William Shakespeare
39 books by William Shakespeare to read free, each with its best passages and lines, and the best quotes from all of them below.
Where to start
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Hamlet
The ghost of the King of Denmark tells his son, Hamlet, to avenge his death.
32,644 words, about 2 hours
Then
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Macbeth
An ambitious general murders the King of Scotland and takes the throne for himself—and then he must deal with the consequences.
18,802 words, about 1 hour
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Othello
Jealousy destroys the marriage between an older black man and a younger white woman in 1500s Venice.
28,403 words, about 2 hours
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King Lear
An aging king divides his kingdom between his two eldest daughters, slighting the third, and comes to bitterly regret his decision.
28,268 words, about 2 hours
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The Tempest
A magic-induced tempest shipwrecks the king of Naples and his crew on an island inhabited by the usurped duke of Milan.
18,060 words, about 1 hour
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Twelfth Night
A woman disguises herself as a man and becomes entangled in the courtship of two aristocrats.
21,838 words, about 2 hours
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Much Ado About Nothing
One couple is tricked into falling in love, and another couple is tricked into falling out of love.
23,116 words, about 2 hours
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A Midsummer Night’s Dream
This comedy follows four lovers and a thespian who become bewitched by fairies.
17,808 words, about 1 hour
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As You Like It
Forced to flee to the Forest of Arden, the daughter of a duke encounters a variety of characters, her banished father, and even finds love.
23,514 words, about 2 hours
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Henry V
Shakespeare’s 1599 play chronicling the history of King Henry the Fifth and his famous victory over the French at the Battle of Agincourt.
27,950 words, about 2 hours
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Titus Andronicus
A blood feud erupts between a famous Roman general and the Queen of the Goths.
22,228 words, about 2 hours
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Measure for Measure
A duke pretends to leave Vienna so that he can observe his deputy’s management during his supposed absence.
23,520 words, about 2 hours
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Richard III
King Edward IV’s brother, Richard of Gloucester, ascends to the English throne through deadly machinations.
31,718 words, about 2 hours
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The Merchant of Venice
To help his friend Bassanio woo the beautiful Portia, the Venetian merchant Antonio borrows a large sum from Shylock, a Jewish moneylender.
22,846 words, about 2 hours
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Antony and Cleopatra
Mark Antony, a Roman triumvir, and Cleopatra, the Queen of Egypt, become embroiled in a deadly love affair.
27,024 words, about 2 hours
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The Taming of the Shrew
An unmarriageable shrew receives a marriage proposal.
22,732 words, about 2 hours
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The Winter’s Tale
A king’s unfounded jealousy destroys his family and kingdom.
26,489 words, about 2 hours
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Richard II
King Richard II’s wasteful spending habits drive his supporters to revolt.
23,886 words, about 2 hours
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Henry VIII
King Henry VIII plans to divorce his first wife for Anne Bullen.
26,417 words, about 2 hours
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Troilus and Cressida
A Trojan prince falls in love with a woman amid the Trojan War, only to see her exchanged to the Greeks for a prisoner of war.
28,120 words, about 2 hours
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All’s Well That Ends Well
A woman tricks her husband into fulfilling his marriage demands.
24,986 words, about 2 hours
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Cymbeline
A British princess marries a poor gentleman against her father the King’s wishes.
29,332 words, about 2 hours
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The Comedy of Errors
Two sets of identical twins are mistaken for their lost siblings.
16,854 words, about 1 hour
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Henry IV, Part I
King Henry IV faces Welsh and Scottish rebels while English royals plot to betray their own king.
26,280 words, about 2 hours
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The Merry Wives of Windsor
Sir John Falstaff runs astray of the denizens of Windsor by trying to seduce several local wives at once.
25,248 words, about 2 hours
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Timon of Athens
A wealthy Athenian lord becomes poor and friendless after his “friends” take advantage of his hospitality.
20,256 words, about 1 hour
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King John
King John is commanded to hand over his throne to Arthur of Bretagne or face war with the French.
22,356 words, about 2 hours
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The Two Gentlemen of Verona
Two best friends become involved in a love triangle.
18,858 words, about 1 hour
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Henry VI, Part I
King Henry VI takes the throne during a time of great political division: the quarreling among English noblemen and the collapse of England’s hold in France.
23,281 words, about 2 hours
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Love’s Labour’s Lost
A king and his men swear to abstain from women, just as four women arrive for a state visit.
23,271 words, about 2 hours
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Edward III
Edward III declares himself the true heir of France, which launches the Hundred Years’ War.
21,744 words, about 2 hours
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Henry IV, Part II
The rebel forces plan another assault against King Henry’s forces after losing at the Battle of Shrewsbury.
28,133 words, about 2 hours
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Henry VI, Part II
King Henry VI marries Margaret of Anjou and further stokes discord within his court.
27,244 words, about 2 hours
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Henry VI, Part III
Henry VI is overthrown and Edward Plantagenet becomes the new King of England.
26,399 words, about 2 hours
William Shakespeare quotes
A little more than kin, and less than kind.
When the hurlyburly’s done, When the battle’s lost and won.
Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,
In following him, I follow but myself;
Beware the ides of March.
Come not between the dragon and his wrath.
Do you not hear him? You mar our labour: keep your cabins: you do assist the storm.
If music be the food of love, play on;
A victory is twice itself when the achiever brings home full numbers.
I would my father look’d but with my eyes.
Come, come, elder brother, you are too young in this.
O for a Muse of fire, that would ascend
Sweet mercy is nobility’s true badge:
Thus, what with the war, what with the sweat, what with the gallows and what with poverty, I am custom-shrunk.
Now is the winter of our discontent Made glorious summer by this sun of York;
In sooth, I know not why I am so sad:
There’s beggary in the love that can be reckon’d.
For death remember’d should be like a mirror, Who tells us life’s but breath, to trust it error.
Ye are a baggage: the Slys are no rogues; look in the chronicles; we came in with Richard Conqueror.
We were as twinn’d lambs that did frisk i’ the sun, And bleat the one at the other: what we changed Was innocence for innocence