Poetry

In 1593 and 1594, when the theatres were closed because of plague, Shakespeare published two narrative poems on erotic themes, Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece. He dedicated them to Henry Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton. In Venus and Adonis, an innocent Adonis rejects the sexual advances of Venus; while in The Rape of Lucrece, the virtuous wife Lucrece is raped by the lustful Tarquin. Influenced by Ovid's Metamorphoses, the poems show the guilt and moral confusion that result from uncontrolled lust. Both proved popular and were often reprinted during Shakespeare's lifetime. A third narrative poem, A Lover's Complaint, in which a young woman laments her seduction by a persuasive suitor, was printed in the first edition of the Sonnets in 1609. Most scholars now accept that Shakespeare wrote A Lover's Complaint. Critics consider that its fine qualities are marred by leaden effects. The Phoenix and the Turtle, printed in Robert Chester's 1601 Love's Martyr, mourns the deaths of the legendary phoenix and his lover, the faithful turtle dove. In 1599, two early drafts of sonnets 138 and 144 appeared in The Passionate Pilgrim, published under Shakespeare's name but without his permission

The Sonnets
A Lover's Complaint
The Rape of Lucrece
Venus and Adonis
Funeral Elegy by W.S.

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  • Julies Caesar - Act 5 - Scene 3
    SCENE III. Another part of the field.     Alarums. Enter CASSIUS and TITINIUS CASSIUS     O, look, Titinius, look, the villains fly!     My...
  • Julies Caesar - Act 3 - Scene 3
    SCENE III. A street.     Enter CINNA the poet CINNA THE POET     I dreamt to-night that I did feast with Caesar,     And things unlucky cha...
  • Richard III - Act 2 - Scene 3
    SCENE III. London. A street.     Enter two Citizens meeting First Citizen     Neighbour, well met: whither away so fast? Second Citizen    ...
  • Julies Caesar - Act 2 - Scene 4
    SCENE IV. Another part of the same street, before the house of BRUTUS.     Enter PORTIA and LUCIUS PORTIA     I prithee, boy, run to the se...
  • Hamlet - Act 1 - Scene 3
    SCENE III. A room in Polonius' house.     Enter LAERTES and OPHELIA LAERTES     My necessaries are embark'd: farewell:     And, sis...
  • Coriolanus - Act 1 - Scene 2
    SCENE II. Corioli. The Senate-house.     Enter TULLUS AUFIDIUS and certain Senators First Senator     So, your opinion is, Aufidius,     Th...
  • Troilus and Cressida - William Shakespeare
    "Troilus and Cressida" is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1602. It was also described by Fred...
  • Julies Caesar - Act 2 - Scene 3
    SCENE III. A street near the Capitol.     Enter ARTEMIDORUS, reading a paper ARTEMIDORUS     'Caesar, beware of Brutus; take heed of Ca...
  • Romeo and Juliet - Act 2 - Scene 1
    SCENE I. A lane by the wall of Capulet's orchard.     Enter ROMEO ROMEO     Can I go forward when my heart is here?     Turn back, dull...
  • King Lear - Act 3 - Scene 2
    SCENE II. Another part of the heath. Storm still.     Enter KING LEAR and Fool KING LEAR     Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! rage! blow...
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