![]() In that effort a man (or woman) will offend – offend individuals, society or nature – and will therefore have to be brought down if equilibrium is to be restored. It seems that Shakespeare thought of ambition as a doomed effort to rise above the ordinary and establish oneself above it. That often takes the form of revenge – different kinds of revenge, sometimes by a person, sometimes by fate, and sometimes by nature. The result of ambitious behaviour is a downfall through some counter force, as a reaction to it. In Shakespeare’s time, and in his plays, ambition is not a positive drive. ![]() The meaning of the word has evolved into something a bit different from its earlier meaning. In these times of gender equality it is seen as quite normal that boys and girls, men and women, should harbour the same ambitions and are encouraged to pursue them into the workplace and up the ladder of promotion. School children are urged to be ambitious, while employers shake their heads at job candidates who appear to lack ambition. How does the theme of ambition weave through Shakespeare’s plays? In 21st Century Western culture we generally regard ambition as a ‘good’ thing. Each Shakespeare’s play name links to a range of resources about each play: Character summaries, plot outlines, example essays and famous quotes, soliloquies and monologues: All’s Well That Ends Well Antony and Cleopatra As You Like It The Comedy of Errors Coriolanus Cymbeline Hamlet Henry IV Part 1 Henry IV Part 2 Henry VIII Henry VI Part 1 Henry VI Part 2 Henry VI Part 3 Henry V Julius Caesar King John King Lear Loves Labour’s Lost Macbeth Measure for Measure The Merchant of Venice The Merry Wives of Windsor A Midsummer Night’s Dream Much Ado About Nothing Othello Pericles Richard II Richard III Romeo & Juliet The Taming of the Shrew The Tempest Timon of Athens Titus Andronicus Troilus & Cressida Twelfth Night The Two Gentlemen of Verona The Winter’s Tale This list of Shakespeare plays brings together all 38 plays in alphabetical order. Plays It is believed that Shakespeare wrote 38 plays in total between 15.
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