前，它被创作出来以后，一代接着一代，最伟大的男演员、女演员们，一直在演出着这部作品。
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供稿人: Heroajax
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