Table of contents listing plays in the order they were written, with listings of major artists covered, and links to each article.
Shakespeare
A violent and bloody revenge tragedy, very popular at the time, brings what may be the only contemporary sketch of one of Shakespeare’s plays.
One of King Priam’s sons falls in love with a Trojan woman late in the Trojan War. When Hector is about to duel with Achilles, what could possibly go wrong?
Paintings by William Blake, William Hogarth, Henry Fuseli, Paul Delaroche and others for this popular tragedy and history.
The last two years of his reign, marred by bad decisions, led to his forced abdication in favour of King Henry IV.
The English king who sealed Magna Carta in 1215, this tells of the treachery of his nobles, changing allegiances, and a death from dysentery.
A merchant has a wife and identical twin sons, with identical twin servants. They are separated by a shipwreck. Years later, chaos ensues.
How a shunned bride consummates her marriage without her husband being aware, and tricks him out of the ring he insists he’d never give her.
A controversial story of a moneylender getting revenge when a borrower defaults, and demanding a pound of flesh.
Popular comedy about a man who marries and shrew and sets about trying to tame her. Frequently painted.