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Shakespeare is known for many things and his use of evil villains in his plays is certainly at the top of the list.

Here are 5 of the most noteworthy villains in Shakespearean history:

5. Iachimo – ‘Cymbeline’

A deceitful trickster at best, Iachimo bets Posthumus that he can seduce his lady, Imogen. When Iachimo fails, he resorts to sneaking in her room while she sleeps. He reports every detail of what he saw to Posthumus, who initially believes him.

4.  Lady Macbeth – ‘Macbeth’

Not Shakespeare’s typical leading female, Lady Macbeth is an evil plotter who has perfected the art of manipulating her husband like no other. She cheers him on and fuels his hate for his rival, Duncan and even persuades him to murder him.

3. King Claudius – ‘Hamlet’

We couldn’t leave out Claudius. He is the ultimate heartless villain, to put it lightly. He poisons his brother and then marries his widow, Gertrude, making him King. Hamlet is experiencing betrayal from his uncle and his mother all at once and Claudius could not care less. 

2. Richard III – ‘Richard III’

Richard III is a villain with a murderous desire for the throne. He will stop at nothing to get what he wants. A few examples: he banishes people, imposes fines and taxes and orders executions. Need we say more?

1.  Iago – ‘Othello’

If you are interested in learning more about Shakespeare’s life but have seen enough documentaries and read too many biographies already, maybe a visit to one of the greatest Shakespeare-related museums and monuments would be right up your alley. We have compiled a small list of some of the more interesting hotspots around the world that every Shakespeare fan should visit.

1. Shakespeare’s Birthplace

Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire. After being restored in the mid-19th century, his childhood home has become a small museum for Shakespeare fans from around the world to see. If you are interested to visit it yourself, you can get more information right here.

2. Shakespeare’s Globe

In 1599, Shakespeare’s playing company built the Globe Theater in London to house its plays. While the original theater burned down in 1613 during a performance of Henry VIII, you can still visit the Globe Theater as it has been reconstructed in 1997. There are tours, plays and other exhibitions being held there, so there is no excuse not to check it out. Take a look at the Shakespeare’s Globe website for more information.

3. Royal Shakespeare Company

Also situated in Stratford-upon-Avon, the RSC is a great place for Shakespeare fans and history buffs to learn more about the history of theatre. You can see classic plays being performed here at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, or you can just check out the free exhibitions and shops to satisfy all your Shakespeare needs. Interested? You can learn more about the RSC right here.

4. Folger Shakespeare Library

The Folger in Washington D.C. houses one of the greatest collections of Shakespeare’s works, as well as grand exhibitions. Whether you want to learn about his life or get a glimpse of what 16th century Britain was like, this beautiful library is a must-see for everyone. If you want to visit it on your next trip to Washington, make sure to check out the Folger Library’s website

5. Holy Trinity

This Church in Stratford-Upon-Avon contains Shakespeare’s chancel and funerary monument. It is said that Shakespeare worshiped at this church when he was younger. Five members of Shakespeare’s family were buried in this chancel, and visitors can visit his grave and contribute to the maintenance of the building. Visit the Holy Trinity website to learn more about its history and events being held there.

Most Shakespeare fans may dream of traveling to his era and experiencing life as only he (and his characters) could live. Who hasn’t dreamt of meeting a lover in fair Verona or seeking revenge in Denmark? 16th Century Inc, a Ft. Lauderdale-based organization, brings those dreams to 21st-century South Florida. The group aims “to promote, foster, sponsor and develop the understanding, taste, and love of the arts during the Medieval/Renaissance eras,” as stated on their website.

16th Century, Inc. is a volunteer-run non-profit and hosts the annual Florida Renaissance Festival. The organization also supplies the local community with a variety of 16th-century traditions, exploring Shakespeare’s era through theater, dance, history, wardrobe and more.

Among the organization’s most popular events are Shakespeare readings, in which professional actors read the Bard’s most famous creations. 16th Century’s currently running series is titled The Greek(ish) Plays, featuring plays all set in Greece. Check out the schedule below!

SC's Reading of Titus Andronicus

Thursday, November 5, 2015

SC's Reading of Timons of Athens

Thursday, December 3, 2015

SC's Reading of A Midsummer Night's Dream

Thursday, December 17, 2015

That’s right. Many of the words you use on your daily life were coined by Shakespeare. He invented over 1700 words of the English language by changing nouns to verbs, verbs into adjectives and even connecting words never used together.

1. Addiction: Henry V, ACT I, Scene I

How would we describe our morning dependency to coffee?

2. Compromise: The Merchant of Venice, ACT I, Scene III

That’s what true love looks like.

3. Bedazzled: The Taming of the Shrew, ACT IV, Scene V

Glad we are over this phase...

4. Excitement: Hamlet IV, ACT IV, SCENE IV

When you see the waiter coming with your food.

5. Fashionable: Troilus and Cressida, ACT III, Scene I

This term could be subjective nowadays...

6. Puking: As you like it, ACT II, Scene VII

We’ve all been there.

7. Swagger: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, ACT III, Scene I

Resource of the week: Blogging Shakespeare 

There are many Shakespeare resources on the internet. One quick search and thousands of hits come up. Some are modern, fun adaptations with comics and some are more serious, but how do you know that they’re accurate? Well, that’s where Blogging Shakespeare comes in.

Blogging Shakespeare is resource website dedicated to uploading quality and trusted Shakespeare articles written by professors and Shakespeareans from the United States, France, Italy, and Canada. The articles focus on background knowledge of parts of Shakespeare’s life, why his work is still relevant in the modern world, and the more mechanical things like the iambic pentameter in his works. 

The blog is also home to projects that center around Shakespeare like “60 Minute Shakespeare”, in which professors and Shakespearean experts discuss and answer all Shakespeare related questions in a 60 minute time frame, “Shakespeare Bites Back”, a polemical essay written by two Shakespeare PhD professors, and “Happy Birthday Shakespeare”, a collaborative project made by people from all over the world who talk about the impact of Shakespearean literature.

Aside from projects like the aforementioned three, the website also has articles with information about the first folio, about characters which Shakespeare took inspiration from to make his plays, information about play companies through the world and their current productions, as well as information about film adaptations. 

The website also holds web seminars by distinguished professors from all over the world in which they usually debate about subjects of adaptation and the making of plays and translating them onto the screen. 

“I have been a part of this group for 10 years” Joey Bland states. He jumps into how he was there from the very beginning, starting with small shows once a  week in Chicago. He laughs, and mentions how things just hit it off with the group, and soon they had expanded to 4 shows a week, touring the Midwest and East Coast to share with the country just what they’re all about. When I had asked about how he even got involved with the group, and why, he was eager to share his story with me. Blaine Swen, who was a part of the inception of the group, knew him and had asked him to perform for a night. “I thought why not, and performed that one night,” Bland mentions with a laugh. This was the beginning of his career with The Improvised Shakespeare Co., having performed that night, and realizing that he could definitely do this again.

As an Improv actor, the group was everything he loved about Improv, and more. He loved Shakespeare as well, and it just seemed like a logical fit, despite his hesitation, he mentions, in the beginning when the group was still relatively small and holding interviews. He shared how he felt hesitant because he didn’t know if the group would take Shakespeare and Improv seriously, while also knowing how to have fun with both. But he quickly came to realize on that one night, and from then on, that they were great people that were there for the same reasons he was.

I asked him about some specific cities he loved working in, and some of his greatest experiences as an Improv actor on the set. He did not hesitate in describing his love for the cities of New York and Los Angeles, and the audiences that would attend many of their shows there. He also mentions their visits to Florida, specifically the city of Tampa and Ft. Lauderdale, and how they loved performing in the festivals because of the turnout and the great audiences that would attend. He laughs before mentioning his affections for the cities of San Francisco and Seattle as well, because they go perform in public places like the parks or tents. He states how the audience could just be there for the music festivals, and wants to take a break or wander off in the festival area, stumbling into their tent and finding out that they really like what they’re doing. “Seattle is a great place, I love performing there and I love the audience.”

When asking him about his favorite plays and some of the roles he might want to take a crack at, he was unsure. “Well, I saw Midsummer Night’s Dream in England. I read the play as well and I really appreciated it,” Bland mentions. He saw the play and was immediately floored by the difficulty of the performance, and how, the actors were able to make it appear so easy. He also mentions another play, Henry the Fourth Part 1, one that he had seen in high school that had really impacted him “I had never heard of it and thought it was going to be very boring, but then I ended up loving it,” he mentions before laughing about the instance. Hamlet is also a favorite, but he mentions that it is more like “a favorite hits” type than that of a play that seriously impacted him. But, he would be up for the challenge of playing a Hamlet-like character. He mentions that a character like that is inherently a challenge because how does one Improv a character that is known for doing nothing? As an Improv actor, every performance carries its own challenge because they create a performance from scratch, and adding in a Hamlet-like persona would really amp up the difficulty. “ Hamlet type characters are a big hurdle in our career, so many people tend to want to play a Hamlet.”

So most of us have probably had to stifle a yawn over remake after remake of Romeo and Juliet, and though we all love Leo’s portrayal of the young lover we’ve probably zoned out a couple times between “where art thou” and “I defy you stars!”

But what if you’ve been watching some these classics without even realizing?!

“The Lion King”

We ALL cried when Mufasa died… But guess what? Your parents could have warned you! They let your little heart be broken at this horrific death even as they watched Hamlet unfold. No, Scar, we were not prepared.

“Warm Bodies”

So this girl falls in love with the disease-ridden boy who ate her boyfriend’s brains. What’s that got to do with the immortal bard? Yeah, maybe Shakespeare wasn’t envisioning a zombie apocalypse when he wrote Romeo and Juliet—but this movie is the classic rewritten.

“10 Things I Hate About You”

You probably thought it was just a coincidence Kat’s English teacher was lecturing on the “dead old White guy” but this teen Classic is actually a remake of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew.

“She’s the Man”

When Shakespare wrote Twelfth Night I bet he never imagined tampons… much less Amanda Bynes sticking one up her nose. I’m pretty sure the dirty minded play-write may just give this movie his nod of approval though.

“Motocrossed”

So I’m sure there are quite a few 90s kids around who recall this movie airing on Disney Channel. The pun in the title (get it, ‘cause she likes motorcycles and she has to cross dress?) isn’t the only clever thing about this gem from our childhood. Who knew we were all understanding and watching Twelfth Night as kids? I guess that makes us pretty darn smart ;)