Major Works of William Shakespeare

Why This Matters

Shakespeare's plays aren't just literary masterpieces. They're primary sources for understanding Early Modern European thought. When you encounter these works on an exam, you're being tested on how Renaissance humanism reshaped ideas about individual agency, political legitimacy, and social order. Shakespeare wrote during a period of intense religious conflict, expanding global contact, and shifting power structures, and his plays reflect the anxieties and aspirations of his age.

The College Board wants you to connect these works to broader themes: the Protestant Reformation's impact on moral questioning, the rise of vernacular literature and national identity, and changing attitudes toward authority and the individual. Don't just memorize plot summaries. Know what each play reveals about Early Modern European society and why Shakespeare's exploration of ambition, justice, and human nature resonated with audiences navigating a world in transformation.

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Tragedies of Ambition and Power

Shakespeare's tragedies often examine what happens when individuals pursue power outside legitimate channels. This theme mattered deeply in an era of contested monarchies, religious wars, and political assassination plots like the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. These plays dramatize the Early Modern tension between personal ambition and social order.

Macbeth

• Unchecked ambition as a corrupting force: Macbeth's murder of King Duncan to seize the Scottish throne illustrates the dangers of violating the natural political order
• Supernatural elements and fate reflect Early Modern anxieties about witchcraft and predestination, topics intensified by the Reformation and the widespread witch trials of the 16th and 17th centuries
• Divine right of kings underpins the play's moral framework; regicide brings chaos to the entire kingdom, reinforcing Tudor-Stuart political ideology that monarchs ruled by God's authority

Julius Caesar

• Political assassination and its consequences: the conspirators believe they're saving the Roman Republic, but their actions unleash civil war instead
• Rhetoric and persuasion drive the plot, showcasing the Renaissance humanist emphasis on classical oratory and civic virtue. Mark Antony's funeral speech is a textbook example of how language can sway public opinion.
• Public duty versus personal loyalty reflects Early Modern debates about when, or whether, subjects may legitimately resist their rulers

Hamlet

• Revenge tragedy meets existential questioning: Hamlet's famous "To be or not to be" soliloquy reflects Renaissance humanism's focus on individual consciousness and moral reasoning
• Corruption in the Danish court mirrors anxieties about political legitimacy and succession crises common across Early Modern Europe
• Madness and performance blur throughout the play, raising questions about authenticity and self-presentation that were central to court culture, where appearances often determined survival

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Tragedies of Social Order and Outsiders

Several plays examine how individuals are destroyed by social hierarchies based on race, religion, gender, and class. These tensions intensified as Europe encountered new peoples through exploration and grappled with religious division at home.

Othello

• Race and belonging in Early Modern Europe: Othello, a Moorish general serving Venice, achieves high status through military service but remains vulnerable to racist manipulation by those around him
• Jealousy as a destructive force drives the tragedy, but Iago succeeds because he exploits existing social prejudices to isolate Othello from his allies
• Trust and deception in personal relationships mirror broader anxieties about loyalty in an era marked by religious conversion, espionage, and political betrayal

The Merchant of Venice

• Religious prejudice and economic life: Shylock, a Jewish moneylender, operates in a Christian society that both depends on and despises him. This reflects the real position of Jewish communities in many Early Modern European cities.
• Mercy versus justice is debated in the famous courtroom scene, echoing Protestant-Catholic disputes over whether salvation comes through grace or adherence to law
• Contracts and commerce drive the plot, highlighting Venice's role as a major commercial hub and broader Early Modern anxieties about the growing power of mercantile capitalism

King Lear

• Authority and aging collide when Lear divides his kingdom among his daughters, violating the principle of primogeniture and triggering political chaos
• Familial loyalty and betrayal structure the tragedy, with legitimate and illegitimate children competing for power in parallel plots
• Human suffering without redemption makes this Shakespeare's bleakest play, challenging the providential worldview that God ensures justice on earth

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Comedies and the Nature of Order

Shakespeare's comedies aren't just entertainment. They explore how love, magic, and social rituals restore or disrupt order. These plays often invert hierarchies temporarily before reestablishing them, reflecting Early Modern ideas about carnival, festivity, and social stability.

A Midsummer Night's Dream

• Love's irrationality drives the plot as fairy magic causes characters to fall in and out of love arbitrarily, suggesting that romantic attachment is beyond rational control
• Social hierarchy and marriage frame the comedy; the play ends with proper pairings that reinforce class boundaries
• Reality versus illusion blurs in the enchanted forest, raising questions about perception that connect to Renaissance philosophical debates about the reliability of the senses

The Tempest

• Colonialism and power emerge as Prospero controls the island and its native inhabitant, Caliban. This is often read as commentary on European expansion into the Americas and the justifications colonizers used to dominate indigenous peoples.
• Magic and knowledge define Prospero's authority, connecting to Renaissance interest in natural philosophy and the blurry line between science and the occult
• Forgiveness and reconciliation resolve the plot, but only after Prospero has demonstrated his total power; order depends on hierarchy being firmly reestablished

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History Plays and National Identity

Shakespeare's history plays helped construct English national identity during a period when vernacular literature was replacing Latin as the language of culture and monarchs actively used the arts to legitimize their rule. These plays dramatize the past to comment on present political concerns.

Henry V

• Nationalism and warfare: the St. Crispin's Day speech rallies English soldiers against France, celebrating national unity across class lines. This reflects the growing importance of national identity in Early Modern Europe.
• Rhetoric and kingship demonstrate how rulers must perform authority; Henry's speeches are masterclasses in political persuasion that show kingship as a role to be enacted, not just inherited
• The Hundred Years' War provides the historical backdrop, connecting to broader themes of interstate conflict and dynastic competition that defined European politics throughout this period

Romeo and Juliet

• Feuding families and social disorder: the Montague-Capulet conflict disrupts Verona's civic life until princely authority intervenes
• Youthful passion versus social obligation drives the tragedy; the lovers' deaths are what finally end the feud, suggesting that private violence has devastating public costs
• Fate and individual choice intertwine throughout the play, reflecting Early Modern debates about free will and predestination that the Reformation had made urgent

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Quick Reference Table

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Self-Check Questions

1. Which two plays most directly address the consequences of political assassination, and how do they differ in their treatment of the assassins' motivations?

2. How do Othello and The Merchant of Venice illustrate Early Modern European attitudes toward religious and racial outsiders? What do both plays suggest about the limits of assimilation?

3. Compare Macbeth and Hamlet as plays centered on violent action. How does each protagonist respond to the call for violence, and what does this reveal about Renaissance ideas of individual conscience?

4. If an FRQ asked you to discuss how Renaissance literature reflected European colonialism, which play would you choose and why? What specific elements would you analyze?

5. How do Shakespeare's comedies (A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Tempest) differ from his tragedies in their treatment of social hierarchy? Do the comedies ultimately reinforce or challenge the existing order?