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EarlyPeriodPlays:ComedyofErrors,HenryVIPartI,HenryVIPartII,HenryVIPartIII,KingJohn,Love'sLabour'sLost,MidsummerNight'sDream,RichardII,RichardIII,RomeoandJuliet,TamingoftheShrew,TitusAndronicus,TwoGentlemenofVerona.StyleinGeneral:Technicallyrigid;somewhatimmature.Theplotsgenerallyarewellorganized.Characterization:Oftensuperficialorshallowcomparedwiththecharacterizationinlaterplays.RomeoandJuliet,inwhichcharacterizationisstrong,isanexception.Dialogue:Sometimesstilted,unnatural.Shakespearetrieshard–maybetoohard–tobeconsistentinthestructureofhislines,makinghiswordsfitestablishedconventionsratherthanmakingthemexpressthemercurial,innervoicethatguidedhiminlaterplays.Punsandotherrhetoricaldevicesabound,makingthewordingcleverbutnotalwaysprofound.InRichardII,JohnofGauntmakespunsevenasheisdying.Whenthekingaskshowheis,Gauntuseshisname(thesameastheadjectivegaunt,meaningthin,bonyandhaggard)inapunnyreply:Oh,howthatnamebefitsmycomposition!OldGauntindeed,andgauntinbeingold,Withmegriefhathkeptatediousfast,Andwhoabstainsfrommeatthatisnotgaunt?BalancedPeriodPlays:All'sWellThatEndsWell,AsYouLikeIt,Hamlet*,HenryIVPartI,HenryIVPartII,HenryV,JuliusCaesar,MeasureforMeasure*,MerchantofVenice*,MerryWivesofWindsor,MuchAdoAboutNothing,Othello*,TroilusandCressida,TwelfthNight.StyleinGeneral:Lesstechnicallyrigid;morecreative.Theplotsaregenerallywelldesigned.Shakespearedemonstrateshisrangebywritingoutstandingworksinthreegenres:comedy(AsYouLikeIt,TwelfthNight),tragedy(Hamlet,JuliusCaesar)andhistory(HenryIVPartI,HenryV).Inaddition,hepresentsahighlytragiccharacter,Shylock,inacomedy(TheMerchantofVenice).Characterization:Strongandrounded,reflectingdeepinsightintohumannature.AmongthemagnificentcharacterportrayalsofthisperiodarethoseofHamlet,Macbeth,Shylock,Othello,Iago,andBrutus.InHenryIVPartsIandII,Shakespeareachievesawonderfulbalancebetweenthecomic(representedbySirJohnFalstaff)andtheserious(representedbyHotspurandothers).Dialogue:Amixtureofverseandprose.Shakespearealsousesthesoliloquyasmorethanadevicetodisclosethedirectionoftheplot,topresentprettypoetry,ortodeliverlong-windedasides.InHamlet,Macbeth,andJuliusCaesar,forexample,soliloquiesplumbthedepthsofthecharacters'souls,revealingdoubt,indecision,fear,andambition.TheTobeornottobesoliloquyinHamlet,perhapsthemostfamouspassageinEnglishliterature,revealsalloftheseemotions:OverflowingPeriodPlays:KingLear,AntonyandCleopatra,Macbeth,Coriolanus,TimonofAthensStyleinGeneral:Highlycreative;burstingwithinsight.Shakespeareignoresmanyrulestoallowhisgeniustooverflow.Theplotsofthisperiodsometimestwistandturn,challengingthereaderwiththeircomplexity.Characterization:Superb,deeplyinsightfulDialogue:Oftenhighlysuggestiveofthespeaker'sstateofmindandsuffusedwithmemorablemetaphors,similesandotherfiguresofspeech.Manypassagesareinprose.ThefollowingprosepassageinthestormsceneinActIII,SceneIV,ofKingLearrevealsallofthesecharacteristics.LearisaddressingEdgarinthepresenceoftheFool.Afterspeakingthelines,Leartearsoffhisclothes.Why,thouwertbetterinthygravethantoanswerwiththyuncoveredbodythisextremityoftheskies.Ismannomorethanthis?Considerhimwell.Thouowestthewormnosilk,thebeastnohide,thesheepnowool,thecatnoperfume.Ha!here'sthreeon'saresophisticated!Thouartthethingitself:unaccommodatedmanisnomorebutsuchapoorbare,forkedanimalasthouart.Off,off,youlendings!Comeunbuttonhere.TheFoolthenrejoinsinprosewithasurprisingtouchofhumorandmoreofthesametypeofimagery:Prithee,nuncle[Lear],becontented;'tisanaughtynighttoswimin.Nowalittlefireinawildfieldwerelikeanoldlecher'sheart;asmallspark,allthereston'sbodycold.Look,herecomesawalkingfire.[Gloucesterenterswithatorch.]FinalPeriodPlays:Cymbeline,HenryVIII,Pericles,TheTempest,TheWinter'sTaleStyleinGeneral:Masterly.Shakespearehasjusttherightmixoftechnicalskill,creativity,andwisdomwhileexhibitinghopeforflawedhumanity.ShakespearetendstoprefertimesandplacesfarremovedfromElizabethanEngland–asinTheTempest,Pericles,andCymbeline–althoughHenryVIIIiscertainlyanexceptionhere.Characterization:Severalplaysofthisperiod–includingPericles,TheWinter'sTale,andCymbeline–introducecharacterswhosufferloss,thenregainwhattheyhavelost.Superb,deeplyinsightfulDialogue:Highlycreative,withmanymemorablepassagesinbothverseandprose.Thefollowingpassages,thefirstinverseandthesecondinprose,arefromTheTempest:.