There aren’t many writers whose work is as instantly recognisable as William Shakespeare’s. Most of us will have a Shakespeare play or two sitting on our bookshelves, but just what are his most popular works?
The Merchant of Venice tells the intriguing tale of Bassanio, a lonely Venetian desperate to court the beautiful Portia. His friend Antonio helps him secure a loan from the vengeful Shylock.
However, the money comes at a cost – should Bassanio fail to repay the loan, Shylock will take his pound of flesh, quite literally, from Antonio.
Meanwhile, Portia’s father’s will means she is forced to choose a suitor based on which of three caskets they choose. Will Antonio make the correct choice? And will the loan be repaid?
Start Selling & Fund Your Next Shakespeare BookTwo young lovers, Hermia and Lysander, attempt to run away and get married, despite her father’s wishes that Hermia marries Demetrius. As the pair escape Athens, they stumble into a very strange woodland.
Followed by Demetrius and his spurned lover Helena, the group meet the king of the fairies, a troop of acting craftsmen and the mischievous Puck, who causes chaos by unleashing a love potion on the group, with hilarious and disastrous consequences.
When twins Viola and Sebastian are shipwrecked, Viola believes her brother is dead and assumes his identity to work as a page to the nobleman Orsino. She falls in love with him, although she is quickly sent on his behalf to woo the disdainful Olivia.
Olivia falls in love with Viola, thinking she is a man, completing the love triangle. Then her twin brother reappears, and things start to get even more complicated!
The young son and daughter of two feuding families fall in love at a masked ball. Although they find a priest who agrees to marry them, all does not go to plan, and Romeo ends up expelled from the city.
As her father plans a wedding for her, Juliet seeks to escape by faking her own death, with grave results.
When three witches make a prophecy that Macbeth will be crowned King of Scotland, he is sceptical. He quickly begins to rise the ranks, however, and starts to wonder if there is any truth in the prediction.
His wife is convinced that he should be in power and persuades him to kill the current king. All is going to plan so far, now Macbeth has to worry about the second part of the witches’ prophecy – about his eventual demise.
So, what do you think? Are these the top five Shakespeare plays that you would pick? Let us know on social media; we’re constantly active on Facebook and Twitter.
Remember, that if you have unwanted Shakespeare texts you can always sell them here at We Buy Books – it’ll help you buy your next Shakespeare book!
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