Shakespeare wrote what type of plays

Just as Shakespeare borrowed his ideas from others, lots of modern films borrow ideas from Shakespeare. Films like Shakespeare in Love borrow elements of his plays as well as his life. It was common in those days to write plays with another person. We know he wrote several plays with other people — such as Timon of Athens with Thomas Middleton. This article is about William Shakespeare's plays. For related articles, please see William Shakespeare's works disambiguation.

We know of 39 plays by William Shakespeare, including a few collaborations with other playwrights. What is a sad play called? What is the shortest Shakespeare tragedy? Who killed Lady Macbeth? What is a problem plays Shakespeare? Is Hamlet a problem play or a tragedy? What is a tragedy and a comedy? Did Shakespeare write more comedies and tragedies?

Which Shakespeare play is not a tragedy? Is Henry Va tragedy? Why is Shakespeare so special? What are 5 Shakespearean words that we still use today? He also blended genres, which was not traditionally done at the time. For instance, "Romeo and Juliet" is both a romance and a tragedy, and "Much Ado About Nothing" can be called a tragi-comedy. Shakespearean critics have broken the plays into four categories: tragedies, comedies, histories, and "problem plays.

However, you will find that different lists place some plays into different categories. For example, "The Merchant of Venice" has important elements of both tragedy and comedy, and it is up to the individual reader to decide which outweighs the other. Shakespearean tragedies are plays with somber themes and dark endings.

Tragic conventions used by Shakespeare feature the death and destruction of well-meaning people brought down by either their own fatal flaws or the political machinations of others. Flawed heroes, the fall of a noble person, and the triumph of external pressures such as fate, spirits, or other characters over the hero are featured. Shakespearean comedies are, on the whole, more light-hearted pieces.

The point of these plays may not necessarily be to make the audience laugh, but to think. Comedies feature the clever use of language to create wordplay, metaphors, and smart insults. Love, mistaken identities, and convoluted plots with twisted outcomes are also integral aspects of a Shakespearean comedy. Despite their category's name, Shakespearean histories are not historically accurate. While the histories are set in Medieval England and explored class systems of that time, Shakespeare was not trying to depict the past authentically.