Amanda's Shakespeare Blog February 2004 Archive

I am dying, Egypt, dying; only I here importune death awhile, until Of many thousand kisses the poor last I lay upon thy lips. (4.13.19) Read all the famous quotations from the play here.

If music be the food of love, play on; Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting, The appetite may sicken, and so die. That strain again! it had a dying fall: O, it came ... Read More

Everyone has heard of Shakespeare's greatest creations -- Hamlet, Macbeth, Iago, Prospero -- but matching the character to the play from which he or she comes is sometimes a challenge. ... Read More

A quiz to celebrate the man himself, with questions about his birth, parents, siblings, ancestry, and life as an actor and playwright. So, how well do you know William? Test ... Read More

Shakespeare's paternal grandfather, Richard Shakespeare, was a farmer in the village of Snitterfield located four miles from Stratford. Coincidentally, Richard leased land from Robert Arden, Shakespeare's maternal grandfather. Find out ... Read More

O, beware, my lord, of jealousy! It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock The meat it feeds on. "Othello" (3.3.192-4)

Mercutio's speech on Queen Mab sparked the creativity of other great writers like Ben Jonson and Percy Bysshe Shelley. Read more on Queen Mab.

There was a Brutus once that would have brook’d The eternal devil to keep his state in Rome As easily as a king. (1.2.167) Read all the famous quotations from the play here.

From Elizabeth I to Ben Jonson, Shakespearean England was a treasure-trove of historical giants. It was hard to choose, but here is a list of those five contemporaries of the ... Read More

Better be with the dead, Whom we, to gain our peace, have sent to peace, Than on the torture of the mind to lie In restless ecstasy. Duncan is in his grave; After life’s ... Read More

From 1788 to 1820, performances of "King Lear" were prohibited on the English Stage due to the insanity of the reigning monarch, King George III. Read the story of Lear, ... Read More

Learn about British monarchs from the Houses of Normandy, Angevin, Plantagenet, and Lancaster.

A selection of the Bard's celebrated love poetry, just in time for Valentine's Day.

She is mine own, And I as rich in having such a jewel As twenty seas, if all their sand were pearl, The water nectar, and the rocks pure gold. "The Two Gentleman of ... Read More

Shakespeare wrote more about birds than any other poet in western literature. Here are some of the Bard's many references to his favorite bird, the glorious swan.

Ever wonder what "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" might look like if only Shakespeare questions were asked? Take our quiz and find out how you would do.