6 Shakespeare Books Every Literature Lover Must Read

So, Hamlet, right? You have probably heard it is a classic or whatever, and yeah, that is very much true. It starts with Hamlet’s dad’s ghost popping up and saying his brother killed him. Wild, huh? Hamlet pretends to be crazy to figure out if that is legit, but honestly, things get messy fast. Like, real messy. What stuck with me is that it’s not just about getting revenge. It’s more about Hamlet’s head all the overthinking, doubts, and wondering about life and death. It is kinda like you are inside his brain watching everything fall apart. It is not a light read or anything, but that’s why it still hits home, even after all these years.

Macbeth is a different altogether. So, you have this guy, Macbeth. He comes across these witches who tell him he's destined to be king. At first, he's a bit "whatever," then it begins to mess with his mind, leading him and his wife on the path of murder and betrayal to gain power. The whole play is dark: everyone has overwhelming guilt, and there's also the supernatural. What stuck with me is how the play ends up showcasing the dangers of shoving greed down everyone's throats until they lose it. It is intense, sometimes creepy, but I figured its great because you can't take your eyes off of it even though you know where it ends.

So Romeo and Juliet. It's about two young people who fall in love rather quickly, but their families are sworn enemies, and I mean sworn enemies. It makes everything harder than it needs to be.Their love’s super intense and kind of reckless, like teenage crush level, you know? And well, things don’t exactly end happily, which is kinda sad but also feels pretty real. What I’ve always thought is cool is how Shakespeare shows both the excitement and danger of falling in love too quickly. Plus, the whole family feud thing just makes the whole thing spiral out of control. It’s not a long story, but it really sticks with you.

It is a pretty rough story. Othello’s this respected guy, but his friend Iago starts messing with him, like big time. He plants all these crazy ideas about jealousy and stuff, and it just spirals out of control. The jealousy part is wild it really shows how one little doubt can wreck everything. Oh, and there’s also the whole race thing, which adds a whole other layer to it. The play’s super tense, like you just know something bad is coming, and yeah, it hits hard. It’s not some happy love story or anything, but it really sticks with you like, you can’t stop thinking about how people can destroy each other with lies.

You know A Midsummer Night’s Dream? It’s this crazy story set in a forest where nothing’s really normal. There’s these four lovers who keep getting all mixed up about who likes who it’s kinda funny but also a bit messy. Then you’ve got fairies running around, causing trouble just for kicks. What is really awesome about it is that portrayed love is not always orderly or earnest sometimes it is simply a big haphazard mess. Shakespeare manages to make it seem free and wild like you’ve entered a dream from which you don’t want to wake. It’s light but with some smart jokes too. Honestly, it’s a good one when you want something fun but still clever.

So, this Complete Sonnets and Poems book, right? It’s like having all of Shakespeare’s love poems and stuff in one place. The thing is, the spelling’s been updated a bit, so it’s not like trying to read super old English, which is nice. What I like is the notes and introductions which actually help you figure out what is going on, who this Dark Lady is, and all that mysterious stuff. It’s a pretty big book, but it doesn’t feel like homework. More like a peek into Shakespeare’s head, you know? You get all the feels love, jealousy, heartbreak and it kind of makes you realize how messy and real all that stuff was, even back then.