Never too Late to Read Classics discussion
On-Going Challenges
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The Shakespeare OnGoing Challenge
COMEDIES
All's Well That Ends Well
As You Like It
Comedy of Errors
Love's Labour's Lost
Measure for Measure
Merchant of Venice
Merry Wives of Windsor
Midsummer Night's Dream
Much Ado about Nothing
Taming of the Shrew
Tempest
Twelfth Night
Two Gentlemen of Verona
Winter's Tale
HISTORIES
Henry IV, Part I
Henry IV, Part II
Henry V
Henry VI, Part I
Henry VI, Part II
Henry VI, Part III
Henry VIII
King John
Pericles
Richard II
Richard III
TRAGEDIES
Antony and Cleopatra
Coriolanus
Cymbeline
Hamlet
Julius Caesar
King Lear
Macbeth
Othello
Romeo and Juliet
Timon of Athens
Titus Andronicus
Troilus and Cressida
All's Well That Ends Well
As You Like It
Comedy of Errors
Love's Labour's Lost
Measure for Measure
Merchant of Venice
Merry Wives of Windsor
Midsummer Night's Dream
Much Ado about Nothing
Taming of the Shrew
Tempest
Twelfth Night
Two Gentlemen of Verona
Winter's Tale
HISTORIES
Henry IV, Part I
Henry IV, Part II
Henry V
Henry VI, Part I
Henry VI, Part II
Henry VI, Part III
Henry VIII
King John
Pericles
Richard II
Richard III
TRAGEDIES
Antony and Cleopatra
Coriolanus
Cymbeline
Hamlet
Julius Caesar
King Lear
Macbeth
Othello
Romeo and Juliet
Timon of Athens
Titus Andronicus
Troilus and Cressida
Is it a goal of yours to read or see all of Shakespeare's Plays? Here is a chance to state your progress!
Good luck!
Good luck!
I have been reading a lot of Shakespeare lately. These works have been read in the past five years.
Works read to date:
Julius Caesar
All's Well That Ends Well
Macbeth
Shakespeare's Sonnets
Pericles
Titus Andronicus
The Taming of the Shrew
The Tempest
King John
Richard II
Richard III
A Midsummer Nights Dream
King Lear
Antony and Cleopatra
Hamlet
Works read to date:
Julius Caesar
All's Well That Ends Well
Macbeth
Shakespeare's Sonnets
Pericles
Titus Andronicus
The Taming of the Shrew
The Tempest
King John
Richard II
Richard III
A Midsummer Nights Dream
King Lear
Antony and Cleopatra
Hamlet
Thanks. I have been reading tragedies lately and need to read some comedies again. I plan on reading Twelfth Night next.
Comedies:
The Comedy of Errors (12/17)****
The Merry Wives of Windsor (12/17)**
Twelfth Night***** (2/18)
Love's Labour's Lost ***(5/19)
Drama:
The Winter's Tale ***** (2/18)
Much Ado About Nothing (4/18)
The Comedy of Errors (12/17)****
The Merry Wives of Windsor (12/17)**
Twelfth Night***** (2/18)
Love's Labour's Lost ***(5/19)
Drama:
The Winter's Tale ***** (2/18)
Much Ado About Nothing (4/18)

I'm not sure I particularly want to read them all, but we'll see...

William Shakespeare
2018 Challenges and Reward > The Shakespeare on-going Challenge
January 1, 2018 to Completion
COMEDIES
All's Well That Ends Well
As You Like It
Comedy of Errors
Love's Labour's Lost
Measure for Measure
Merchant of Venice
Merry Wives of Windsor
Midsummer Night's Dream
Much Ado about Nothing
Taming of the Shrew
Tempest
Twelfth Night
Two Gentlemen of Verona
Winter's Tale
HISTORIES
Henry IV, Part I
Henry IV, Part II
Henry V
Henry VI, Part I
Henry VI, Part II
Henry VI, Part III
Henry VIII
King John
Pericles
Richard II
Richard III
TRAGEDIES
Antony and Cleopatra
Coriolanus
Cymbeline
Hamlet
Julius Caesar
King Lear
Macbeth
Othello
Romeo and Juliet
Timon of Athens
Titus Andronicus
Troilus and Cressida

All's Well That Ends Well
As You Like It
Comedy of Errors
Love's Labour's Lost
Measure for Measure
Merchant of Venice
Merry Wives of Windsor
✔A Midsummer Night's Dream 08/19
✔ Much Ado About Nothing 05/18
Taming of the Shrew
Tempest
Twelfth Night
Two Gentlemen of Verona
Winter's Tale
HISTORIES
Henry IV, Part I
Henry IV, Part II
Henry V
Henry VI, Part I
Henry VI, Part II
Henry VI, Part III
Henry VIII
King John
Pericles
✔ Richard II 05/18
Richard III
TRAGEDIES
Antony and Cleopatra
Coriolanus
Cymbeline
Hamlet
Julius Caesar
✔ King Lear 05/19
✔Macbeth 08/19
Othello
✔ Romeo and Juliet 10/17
Timon of Athens
Titus Andronicus
Troilus and Cressida

I will fill in completion dates as I go and ones I have read so far...
Titus Andronicus is on one of my challenges this year
COMEDIES
✔ All's Well That Ends Well 7/2016
As You Like It
Comedy of Errors
Love's Labour's Lost
Measure for Measure
Merchant of Venice
Merry Wives of Windsor
Midsummer Night's Dream
Much Ado about Nothing
Taming of the Shrew
Tempest
Twelfth Night
Two Gentlemen of Verona
✔ The Winter's Tale 12/2016
HISTORIES
Henry IV, Part I
Henry IV, Part II
Henry V
Henry VI, Part I
Henry VI, Part II
Henry VI, Part III
Henry VIII
King John
Pericles
Richard II
Richard III
TRAGEDIES
Antony and Cleopatra
Coriolanus
Cymbeline
✔ Hamlet 5/2017
Julius Caesar
King Lear
Macbeth
Othello
Romeo and Juliet
Timon of Athens
Titus Andronicus
Troilus and Cressida

All's Well That Ends Well
As You Like It
Comedy of Errors
Love's Labour's Lost
Measure for Measure
Merchant of Venice
Merry Wives of Windsor
Midsummer Night's Dream
Much Ado about Nothing
Taming of the Shrew
Tempest
Twelfth Night
Winter's Tale
HISTORIES
Henry IV, Part I
Henry IV, Part II
Henry V
Henry VI, Part I
Henry VI, Part II
Henry VI, Part III
Henry VIII
King John
Pericles
Richard II
Richard III
TRAGEDIES
Antony and Cleopatra
Coriolanus
Hamlet
Julius Caesar
King Lear
Macbeth
Othello
Romeo and Juliet
Timon of Athens
Titus Andronicus
Troilus and Cressida

My on-going Shakespeare Challenge: Jan. 1, 2018 - Dec. 31(?), 2018
I'm going to add a bit of a personal twist and attempt to read the Bard's works in chronological order (including the Sonnets and longer poems).
During the time period that Shakespeare wrote the four High Tragedies (Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth), he also wrote several of the so-call "problem plays", like Measure, and he would go on to write such masterpieces like Coriolanus and The Tempest, but he would never write an "out-and-out" comedy, such as Twelfth Night, ever again. I want to try to understand why that was, beyond what can simply be inferred or suspected by a cursory knowledge of the tragedies.
I'm going to attempt to read one play a week, but that is only tentative at best and I will list the completion dates as I go. And for the sake of coherence, I will read the plays of Henry VI in their intended order rather than chronologically.
So onto the list:
Henry VI, Part II (1590-91)
Henry VI, Part III (1590-91)
Henry VI, Part I (1591-92)
The Sonnets and A Lover's Complaint (1592)
Richard III (1592-93)
The Comedy of Errors (1592-93)
Venus and Adonis (1593)
Titus Andronicus (1593-94)
The Taming of the Shrew (1593-94)
The Rape of Lucrece (1594)
The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1594-95)
Love's Labour's Lost (1594-95)
Romeo and Juliet (1594-95)
Richard II (1595-96)
A Midsummer Night's Dream (1595-96)
King John (1596-97)
The Merchant of Venice (1596-97)
Henry IV, Part I (1597-98)
Henry IV, Part II (1597-98)
Much Ado About Nothing (1598-99)
Henry V (1598-99)
The Passionate Pilgrim (1599)
Julius Caesar (1599-1600)
As You Like It (1599-1600)
Twelfth Night (1599-1600)
Hamlet (1600-01)
The Merry Wives of Windsor (1600-01)
The Phoenix and Turtle (1601)
Troilus and Cressida (1601-02)
All's Well That Ends Well (1602-03)
Measure for Mearsure (1604-05)
Othello (1604-05)
King Lear (1605-06)
Macbeth (1605-06)
Antony and Cleopatra (1606-07)
Coriolanus (1607-08)
Timon of Athens (1607-08)
Pericles (1608-09)
Cymbeline (1609-10)
The Winter's Tale (1610-11)
The Tempest (1611-12)
Henry VIII (1612-13)
The Two Noble Kinsmen (1612-13)

I don't necessarily expect that I will succeed, let alone succeed within the year. But there's no such thing as too much Shakespeare, so I'll just try to take it in easy stages.
That is a Challenge for one year for sure!
You can always change if need be to 'On-Going' as the title says! when life gets in the way! but let's hope for the best!
Happy Reading Pillsonista!
You can always change if need be to 'On-Going' as the title says! when life gets in the way! but let's hope for the best!
Happy Reading Pillsonista!

Starting: January 2018
COMEDIES 1/13
As You Like It
Comedy of Errors
Love's Labour's Lost - 1/27/18
Measure for Measure
Merchant of Venice
Merry Wives of Windsor
Midsummer Night's Dream
Much Ado About Nothing
Taming of the Shrew
Tempest
Twelfth Night
Two Gentlemen of Verona
Winter's Tale
HISTORIES 5/11
Henry IV, Part I - 3/10/18
Henry IV, Part II - 9/28/18
Henry V - 11/15/18
Henry VI, Part I
Henry VI, Part II
Henry VI, Part III
Henry VIII - 12/7/18
King John
Pericles
Richard II
Richard III - 3/2/18
TRAGEDIES 0/12
Antony and Cleopatra
Coriolanus
Cymbeline
Hamlet
Julius Caesar
King Lear
Macbeth
Othello
Romeo and Juliet
Timon of Athens
Titus Andronicus
Troilus and Cressida
Elizabeth, I felt that would be too much, so an open challenge was better.
Your welcome and good luck!
Your welcome and good luck!

Much Ado - finished reading 13 April 2018
Midsummer Night's - finished reading 17 May 2018
so many does that leave? hmmmm, ouch!!!
Good beginning, Inkspell. I really enjoyed Twelfth Night, if you are looking for ideas. There are a lot of great works to choose from.

Hamlet is worth the effort. I have never read any of the Henry's, but have read Richard III, which was excellent, and King John, which was disjointed and confusing. Another favourite is The Winter's Tale, which is technically a comedy but has a very serious side as well.

https://www.c-span.org/video/?441661-...
There are others as well: Macbeth, Twelth Night, Romeo and Juliet, and 1984.

thanks for link Blueberry, I haven't had a chance to look but sounds like they're trying to make Shakespeare less daunting 👍☺
update
finished King Lear on 31st May - realistically, with other books to read, it will be a couple of months before I read the next one. I might try and have a go at Hamlet

I'm reading King Henry VIII, and without reading the notes I'm still able to follow it.
But this Oxford edition, packed with deatailed essay, notes and illustrations - bookish heaven!!! The kindle is a complete mess so I've borrowed a paperback copy and have to keep referring to it. Otherwise, brill!!!
I have not read any of the Henrys, but did read the two Richards, which are both good, especially Richard III.

Thanks :))
Rosemarie wrote: "I have not read any of the Henrys, but did read the two Richards, which are both good, especially Richard III."
Oh the Henrys, I'm working up to the 4th and all the rest.
RichII I know in passing and that BBC adaptation, I think starring Jeremy Irons ??? That was really good.
And RichIII, awww, now that's definitely worth a revisit :)

These were all read in school except Hamlet, Macbeth, and The Tempest.
COMEDIES
All's Well That Ends Well (Read in 4/2014)
As You Like It (Read in 3/2014)
Comedy of Errors
Love's Labour's Lost
Measure for Measure
Merchant of Venice (Read in 2/2014)
Merry Wives of Windsor
Midsummer Night's Dream
Much Ado about Nothing (Read in 3/2014)
Taming of the Shrew (Read in 1/2014)
Tempest (Read in 8/2020)
Twelfth Night
Two Gentlemen of Verona
Winter's Tale
HISTORIES
Henry IV, Part I
Henry IV, Part II
Henry V (Read in 11/2014)
Henry VI, Part I
Henry VI, Part II
Henry VI, Part III
Henry VIII
King John
Pericles
Richard II
Richard III
TRAGEDIES
Antony and Cleopatra
Coriolanus
Cymbeline
Hamlet (Read in 06/2014)
Julius Caesar
King Lear
Macbeth (Read in 2011)
Othello (Read in 2010)
Romeo and Juliet (Read in 2008)
Timon of Athens
Titus Andronicus
Troilus and Cressida

Troilus and Cressida (2011)
Coriolanus (2011)
Titus Andronicus (2011)
Romeo and Juliet (2011)
Timon of Athens (2011)
Julius Caesar (2011)
Macbeth (2011)
Hamlet (2011)
King Lear (2011)
Othello (2011)
Antony and Cleopatra (2011)
Cymbeline (2011)
The Tempest (2011)
The Merry Wives of Windsor (2011)
A Midsummer Night's Dream (2011)
Pericles, Prince of Tyre (2011)
The Merchant of Venice (2019)
Twelfth Night (2022)

All's Well That Ends Well
As You Like It
Comedy of Errors
Love's Labour's Lost
Measure for Measure
Merchant of Venice
Merry Wives of Windsor
Midsummer Night's Dream
Much Ado about Nothing
Taming of the Shrew
Tempest
Twelfth Night
Two Gentlemen of Verona
Winter's Tale
HISTORIES
Henry IV, Part I
Henry IV, Part II
Henry V
Henry VI, Part I
Henry VI, Part II
Henry VI, Part III
Henry VIII
King John
Pericles
Richard II
Richard III
TRAGEDIES
Antony and Cleopatra
Coriolanus
Cymbeline
Hamlet
Julius Caesar
King Lear
Macbeth
Othello
Romeo and Juliet
Timon of Athens
Titus Andronicus
Troilus and Cressida
This year I have read two more comedies:
Love's Labour's Lost
Measure for Measure
I just need to read one more comedy to complete the comedy list:The Two Gentlemen of Verona
Love's Labour's Lost
Measure for Measure
I just need to read one more comedy to complete the comedy list:The Two Gentlemen of Verona


*COMPLETED* 1/1/20 - 22/7/20
43/43
1590-1599
✅ 1. Henry VI, Part II (1590-91)
✅ 2. Henry VI, Part III (1590-91)
✅ 3. Henry VI, Part I (1591-92)
✅ 4. The Sonnets and A Lover's Complaint (1592)
✅5. Richard III (1592-93)
✅ 6. The Comedy of Errors (1592-93)
✅ 7. Venus and Adonis (1593)
✅ 8. Titus Andronicus (1593-94)
✅ 9. The Taming of the Shrew (1593-94)
✅ 10. The Rape of Lucrece (1594)
✅ 11. The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1594-95)
✅ 12. Love's Labour's Lost (1594-95)
✅ 13. Romeo and Juliet (1594-95)
✅ 14. Richard II (1595-96)
✅ 15. A Midsummer Night's Dream (1595-96)
✅ 16. King John (1596-97)
✅ 17. The Merchant of Venice (1596-97)
✅ 18. Henry IV, Part I (1597-98)
✅ 19. Henry IV, Part II (1597-98)
✅ 20. Much Ado About Nothing (1598-99)
✅ 21. Henry V (1598-99)
✅ 22. The Passionate Pilgrim (1599)




1600-1613
✅ 23. Julius Caesar (1599-1600)
✅ 24. As You Like It (1599-1600)
✅ 25. Twelfth Night (1599-1600)
✅ 26. Hamlet (1600-01)
✅ 27. The Merry Wives of Windsor (1600-01)
✅ 28. The Phoenix and Turtle (1601)
✅ 29. Troilus and Cressida (1601-02)
✅ 30. All's Well That Ends Well (1602-03)
✅ 31. Measure for Measure (1604-05)
✅32. Othello (1604-05)
✅33. King Lear (1605-06)
✅34. Macbeth (1605-06)
✅35. Antony and Cleopatra (1606-07)
✅36. Coriolanus (1607-08)
✅37. Timon of Athens (1607-08)
✅38. Pericles (1608-09)
✅39. Cymbeline (1609-10)
✅40. The Winter's Tale (1610-11)
✅41. The Tempest (1611-12)
✅42. Henry VIII (1612-13)
✅ 43. The Two Noble Kinsmen (1612-13)



by Cole Porter
from Kiss Me Kate
The girls today in society go for classical poetry
So to win their hearts one must quote with ease
Aeschylus and Euripides
One must know Homer, and believe me, oh
Sophocles, also Sappho-ho
Unless you know Shelley and Keats and Pope
Dainty Debbies will call you a dope
But the poet of them all
Who will start 'em simply ravin'
Is the poet people call
The Bard of Stratford-on-Avon!
Brush up your Shakespeare
Start quoting him now
Brush up your Shakespeare
And the women you will wow
Just declaim a few lines from Othella
And they'll think you're a hell of a fella
If your blonde won't respond when you flatter 'er
Tell her what Tony told Cleopatterer
If she fights when her clothes you are mussing
What are clothes? Much ado about nussing
Brush up your Shakespeare
And they'll all kow-tow
Brush up your Shakespeare
Start quoting him now
Brush up your Shakespeare
And the women you will wow
With the wife of the British ambassida
Try a crack out of "Troilus and Cressida"
If she says she won't buy it or like it
Make her tike it, what's more As You Like It
If she says your behaviour is heinous
Kick her right in the Coriolanus
Brush up your Shakespeare
And they'll all kow-tow
Brush up your Shakespeare
Start quoting him now
Brush up your Shakespeare
And the women you will wow
If you can't be a ham and do Hamlet
They will not give a damn or a damlet
Just recite an occasional sonnet
And your lap'll have honey upon it
When your baby is pleading for pleasure
Let her sample you Measure for Measure
Brush up your Shakespeare
And they'll all kow-tow - Forsooth
And they'll all kow-tow
And they'll all kow-tow
Brush up your Shakespeare
Start quoting him now
Brush up your Shakespeare
And the women you will wow
Better mention "The Merchant of Venice"
When her sweet pound o' flesh you would menace
If her virtue, at first, she defends, well
Just remind her that "All's Well That Ends Well"
And if still she won't give you a bonus
You know what Venus did to Adonis
Brush up your Shakespeare
And they'll all kow-tow - Thinkist thou?
And they'll all kow-tow - Odds bodkins
And they'll all kow-tow
Brush up your Shakespeare
Start quoting him now
Brush up your Shakepeare
And the women you will wow
If your girl is a Washington Heights dream
Treat the kid to "A Midsummer Night's Dream"
If she then wants an all-by-herself night
Let her rest ev'ry 'leventh or "Twelfth Night"
If because of your heat she gets huffy
Simply play on and "Lay on, Macduffy!"
Brush up your Shakespeare
And they'll always kow-tow - Forsooth
And they'll always kow-tow - Thinkest thou?
And they'll always kow-tow - We trou'
And they'll always kow-tow
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSmZf...


Please have a look at my post and the pretty pictures.
Exit, pursued by a bear.

All's Well That Ends Well
As You Like It
Comedy of Errors
Love's Labour's Lost
Measure for Measure
Merchant of Venice
Merry Wives of Windsor
Midsummer Night's Dream
Much Ado about Nothing
Taming of the Shrew
Tempest 10/20
Twelfth Night
Two Gentlemen of Verona 12/20
Winter's Tale
HISTORIES
Henry IV, Part I
Henry IV, Part II
Henry V
Henry VI, Part I
Henry VI, Part II
Henry VI, Part III
Henry VIII
King John
Pericles
Richard II
Richard III
TRAGEDIES
Antony and Cleopatra
Coriolanus
Cymbeline
Hamlet
Julius Caesar
King Lear
Macbeth
Othello
Romeo and Juliet
Timon of Athens
Titus Andronicus
Troilus and Cressida

All's Well That Ends Well
As You Like It
Comedy of Errors
Love's Labour's Lost
Measure for Measure
Merchant of Venice
Merry Wives of Windsor
Midsummer Night's Dream
Much Ado about Nothing
The Taming of the Shrew (Sometime 2002/03)
Tempest
Twelfth Night
Two Gentlemen of Verona
Winter's Tale
HISTORIES
Henry IV, Part I
Henry IV, Part II
Henry V
Henry VI, Part I
Henry VI, Part II
Henry VI, Part III
Henry VIII
King John
Pericles
Richard II
Richard III (Sometime 2002/03)
TRAGEDIES
Antony and Cleopatra (Sometime 2002/03)
Coriolanus
Cymbeline
Hamlet (Sometime 2002/03)
Julius Caesar (Sometime 2002/03)
King Lear (Sometime 2002/03)
Macbeth
Othello
Romeo and Juliet (Sometime 2002/03)
Timon of Athens
Titus Andronicus
Troilus and Cressida

COMEDIES
All's Well That Ends Well
As You Like It - January 31-February 5, 2019
Comedy of Errors
Love's Labour's Lost
Measure for Measure
Merchant of Venice
Merry Wives of Windsor
A Midsummer Night's Dream - 2009
Much Ado About Nothing - November 2-11, 2018
The Taming of the Shrew - March 9-13, 2019
The Tempest - July 26-31, 2017
Twelfth Night - 2010
The Two Gentlemen of Verona - January 6-21, 2019
Winter's Tale
HISTORIES
King Henry IV, Part 1 - October 25-29, 2015
Henry IV, Part 2 - November 1-December 10, 2015
Henry V - December 26, 2014-January 15, 2015
Henry VI (Parts I-III) - June 30-July 7, 2016
Henry VIII - April 23-28, 2018
King John - October 25-December 15, 2017
Pericles
Richard II - March 15-April 10, 2015
Richard III - October 19-22, 2015
TRAGEDIES
Antony and Cleopatra
Coriolanus
Cymbeline
Hamlet - 2004
Julius Caesar - July 17-21, 2017
King Lear - July 14-August 22, 2018
Macbeth - 2004
Othello - Late 2012-Early 2013
Romeo and Juliet - 2004
Timon of Athens - March 8-15, 2018
Titus Andronicus
Troilus and Cressida - December 16-25, 2017
((I just realized I didn't read any Shakespeare last year! Dreadful. Well, 2020 was a strange year... Hoping to read Anthony and Cleopatra this year.))
Books mentioned in this topic
Hamlet (other topics)Hamlet (other topics)
A Midsummer Night's Dream (other topics)
Twelfth Night (other topics)
Macbeth (other topics)
More...
Challenge: You love the plays of Shakespeare and want to read them all! Here you can track your progress. Did you read it last year? Just copy the list into your comment and date when read! Hope you enjoy this ongoing challenge!