I’ve been teaching Shakespeare’s plays since I was first hired as an English teacher, 16 years ago. In that time, I’ve taught his works in several English classes, but now most of my Shakespeare texts live in my popular elective, Shakespearean Literature.
In my 15 years of experience, I’ve grown to love some of Shakespeare’s plays more than others, although there aren’t really any that I dislike. Here is a list of my top 10 Shakespearean plays to teach and why I like them, as well as tips for teaching each in the classroom.
Disclaimer: The rankings here represent my personal opinions and do not represent any company or group.
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10. The Taming of the Shrew
I used to teach this play with gusto, particularly because it gave me the chance to do a comparison with the movie 10 Things I Hate About You. After several years, however, I phased it out in favor of Twelfth Night (see below). The Taming of the Shrew offers a rare glimpse into the life of a married couple, while most of Shakespeare’s comedies deal only with the courtship phase of life, ending with a wedding. Shrew has a wedding in Act III, so the second half of the story follows Katherine and Petruchio’s life at home together.
While the play has its humorous moments, I dislike it because of its message about subduing a woman into submissiveness. If the message was about how marriage brings compromise, I could get into it. But instead, we watch Petruchio marry a woman against her will (simply for money), abuse her in his filthy home, then starve her until she agrees to clean his house. While he does grow a little, it’s not enough to redeem him. Also, the play begins with an introductory scene featuring a character called Christopher Sly, who gets drunk and falls asleep. A lord and his servants decide to prank Sly when he wakes by treating him as the lord and telling him a story. Oddly, the narrative never returns to Christopher Sly at the story’s end, feeling like an error.
Teaching Tip
I recommend pairing the study of The Taming of the Shrew with 10 Things I Hate About You, (1999). Kat and Bianca are in high school and unable to date in Gil Junger’s version of the story. Their father is not as oblivious to their feelings and struggles but acts overprotective as a single father whose wife left him. Petruchio, updated to be Patrick, enters into an agreement to date Kat (rather than marry her) for money, but it grows into admiration, respect, and eventual love. This pairing shows the feminist strength of both Kat and Bianca, which is underdeveloped in Shrew. If you’re interested in just comparing the play and the movie (or the Elizabeth Taylor movie with 10 Things), this resource can help you do it with zero prep.
9. Shakespeare’s sonnets
I know some people adore the Shakespearean sonnets, but I’ve never gotten behind teaching them as a full narrative. I prefer the more piecemeal approach, teaching several in order to learn about Shakespeare’s sentiments and personality. My favorites are Sonnets 18, 29, 116 and 130. Despite their depth, I usually can’t usually keep my students engaged longer than three days before I move onto his plays.
Teaching Tip
People best understand poetry when they apply it to universal experiences, such as love, anger, betrayal, jealousy, etc. I find that the more Shakespeare’s sonnets are applied to universal feelings, the more students are able to get out of them. I always start with Sonnet 18 (Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day). It pairs simple sentiments (beautiful weather, true love) with more complex figurative language. After slowly analyzing that sonnet, we’re able to move at a faster pace through 2-3 more.
8. Romeo and Juliet
In my opinion, this 9th grade staple deserves its placement as a high school classic. I enjoyed teaching this when I used to teach freshmen but found more success when I stopped hailing it as a “love story.” My students more enjoyed criticizing Romeo and Juliet’s impulsivity which led to their untimely death. The play exposes R & J for their classic rash actions, not only in their suicides but throughout the whole story. Remember, Romeo was absolutely in love with Rosaline until he met Juliet. Also, he couldn’t restrain himself from killing Tybalt after Mercutio’s death, even knowing he was Juliet’s kinsman. The play offers an opportunity to discuss the difference between love and infatuation, a better discussion point than the reality of true love.
I will admit that there are few examples of dramatic irony that are done better than in Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare establishes the foreknowledge of Romeo and Juliet’s death in the prologue, so it has the potential be disappointing. And yet, he cultivates the dramatic irony more in each act, increasing engagement and interest as students read.
Teaching Tip:
Romeo and Juliet is another play that is often adapted into a movie. Unlike Hamlet, it tends to modify or adapt the plot more in its adaptations. I like to embrace these adaptations and show them to students (or at least I did when I used to teach 9th grade). There are excellent scenes from the 1968 film (dir. Zeffirelli), the 1996 Romeo + Juliet (dir. Baz Lurhmann), and even the 2013 remake (dir. Carlei) that you can show to enhance key scenes. You can also do some fun compare/contrast lessons using freer adaptations such as West Side Story (I recommend the 2022 version!) or Gnomeo and Juliet.
7. Julius Caesar
I have a personal affection Julius Caesar because of my own experience reading it as a sophomore. My birthday is also on the Ides of March, so it made me feel special to learn I had a “literary birthday.” Caesar is a great opportunity for a discussion on corruption and power. It’s also good for laying the groundwork for analyzing rhetoric for emerging AP English Language students.
The reason I don’t rank it higher is because it is a hard one to teach. The first three acts of the play are excellent in contrasting the motives of Brutus and Cassius. The third act is one that I teach as a standalone. I begin with the bloodbath of Caesar’s murder and follow it with the famous funeral speeches. However, the play takes a very confusing turn in Act IV. Suddenly, we lose track of almost all of the senators, have to accept Octavius Caesar as an important main character (despite not being in the first half), and follow the war exploits of many new characters. The play lacks a strong ending, such as those found in Othello, Hamlet, and Macbeth, so I didn’t rank it higher.
Teaching Tip
When covering Caesar’s assassination, I always have students act it out. This isn’t just because it’s a violent scene. The lines imply that Caesar was ambushed and attacked initially from behind, although Shakespeare omits stage directions. I’ve created a script that keeps all the original words but adds detailed stage directions. This way students can act it out properly and see how Caesar was truly betrayed by his own friends. You can find the script here.
6. King Lear
King Lear, sometimes called Shakespeare’s greatest play, is definitely one of his most complicated. The play employs three different storylines: Lear and his daughters, Gloucester and his sons, and the subplot with the brewing war between France and Britain. It also has some of the most gruesome and heartbreaking scenes, such as Gloucester’s on-stage blinding, Lear’s visceral descent into madness, and Cordelia and Lear’s death in the end.
I can’t teach Lear without the assistance of a good film adaptation, and luckily there are several. I’m a fan of the new Amazon version, starring Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson (2018). It is set it in modern times, but the 2008 Royal Shakespeare Company performance featuring Ian McKellen is another strong production. I rely on the filmed productions to help students keep track of the storylines and complicated conflicts. While I love Lear, I keep it ranked a little low just because of its complicated storyline and the effort it takes to teach it right. However, when given the time allotted, Lear truly does stand as one of Shakespeare’s best.
Teaching Tip
King Lear has one of the most complicated set of characters, not only because there are many of them but also because several are in disguise or leave and come back frequently. To keep track of the characters, I create a crudely drawn character map on the board, using lines to show family, love, and work relationships. We update the character map as we read and it helps students visually keep track of everyone.
5. Macbeth
I always begin Shakespearean Literature with Macbeth. Because of its quick pace and high body count, it’s a fantastic play for luring skeptics of Shakespeare. Macbeth seems easy on the surface but has themes of power and corruption that many students can relate to. Furthermore, there is more to certain characters that meets the eye. This gives students the opportunities for many interesting projects and essays. I like to ask them to study Lady Macbeth, for example, for a potential backstory or motive for her behavior.
Macbeth is great for my electives and my sophomores, but I’ve never been able to reach the depth required for making it work in AP Lit. I find its themes and symbols fairly easy to comprehend, which is why I like it for less rigorous courses. In short, I think Macbeth is amazing, but not as complex as the plays that follow.
Teaching Tip:
Because of Macbeth’s main theme of corruption and power, this is one of Shakespeare’s best plays for pairing with other works. I suggest pairing it with other works on the same theme but in a different genre. Some suggestions include:
Novels:
- 1984 or Animal Farm by George Orwell
- Purple Hibiscus by Chimimanda Ngozi Adichie
- All the King’s Men by Robert Penn Warren
Short Stories:
- “Lather and Nothing Else” by Hernando Tellez
- “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut
- “In the Penal Colony” by Franz Kafka
Poems:
- “The Colonel” by Carolyn Forché
- “Epitaph on a Tyrant” by W. H. Auden
4. Twelfth Night
Twelfth Night is another play with many complicated subplots, making it arguably Shakespeare’s most complex comedy. Furthermore, almost every character lies throughout the course of the play and several live double lives, complicating it further.
Twelfth Night is one of my favorites for many reasons. First, as I already said, I like its complications. And since they’re driven by love and pranks rather than violence or greed, students often get drawn in as well. Another reason I love it is for the opportunity it allows for studying archetypes. We do a whole archetypal project at the end of unit, curating a list of fictional characters that share character traits with many of the characters in Twelfth Night. Finally, I love a good shenanigan. No matter who they are, rich or poor, man or woman, sober or drunk, you can find the characters of Twelfth Night shenaniganing from beginning to end.
Teaching Tip
I like to introduce the story as a bit of an “upstairs, downstairs” story, like the drama of Downton Abbey. Orsino and Olivia pay no attention to the lives of their servants and pages, but their stories end up very intertwined in them in the end. Furthermore, the characters’ choices vary depending on the freedom they enjoy based on their lot in life. Why would Maria marry Toby in the end? Because he’s a lord! It’s the only way to improve her station. But why would Malvolio not tell Olivia off at the end? He’s just a steward, and, despite his trying, can’t move past his lower status.
3. Much Ado About Nothing
It may be true that Much Ado is a more simplistic and superficial play than Twelfth Night. And it certainly doesn’t have the depth that most of his tragedies have. But here’s the bottom line: I adore it. I love Benedick’s sudden transformation from “[love] shall never make me such a fool” to “the world must be peopled!” in just one scene. I love Beatrice’s fiery speech, “O God, that I were a man!” at the injustice of the perceived weakness of her sex. Basically, I love just about everything about these two. I even tolerate the weak-willed Claudio and lame villain version of Don John just to see more of Beatrice and Benedick’s love/hate relationship.
While I make students come for Beatrice and Benedick, they often stay for Dogberry. This buffoonish character and his malapropisms is a comedy actor’s dream, portrayed brilliantly by both Michael Keaton and Nathan Fillion in different movie productions. And let’s not forget, it’s just another excuse to introduce students to Kenneth Branagh. To study Much Ado and not watch Kenneth’s scenes is a crime, and that is a fact.
Teacher Tip
Thank goodness for The Office to help my students understand malapropisms. The ones that Dogberry uses are often for archaic words, so to introduce the concept of a malaprop I use this YouTube video compilation of Michael Scott malapropisms and mispronunciations. Not only is it hilarious, but it helps them see what kind of purpose uses them frequently and how awkward they can be.
2. Hamlet
Many readers will be surprised to find Hamlet in the #2 spot, especially if you know me personally. I’ve written an original one act play based on Hamlet (set in pandemic days). I quote Hamlet constantly in my lessons to my sophomores. I even have “words, words, words” tattooed on my arm! Why is Hamlet, probably Shakespeare’s greatest play and certainly his most popular, not my top pick?!
I will admit, it was a tough choice to put Hamlet in second place (perhaps the equivalent of putting Baby in the corner). But I had several reasons for my choice:
- Hamlet is already number 1 on most lists. It is one of Shakespeare’s most performed and tops the lists for his best play. Its soliloquies are also the most famous compared to the other tragedies. Even its productions outstrip the other plays. When you search for Hamlet on Imdb.com, there are over 50 Hamlet productions listed. It’s definitely famous.
- Hamlet is long. I love teaching it, but it can be a trudge if you read all of it in class. I often show several scenes rather than read them, such as the player’s soliloquy in Act II, the play within a play in Act III, and Osric’s arrival to the duel in Act V.
- The characters are very unpredictable. This is actually a fantastic thing about the play as well, since it makes the plot exciting and gets students talking. However, Hamlet’s actions towards Ophelia and his blasé reaction to murdering Polonius sometimes makes students give up on him before Act V.
All this being said, Hamlet is famous for a reason. I love this play because there is so much depth to each character, both in the play and in discussion. Some of our in-class analyses have included Ophelia and Hamlet’s past relationship, Gertrude’s involvement in King Hamlet’s death, Laertes’ sense of shame and anger in Act IV, and Hamlet’s state of mind by the end of the play. The bottom line is that Hamlet is ultimately a story about grief, one of the most universal feelings of all. Hamlet, Ophelia, Gertrude, and Laertes all react to grief differently, just as mankind does.
Teacher tip
While most people have heard of Hamlet, few know who Hamnet is. Hamnet was the name of Shakespeare’s only son, who died when he was eleven from the plague. Hamnet’s death left Shakespeare without an heir and shifted his writings to deal more powerfully with death and the relationships between a father and his daughters. The story of Hamnet gives a unique context to the plot of Hamlet and can help students become more interested and invested in the play. I highly recommend the new novel Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell if you’re interested in learning more about Shakespeare’s home life and his lost son. Although this is a work of historical fiction (not nonfiction), it is beautifully written and stays with you after finishing it.
1. Othello
It’s hard for me to explain exactly why I love Othello the most of Shakespeare’s plays. It lacks the quick pacing that Much Ado and Macbeth and is less relatable than Hamlet is. However, I think the root of my fascination lies in same part of my personality that watches Criminal Minds on repeat or read Helter Skelter at an inappropriate age. I am fascinated by sociopaths. I don’t understand how someone can willingly hurt another person and act as if nothing has happened. All of this fascination makes Othello my favorite Shakespeare play, because I love watching Iago weave his spiderweb of malice.
In order to make Othello work with my students, I usually teach it third in our Shakespearean Literature course, after they’ve experienced tragedy with Macbeth and comedy with Much Ado. I warn them that Othello is a slow burn. I also explain that it’s going to be different from Macbeth, which had a lot of killing throughout the story. That being said, Othello is not without bloodshed, so it is all leading up to something big. In our readings, we analyze what Iago says to others versus what he says to us. Students start to get drawn in by Act III, when we can see Iago’s plan against Othello unfolding without error, but only we know what’s really happening. I can’t count the number of times a student has muttered under her breath, “what an evil genius.”
The perspective used in Othello goes beyond dramatic irony. We know so much that the characters don’t because Iago goes out of his way to tell us things, making the reader/viewer the only person privy to his master plan. By Act IV, we begin to feel like his accomplice. You may not agree with his actions, but he’s so good at planning for the long game that you almost root for him to get away with it! Ultimately, Othello is the play that makes me respect Shakespeare the most. I feel it brings the most depth of character, as well as its relatable subjects of jealousy and blindness.
Teacher Tip
It can be difficult to keep track of Iago’s master plan when reading Othello, so I have students keep track of his literal web of lies. This worksheet lays it out visually and asks students to support Iago’s plan with quotes. At the bottom, they must write down Iago’s motives against each person he lies to. While he lies to some people to keep his plan in place, most of them are based on personal grudges or slights that he feels as a narcissistic sociopath. Click here to check out this print-and-go resource.
What’s Your Favorite?
How do your favorites compare with my list? Obviously, I don’t have all of Shakespeare’s plays on here (one can only teach so many!), and I know I will be completely missing some of your favorites (such as A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Tempest, and any of the histories). Remember that this list is just a collection of my opinions and experience, not a definitive list in any way.
You may have noticed some links throughout this post, which are the various lessons and teaching resources I have available for each of these plays. I’ve only linked to the bundle versions, but each bundle is made up of notes, worksheets, assessments, bell work, and other resources to help you get the most out of each of Shakespeare’s plays. I also have a bundle of all of my Shakespeare resources if you, like me, teach a Shakespearean Lit course—or just really want a lot of Shakespeare material! You can check it out here.
