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The first volume of Shakespeare's Collected Plays, the First Folio of 1623, categorized all of his plays as either Histories, Tragedies or Comedies. Since then, scholars have reassessed both whether the plays were rightly categorized in the First Folio, or whether the categories need to be reassessed. Some have added the category "Romances" for the later comedies Pericles, Cymbeline, The Tempest and The Winter's Tale, arguing that these four plays are different from the other comedies. Others create the category "Problem Plays" for comedies which are darker than the others, particularly Measure for Measure and All's Well That Ends Well, but which arguably could also contain the darker comedies Troilus and Cressida and The Merchant of Venice. Then again the category "Tragicomedy" has been advanced to include these plays. A genre popular at the time was the "Revenge Play" into which category both Hamlet and Titus Andronicus both fall.
Polonius in Hamlet gives us an idea of the kinds of categories that plays were put into while Shakespeare was writing. In describing the kinds of plays the players put on, he says "either for tragedy, comedy, history, pastoral, pastoral-comical, historical-pastoral, tragical-historical, tragical-comical-historical-pastoral" From the silliness of this last category and the fact that he puts these words into the mouth of the tedious gasbag Polonius, we might guess that Shakespeare didn't put much stock in categorization of plays.
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How many plays did William Shakespeare write and what are the categories into which Shakespeare's plays were divided?
William Shakespeare wrote 38 plays. They are divided into comedies, histories and tragedies. See the related question for a full list of his plays.
What was a famous building used for many of Shakespeare's plays?
The Elizabethan theater was used for many of Shakespeare's plays.
How many of Shakespeare plays became books?
All the known Shakespeare plays are printed in books.
When was Shakespeare's last play written?
We don't know exactly which play was Shakespeare's last, but in any case all of the plays have been played many many times in theatres all over the world.
Who was the leading Elizabethan actor who appeared in the original productions of many plays written by Shakespeare and Ben Jonson?
This would be Richard Burbage, the second greatest actor of Shakespeare's day.
How many plays did William Shakespeare write and what are the categories into which Shakespeare's plays were divided?
William Shakespeare wrote 38 plays. They are divided into comedies, histories and tragedies. See the related question for a full list of his plays.
How many acts were written in Shakespeare's plays?
five
Was romeo and Juliet one of Shakespeare's plays?
Yes It was the first of the many plays written by Shakespeare. One of the most well-known and renowned in fact.
Who played William Shakespeare in his plays?
William Shakespeare was the playwright who wrote several dozen plays, many of which are still in production around the world today. While he authored many plays, he did not appear as a character in any of them. Therefore, no one performs as William Shakespeare in any play written by him.
How many plays comprise Shakespeare's portfolio?
Shakespeare wrote 38 plays.
What was a famous building used for many of Shakespeare's plays?
The Elizabethan theater was used for many of Shakespeare's plays.
How many plays had shakespeare wrote?
There were exactly 63 plays that shakespeare wrote by himself
By the time Hamlet was written Shakespeare's work?
had been staged by some of England's best-known actors.
How many plays did Shakespeare like?
We do not know exactly what plays Shakespeare did and didn't like. He occasionally quoted Marlowe which suggests that he liked Marlowe's work. However, there were new plays being written every week in Shakespeare's day, because the drama industry was that big. There were a dozen companies going and each one premiered a couple of new plays every month. That's a lot of plays, and who knows how many of them Shakespeare liked.
How many of Shakespeare plays became books?
All the known Shakespeare plays are printed in books.
When was Shakespeare's last play written?
We don't know exactly which play was Shakespeare's last, but in any case all of the plays have been played many many times in theatres all over the world.
What did many plays written by shakespeare conlude with?
1. A rhyming couplet.2. An epilogue.3. A song and dance.
