Queen Elizabeth, who ruled England for most of William Shakespeare's life, was a revered monarch who refused to marry and left no heir to her throne.

John Barrymore, grandfather to Drew, was one of the most famous American actors to portray Hamlet.

Your eyes, your critical thinking skills, and your imaginations are also imperative for Beyond Books's interactive exploration of Shakespeare.

Get ready.

This three-tiered program centers on two of the Bard's most frequently studied tragedies: Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet. But before reading Shakespeare, it is helpful to gain insight into his world, his influences, and his language. That's where our tour begins.

Hamlet, one of Shakespeare's most popular plays, has been interpreted by actors and theater companies all over the world. This picture from a Russian production of the play about the melancholic Danish prince.

Our first stop: Shakespeare's London. The sights, sounds, and smells of Renaissance England permeate Shakespeare's prose. The English economy, the place of women, and the hierarchy of Elizabethan social order are featured in Shakespeare's texts. Explore the boundaries of his society and understand how they shaped his work.

But remember, Shakespeare didn't just write. He wrote plays. And plays are meant to be performed and seen. Located in London's liberties (neighborhoods on the fringe of respectability), the theaters were the dominant entertainment for Elizabethan and Jacobean societies. If you don't find it unseemly, cross the Thames and visit the Rose, the Theater, and the Globe. Learn how Shakespeare's venue influenced his writing. Imagine Marc Antony turning to face each gallery before the three-sided stage as he delivers his famous oration.

Romeo and Juliet is one of the most romantic plays of all time. Since its first performance in 1595, Shakespeare's story of star-crossed lovers has been a favorite of audiences, actors, artists, and Hollywood directors.

Then, as now, the audience is addressed directly. We are not only theatergoers, but participants in the action onstage. Watch, and be wary.

Elizabethans did not watch the plays purely for entertainment. For them, the plays imparted moral lessons. The political intrigues, succession anxieties, and legal disputes of the age shaped the collective consciousness of the audience. To understand Shakespeare's issues, a background in the dynamics of court, Tudor-Stuart lineage, and English law is extremely useful.

Shakespeare's use of nature, his locations, and the very structure of his prose all contribute to the themes of his drama. In this program, you will find keys to unlock the mysteries of Shakespeare's language and you can practice your own Bard-speak by engaging interactive activities.

When you are ready, sharpen the focus of your Shakespearean lens and journey to Verona or Elsinore for an in-depth exploration of Romeo and Juliet or Hamlet. The universal, human appeal of Shakespeare's stories is supplemented here with historical context, character analyses, thematic explorations, critical insights, and performance studies.

Utrecht University Library

This 1596 sketch of London's Swan Theatre was created by a Dutch student named Johannes de Witt. It is the only surviving contemporary rendering of an Elizabethan playhouse's interior.

Throughout the program, the Bard's own words are faithfully represented and demystified. Click on the blue speech bubbles adjacent to excerpts from the plays for glosses of archaic words, obscure references, and unfamiliar allusions.

But don't just read — listen, too. Click to hear Juliet bemoan her fate from her balcony perch. Laugh as you listen to the bawdy prattle of Juliet's nurse. Tune in to Mercutio's spirited description of Queen Mab. He'll make you wonder about your next dream.

Dreams? Ay, there's the rub. And Hamlet knows it. He'll make you question sleep altogether, along with life, death, and moral dilemmas. Listen to four of Hamlet's famous soliloquies and ponder the mysteries and frailties of human nature as Shakespeare penned them. Hearing is believing.

Put your newfound knowledge into practice. The Shakespeare program is peppered with more than 40 interactive activities and quizzes that reinforce the critical concepts addressed in the program. For representative samples, look in focus areas 5i, 9e, 11i, and 12b.

The man behind the plays, William Shakespeare rose from humble beginnings to write several of the greatest plays in the English language without the aid of a university education.

Of course, the best of cyberspace has been culled, evaluated, and put into context for Shakespearean study. If you are looking for historical websites, quarto or folio versions of the plays, literary criticism, performance information, film adaptations, or just plain fun, you'll find it here.

Journey back 400 years and return to modern venues. Traverse the boundaries of time and space and explore Shakespeare cyber-style, without sacrificing an iamb of his original pentameter or diminishing the beauty of the Bard's language.

Let us begin.

1. Shakespeare's London
   1. Social Classes
   2. Religion and Church
   3. Who Was Shakespeare?
   4. Economy
   5. Medicine
   6. Women
2. The Renaissance Stage
   1. The Evolution of Theater
   2. The Theater in Society
   3. The Globe and Its Neighbors
   4. Actors
   5. Companies
   6. Gender
   7. Scenery
   8. The Experience of Watching a Play
3. Politics and Power
   1. The Tudors and The Stuarts
   2. Queen Elizabeth I
   3. King James I
   4. Laws of the Day
   5. War and Peace
   6. Lineage and Succession
4. Reading Shakespeare
   1. Shakespearean Sources
   2. Mythological References
   3. Is This English?
   4. Glossing Language
   5. Literary Devices
   6. Shakespeare's Settings
   7. The Use of Nature
5. Romeo and Juliet: What's Going On?
   1. The Details
   2. Romeo
   3. Juliet
   4. Mercutio
   5. The Nurse
   6. Friar Lawrence
   7. Prince Escalus
   8. Montagues and Capulets
   9. Family Duty
6. Romeo and Juliet: Themes
   1. Providence, Fortune, and Fate
   2. Opposites and Disorder
   3. Courtly Love and Real Love
   4. Religious Power and State Power
   5. Conflict
7. Use of Language and Speeches
   1. Imagery and Symbols
   2. Allusions, Puns, and Wordplay
   3. Opening Scene
   4. Balcony Scene
   5. Mercutio's Queen Mab
   6. Death Scene
8. Romeo and Juliet in Performance and Study
   1. Elizabethan Performance
   2. Contemporary Performance
   3. Contemporary Film
   4. Critical Approaches
   5. Performance Workshop
   6. Directing Workshop
9. Hamlet: Structure and Background
   1. Hamlet: The Basics
   2. Structure of the Play
   3. Classical and Revenge Tragedy
   4. Hamlet as Tragic Hero
   5. All the World's a Stage
   6. Changing Political Orders
   7. Critical Approaches to Hamlet
10. Hamlet: Themes and Imagery
    1. Sanity and Madness
    2. He Who Hesitates ...
    3. Chastity
    4. Hamlet on the Couch: Freudian Interpretation
    5. Disease Metaphor
11. Hamlet: Character Studies
    1. Hamlet
    2. Claudius
    3. Gertrude
    4. Ophelia
    5. Polonius
    6. Horatio
    7. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
    8. The Ghost
    9. Fortinbras and Laertes
12. Hamlet: Critical Scenes and Speeches
    1. "O That This Too Solid Flesh"
    2. "O, What a Rogue and Peasant Slave Am I"
    3. "To Be, or Not To Be"
    4. "How All Occasions Do Inform Against Me"
    5. The "Mousetrap" Play
    6. The Gravedigger's Scene
    7. Elizabethan Hamlet Productions
    8. Contemporary Hamlet Productions
    9. Hamlet in Film