Shakespeare Plays Flashcards
All’s Well That Ends Well [Characters]
Bertram, Count of Rousillon, a royal ward
Helena, a physician’s daughter
King of France
All’s Well That Ends Well [Plot]
(Rousillon, France; Florence)
Henela loves Bertram, who leaves to attend the King. Helena goes to Paris to try to cure the King’s fistula, which has resisted all cures. If she fails, she will be executed; if she succeeds, she may marry any courtier. She succeeds, but Bertram spurns her unless she can obtain his ring, which she does through a ruse.
Antony and Cleopatra [Characters]
Mark Antony, one of the triumvirs ruling the Roman Empire Cleopatra Octavius Caesar, Antony's rival Enobarbus, Antony's lieutenant Chairman, Cleopatra's servant Iras, Cleopatra's servant
Antony and Cleopatra [Plot]
The story of Antony and Cleopatra’s love affair, and of the final Roman cival war, ending with Octavius’ victory at Actium. Antony commits suicide when he falsely hears that Cleopatra is dead; she kills herself with the bite of an asp rather than be made captive by Octavius.
Antony and Cleopatra [Quotes]
“Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale her infinite variety…” (Enobarbus)
“I am dying, Egypt, dying…” (Antony)
As You Like It [Characters]
Oliver Orlando, brother and rival of Orlando Duke Frederick Rosalind, Frederick's niece Jaques, a jester
As You Like It [Plot]
(The Forest of Arden)
A complicated tale of sibling rivalry: Oliver vs. Orlando; Duke Frderick vs. his brother. Orlando is in exile, as is the disguised Rosalind. In the end, all rivals are reconciled; Orlando and Rosalind marry.
As You Like It [Quotes]
“All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players:…And one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages.” (Jaques)
The Comedy of Errors [Characters]
Aegeon, a merchant
Antipholus I and II, twin sons of Aegeon
Dromio I and II, twin servants of Antipholius brothers
The Comedy of Errors [Plot]
(Ephesus)
Mistaken identities among the two sets of twins, as Aegeon tries to reunite his family long separated by a storm at sea: one set of master and servant from Ephesus, the other from Syracuse. Based on the Latin comedy The Twins, by Plautus.
Coriolanus [Characters]
Caius Marcius Coriolanus, a Roman soldier Volumnia, mother of Coriolanus Virgilia, wife of Coriolanus Tullus Aufidius, leader of the Volsci Sicinius and Brutus, two tribunes
Coriolanus [Plot]
(Rome)
Brave but modest Marcius, called Coriolanus for his victory over the Volsci and Corioli, cannot bring himself to campaign for votes in the election for consul; Sicinius and Brutus use this to turn the people against him. Coriolanus allies himself with Tullus, his former foe, against Rome. Their march on Rome is turned back by Volumnia’s pleas to her son; in the Volscian camp he allows himself to be killed in a conspiracy led by Tullus, who recognizes Coriolanus’ nobility after he is dead.
Cymbeline [Characters]
Cymbeline, King of Britain Imogen, daughter of Cymbeline Queen, second wife of Cymbeline Cloten, son of Queen Posthumus, secretly married to Imogen
Cymbeline [Plot]
(Ancient Britain and Rome)
Cymbeline’s wife plots against Imogen, his daughter by his first marriage. Cymbeline banishes Posthumus, who comes to doubt Imogen’s faithfulness to him during his exile in Rome and plots to kill her. Imogen disguises herself as a man and is helped by her long-lost brothers, without knowing who they are. The Queen instigates a Roman invasion of Britain, which the brothers and Posthumus defeat; the Queen dies and all are reconciled.
Hamlet [Characters]
Hamlet, prince of Denmark Queen Gertrude, Hamlet's mother King Claudius, Hamlet's uncle and step-father Polonius, counsellor to the King Laertes, Polonius' son Ophelia, Polonius' daughter Horatio, Hamlet's friend Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, courtiers The Ghost
Hamlet [Plot]
(Elsinore Castle, Denmark)
Hamlet is upset that, upon his father’s apparently accidental death, his uncle Claudius usurped the throne and married his mother. His father’s ghost appears, revealing that Claudius murdered him and seduced Gertrude; the ghost tells Hamlet to seek revenge. Hamlet feigns madness to mask his purposes. He stages a play, The Murder of Gonzago, re-creating his father’s murder and proving Claudius’ guilt by his reaction. When Hamlet confronts the Queen, he kills polonius, who had hidden in her room. Hamlet survives assassination when sent with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to England. Laertes joins Claudius in a plot to kill Hamlet during a fencing match, either via a poisioned blade or drink. Ophelia, rejected by Hamlet, goes mad upon the death of her father, and drowns in a stream. At the fencing match Gertrude unknowingly drinks from the poisoned cup and Laertes wounds Hamlet. The blades get switched and Hamlet stabs Laertes fatally with the poisoned one. Gertrude no falls from her poison and dies. Laertes reveals the plot and Hamlet kills Claudius. Hamlet wills his kingdom to Fortinbras, prince of Norway, and dies in Horatio’s arms. Hamlet is Shakespeare’s longest play; Hamlet is his longest part.
Hamlet [Quotes]
“O! that this too to solid flesh would melt,…” (Hamlet)
“Frailty, thy name is woman!” (Hamlet)
“Neither a borrower nor a lender be;” (Polonius)
“This above all, to thine own self be true,…” (Polonius)
“Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.” (Marcellus)
“Brevity is the soul of wit.” (Polonius)
“The play’s the thing wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king.” (Hamlet)
“To be, or not to be: that is the question: Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take up arms against a sea of troubles,…” (Hamlet)
“To sleep, perchance to dream:” (Hamlet)
“Get thee to a nunnery.” (Hamlet)
“The lady doth protest too much, methinks.” (Queen Gertrude)
“Alas, poor Yorick, I knew him, Horatio; a fellow of infinite jest,…” (Hamlet)
“The rest is silence.” (Hamlet)
“Good night, sweet prince, and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest!” (Horatio)
Henry IV, Parts I and II [Characters]
King Henry IV Prince Hal, his son Falstaff, Hal's companion Owen Glendower, a rebel Henry Percy (Hotspur)
Henry IV, Parts I and II [Plot]
(Britain, early 15th Century)
Having deposed Richar II, Henry must face various threats to his rule. Hal, however leads a riotous life with the cowardly, blustering Falstaff and various lowlifes at the Boar’s Head Tavern in Eastcheap. Finally, Hal rises to his station, killing rebellious Hotspur in battle. When he succeeds to the throne, Hal, now Henry V, dismisses Falstaff and turns to the duties of kingship.
Henry IV, Parts I and II [Quotes]
“Banish plump Jack, and banish all the world.” [Falstaff]
“We have heard the chimes at midnight.” [Falstaff]
“The better part of valor is discretion.” [Falstaff]
Henry V [Characters]
King Henry V The Dauphin (crown prince) of France King Charles VI of France Montjoy, a French herald Princess Katherine, daughter of Charles
Henry V [Plot]
(England and France, early 15th Century)
Henry has a potential claim to the French throne; the Dauphin insults him for this pretension, provoking a war. Henry invades France, barely winning the siege of Harfleur. A large French army traps Henry and his outnumbered troops at Agincourt, here he wins a crushing victory. Henry successfully woos Princess Katherine. As an aside, Falstaff dies as his friends prepare to leave with the army of France.
Henry V [Quotes]
“Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more;…” (Henry V)
“A little touch of Harry in the night.” (Chorus)
“This day is called the feast of Crispian…” (Henry V)
“We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;…” (Henry V)
Henry VI, Parts I, II and III [Characters]
King Henry VI Joan of Arc Queen Margaret of Anjou, Henry's wife The Duke of York The Duke of Suffolk, his rival Edward (later IV), York's son Richard (later III), York's son Edward, Prince of Wales, son of Henry VI
Henry VI, Parts I, II and III [Plot]
(England and France, 1422-1471)
The story of the War of the Roses between the House of York (White Rose) and the House of Lancaster (Red Rose), and of the Hundred Year’s War between England and France. Under weak King Henry, the two branches of the royal house vie for power while France regains its lost territory. Ultimately, the Dukes of York and Suffolk, Prince Edward and Henry Vi are all killed. Edward IV ascends the throne.
Henry VI, Parts I, II and III [Quotes]
“The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.” (Dick the Butcher)
