I read all of Shakespeare’s history plays in chronological order (based on when events happened, not when he wrote the play) and it really helped! The order is: King John, Edwards III, Richard II, Henry IV (Part 1), Henry IV (Part 2), Henry V, Henry VI (Part 1), Henry VI (Part 2), Henry VI (Part 3), Richard III, Henry VIII. Few people read and perform King John and Edwards III (anonymous for hundreds of years and may be partly written by Shakespeare) because the events in these two aren’t really connected with those of the rest of the plays. So if you want to skip these two plays and jump to Richard II, you’ll be fine. My favorite history plays are Richard II, Henry V, Henry VI Part 3, and Richard III. :)
Casa de muñecas( don't know how it was called in English) by Ibsen is great! Also love Fuenteovejuna by Lope de Vega if I'm not mistaken. I haven't read all Shakespeare's plays but so far Macbeth is my fav. 🤗from Argentina!!❤
Wonderful collection, Carolyn! My favorite plays of Shakespeare are Macbeth , Hamlet & Romeo and Juliet. Favorite plays from another authors: Doll's House, by Ibsen, and Three Sisters, by Tchekhov. Oh, and i love Dead Poets Society too!
Love Shakespeare plays too! There's an amazing "Twelfth Night" adaptation (Globe Theatre) with Stephen Fry, Mark Rylance and Johnny Flynn, one of my absolute favourites! ❤️ As well as "Hamlet" with Cumberbatch (National Theatre) 😊
Hi Carolyn! I highly recommend the 2013 production of A Midsummer Night's Dream by the Globe Theatre in London. It's available to rent or buy online. I LOVE it!
A couple of suggestions if you don't mind... 1) Wow...there are lots of other playwrights out there. Try Henrik Ibsen ( Hedda Gabler, A Doll's House ) 2) Plays are a _performance art!_ You should consider watching the film of the play _Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf,_ nominated for best picture, Elizabeth Taylor won for best Actress, Sandy Dennis for best supporting actress Academy Awards. Is watching a play as good as reading it? Or just different? I don't think just reading this play will give you the proper impact that a viewing will give.
I would really recommend reading/listening to Harald Bloom's short books on Shakespeare plays whenever you're not sure you're appreciating it as you could! I did that with King Lear and now I love the play sooo much!!❤ Also: if you can get your hands on the Catherine Tate and David Tennant production of Much Ado About Nothing, please do!! It's my absolute favourite, it's so funny and charming!!! :) As always, I loved seeing your collection!! Have a nice day!! :)❤
Thanks for this lovely tour! Highly, enthusiastically recommend Tom Stoppard’s “Arcadia”-incredibly sweeping and romantic and cerebral, like a Chekhov play with different time periods blending into one another, it’s so gorgeous and funny and moving!
Tennessee Williams is amazing and deeply emotional. I return again and again. Recommend rereading your favorite plays a t different times in your life. Don’t be surprised if as the decades go by, the plays will take on a whole new significance.
I watched 'Waiting for Godot' performed in the theatre a couple of years ago. I didn't like it, mainly because I was so confused! So your friend's description is accurate. I have recently bought the book and am ready to give it another shot. We shall see...
CarolynMarieReads I stopped in my tracks when watching this vid when you showed Tales from Shakespeare book. I have the exact same one but it’s a very old cloth bound book that’s like 3 times as thick as the copy you have. I have never met anyone who has that same book! My copy is so old it doesn’t even have the published or printed dates in it. Man I wish I could post a pic of it.
Read Henry the iv part one for your first Shakespeare history. It is a part of a series of 4 plays, starting with king Richard the 2nd, but Richard the 2nd is much more boring then Henry the 4th so I would start there and go back if you want to. It has the character of Falstaff in it, who is one of Shakespeare funniest characters, so much so that it was more humorous to me then a lot of his comedies.
Same here I also like midsummer nights dream after watching Dead Poets Society. So interesting seeing the parallel between the two stories - old Athenian law of obeying your father or choose death still prevalent in the 1950s!😂
Same here I also like midsummer nights dream after watching Dead Poets Society. So interesting seeing the parallel between the two stories - old Athenian law of obeying your father or choose death still prevalent in the 1950s!😂
"Hamlet" is his best play, my favorite as well.....Shakespeare is on my top three favorite playwrights, Eugene O'Neill and Henrik Ibsen being the other two.....the other plays you mentioned I have read; all good.....favorite O'Neill play, probably "Long Days Journey Into Night" or "The Iceman Cometh.".....Ibsen, "Emperor and Galilean."....(About the Roman Emperor Julian who tried to restore paganism to Rome).....
favourite shakespeare play hands down is the Merchant of Venice. Ever since I saw the Playing Shakespeare miniseries by the Royal Shakespeare Company, I really got into this play (and Shylock in particular). Another phenomenal play that is definitely up there for me is 'The Robbers' (Die Räuber) by Schiller, truly a great read, loved it. Other than that, Ibsen, Sarah Kane, Ionesco...? So many great plays to read and watch
I love the Signet editions of the plays of Shakespeare, including the edition you have of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which I think I got after seeing the play at the Stratford Festival in Ontario. Other plays I have are the ones by Henrik Ibsen, Waiting for Godot, and A Streetcar Named Desire. But the one I pick up most often for a quick and entertaining read is The Seven Year Itch by George Axelrod, which differs from the famous movie in the third act.
I laughed silently to me myself , when you spoke about your prep for Shakespeare pre reading , thought I was cheating alone .Your book taste is excellent .
What a lovely video ! Your love for Shakespeare is infectious 😊 my favorite plays are in french, mostly Molière's ! They are amazing ! My favorite is probably le bourgeois gentilhomme ! The only Shakespeare I've read is The Tempest and I loved it so I can't wait to read more ! But I've just been convinced by someone (who could it be 😂) to read Chekhov's Seagull, so that's going to be my next read ! Wishing you an amazing day Carolyn!
Thee is/was a woman in Canada who adapted Shakespeares plays for kids. Here name is Lois Burdett. The series is called "Shakespeare Can Be Fun". They can be purchased on Amazon. I had my students read MacBeth. The kids were assigned parts, created illustrations so they could understand the actions, and of course, acted out the play. That same year, the players from Bard on the Beach came to help our students do a section from Romeo and Julietta. It was great fun. The kids really loved the reads.
I’m from England and I study English Literature A Level and both Waiting For Godot and Hamlet are part of the course! Waiting For Godot is definitely very absurd haha, but a great read nonetheless and i’m OBSESSED with Hamlet! Also, I have a podcast with my friend called Pristine Paradoxes and we’ve just done an episode about femininity in literature and we’re releasing another one this weekend about the expectations of literature! I think you would enjoy them and I would honoured if you listened :) I hope you’re having a wonderful day, I’ve been loving your videos recently!
A history play I like is Julius Caesar. A wonderful book tube channel is Tristan and the Classics. Tristan is from Wales and does a deep reading of this play as well as other classics. I so enjoy all your bookshelf tours! Looking forward to the next one. 🎭
we had to read a Shakespeare play every year in our high school. I don't know what edition it was, but the ones we had had photos from plays (usually from the Stratford Festival). The one we especially liked was of a very young William Shatner we performed in Stratford. Maybe someone out there knows of this edition. Oh yes, when my son was about 2, I got him a Shakespeare doll. He used to always high Shakespeare under pillows! I highly recommend reading Julius Caesar. It is referenced everywhere!
Hi! I'm an actor and most of my work has been on Shakespeare and theatre in general! I recommend Henry IV part 1 for one of his histories! After that, you have the option to read either Henry IV part 2 or The Merry Wives of Windsor (which was written just because the queen fell in love with a goofy character from Henry IV part 1!!) I just love how he wrote that play just because the queen wanted a funny story with more of her favorite character :)
Yay Shakespeare!! For the history plays, most of them form a connected series tracing the monarchy through the War of the Roses, so especially if you’re not familiar with the time period, I would definitely start at the beginning of the series with Richard II. It’s so much easier to track characters, themes, and historical developments throughout the plays if you do it that way. I’m on Henry VI Part I now and I’m enjoying them a lot more than I thought I would, and I’m actually writing my final paper for my Shakespeare class on Richard II! (The exceptions to this are King John and Henry VIII-they are the two standalone history plays that don’t take place during the War of the Roses, so you can read them whenever.)
Well, The Winter's Tale probably is my favorite Shakespeare play, largely because of the way it balances comedy, drama, and emotion. In general, one may still read plays profitably for pleasure tho they simply cannot compete with television and the movies. I don't recall exactly what you have on your shelf currently but I'm sure there was some Tennessee Williams, a playwright everyone should enjoy at some point in life. However, like so many other things I used to read possibly you'll find some of the characterizations problematic.
I love a midsummer nights dream, I got the chance to see it preformed at the globe in London as a groundling, it was such a wonderful experience! Those signet classic editions are so beautiful, need to add those to my wish list
I read all of Shakespeare’s history plays in chronological order (based on when events happened, not when he wrote the play) and it really helped! The order is: King John, Edwards III, Richard II, Henry IV (Part 1), Henry IV (Part 2), Henry V, Henry VI (Part 1), Henry VI (Part 2), Henry VI (Part 3), Richard III, Henry VIII. Few people read and perform King John and Edwards III (anonymous for hundreds of years and may be partly written by Shakespeare) because the events in these two aren’t really connected with those of the rest of the plays. So if you want to skip these two plays and jump to Richard II, you’ll be fine. My favorite history plays are Richard II, Henry V, Henry VI Part 3, and Richard III. :)
Casa de muñecas( don't know how it was called in English) by Ibsen is great! Also love Fuenteovejuna by Lope de Vega if I'm not mistaken. I haven't read all Shakespeare's plays but so far Macbeth is my fav. 🤗from Argentina!!❤
omg that shakespeare robot is too adorable 😩
Were is the Shakespeare from ? I luv this 💕🤗
Wonderful collection, Carolyn! My favorite plays of Shakespeare are Macbeth , Hamlet & Romeo and Juliet. Favorite plays from another authors: Doll's House, by Ibsen, and Three Sisters, by Tchekhov. Oh, and i love Dead Poets Society too!
Love Shakespeare plays too! There's an amazing "Twelfth Night" adaptation (Globe Theatre) with Stephen Fry, Mark Rylance and Johnny Flynn, one of my absolute favourites! ❤️ As well as "Hamlet" with Cumberbatch (National Theatre) 😊
Hi Carolyn! I highly recommend the 2013 production of A Midsummer Night's Dream by the Globe Theatre in London. It's available to rent or buy online. I LOVE it!
A couple of suggestions if you don't mind...
1) Wow...there are lots of other playwrights out there. Try Henrik Ibsen ( Hedda Gabler, A Doll's House )
2) Plays are a _performance art!_ You should consider watching the film of the play _Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf,_ nominated for best picture, Elizabeth Taylor won for best Actress, Sandy Dennis for best supporting actress Academy Awards. Is watching a play as good as reading it? Or just different? I don't think just reading this play will give you the proper impact that a viewing will give.
I would really recommend reading/listening to Harald Bloom's short books on Shakespeare plays whenever you're not sure you're appreciating it as you could! I did that with King Lear and now I love the play sooo much!!❤
Also: if you can get your hands on the Catherine Tate and David Tennant production of Much Ado About Nothing, please do!! It's my absolute favourite, it's so funny and charming!!! :)
As always, I loved seeing your collection!! Have a nice day!! :)❤
PLEASE read a streetcar named desire!!! it's fantastic
I’ve always loved Othello.
Thanks for this lovely tour! Highly, enthusiastically recommend Tom Stoppard’s “Arcadia”-incredibly sweeping and romantic and cerebral, like a Chekhov play with different time periods blending into one another, it’s so gorgeous and funny and moving!
The Arden Shakespeare editions are my personal favorites. Tons of background information to ponder a do further in depth study if you want to.
The Ardens are my favorites, too.
i love Wilde's Importance of Being Ernest and Miller's The Crucible :")
Read Angles in America it is a chonkie play though
Loved Angels in America,both reading and seeing in person and on television.
Tennessee Williams is amazing and deeply emotional. I return again and again. Recommend rereading your favorite plays a t different times in your life. Don’t be surprised if as the decades go by, the plays will take on a whole new significance.
I watched 'Waiting for Godot' performed in the theatre a couple of years ago. I didn't like it, mainly because I was so confused! So your friend's description is accurate. I have recently bought the book and am ready to give it another shot. We shall see...
CarolynMarieReads I stopped in my tracks when watching this vid when you showed Tales from Shakespeare book. I have the exact same one but it’s a very old cloth bound book that’s like 3 times as thick as the copy you have. I have never met anyone who has that same book! My copy is so old it doesn’t even have the published or printed dates in it. Man I wish I could post a pic of it.
Lovely video! Just wanted to point out Shakespeare is not Old English.
Read Henry the iv part one for your first Shakespeare history. It is a part of a series of 4 plays, starting with king Richard the 2nd, but Richard the 2nd is much more boring then Henry the 4th so I would start there and go back if you want to. It has the character of Falstaff in it, who is one of Shakespeare funniest characters, so much so that it was more humorous to me then a lot of his comedies.
Phantom is closing on Broadway, are you as sad as I am? Are you going to the closing night?
the midsummer night’s dream cover is so beautiful!
Macbeth is my favorite.
Same here I also like midsummer nights dream after watching Dead Poets Society. So interesting seeing the parallel between the two stories - old Athenian law of obeying your father or choose death still prevalent in the 1950s!😂
I feel like if the toy Shakespeare could talk it would say something like: 'Chu bee or not chu bee.'
12 angry men !
Hi
Same here I also like midsummer nights dream after watching Dead Poets Society. So interesting seeing the parallel between the two stories - old Athenian law of obeying your father or choose death still prevalent in the 1950s!😂
Hello from British Columbia Canada 🇨🇦👍👋♥️🤔💛💙 I tried to read A Midsummer night's dream when I was too young (single dgits)...will try again thanks
"Hamlet" is his best play, my favorite as well.....Shakespeare is on my top three favorite playwrights, Eugene O'Neill and Henrik Ibsen being the other two.....the other plays you mentioned I have read; all good.....favorite O'Neill play, probably "Long Days Journey Into Night" or "The Iceman Cometh.".....Ibsen, "Emperor and Galilean."....(About the Roman Emperor Julian who tried to restore paganism to Rome).....
favourite shakespeare play hands down is the Merchant of Venice. Ever since I saw the Playing Shakespeare miniseries by the Royal Shakespeare Company, I really got into this play (and Shylock in particular). Another phenomenal play that is definitely up there for me is 'The Robbers' (Die Räuber) by Schiller, truly a great read, loved it. Other than that, Ibsen, Sarah Kane, Ionesco...? So many great plays to read and watch
I love the Signet editions of the plays of Shakespeare, including the edition you have of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which I think I got after seeing the play at the Stratford Festival in Ontario. Other plays I have are the ones by Henrik Ibsen, Waiting for Godot, and A Streetcar Named Desire. But the one I pick up most often for a quick and entertaining read is The Seven Year Itch by George Axelrod, which differs from the famous movie in the third act.
I laughed silently to me myself , when you spoke about your prep for Shakespeare pre reading , thought I was cheating alone .Your book taste is excellent .
What a lovely video ! Your love for Shakespeare is infectious 😊 my favorite plays are in french, mostly Molière's ! They are amazing ! My favorite is probably le bourgeois gentilhomme !
The only Shakespeare I've read is The Tempest and I loved it so I can't wait to read more ! But I've just been convinced by someone (who could it be 😂) to read Chekhov's Seagull, so that's going to be my next read ! Wishing you an amazing day Carolyn!
Thee is/was a woman in Canada who adapted Shakespeares plays for kids. Here name is Lois Burdett. The series is called "Shakespeare Can Be Fun". They can be purchased on Amazon. I had my students read MacBeth. The kids were assigned parts, created illustrations so they could understand the actions, and of course, acted out the play. That same year, the players from Bard on the Beach came to help our students do a section from Romeo and Julietta. It was great fun. The kids really loved the reads.
I’m from England and I study English Literature A Level and both Waiting For Godot and Hamlet are part of the course! Waiting For Godot is definitely very absurd haha, but a great read nonetheless and i’m OBSESSED with Hamlet! Also, I have a podcast with my friend called Pristine Paradoxes and we’ve just done an episode about femininity in literature and we’re releasing another one this weekend about the expectations of literature! I think you would enjoy them and I would honoured if you listened :) I hope you’re having a wonderful day, I’ve been loving your videos recently!
A history play I like is Julius Caesar. A wonderful book tube channel is Tristan and the Classics. Tristan is from Wales and does a deep reading of this play as well as other classics. I so enjoy all your bookshelf tours! Looking forward to the next one. 🎭
we had to read a Shakespeare play every year in our high school. I don't know what edition it was, but the ones we had had photos from plays (usually from the Stratford Festival). The one we especially liked was of a very young William Shatner we performed in Stratford. Maybe someone out there knows of this edition. Oh yes, when my son was about 2, I got him a Shakespeare doll. He used to always high Shakespeare under pillows! I highly recommend reading Julius Caesar. It is referenced everywhere!
Hi! I'm an actor and most of my work has been on Shakespeare and theatre in general! I recommend Henry IV part 1 for one of his histories! After that, you have the option to read either Henry IV part 2 or The Merry Wives of Windsor (which was written just because the queen fell in love with a goofy character from Henry IV part 1!!) I just love how he wrote that play just because the queen wanted a funny story with more of her favorite character :)
Oh goodness both Our Town and Glass menagerie were so good. But I would have to go with the glass menagerie as a first read.
Yay Shakespeare!! For the history plays, most of them form a connected series tracing the monarchy through the War of the Roses, so especially if you’re not familiar with the time period, I would definitely start at the beginning of the series with Richard II. It’s so much easier to track characters, themes, and historical developments throughout the plays if you do it that way. I’m on Henry VI Part I now and I’m enjoying them a lot more than I thought I would, and I’m actually writing my final paper for my Shakespeare class on Richard II! (The exceptions to this are King John and Henry VIII-they are the two standalone history plays that don’t take place during the War of the Roses, so you can read them whenever.)
Love that Stoppard play just a good theme. Yes ! You are right as many editions of a play as possible.
Well, The Winter's Tale probably is my favorite Shakespeare play, largely because of the way it balances comedy, drama, and emotion. In general, one may still read plays profitably for pleasure tho they simply cannot compete with television and the movies. I don't recall exactly what you have on your shelf currently but I'm sure there was some Tennessee Williams, a playwright everyone should enjoy at some point in life. However, like so many other things I used to read possibly you'll find some of the characterizations problematic.
I read Waiting for Godot in French and found it very bizarre in a good way, so I’d definitely recommend it, too
I too have the habit of reading tales from Shakespeare before going to attend my Shakespeare classes.
I love a midsummer nights dream, I got the chance to see it preformed at the globe in London as a groundling, it was such a wonderful experience! Those signet classic editions are so beautiful, need to add those to my wish list
"There are more things in heaven and earth Barnaby than are dreamt of in your philosophy"(Grip's adaptation of Hamlet)😃