What is your favorite Shakespearian work (plays, sonnets, etc.)?

[jodiann12]

Some consider Shakespeare to be the father of English Literature. I have read almost all the Shakespearean plays. The only two I have not read are Corialanus and (shamefully) Romeo and Juliet. I also read couple of his sonnets. Which Shakespearean work have you read and liked?

[pandandesign]

My favorite Shakespearian work is Twelfth Night. I have to perform the play in high school as part of the senior performance. I was one of the screen writers for Twelfth Night. I love that play a lot, and I still do now!

[zambothegreat]

I can't say I have a favorite. While I like Othello and Twelfth Night more than As You Like It as a whole, Touchstone is one of my favorite characters, if not my favorite. It's between those 3 for me.

[LauraM]

Of all of Shakespeare's plays, my two favorites -- can't pick just one! -- are Macbeth and Othello. 

I find the character of Lady Macbeth and her intense ambition and dominance over Macbeth utterly fascinating, as well as more than a bit horrifying.  It's the kind of character that can literally give me nightmares.

Othello as a character stays with me too.  He is the classic tragic figure, a man ahead of his time and, as such, very much a victim of his circumstances which he is never able to overcome. 

[Guest isabbbela]

I love Dream of A Summer Night. I have always loved the book, and I loved it in a play as well. I think it's a fun story with interesting characters. It's not overly dramatic like Romeo and Juliet.

[jodiann12]

Of all of Shakespeare's plays, my two favorites -- can't pick just one! -- are Macbeth and Othello. 

I find the character of Lady Macbeth and her intense ambition and dominance over Macbeth utterly fascinating, as well as more than a bit horrifying.  It's the kind of character that can literally give me nightmares.

Othello as a character stays with me too.  He is the classic tragic figure, a man ahead of his time and, as such, very much a victim of his circumstances which he is never able to overcome.

I also find Lady Macbeth to be a very intriguing character, too. It's almost unheard of that woman, especially during those times could be so ambitious and could be so domineering, too. Another character who I find fascinating is Richard III. He was also quite ambitious, too. He was able to charm any women even though he had a lot physical flaws. Very interesting.

[SpiralArchitect]

My personal favorite is Macbeth. Incredibly strong characterization and the treatment of supernatural elements is incredible. To think this play is so old.

Macbeth is one of the most intriguing tragic characters in literature. This work has been so many homages that it is easy to ignore the many tropes that is put in place for future writers to use.

I also like The Tempest, although that is more out of love for the many works in both music and literature that parts of it inspired.  :grin:

[calticitron]

One of my favorite sonnets by William Shakespeare is Sonnet 116. It talks about love that is strong enough to withstand time and age, and if proven wrong with his description of love, then no one has really been truly in love. I believe that Shakespeare wrote about something universal, a subject that transcends language barriers.

[writeletters]

I've actually only read one: The Merchant of Venice. I liked it, and I look forward to reading more of Shakespeare's works. I liked it because it had a lot of underlying messages in it. I read it at the age of fourteen, and found it a bit difficult.

[Miya]

I think Othello is probably my favorite. I also like MacBeth and The Merchant of Venice.

Unpopular opinion, but I didn't really like Hamlet much -shrugs-

[JulesX]

Othello is my favorite. Until recently, I had not given Shakespeare much thought. I was asked to assist a friend of mine with the Othello, Act 1 Scene1. This story is wrapped in so much deception, envy and passion that I could not put it down. The original version of the text was a bit tough to understand, but thankfully there are SparkeNotes. 

[KimErikson]

My favorite Shakespeare play is `A midsummer night´s dream`. I just love it. It is romantic, funny and just beautiful. The characters are amazing. My favorites are Puck and Titania. The play represents the dark side of love and was written in the late 1500´s. Very daring and progressive for it´s time!

[scottman]

God i hate all Shakespeare. people realize it's not even literature, right? It's a play script. That'd be like people 500 years from now reading The Terminator and analyzing it.

[Oogles]

I liked King Lear and Richard III. I always loved dark stories more than ones that revolve too much around love.

[AExAVF]

I've appreciated the tragedy of Macbeth.  I never cared much for Shakespeare's other tragedies or comedies at all, and Macbeth is the only Shakespearean work that I ever liked.  I do recall that I watched a film adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream and I fell asleep trying to appreciate the story in my Humanities class. 

[Rosa]

I have only read a few of Shakespeare's books. My favorite happens to be Julius Caesar which I read in  8th grade.Our English teacher was able to help us capture every scene as if we were present and that was quite intriguing.

[tuparientemateo]

I have never been a fan of any of Shakespeare's plays to be honest. I tried so hard to understand why everyone considered them to be so wonderful, but then I realized anything that I have to try that hard to like is probably just not for me. If I had to pick one that I didn't mind as much as the others, it would be Macbeth, but I still wasn't too big of a fan of this one either.

[Muthoni]

Romeo and Juliet was included in my English literature class. We studied the book and I must admit that I feel in love with it. We also watched a play on the same and I remember crying silently when Romeo and Juliet actually died. I felt so cheated that these two beautiful people were not given a chance to live their love. My favorite quote in the book is “a rose by any other name would smell as sweet”.

[AureliaeLacrimae]

This one is very difficult. I don't think I can decide that easily. I like all of his tragedies and when I was young, Hamlet was my favourite. I was obsessed with Macbeth next - for about a year or so. Now I adore Richard III. And Coriolanus is excellent - you should definitely read that one.

I like his comedies as well, but it's not what I generally like - tragedies are... deeper in emotion somehow, at least for me. I always get a sense of something important if the characters (or one of them) don't survive... a little morbid, but true.

His sonnets... well, you can always try the most popular ones. I liked Sonnet 55 the most. It begins with ''Not marble, nor the gilded monuments''. This was where I first tried reading in metre. Sonnet 18 begins with ''Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?'' - you've probably read this one, it's so popular, especially for the Valentine's.  There's also 130, beginning with ''My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun''. Well... these are just some suggestions... enjoy reading them.

[takibari]

Shakespeare was mostly required reading for me, back when I was still in school. While I did enjoy his works, the sonnets, most especially, I, however, didn't progress to reading Shakespeare for pleasure.

Anyhow, my favorite among his works is Sonnet 116:

Let me not to the marriage of true minds

Admit impediments. Love is not love

Which alters when it alteration finds,

Or bends with the remover to remove:

O no; it is an ever-fixed mark,

That looks on tempests, and is never shaken;

It is the star to every wandering bark,

Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.

Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks

Within his bending sickle's compass come;

Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,

But bears it out even to the edge of doom.

  If this be error and upon me proved,

  I never writ, nor no man ever loved.