The Complete Works of William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
Book Club
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare
8 ways to start a deeper conversation.
Contains spoilers for the entire book.
Discussion topics
Topic 01 of 08
Where to begin
Which plays or poems did you read in this collection, and why those?
Keep the conversation going
- Did reading them on the page change how you think of plays usually met on stage or screen?
- Which would you recommend to someone new to Shakespeare?
There is no single right answer. Bring your own reading.
Discussion topics
Which plays or poems did you read in this collection, and why those?
Keep the conversation going
- Did reading them on the page change how you think of plays usually met on stage or screen?
- Which would you recommend to someone new to Shakespeare?
What story, if any, do the sonnets tell about the young man, the rival poet and the dark lady?
Keep the conversation going
- Which sonnet stayed with you, and why?
- How do the sonnets compare with the love speeches in the plays?
What do Hamlet, Othello, Lear and Macbeth share, and what sets them apart?
Keep the conversation going
- Is the tragic hero destroyed by a flaw, by circumstance or by others?
- Which tragedy moved you most?
Why are Shakespeare's villains, Iago, Richard III, Edmund, so compelling?
Keep the conversation going
- What makes them enjoyable to watch while we condemn them?
- Which villain did you find most frightening?
Why do so many of the comedies depend on disguise, especially women disguised as men, like Rosalind and Viola?
Keep the conversation going
- What do these heroines gain by their disguises?
- Do the comedies' happy endings convince you?
What do the history plays suggest about kingship, power and legitimacy?
Keep the conversation going
- How does Shakespeare make English history into drama?
- What did you make of Falstaff and his rejection by Prince Hal?
What role do the fools and clowns, from Lear's Fool to Feste and Touchstone, play in the plays?
Keep the conversation going
- Why are the fools often the wisest characters?
- Which of them made you laugh most?
How do the late plays, like The Winter's Tale and The Tempest, deal with forgiveness and reconciliation?
Keep the conversation going
- Why do so many readers hear Shakespeare's farewell in Prospero?
- What, after reading, do you think makes Shakespeare's work last?
There is no single right answer. Bring your own reading.