William Shakespeare

This free course from the University of London explores critical thinking, and the interpretation of texts, through the Shakespeare authorship question. Using doubt about Shakespeare’s authorship as our playground, we will explore the key concept of authorship attribution, while developing skills in literary analysis, interpretation, and argument. Through forensic [...]

This course introduces and explores William Shakespeare’s classic comedy, Twelfth Night. Interviews with actors who appeared in the Colorado Shakespeare Festival’s 2019 production of Twelfth Night, as well as lectures by scholars and theater professionals who work and teach at the University of Colorado Boulder, offer students insight into [...]

An exploration of the magnetic and ambivalent character of Shylock in William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice. In the first act of William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice , the Jewish moneylender Shylock proposes a “merry sport” to the merchant Antonio: he will lend Antonio the money he needs [...]

Explore acts of storytelling in Shakespeare's Othello alongside world-class artists who interpret Othello's story in new forms and contexts today. In this course, we'll read William Shakespeare’s Othello and discuss the play from a variety of perspectives. The goal of the course is not to cover everything that has [...]

Learn how to read William Shakespeare's plays through his biography, Elizabethan and Jacobean history, and modern performance. How do we read Shakespeare? Do his plays belong to the past, or the present? To a famed dramatic genius or to readers and audiences around the globe? What do his plays [...]

Explore the haunting figure at the heart of one of William Shakespeare’s most famous plays. In the first act of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the Ghost of the dead King of Denmark appears to his son, setting off a chain of events that culminates in the play’s notoriously bloody finale. [...]

Learn how performance of William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice provides occasions for creative, thoughtful communication across personal, historical, and cultural boundaries on topics including language and theatricality, gender relations, and religious prejudice. William Shakespeare is the most performed playwright on the globe; this course brings his play The [...]

Explore Shakespeare’s life, discover famous Shakespeare plays, and improve your English language skills with the British Council. Explore the English language through Shakespeare’s plays. This course will look at the life and works of William Shakespeare and take you from his birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon to the Globe Theatre in [...]

Learn about Shakespeare’s plays and their influence through a focus on emotions such as love, hate, and jealousy. Shakespeare’s work has influenced the way we think about our relationships and ourselves. His plays are still as relevant today as when they were written almost 400 years ago.