Reading list
Shakespeare's plays, ranked, and where to start
Shakespeare wrote for the stage, and reading the plays takes a little getting used to: the first ten minutes are hard, then the language starts to carry you. Each play is twenty to thirty thousand words, about two to three hours on the page, and the scenes are short.
21 books, all free to read
This list ranks them for a reader, not an actor. Start with Macbeth, his shortest tragedy, or Twelfth Night if you want to laugh; save Lear for when you are hooked.
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1. Hamlet
by William Shakespeare
A prince, a ghost and a murder to avenge. The most famous play ever written, and more fun than its reputation.
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2. Macbeth
by William Shakespeare
Witches, a prophecy and a couple who kill for a crown. His shortest and fastest tragedy, the best place to start.
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3. King Lear
by William Shakespeare
An old king divides his kingdom and loses everything. Many think it the greatest play in English.
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4. Othello
by William Shakespeare
A soldier destroyed by a whisper. Iago is Shakespeare's most frightening villain.
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5. Romeo and Juliet
by William Shakespeare
The love story everyone knows, and the fast, funny first half people forget.
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6. Twelfth Night
by William Shakespeare
Shipwrecked twins, a woman disguised as a man and a steward in yellow stockings. The best comedy.
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7. The Tempest
by William Shakespeare
A magician on an island and his last spell. Shakespeare's farewell to the stage, probably.
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8. Much Ado About Nothing
by William Shakespeare
Beatrice and Benedick insult each other into love. The wittiest dialogue he wrote.
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9. A Midsummer Night’s Dream
by William Shakespeare
Lovers lost in a fairy wood, and workmen putting on a play. The happiest thing he wrote.
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10. Julius Caesar
by William Shakespeare
The assassination of Caesar and the speeches that turn a crowd. Politics at its most theatrical.
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11. Henry V
by William Shakespeare
Once more unto the breach: a young king leads England to Agincourt.
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12. Richard III
by William Shakespeare
A villain who tells you his plans and makes you enjoy them. The first great Shakespeare part.
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13. As You Like It
by William Shakespeare
Rosalind in the Forest of Arden, and all the world's a stage.
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14. Antony and Cleopatra
by William Shakespeare
Love and empire in Egypt and Rome. The most sumptuous poetry of the tragedies.
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15. The Merchant of Venice
by William Shakespeare
A bond, a pound of flesh and Shylock, the most argued-over character in the plays.
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16. The Winter’s Tale
by William Shakespeare
Jealousy wrecks a family for sixteen years, then a statue comes to life. Exit, pursued by a bear.
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17. Measure for Measure
by William Shakespeare
A puritan deputy offers a nun a terrible bargain. Dark, modern and unresolved.
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18. The Taming of the Shrew
by William Shakespeare
The battle of the sexes, uncomfortable now and still argued about.
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19. Titus Andronicus
by William Shakespeare
Shakespeare's first tragedy, a revenge play so bloody it is almost comic.
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20. Pericles
by William Shakespeare
A prince's adventures across the sea, and a lost daughter found. The first of the late romances.
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21. Poetry with the Sonnets
by William Shakespeare
Not a play: the 154 sonnets, a few minutes each. Shall I compare thee is number 18.
More lists
Read them free
Every book on this list is free in Doomreader: open one and it reads as short posts you scroll, with your place kept and its best pages a tap away. You can listen to any of them free too, read aloud by your device.