What's New

- The app now includes Hamlet and Othello

App Description

"Plays spring to life" – Reuters
"An accessible entry-point for Shakespeare newcomers, but with enough literary analysis and smart navigation to tempt even experts" – TechDigest
"This app is comprehensive, educational and hugely entertaining." – TotalApps

***** One of The Observer's Top 25 Apps of 2012, and shortlisted for the Futurebook awards as Best Reference App 2012 *****

The Explore Shakespeare app brings Shakespeare’s greatest stories to life like never before. Cambridge’s definitive versions of the texts have been beautifully reimagined for iPad, with illuminating visuals, helpful commentary and compelling audio performances from actors such as Michael Sheen, Kate Beckinsale and Fiona Shaw.

This free app enables you to compare and contrast the initial scenes from six of Shakespeare's best-loved plays:

- Romeo and Juliet
- Macbeth
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream
- Twelfth Night
- Hamlet
- Othello

You can also buy the complete text of each play directly from within the app. Once you've bought a play, you'll have access to the full text with a complete audio performance, plus photographs, glossaries, activities, synopses and articles for the entire work.

EXPERIENCE
- Read the plays and choose your own level of customisation and enhancement
- Listen to audio performances of the plays, starring actors such as Michael Sheen, Kate Beckinsale and Fiona Shaw
- See the action with over 100 photographs of professional productions, including stars like Leonardo DiCaprio, Michelle Pfeiffer and Dame Judi Dench
- Understand Shakespeare’s language with clear glossary definitions throughout
- Get an overview of the action with plot summaries inside the plays

EXPLORE
- Explore the language of each scene through interactive word clouds
- Pick a character and see their sections of the play clearly separated – perfect for learning your lines, or for studying a particular character’s story
- Understand the relationships between characters with Circles for each scene
- Use the Themeline to see how the play’s themes ebb and flow through the acts
- Get involved in the play through hundreds of tried-and-tested activities, for individuals, pairs and groups

EXAMINE
- Search the plays, with highlighting and filtering
- Use detailed notes alongside the texts to examine the literary inspirations and history of interpretation of the plays
- Delve deeper into the context, key themes and history of the plays with a series of accessible articles by authoritative Cambridge sources

Cambridge University Press (publisher of the definitive texts of Shakespeare’s works) has joined forces with Agant (creator of acclaimed apps like ‘Timeline World War 2’ and ‘Malcolm Tucker: The Missing Phone’) to present some of the greatest works of literature in the English language on the iPad.

Download now and explore Shakespeare today.

iPad Screenshots

(click to enlarge)

Explore Shakespeare screenshot 1 Explore Shakespeare screenshot 2 Explore Shakespeare screenshot 3 Explore Shakespeare screenshot 4 Explore Shakespeare screenshot 5

App Changes

  • June 11, 2014 Initial release