Shakespeare Plays -- Personal Timeline

Beginning in December, 2023, I began to read Shakespeare plays more seriously.

It started by reading the Italian plays and my fascination with those plays.

A Winter's Tale: an old-wives tale; staged for Princess Anne, the winter queen, 1619 - 1620. The play was written in 1610 -1611.

• kings of Sicily and Bohemia
• King of Sicily, Leontes, crazy; and Queen Hermione, virtuous, accused of adultery
• King of Bohemia, Polixenes, virtuous king; friend of Leontes; visiting Sicily
  
• Hermione: virtuous queen of Sicily
• Sicilian King Leontes accuses wife of adultery
• wife Hermione escapes; has baby daughter in exile, Perdita
• Perdita: daughter of Leontes and Hermione
• family reconciles 16 years later
• famous stage direction: exit, stage left; chased by a bear.

The Tempest

• Florence / Milan
• exiled to Sicily
• shipwreck off Sicily

The Merchant of Venice

• three friends (Solanio, Salarino, Gratiano)
  
• Antonio -- the merchant of Venice
  
• Bassanio -- Antonio's friend; Portia's suitor;
  
• Lorenzo -- in love with Jessica
  
• Belmont vs Venice
• Christian vs Jew
• Venetians vs Christians (Puritans)
• Portia: heiress; three caskets; marries Antonio's friend, Bassanio
  
• Nerissa: black hair; lady-in-waiting to Portia
• Portia and Nerissa disguise as doctors of law
• Shylock: "pound of flesh"; a rich Jew
  
• Jessica: daughter of Shylock, elopes with Lorenzo
• the Duke of Venice -- important player; disguises himself to see what his subjects are saying 
• so the four men: Antonio, Lorenzo, and Bassanio; but Gratiano marries Nerissa
  
• the three women: Portia, the heiress; Jessica, the Jewish daughter; and, Nerissa, lady-in-waiting to Portia
  

Measure for Measure

• adultery
• Isabella center of attention of every man who sees her (Angelo, Vincentio)
• three women; three rings; three weddings
• Vincentio: the Duke and Friar Lodowick, disguise
• Angelo: deputy to the Duke; "Taliban"
• Claudio, accused of fornication; tried by Angelo; to be executed; Isabella his sister
• three weddings:
• Isabella: Vincentio (the Duke)
• Mariana: Angelo (the Deputy)
• Juliet: Claudio (brother of Isabella) -- so ordered by the court (the Duke)
• brothel: Mistress Overdone; Pompey Bum; 
  

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