Curated category
Plays about kings
- MacbethWilliam Shakespeare wrote The Tragedy of Macbeth using material from Raphael Holinshed's Chronicles, published in 1587. This history book covered England…
- Henry IV, Part 1William Shakespeare wrote Henry IV, Part 1 no later than the year 1597. The play dramatizes events from late 1402 to mid-1403, covering the reign of King…
- Henry IV, Part 2William Shakespeare wrote Henry IV, Part 2 between the years 1596 and 1599. This play serves as the third chapter of a four-part historical cycle that began…
- The Winter's TaleThe play The Winter's Tale draws its main plot from Robert Greene's pastoral romance Pandosto, published in 1588. Shakespeare made uncharacteristically…
- Richard III (play)The Tragedy of Richard the Third likely took shape between 1592 and 1594, a period when William Shakespeare was refining his historical narratives.
- Henry V (play)In early 1599, the Earl of Essex launched a military campaign to quell Tyrone's Rebellion in Ireland. This expedition began in late March and was scuttled by…
- Richard II (play)On the 9th of December 1595, Sir Robert Cecil watched a performance of King Richard at the home of Edward Hoby in Canon Row.
- King LearThe Tragedy of King Lear emerged from a convergence of historical chronicles and folk traditions in the early 17th century.
- A Midsummer Night's DreamFour days before the wedding of Duke Theseus and Queen Hippolyta, Hermia stands in Athens facing a choice that could end her life.
- CymbelineWilliam Shakespeare set his play Cymbeline in ancient Britain, drawing the name of its king from Cunobeline, a real historical figure mentioned by Suetonius…
- Henry VI, Part 1On the 3rd of March 1592, Philip Henslowe recorded a performance at the Rose Theatre in Southwark. He called the play Harey Vj and noted it had fifteen…
- Henry VIII (play)Scholars examining the text of Henry VIII found that individual scenes bore the distinct fingerprints of two different writers.
- Oedipus RexScholars debate the exact year Sophocles first staged Oedipus Rex, though some point to a devastating plague that struck Athens in 430 BC.
- The BacchaeEuripides wrote The Bacchae during his final years in Macedonia, at the court of Archelaus I. The play premiered posthumously at the Theatre of Dionysus in…