Shakespeare Power Rankings: The Complete Works
All the Bard’s plays, ranked by genre
On a trip to London last summer, I stopped by the Globe Theatre for a tour. Exiting through the gift shop, I spotted a beautiful bonded leather hardcopy of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. I can’t say why, but it beckoned me. I enjoyed reading Shakespeare in school and I especially enjoyed memorizing the great monologues and soliloquies, but I was no fanatic. Still, I felt a sudden urge to reacquaint myself with the Bard.
Incidentally, somewhere toward the end of 2017, I decided that 2018 would be a year of arbitrary challenges: I decided to run my first marathon, I committed to go a month totally sober, I resolved to read 100 books/novels/plays before the end of the year … the list of challenges goes on, but I’ll spare you the details. I have already completed the first two challenges and I’m over halfway through the third. As part of getting through the 100-works challenge, I decided I would read every single one of Shakespeare’s plays.
It took about a month and a half. I read them in chronological order, spending about three hours on a different play every night.
I can’t mince words: Shakespeare is a fucking genius. He is the literary GOAT. His mastery over words is unparalleled. Virtually all his characters — heroes and villains alike — climb out of the page as flesh and blood individuals. I personally think his Tragedies are the best, but his Comedies and Histories and so-called “Problem Plays” are just as good. His multifaceted ability makes it understandable that people can’t believe he wrote all of them himself. There’s a reason he is the most read author in the English language: the hype is real.
Anyway, forgive me for indulging in this personal history of how this list came to be. I will write more about Shakespeare and his work in the future.
Without further ado, here is an unexplained, unjustified and totally unofficial power ranking of all his plays by genre.
Tragedies
1. Hamlet
2. King Lear
3. Julius Caesar
4. Macbeth
5. Othello
6. Romeo and Juliet
7. Coriolanus
8. Antony and Cleopatra
9. Titus Andronicus
10. Cymbeline
11. Timon of Athens
12. Troilus and Cressida
Histories
1. Richard III
2. Henry V
3. Henry the Fourth Part II
4. Henry the Sixth Part II
5. Henry the Fourth Part I
6. Henry the Sixth Part III
7. Richard II
8. Henry the Sixth Part I
9. Pericles
10. King John
11. Henry VIII
Comedies
1. Tempest
2. Twelfth Night
3. Measure for Measure
4. Merchant of Venice
5. Taming of the Shrew
6. Midsummer Night’s Dream
7. As You Like It
8. Much Ado About Nothing
9. Two Gentlemen of Verona
10. Comedy of Errors
11. Love’s Labour’s Lost
12. All’s Well That Ends Well
13. Winter’s Tale
14. Merry Wives of Windsor
*Since this is a Power Ranking, rankings will shift with re-readings and new realizations
If you’re interested in following a Shakespeare inspired Instagram account, check this out: https://www.instagram.com/shakespearedaily
Strongly disagree with any rankings? Comment and tell me why!