Question about Shakespeare.

[Keira]

Most of his plays were based on a historic event, or a story he read. Anyway, which is the only play that wasn't based on something?

[byquist]

Maybe, "The Tempest"?

[norma weston]

There are several possible sources for "The Tempest." Montaigne's essay "On Canni bals," (1603). Die Schone Sidea by Jacob Ayrer. Another more likely is a type of commedia dell' arte pastoral tragicomedy, called "Enchanted Arcadia" or Lost Island.
Also there is the wreck of the ship The Sea-Venture. (1609).

I have not been able to find a source for "The Merry Wives of Windsor."

[smilingtearz]

what kind of source??..this might help

http://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/merrywives/section10.rhtml

read thru...its a gud essay
and try getting norton editions of the text..u'll get background topics and essays at the back of the book which can be really helpful!

[bardophile]

Reference Arden Shakespeare edition of Love's Labour's Lost, 1998, page 61: "Love's Labour's Lost may well be the earliest of Shakespeare's three plays for which no primary source is known; the othere are A Midsummer Night's Dream and The Tempest.

[robero]

i adore his poems but sometimes i'm getting lost because i can't understand them

any idea about a site that can help me understand his poems????????

[BritLitTeacher]

I am somewhat apprehensive suggesting websites to help you understand Shakespeare. Often you'll find a lot of junk sites that may or may not be worth reading.
Here is some advice when reading his sonnets: read the last two lines, the rhymed couplet, first. His themes are typically a variation on Love, Death, Time, or some combination of the three. The couplet at the end resolves whatever he is writing about in the first 12 lines. This gives you an idea of what the poem is about before getting into his conceit (a comparison between two unrelated ideas or things by using fancy language). I hope this helps. Enjoy!