Play Study Guides
Hamlet Study Guide
A comprehensive guide to Shakespeare's Hamlet, complete with soliloquy and character analysis, annotations, revenge plot and subplot summaries, and a student quiz with detailed answers.
Julius Caesar Study Guide
This introduction to Julius Caesar will provide students with a general overview of the play and an introduction to its central characters, in addition to detailed answers to selected study questions and a list of essay topics at both high school and university levels.
King Lear Study Guide
The epic tragedy, King Lear, has often been regarded as Shakespeare's greatest masterpiece, if not the crowning achievement of any dramatist in Western literature. This introduction to King Lear will provide students with a general overview of the play and its primary characters, in addition to selected essay topics.
Macbeth Study Guide
Macbeth is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy, and very likely, the most reworked of all Shakespeare's plays. It is now assumed that some of the play was actually written by a contemporary of Shakespeare, Thomas Middleton, and modern editors have found it necessary to rearrange lines they feel are otherwise disjointed and confusing.
Sonnet Study Guides
The Darling Buds of May: A Guide to Sonnet 18
A detailed examination of Shakespeare's Sonnet 18: "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day", with annotations, glossary, paraphrase in contemporary English, and critical analysis - everything a student needs to know about Shakespeare's most popular sonnet.
In Disgrace with Fortune: A Guide to Sonnet 29
An in-depth examination of Shakespeare's Sonnet 29, with annotations, paraphrase in contemporary English, and analysis.
Nor the Gilded Monuments - A Guide to Sonnet 55
Sonnet 55 is one of Shakespeare's most famous works and a noticeable deviation from other sonnets in which he appears insecure about his relationships and his own self-worth. Here we find an impassioned burst of confidence as the poet claims to have the power to keep his friend's memory alive evermore.
That Time of Year: A Guide to Sonnet 73
An analysis of Shakespeare's inspired sonnet, hailed as one of the best poems in English. Included is a paraphrase of the poem in contemporary English, annotations, commentary, and analysis excerpts from the work of scholars John Berryman and John Crowe Ransom.
Sinful Treasure: A Guide to Sonnet 75
A glimpse into the mind of an insecure and troubled man deeply upset by his "rival poet." This guide is complete with detailed annotations, a paraphrase in contemporary English, and commentary.
The Marriage of True Minds: A Guide to Sonnet 116
Sonnet 116 is about love in its most ideal form. It is praising the glories of lovers who have come to each other freely, and enter into a relationship based on trust and understanding. The first four lines reveal the poet's pleasure in love that is constant and strong, and will not "alter when it alteration finds." The following lines proclaim that true love is indeed an "ever-fix'd mark"...
My Mistress' Eyes: A Guide to Sonnet 130
Sonnet 130 is the poet's pragmatic tribute to his uncomely mistress, commonly referred to as the dark lady because of her dun complexion. This detailed examination of Shakespeare's Sonnet 130 has everything you need to succeed.
Desire is Death: A Guide to Sonnet 147
Is Sonnet 147 autobiographical? Did Shakespeare really have an affair with a raven-haired seducer? Come explore this complex poem, complete with annotations and a detailed commentary.
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