The 10 Best Literary Works of William Shakespeare

King Lear is a tragedy about the ancient King Lear of Britain. One day, when he has grown old and frail, King Lear calls for his three daughters and asks them to express their love for him. While the two older daughters flatter him excessively, the youngest daughter speaks only the truth. Enraged, King Lear banishes his youngest daughter and decides to divide his kingdom between the two older daughters, marrying them to noble dukes. After the kingdom is divided, King Lear plans to live with his two daughters, but soon they begin to treat him as a burden.

The two daughters attempt to avoid their responsibilities, cut down his staff, and shift the blame onto each other. Tensions rise, leading to conflict and war. King Lear escapes his home and goes mad. Meanwhile, the youngest daughter marries the Prince of France. Upon hearing that her father has been banished by his two older daughters and war has broken out, she brings the French army to help. Cordelia discovers the cruelty her sisters have inflicted upon their father. She gathers an army and heads for her sisters' kingdom. The battle begins. King Lear and his youngest daughter are captured. Edmund, the villainous son of Gloucester, appears, trying to orchestrate the deaths of Cordelia and her father. He succeeds only in killing the youngest daughter, Lyra. Edmund is killed in a duel with his brother Edgar. All of King Lear's daughters die in the final battle. The eldest kills the middle daughter and then takes her own life. Cordelia is strangled in prison. King Lear dies from grief.

The Tempest is the final play written by William Shakespeare. The story takes place on a deserted island where Prospero, the rightful Duke of Milan, lives with his daughter Miranda. They were exiled by Antonio, Prospero's brother, who conspired with Alonso, the King of Naples, to seize power. Throughout the play, Prospero schemes to regain his lost authority and arranges for his daughter Miranda to win the heart of Ferdinand, Alonso's son, in hopes of securing her future as queen.

Othello is a play by William Shakespeare, adapted from an Italian short story titled "Un Capitano Moro" (The Moorish Captain). The drama unfolds when Othello, a heroic black general serving Venice, appoints Cassio as his lieutenant over Iago, who becomes consumed with jealousy. Driven by resentment over Othello’s success and his rivalry with Cassio, Iago hatches a plan to destroy Othello by falsely insinuating an affair between Desdemona, Othello’s wife, and Cassio. With the unwitting aid of his wife Emilia and the malicious assistance of Roderigo, a scorned suitor, Iago's plot moves forward.

Using Desdemona’s handkerchief, which Emilia finds after Othello mistakenly drops it, Iago convinces Othello that his wife gave it to Cassio as a token of love. He also manipulates Othello into overhearing a conversation between him and Cassio, which Othello misinterprets as evidence of an affair. These flimsy “proofs” feed into Othello’s insecurities, leading him to believe that, as an older black man, he is no longer attractive to his young, white Venetian wife. Overcome with jealousy, Othello murders Desdemona. When Emilia reveals the truth too late, Othello, devastated by his tragic mistake, requests to be remembered as a man who loved deeply but foolishly, before taking his own life.

King Richard II is a historical play based on the real-life events of King Richard II of England. The tragedy unfolds during the trial of Duke Henry Bolingbroke, who is exiled from England. Shortly afterward, Bolingbroke returns and stages a coup, forcing King Richard II to abdicate in his favor.

After Richard's abdication and Bolingbroke's ascension to the throne as Henry V, King Richard II is brutally assassinated. This marks the beginning of the famous Wars of the Roses, an event that later inspired the television series Game of Thrones.

Continuing the historical play series about English kings, King Henry VI focuses on the life of Henry IV’s grandson, who overthrew Richard II. During the reign of King Henry VI, tensions between the Lancaster family, represented by Kings Henry V and Henry VI, and the York family, descendants of Richard II, intensify.

The famous English civil war between these noble houses escalates, with factions rising and falling, only concluding when Richard III is defeated by Henry VII, the son of King Henry VI. Shakespeare wrote the play about King Henry VI in three parts, covering the life of this king and the Wars of the Roses.

Julius Caesar Đại Đế (tên tiếng Anh: The Tragedy of Julius Caesar) là bi kịch Shakespeare viết về cuộc đời của Julius Caesar Đại Đế - một trong những nhân vật lịch sử La Mã nổi tiếng nhất mọi thời đại. Julius Caesar là 1 trong 2 quan chấp chính La Mã, cùng với Pompey.

Sau khi đánh bại Pompey, Julius Caesar lên ngôi hoàng đế, lấy danh hiệu nhà độc tài trọn đời. Điều này khiến cho nhiều thành viên của Viện nguyên lão không phục, để rồi một cuộc mưu sát tập thể đã diễn ra ngay trong Viện nguyên lão. Julius Caesar bị các nguyên lão mưu sát vào một ngày lên triều, với tổng cộng 23 nhát dao đâm.

Last on the list of Top 10 Best Works of William Shakespeare is The Merchant of Venice. This play centers around the legal battle and rivalry between Antonio, a kind-hearted merchant, and Shylock, a Jewish moneylender who seeks revenge on Antonio.

Bassanio, a young nobleman and scholar, is best friends with Antonio, a wealthy merchant in Venice. Bassanio needs money to marry the beautiful Portia, but Antonio’s wealth is tied up in three ships that have yet to return. Desperate, Antonio borrows 3,000 ducats from Shylock under a dangerous condition: if the debt is not paid in three months, Shylock will claim a pound of Antonio’s flesh. Despite his love for Bassanio, Portia must follow her father’s will, which dictates that suitors must choose the correct chest containing her portrait to win her hand in marriage. The Prince of Morocco chooses the golden chest, finding only a skull and a mocking letter inside. The Prince of Arragon chooses the silver chest, which holds a portrait of a fool and a humorous poem. Bassanio picks the lead chest and, upon opening it, discovers true happiness.

The deadline for the loan arrives. Shylock takes Antonio to court. Bassanio and Gratiano (the husband of Nerissa, Portia’s maid) rush back to Venice. With the help of her cousin, a high-ranking judge, Portia disguises herself as a doctor of law, and Nerissa disguises herself as her clerk. Both women are invited into the courtroom. Portia rules that Shylock can take his pound of flesh, but warns him he must do so without spilling any blood. Shylock loses the case and is found guilty of plotting to harm a Venetian citizen. The court confiscates all his wealth.

The top spot in the Top 10 best literary works by William Shakespeare goes to Romeo and Juliet (English title: Romeo and Juliet). This is Shakespeare's most famous work, regarded as a timeless classic.

Romeo and Juliet is a tragic play about a doomed romantic relationship, based on real events from the Middle Ages. In Verona, the Montague and Capulet families have been feuding for generations. However, at a ball, Romeo and Juliet fall deeply in love. The rivalry between their families intensifies when Juliet’s cousin kills Romeo’s best friend, prompting Romeo to take revenge and be exiled from Verona. Meanwhile, Juliet is forced to marry Count Paris. To avoid the wedding, she takes a potion to appear dead and asks a priest to inform Romeo, so he can return to save her from the tomb. However, before the priest can inform him, Romeo hears of Juliet’s death, returns to kill Paris, and then takes his own life. Upon awakening, Juliet finds Romeo dead and, in her grief, kills herself.

The enduring humanistic value of love and social tragedy in Romeo and Juliet is unparalleled, making it one of the most exemplary works of Shakespeare, both in its language and the creation of tragedy. The play has had a profound influence, condemning the aristocracy of the past, and serving as a 'textbook' for later writers, dramatists, and filmmakers in creating narrative conflicts.

Alongside Romeo and Juliet, Prince Hamlet (English title: Hamlet) is another famous tragedy by the great playwright William Shakespeare. The story revolves around Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, who faces a tragic dilemma after his father’s sudden death. Two months after the king’s death, Hamlet’s mother marries his uncle Claudius. One day, the ghost of Hamlet’s father appears to inform him that Claudius murdered the king and seized the throne. Hamlet is filled with rage but is also skeptical, wondering if the ghost might be a trick of dark magic meant to mislead him into committing murder and violating moral law.

To investigate, Hamlet pretends to be mad, while Claudius, fearing for his life, sends Hamlet to England and orders the king there to execute him. Upon realizing the plot, Hamlet switches Claudius’ letter for one of his own, and returns home. In a final duel, Claudius gives Hamlet’s opponent a poisoned sword and poisons Hamlet’s drink. During the duel, Hamlet is wounded, but in a twist, he manages to strike down his opponent with the poisoned blade and emerges victorious. As Hamlet celebrates his triumph, the queen, unaware of the poison, drinks from the cup and dies. The public is shocked by her death. Hamlet’s wounded opponent, knowing he is doomed, reveals the entire truth, including Claudius’ role as the mastermind. Enraged, Hamlet uses the poisoned sword to kill Claudius before succumbing to his own wounds.

King Macbeth (English title: Macbeth) is William Shakespeare's shortest tragedy, inspired by the tale of King Macbeth of Scotland. Before ascending to the throne, Macbeth was a loyal general of Scotland. After a battle, Macbeth encounters three witches among the rebel forces, who prophecy that he will become the king of Scotland. Obsessed with the prophecy and driven by his wife’s encouragement, Macbeth plots the assassination of the Scottish king to seize the crown.

To consolidate his power, Macbeth becomes increasingly ruthless, resorting to brutal acts such as murdering the former king's heirs and a number of loyal subjects, including women and children. However, a surviving son of the former king leads a rebellion, aided by the English army, against Macbeth. As defeat looms, Macbeth’s wife takes her own life. Macbeth, now mad, perishes in battle. He faces Macduff, who Macbeth initially believes cannot harm him, since he believes no man born of a woman can defeat him. But Macduff reveals that he was born by caesarean section, and ultimately kills Macbeth, decapitating him. Order is restored as Malcolm ascends the throne of Scotland.