Shakespeare
The #1 Shakespeare App
Free · In‑App Purchases · Designed for iPad
The #1 Shakespeare app!
“It’s really great!”
—Kenneth Branagh, actor and director
“I can't remember a time it wasn't on my iPhone. So feature rich!"
—Stephen Fry, actor and writer
“‘The app’s the thing.’ Hamlet was almost right. Great to see Shakespeare Pro superplaying with Shakespeare’s plays.”
—David Crystal, linguist and author of Shakespeare's Words
“The Shakespeare Pro app is simply terrific and filled with loads of wonderful information!”
—Ken Ludwig, Tony and Olivier Award Winning Playwright
Shakespeare Pro® includes the complete works of Shakespeare (41 plays, 154 sonnets and 6 poems, including apocrypha) and search the concordance to find the exact word or phrase you’re looking for (with “relaxed” searching to find words close to your search term).
Shakespeare Pro is packed with these impressive features:
••• QUALITY TEXTS are a top priority and our team spent years compiling and editing the best references available. In the updated editions, the text is even more clear and each individual character is uniquely identified.
••• FIRST FOLIOS AND QUARTOS in original spelling show the works as they were originally published in Shakespeare’s time.
••• AN INTEGRATED GLOSSARY, based on the bestselling lexicon by David & Ben Crystal, Shakespeare’s Words™ is included. Simply tapping on a word will display its definition in context (not just a general definition).
••• ADD YOUR OWN NOTES AND SHARE THEM with your students, classmates, friends, and colleagues. Organize your notes into notebooks for use in the classroom, theatre, or just to remember key facts. Then share them via email or AirDrop.
••• POWER SEARCH THE WORKS by customizing multiple parameters like gender, genre, work, language, line form, soliloquies, and more.
••• CUSTOMIZE YOUR READING EXPERIENCE by choosing from a variety of color themes, change the font family and size, display long or short character names, jump around to different scenes, and view line numbers (*read the note below about line numbering).
••• BOOKMARK YOUR FAVORITE PARTS in addition to remembering the last page you viewed. Even copy/paste that great line.
••• DETAILED SCENE BREAKDOWNS give you an overview of the scenes within each play, their locations, and the characters present in each.
••• CHARACTER DESCRIPTIONS help you better understand the actions and motivations of every character—all 1,155 of them.
••• MODERN TRANSLATIONS and lexicons to help you better understand Elizabethan English (extra add-ons).
••• GET THE FACTS by reading up on Shakespeare’s life, view data and chronology about his works, and an overview of scansion terminology or rhetoric. Character Arc Visualizers show individual character arcs or allow for comparison of multiple characters.
••• SHAKE YOUR DEVICE for Shakespeare himself to display a random memorable quote or insult. Or get a new random quote every day.
••• BROWSE THE GALLERY of famous Shakespeare portraits.
••• TEACHER CURRICULUM makes it easy for teachers to introduce students to Shakespeare's works.
••• COMPLETE APOCRYPHA is the most comprehensive breakdown of 14 plays Shakespeare may have had a hand in.
••• BARDFIND™ is the easiest way to find a Shakespeare theatre or venue anywhere in the world.
These are just a few highlights of the great things in Shakespeare Pro. If you’re a student, professor, actor, or just plain love the Bard, this must-have app ensures you have the complete works at your fingertips.
Like the new features? Having trouble and need support? Let us know at support@playshakespeare.com or at http://support.playshakespeare.com.
more This free app represents an amazing act of generosity towards all people who love Shakespeare and would like to get to know him better. Setting aside the complete texts of the plays and poems, with easy and straightforward navigation, there's heaps of information on historical aspects, a biography, portrait gallery, there's synopses, information on and analyses of characters, and much else. For anybody to put all this much together, present it in the format of a mobile app, and to offer it for free, just to make the world a better place--that is a labor of love. And a win. A big thank you. Thoroughly recommended!
This free app represents an amazing act of generosity towards all people who love Shakespeare and would like to get to know him better. Setting aside the complete texts of the plays and poems, with easy and straightforward navigation, there's heaps of information on historical aspects, a biography, portrait gallery, there's synopses, information on and analyses of characters, and much else. For anybody to put all this much together, present it in the format of a mobile app, and to offer it for free, just to make the world a better place--that is a labor of love. And a win. A big thank you. Thoroughly recommended!
Huh... I've been told by devs that the free version (which I've had for about a decade) never had line numbers. I don't think that's accurate... but let's give them the benefit of the doubt... Because line numbers don't exactly make or break the app. So I'm emending my rating to 5 stars.Would be really annoying to discover it did, at some point, have line numbers (which I seem to remember)... I will check some of my ancient iphone backups, and rate accordingly.In the meantime... Please (re-)institute line numbers. It's a basic feature of the format, it's not a 'bonus' in any fair sense of the word. Thanks.
Developer Response No, we have never taken away any feature in 10 years! Line numbers are only available in the Pro upgrade. So you might have lost your upgrade or there might be another bug. Don't hesitate to get in touch with support to help sort it out: support@playshakespeare.com.
Huh... I've been told by devs that the free version (which I've had for about a decade) never had line numbers. I don't think that's accurate... but let's give them the benefit of the doubt... Because line numbers don't exactly make or break the app. So I'm emending my rating to 5 stars.Would be really annoying to discover it did, at some point, have line numbers (which I seem to remember)... I will check some of my ancient iphone backups, and rate accordingly.In the meantime... Please (re-)institute line numbers. It's a basic feature of the format, it's not a 'bonus' in any fair sense of the word. Thanks.
No, we have never taken away any feature in 10 years! Line numbers are only available in the Pro upgrade. So you might have lost your upgrade or there might be another bug. Don't hesitate to get in touch with support to help sort it out: support@playshakespeare.com.
The app itself is outstanding - clearly a labor of love, with a generous free version and a one-time-purchase business model for the pro version (in defiance of the annoying trend towards subscription everything).Also, I had an issue with scrolling not working correctly and within a week of reporting it they fixed the bug + released an update with the fix; I’ve never seen such outstanding responsive support from a developer before.
The app itself is outstanding - clearly a labor of love, with a generous free version and a one-time-purchase business model for the pro version (in defiance of the annoying trend towards subscription everything).Also, I had an issue with scrolling not working correctly and within a week of reporting it they fixed the bug + released an update with the fix; I’ve never seen such outstanding responsive support from a developer before.
So many ways to read the text and with so much supplementary information. I have had this app for almost a decade and it has been added to and improved many times. I’m writing this review not because I really have anything of value to say but because I want to support this gem and bargain. I’m also a teacher and am excited about the children’s curricula. Thank you, developers, for helping keep Shakespeare alive in the world!
Developer Response Thank you for your thanks! Yes, it's a labor of love so it's much appreciated!
So many ways to read the text and with so much supplementary information. I have had this app for almost a decade and it has been added to and improved many times. I’m writing this review not because I really have anything of value to say but because I want to support this gem and bargain. I’m also a teacher and am excited about the children’s curricula. Thank you, developers, for helping keep Shakespeare alive in the world!
Thank you for your thanks! Yes, it's a labor of love so it's much appreciated!
We fixed a few small bugs and small improvements to make your Shakespearean life a little better. :)
Did you catch the recent update? We made the historical editions (folios, quartos, octavos) the main focus, including:
• NEW! Scroll sync: when using compare view to compare two editions, enabling sync now keeps the two views in sync to make comparing lines easier
• NEW! Scene markers: most historical editions don't have act/scene divisions, but they now have markers where modern act/scene divisions are to help you navigate
• NEW! Updated scene menu: historical editions now have full act/scene list for navigation (see the Help section to understand the format)
• NEW! Compare view is now available on iPhone Pro Max (previously only available on iPad)
• NEW! Characters are now categorized by major, supporting, etc.
• Improved Mac experience
• Improved overall legibility of the historical editions
• Improvements to the Help section
• Improvements to accessibility
• Search optimizations for complex queries, new search scenes
• Improved TEI compatibility
• Small usability improvements and some bug squashing
We've compiled some historical milestones for those interested:
• October 2007: The Web version was created for the original iPhone which provided the complete works.
• July 2008: Shakespeare 1.0 went live, one of only 500 apps on the Apple App Store when it launched. There are over 1.8 million apps available today.
• December 2009: Shakespeare Pro features were introduced, including a glossary and advanced search.
• April 2010: Shakespeare hits 1 million downloads.
• July 2016: Shakespeare Pro for Mac 1.0 released.
• May 2023: Shakespeare and Shakespeare Pro apps pass 30 million downloads.
• December 2024: We released Shakespeare 9.3.1, our final update in 2024 and the 105th update to the app since 2008.
• January 1, 2025: To date, we've supported 46 different models (16 generations) of the iPhone, 30 different models (10 generations) of the iPad, and 2
9.4.4 05/13/2025
This is a big upgrade for all users (and fixed some small bugs). We made the historical editions (folios, quartos, octavos) the main focus of this update, including:
• NEW! Scroll sync: when using compare view to compare two editions, enabling sync now keeps the two views in sync to make comparing lines easier
• NEW! Scene markers: most historical editions don't have act/scene divisions, but they now have markers where modern act/scene divisions are to help you navigate
• NEW! Updated scene menu: historical editions now have full act/scene list for navigation (see the Help section to understand the format)
• NEW! Compare view is now available on iPhone Pro Max (previously only available on iPad)
• NEW! Characters are now categorized by major, supporting, etc.
• Improved Mac experience
• Improved overall legibility of the historical editions
• Improvements to the Help section
• Improvements to accessibility
• Search optimizations for complex queries, new search scenes
• Improved TEI compatibility
• Small usability improvements and some bug squashing
The PlayShakespeare.com editions used in the app are the best open source versions of Shakespeare's works available. They are TEI compatible and available in GitHub.
We've compiled some historical milestones for those interested:
• October 2007: The Web version was created for the original iPhone which provided the complete works.
• July 2008: Shakespeare 1.0 went live, one of only 500 apps on the Apple App Store when it launched. There are over 1.8 million apps available today.
• December 2009: Shakespeare Pro features were introduced, including a glossary and advanced search.
• April 2010: Shakespeare hits 1 million downloads.
• July 2016: Shakespeare Pro for Mac 1.0 released.
• May 2023: Shakespeare and Shakespeare Pro apps pass 30 million downloads.
• December 2024: We released Shakespeare 9.3.1, our final update in 2024 and the 105th update to the app since 2008.
• January 1, 2025: To date, we've supported 46 different models (16 generations) of the iPhone, 30 different models (10 generations) of the iPad, and 238 iOS/iPadOS updates.
9.4.3 04/04/2025
This is a big upgrade for all users. We made the historical editions (folios, quartos, octavos) the main focus of this update, including:
• NEW! Scroll sync: when using compare view to compare two editions, enabling sync now keeps the two views in sync to make comparing lines easier (Pro)
• NEW! Scene markers: most historical editions don't have act/scene divisions, but they now have markers where modern act/scene divisions are to help you navigate (Pro)
• NEW! Updated scene menu: historical editions now have full act/scene list for navigation (see the Help section to understand the format) (Pro)
• NEW! Compare view is now available on iPhone Pro Max (previously only available on iPad) (Pro)
• NEW! Characters are now categorized by major, supporting, etc.
• Improved Mac experience
• Improved overall legibility of the historical editions
• Improvements to the Help section
• Improvements to accessibility
• Search optimizations for complex queries, new search scenes
• Improved TEI compatibility
• Small usability improvements and some bug squashing
The PlayShakespeare.com editions used in the app are the best open source versions of Shakespeare's works available. They are TEI compatible and available in GitHub.
We've compiled some historical milestones for those interested:
• October 2007: The Web version was created for the original iPhone which provided the complete works.
• July 2008: Shakespeare 1.0 went live, one of only 500 apps on the Apple App Store when it launched. There are over 1.8 million apps available today.
• December 2009: Shakespeare Pro features were introduced, including a glossary and advanced search.
• April 2010: Shakespeare hits 1 million downloads.
• July 2016: Shakespeare Pro for Mac 1.0 released.
• May 2023: Shakespeare and Shakespeare Pro apps pass 30 million downloads.
• December 2024: We released Shakespeare 9.3.1, our final update in 2024 and the 105th update to the app since 2008.
• January 1, 2025: To date, we've supported 46 different models (16 generations) of the iPhone, 30 different models (10 generations) of the iPad, and 238 iOS/iPadOS updates.
9.4.2 03/15/2025
This is a big upgrade for all users. We made the historical editions (folios, quartos, octavos) the main focus of this update, including:
• NEW! Scroll sync: when using compare view to compare two editions, enabling sync now keeps the two views in sync to make comparing lines easier (Pro)
• NEW! Scene markers: most historical editions don't have act/scene divisions, but they now have markers where modern act/scene divisions are to help you navigate (Pro)
• NEW! Updated scene menu: historical editions now have full act/scene list for navigation (see the Help section to understand the format) (Pro)
• NEW! Compare view is now available on iPhone Pro Max (previously only available on iPad) (Pro)
• NEW! Characters are now categorized by major, supporting, etc.
• Improved Mac experience
• Improved overall legibility of the historical editions
• Improvements to the Help section
• Improvements to accessibility
• Search optimizations for complex queries, new search scenes
• Improved TEI compatibility
• Small usability improvements and some bug squashing
The PlayShakespeare.com editions used in the app are the best open source versions of Shakespeare's works available. They are TEI compatible and available in GitHub.
We've compiled some historical milestones for those interested:
• October 2007: The Web version was created for the original iPhone which provided the complete works.
• July 2008: Shakespeare 1.0 went live, one of only 500 apps on the Apple App Store when it launched. There are over 1.8 million apps available today.
• December 2009: Shakespeare Pro features were introduced, including a glossary and advanced search.
• April 2010: Shakespeare hits 1 million downloads.
• July 2016: Shakespeare Pro for Mac 1.0 released.
• May 2023: Shakespeare and Shakespeare Pro apps pass 30 million downloads.
• December 2024: We released Shakespeare 9.3.1, our final update in 2024 and the 105th update to the app since 2008.
• January 1, 2025: To date, we've supported 46 different models (16 generations) of the iPhone, 30 different models (10 generations) of the iPad, and 238 iOS/iPadOS updates.
9.4.1 03/12/2025
Another update with some small fixes for the latest version of iOS/iPadOS (we also added the first quarto of Arden of Faversham for apocrypha fans).
Are you using MacOS? Shakespeare and Shakespeare Pro are now available on macOS! If you've already purchased Shakespeare Pro on iOS/iPadOS, you can now download it for FREE on the Mac App Store. Make sure you use the same method you originally used when purchasing Shakespeare Pro.
Did you catch any of our recent updates? Here are just some of the goodies added:
• NEW! Support added for dynamic app icons in iOS 18
• NEW! Added a widget for StandBy mode
• NEW! Show the global line numbers, not just scene-based line numbers
• NEW! Added the titles in 20 different languages for each play (now you know what "Ιούλιος Καίσαρας" means)
• NEW! Add character disguises to their descriptions—see when people are in a disguise throughout the plays
• NEW! Add character deaths to their descriptions—see when characters die and their reason/means of death
• NEW! Add ghosts to character descriptions—see when a character is or becomes a ghost throughout the plays
• NEW! Add character ascensions and depositions—see when a character ascends in rank or is removed from power
• NEW! Search by character archetype
9.3.1 12/19/2024
Here comes another update with some nice improvements and fixes.
• NEW! Custom animal icons (for plays with animals) on the Play Breakdowns
• NEW! Additional statistics on the Play Breakdowns
• Improvements to searching original spelling versions (folios, quartos and octavos)
• Improvements to filtering search filters in advanced search options
• Improvements to highlighting a character's lines
• Fixed a few issues with ligatures and some formatting bugs
Are you using MacOS? Shakespeare and Shakespeare Pro are now available on macOS! If you've already purchased Shakespeare Pro on iOS/iPadOS, you can now download it for FREE on the Mac App Store.
Did you catch any of our recent updates? Here are just some of the goodies added:
• NEW! Support added for dynamic app icons in iOS 18
• NEW! Added a widget for StandBy mode
• NEW! Show the global line numbers, not just scene-based line numbers
• NEW! Added the titles in 20 different languages for each play (now you know what "Ιούλιος Καίσαρας" means)
• NEW! Add character disguises to their descriptions—see when people are in a disguise throughout the plays
• NEW! Add character deaths to their descriptions—see when characters die and their reason/means of death
• NEW! Add ghosts to character descriptions—see when a character is or becomes a ghost throughout the plays
• NEW! Add character ascensions and depositions—see when a character ascends in rank or is removed from power
• NEW! Search by character archetype
9.3 12/01/2024
Here's a snazzy update with some improvements:
• Small bug fix when selecting text & issue with Henry V
• NEW: Support added for dynamic app icons in iOS 18
• Improvements to dark mode and widgets
• Fixed an issue with highlighting search terms and highlighting characters
• Fixed a bug with song formatting and other small text improvements
• Fixed a bug with the line height setting
Shakespeare and Shakespeare Pro are now available on macOS! If you've already purchased Shakespeare Pro on iOS/iPadOS, you can now download it for free on the Mac App Store.
Did you catch any of our recent updates? Here are just some of the goodies added:
• NEW: Added a widget for StandBy mode
• NEW! Show the global line numbers, not just scene-based line numbers
• NEW! Added the titles in 20 different languages for each play (now you know what "Ιούλιος Καίσαρας" means)
• NEW! Add character disguises to their descriptions—see when people are in a disguise throughout the plays
• NEW! Add character deaths to their descriptions—see when characters die and their reason/means of death
• NEW! Add ghosts to character descriptions—see when a character is or becomes a ghost throughout the plays
• NEW! Add character ascensions and depositions—see when a character ascends in rank or is removed from power
• NEW! Search by character archetype
9.2.6 10/20/2024
Here's a snazzy update with some improvements:
• Small bug fix when selecting text & issue with Henry V
• NEW: Support added for dynamic app icons in iOS 18
• Improvements to dark mode and widgets
• Fixed an issue with highlighting search terms and highlighting characters
• Fixed a bug with song formatting and other small text improvements
• Fixed a bug with the line height setting
Shakespeare and Shakespeare Pro are now available on macOS! If you've already purchased Shakespeare Pro on iOS/iPadOS, you can now download it for free on the Mac App Store.
Did you catch any of our recent updates? Here are just some of the goodies added:
• NEW: Added a widget for StandBy mode
• NEW! Show the global line numbers, not just scene-based line numbers
• NEW! Added the titles in 20 different languages for each play (now you know what "Ιούλιος Καίσαρας" means)
• NEW! Add character disguises to their descriptions—see when people are in a disguise throughout the plays
• NEW! Add character deaths to their descriptions—see when characters die and their reason/means of death
• NEW! Add ghosts to character descriptions—see when a character is or becomes a ghost throughout the plays
• NEW! Add character ascensions and depositions—see when a character ascends in rank or is removed from power
• NEW! Search by character archetype
9.2.5 10/15/2024
Here's a snazzy update with some improvements:
• Small bug fix when selecting text
• NEW: Support added for dynamic app icons in iOS 18
• Improvements to dark mode and widgets
• Fixed an issue with highlighting search terms and highlighting characters
• Fixed a bug with song formatting and other small text improvements
• Fixed a bug with the line height setting
Shakespeare and Shakespeare Pro are now available on macOS! If you've already purchased Shakespeare Pro on iOS/iPadOS, you can now download it for free on the Mac App Store.
Did you catch any of our recent updates? Here are just some of the goodies added:
• NEW: Added a widget for StandBy mode
• NEW! Show the global line numbers, not just scene-based line numbers
• NEW! Added the titles in 20 different languages for each play (now you know what "Ιούλιος Καίσαρας" means)
• NEW! Add character disguises to their descriptions—see when people are in a disguise throughout the plays
• NEW! Add character deaths to their descriptions—see when characters die and their reason/means of death
• NEW! Add ghosts to character descriptions—see when a character is or becomes a ghost throughout the plays
• NEW! Add character ascensions and depositions—see when a character ascends in rank or is removed from power
• NEW! Search by character archetype
9.2.4 10/13/2024
Here's a snazzy update with some improvements:
• NEW: Support added for dynamic app icons in iOS 18
• Improvements to dark mode and widgets
• Fixed an issue with highlighting search terms and highlighting characters
• Fixed a bug with song formatting and other small text improvements
• Fixed a bug with the line height setting
Shakespeare and Shakespeare Pro are now available on macOS! If you've already purchased Shakespeare Pro on iOS/iPadOS, you can now download it for free on the Mac App Store.
Did you catch any of our recent updates? Here are just some of the goodies added:
• NEW: Added a widget for StandBy mode
• NEW! Show the global line numbers, not just scene-based line numbers
• NEW! Added the titles in 20 different languages for each play (now you know what "Ιούλιος Καίσαρας" means)
• NEW! Add character disguises to their descriptions—see when people are in a disguise throughout the plays
• NEW! Add character deaths to their descriptions—see when characters die and their reason/means of death
• NEW! Add ghosts to character descriptions—see when a character is or becomes a ghost throughout the plays
• NEW! Add character ascensions and depositions—see when a character ascends in rank or is removed from power
• NEW! Search by character archetype
9.2.3 10/09/2024
Here's a snazzy update with some improvements:
• NEW: Support added for dynamic app icons in iOS 18
• Improvements to dark mode and widgets
• Fixed an issue with highlighting search terms and highlighting characters
• Fixed a bug with song formatting and other small text improvements
Shakespeare and Shakespeare Pro are now available on macOS! If you've already purchased Shakespeare Pro on iOS/iPadOS, you can now download it for free on the Mac App Store.
Did you catch any of our recent updates? Here are just some of the goodies added:
• NEW: Added a widget for StandBy mode
• NEW! Show the global line numbers, not just scene-based line numbers
• NEW! Added the titles in 20 different languages for each play (now you know what "Ιούλιος Καίσαρας" means)
• NEW! Add character disguises to their descriptions—see when people are in a disguise throughout the plays
• NEW! Add character deaths to their descriptions—see when characters die and their reason/means of death
• NEW! Add ghosts to character descriptions—see when a character is or becomes a ghost throughout the plays
• NEW! Add character ascensions and depositions—see when a character ascends in rank or is removed from power
• NEW! Search by character archetype
9.2.2 09/29/2024
Just another small update with under-the-hood improvements:
• NEW: Added a widget for StandBy mode
• Fixed a bug where the Quote of the Day push notification wasn't going to the right quote location.
• Improvements to viewing the app in landscape
• Search improvements
• Many other small UI improvements and bug fixes
Did you catch our recent updates?
• NEW! Show the global line numbers, not just scene-based line numbers
• NEW! Added the longest monologue for each play on the Dramatis Personae
• NEW! Added the titles in 20 different languages for each play (now you know what "Ιούλιος Καίσαρας" means)
• NEW! Add character disguises to their descriptions—see when people are in a disguise throughout the plays
• NEW! Add character deaths to their descriptions—see when characters die and their reason/means of death
• NEW! Add ghosts to character descriptions—see when a character is or becomes a ghost throughout the plays
• NEW! Add character ascensions and depositions—see when a character ascends in rank or is removed from power
• NEW! Search by character archetype
• NEW! List of character archetypes in Study section
• NEW! Easier lookup and cross-reference for glossary, built-in dictionary
• User interface enhancements and improvements
• Improvements to natural language searching of folios, quartos, and octavos
• Added the "Shakespeare Ultimate" add-on which contains all the add-ons in one easy and discounted upgrade
• Since the app was first released in 2008 when the App Store first launched, the works have been open source and available in GitHub. These are now updated with the latest scholarship and formatting improvements.
9.2.1 09/04/2024
Another juicy update for all the bard-o-files out there!
We made some under-the-hood improvements to prepare for the new Mac version. If you've already paid for the iOS version, you'll get it for free. Coming soon...
Did you catch the last update?
• NEW! Show the global line numbers, not just scene-based line numbers
• NEW! Added the longest monologue for each play on the Dramatis Personae
• NEW! Added the titles in 20 different languages for each play (now you know what "Ιούλιος Καίσαρας" means)
• NEW! Add character disguises to their descriptions—see when people are in a disguise throughout the plays
• NEW! Add character deaths to their descriptions—see when characters die and their reason/means of death
• NEW! Add ghosts to character descriptions—see when a character is or becomes a ghost throughout the plays
• NEW! Add character ascensions and depositions—see when a character ascends in rank or is removed from power
• NEW! Search by character archetype
• NEW! List of character archetypes in Study section
• NEW! Easier lookup and cross-reference for glossary, built-in dictionary
• User interface enhancements and improvements
• Improvements to natural language searching of folios, quartos, and octavos
• Added the "Shakespeare Ultimate" add-on which contains all the add-ons in one easy and discounted upgrade
• Since the app was first released in 2008 when the App Store first launched, the works have been open source and available in GitHub. These are now updated with the latest scholarship and formatting improvements.
9.2 08/15/2024
Whew! We did a lot of work under the hood for this update and preparing for future updates. So a ton isn't visible, but might feel a little more "snappy" in addition to the following new bits and bobs:
• NEW! Show the global line numbers, not just scene-based line numbers
• NEW! Added the longest monologue for each play on the Dramatis Personae
• NEW! Added the titles in 20 different languages for each play (now you know what "Ιούλιος Καίσαρας" means)
• NEW! Add character disguises to their descriptions—see when people are in a disguise throughout the plays
• NEW! Add character deaths to their descriptions—see when characters die and their reason/means of death
• NEW! Add ghosts to character descriptions—see when a character is or becomes a ghost throughout the plays
• NEW! Add character ascensions and depositions—see when a character ascends in rank or is removed from power
• Improvements to natural language searching of folios, quartos, and octavos
• Added the "Shakespeare Ultimate" add-on which contains all the add-ons in one easy and discounted upgrade
• Lots of small visual tweaks and improvements, theme and printing improvements
• Fixed a bug with notebooks where they weren't being selected correctly, and another bug crashing BardFind
• User interface enhancements and improvements to dark mode
• Since the app was first released in 2008 when the App Store first launched, the works have been open source and available in GitHub. These are now updated with the latest scholarship and formatting improvements.
This is the last version to support iOS 15 so update your devices. There's a new version for macOS coming soon and you'll get it for free if you've purchased the iOS version.
Did you catch the last update?
• NEW! Search by character archetype
• NEW! List of character archetypes in Study section
• NEW! Easier lookup and cross-reference for glossary, built-in dictionary
• User interface enhancements and improvements
9.1.2 07/26/2024
Whew! We did a lot of work under the hood for this update and preparing for future updates. So a ton isn't visible, but might feel a little more "snappy" in addition to the following new bits and bobs:
• NEW! Show the global line numbers, not just scene-based line numbers
• NEW! Added the longest monologue for each play on the Dramatis Personae
• NEW! Added the titles in 20 different languages for each play (now you know what "Ιούλιος Καίσαρας" means)
• NEW! Add character disguises to their descriptions—see when people are in a disguise throughout the plays
• NEW! Add character deaths to their descriptions—see when characters die and their reason/means of death
• NEW! Add ghosts to character descriptions—see when a character is or becomes a ghost throughout the plays
• NEW! Add character ascensions and depositions—see when a character ascends in rank or is removed from power
• Improvements to natural language searching of folios, quartos, and octavos
• Added the "Shakespeare Ultimate" add-on which contains all the add-ons in one easy and discounted upgrade
• Lots of small visual tweaks and improvements, theme and printing improvements
• Fixed a bug with notebooks where they weren't being selected correctly, and another bug crashing BardFind
• User interface enhancements and improvements to dark mode
• Since the app was first released in 2008 when the App Store first launched, the works have been open source and available in GitHub. These are now updated with the latest scholarship and formatting improvements.
This is the last version to support iOS 15 so update your devices. There's a new version for macOS coming soon and you'll get it for free if you've purchased the iOS version.
Did you catch the last update?
• NEW! Search by character archetype
• NEW! List of character archetypes in Study section
• NEW! Easier lookup and cross-reference for glossary, built-in dictionary
• User interface enhancements and improvements
9.1.1 07/21/2024
Whew! We did a lot of work under the hood for this update and preparing for future updates. So a ton isn't visible, but might feel a little more "snappy" in addition to the following new bits and bobs:
• NEW! Show global numbers, not just scene-based line numbers
• NEW! Added the longest monologue for each play on the Dramatis Personae
• NEW! Added the titles in 20 different languages for each play (now you know what "Ιούλιος Καίσαρας" means)
• NEW! Add character disguises to their descriptions—see when people are in a disguise throughout the plays
• NEW! Add character deaths to their descriptions—see when characters dies and their reason/means of death
• NEW! Add ghosts to character descriptions—see when a character is or becomes of ghost throughout the plays
• NEW! Add character ascensions and depositions—see when a character ascends in rank or is removed from power
• Improvements to natural language searching of folios, quartos, and octavos
• Added the "Shakespeare Ultimate" add-on which contains all the add-ons in one easy and discounted upgrade
• Lots of small visual tweaks and improvements, theme and printing improvements
• Fixed a bug with notebooks where they weren't being selected correctly, and another crashing BardFind
• User interface enhancements and improvements to dark mode
• Since the app was first released in 2008 when the App Store first launched, the works have been open source and available in GitHub. These are now updated with the latest scholarship and formatting improvements.
This is the last version to support iOS 15 so update your devices. There's a new version of macOS coming soon and you'll get it for free if you've purchased the iOS version.
Did you catch the last update?
• NEW! Search by character archetype
• NEW! List of character archetypes in Study section
• NEW! Easier lookup and cross-reference for glossary, built-in dictionary
• User interface enhancements and improvements
9.1 07/21/2024
Just another update with some improvements and new goodies. No bigs. :)
• NEW! Search by character archetype
• NEW! List of character archetypes in Study section
• NEW! Easier lookup and cross-reference for glossary, built-in dictionary
• User interface enhancements and improvements
9.0.6 04/24/2024
Enjoy this small update with a few bug fixes. :)
9.0.5 01/14/2024
Enjoy this small update with a few new things:
• Improvements to Siri shortcuts
• Improved Apple Watch support for complications, quotes, and insults
• Many bug fixes and other improvements
9.0.4 11/16/2023
Over 20 million downloads!
Hello Shakespeare fans! To celebrate 15 years of being the best Shakespeare app on the App Store, this is the biggest update we've done in a while—and it's a doozy.
• NEW! 14 new apocrypha plays (which Shakespeare may have had a hand in writing), including breakdowns, analysis, and detailed descriptions of each. Also included are Third Folio and quarto editions of these plays. (Add-on)
• NEW! "Shakespeare for Kids" curriculum for teachers containing 36 activities for children grades 1-5 (Add-on)
• NEW! Newly redesigned Play Breakdown sections give you an easy way to see every detail at a glance.
• NEW! Newly redesigned Dramatis Personae provides extensive details about every character.
• NEW! Customize your Home Screen all new beautiful "woodblock" style images that are AI generated
• NEW! In addition to the First Folio, the following quartos are now included for deeper study: Henry IV, Pt. 1 (Q1), Henry IV, Pt. 2 (Q1), Henry V (Q1), Love's Labour's Lost (Q1), The Merchant of Venice (Q1), The Merry Wives of Windsor (Q1), Much Ado About Nothing (Q1), Romeo & Juliet (Q2), The Taming of A Shrew (Q1), Titus Andronicus (Q2), Troilus & Cressida (Q1) (Pro)
• NEW! Easier text highlighting — just select text and tap "Highlight" (Pro)
• NEW! Customize your home screen to change the order plays to the First Folio order
• NEW! Advanced search now includes searching types of shared lines (initial, medial, final) (Pro)
• NEW! Character statistics like longest speeches and number of asides (Pro)
• NEW! Edith Nesbit's book "Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare" is now included
• NEW! Mary Macleod's book "The Shakespeare Story-Book" is now included
• NEW! Character Arc Visualizer now shows aggregate statistics for play genres and character genders (Pro)
• NEW! Add Quote of the Day to your lock screen
• NEW! Dictate your notes
• All editions are editable in Scriptigo, our companion script app
• All new editions are searchable (use modern spelling to search original spelling editions too!)
• Improvements to printing, search, and dark mode
• General bugs and usability improvements
There are many other updates, too many to list, including suggestions from you! Don't hesitate to get in touch if you need help.
This will be the last version to support iOS version 14 so please update your devices.
9.0.3 07/30/2023
Over 20 million downloads!
Hello Shakespeare fans! To celebrate 15 years of being the best Shakespeare app on the App Store, this is the biggest update we've done in a while—and it's a doozy.
• NEW! 14 new apocrypha plays (which Shakespeare may have had a hand in writing), including breakdowns, analysis, and detailed descriptions of each. Also included are Third Folio and quarto editions of these plays. (Add-on)
• NEW! "Shakespeare for Kids" curriculum for teachers containing 36 activities for children grades 1-5 (Add-on)
• NEW! Newly redesigned Play Breakdown sections give you an easy way to see every detail at a glance.
• NEW! Newly redesigned Dramatis Personae provides extensive details about every character.
• NEW! Customize your Home Screen all new beautiful "woodblock" style images that are AI generated
• NEW! In addition to the First Folio, the following quartos are now included for deeper study: Henry IV, Pt. 1 (Q1), Henry IV, Pt. 2 (Q1), Henry V (Q1), Love's Labour's Lost (Q1), The Merchant of Venice (Q1), The Merry Wives of Windsor (Q1), Much Ado About Nothing (Q1), Romeo & Juliet (Q2), The Taming of A Shrew (Q1), Titus Andronicus (Q2), Troilus & Cressida (Q1) (Pro)
• NEW! Easier text highlighting — just select text and tap "Highlight" (Pro)
• NEW! Customize your home screen to change the order plays to the First Folio order
• NEW! Advanced search now includes searching types of shared lines (initial, medial, final) (Pro)
• NEW! Character statistics like longest speeches and number of asides (Pro)
• NEW! Edith Nesbit's book "Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare" is now included
• NEW! Mary Macleod's book "The Shakespeare Story-Book" is now included
• NEW! Character Arc Visualizer now shows aggregate statistics for play genres and character genders (Pro)
• NEW! Add Quote of the Day to your lock screen
• NEW! Dictate your notes
• All editions are editable in Scriptigo, our companion script app
• All new editions are searchable (use modern spelling to search original spelling editions too!)
• Improvements to printing, search, and dark mode
• General bugs and usability improvements
There are many other updates, too many to list, including suggestions from you! Don't hesitate to get in touch if you need help.
This will be the last version to support iOS version 14 so please update your devices.
9.0.2 06/20/2023
Hello Shakespeare fans! To celebrate 15 years of being the best Shakespeare app on the App Store, this is the biggest update we've done in a while—and it's a doozy.
• NEW! 14 new apocrypha plays (which Shakespeare may have had a hand in writing), including breakdowns, analysis, and detailed descriptions of each. Also included are Third Folio and quarto editions of these plays. (Add-on)
• NEW! "Shakespeare for Kids" curriculum for teachers containing 36 activities for children grades 1-5 (Add-on)
• NEW! Newly redesigned Play Breakdown sections give you an easy way to see every detail at a glance.
• NEW! Newly redesigned Dramatis Personae provides extensive details about every character.
• NEW! Customize your Home Screen all new beautiful "woodblock" style images that are AI generated
• NEW! In addition to the First Folio, the following quartos are now included for deeper study: Henry IV, Pt. 1 (Q1), Henry IV, Pt. 2 (Q1), Henry V (Q1), Love's Labour's Lost (Q1), The Merchant of Venice (Q1), The Merry Wives of Windsor (Q1), Much Ado About Nothing (Q1), Romeo & Juliet (Q2), The Taming of A Shrew (Q1), Titus Andronicus (Q2), Troilus & Cressida (Q1) (Pro)
• NEW! Easier text highlighting — just select text and tap "Highlight" (Pro)
• NEW! Customize your home screen to change the order plays to the First Folio order
• NEW! Advanced search now includes searching types of shared lines (initial, medial, final) (Pro)
• NEW! Character statistics like longest speeches and number of asides (Pro)
• NEW! Edith Nesbit's book "Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare" is now included
• NEW! Mary Macleod's book "The Shakespeare Story-Book" is now included
• NEW! Character Arc Visualizer now shows aggregate statistics for play genres and character genders (Pro)
• NEW! Add Quote of the Day to your lock screen
• NEW! Dictate your notes
• All editions are editable in Scriptigo, our companion script app
• All new editions are searchable (use modern spelling to search original spelling editions too!)
• Improvements to printing, search, and dark mode
• General bugs and usability improvements
There are many other updates, too many to list, including suggestions from you! Don't hesitate to get in touch if you need help.
This will be the last version to support iOS version 14 so please update your devices.
9.0.1 06/13/2023
Hello Shakespeare fans! To celebrate 15 years of being the best Shakespeare app on the App Store, this is the biggest update we've done in a while—and it's a doozy.
• NEW! 14 new apocrypha plays (which Shakespeare may have had a hand in writing), including breakdowns, analysis, and detailed descriptions of each. Also included are Third Folio and quarto editions of these plays. (Add-on)
• NEW! "Shakespeare for Kids" curriculum for teachers containing 36 activities for children grades 1-5 (Add-on)
• NEW! Newly redesigned Play Breakdown sections give you an easy way to see every detail at a glance.
• NEW! Newly redesigned Dramatis Personae provides extensive details about every character.
• NEW! Customize your Home Screen all new beautiful "woodblock" style images that are AI generated
• NEW! In addition to the First Folio, the following quartos are now included for deeper study: Henry IV, Pt. 1 (Q1), Henry IV, Pt. 2 (Q1), Henry V (Q1), Love's Labour's Lost (Q1), The Merchant of Venice (Q1), The Merry Wives of Windsor (Q1), Much Ado About Nothing (Q1), Romeo & Juliet (Q2), The Taming of A Shrew (Q1), Titus Andronicus (Q2), Troilus & Cressida (Q1) (Pro)
• NEW! Easier text highlighting — just select text and tap "Highlight" (Pro)
• NEW! Customize your home screen to change the order plays to the First Folio order
• NEW! Advanced search now includes searching types of shared lines (initial, medial, final) (Pro)
• NEW! Character statistics like longest speeches and number of asides (Pro)
• NEW! Edith Nesbit's book "Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare" is now included
• NEW! Mary Macleod's book "The Shakespeare Story-Book" is now included
• NEW! Character Arc Visualizer now shows aggregate statistics for play genres and character genders (Pro)
• All editions are editable in Scriptigo, our companion script app
• All new editions are searchable (use modern spelling to search original spelling editions too!)
• Improvements to printing, search, and dark mode
• General bugs and usability improvements
There are many other updates, too many to list, including suggestions from you! Don't hesitate to get in touch if you need help.
This will be the last version to support iOS version 14 so please update your devices.
9.0 06/05/2023
Another update to the best Shakespeare app for almost 15 years!
• Fix for more complex search terms
• Fix for adding notes, and notebook view
This is the last version to support iOS 13 so please update your device to ensure you get the latest features and improvements!
Did you miss a recent update? Here are a few of the new things we added:
• NEW! General notes: now you can write general notes on a play in the Notes section (instead of just attached notes to parts of the play text)
• NEW! A 17-week semester course with a teacher curriculum designed to be used for any single play (add-on).
• NEW! Improvements to the new modern spelling search of Folios and Quartos: just enter the modern spelling of a word and find all alternate spellings where it's located. For example, search for "color" and find "colour", "cullor", and "collour".
8.7.3 12/17/2022
Another update to the best Shakespeare app for almost 14 years!
• Minor bug fixes and improvements
• Small usability improvements
This is the last version to support iOS 13 so please update your device to ensure you get the latest features and improvements!
Did you miss a recent update? Here are a few of the new things we added:
• NEW! General notes: now you can write general notes on a play in the Notes section (instead of just attached notes to parts of the play text)
• NEW! A 17-week semester course with a teacher curriculum designed to be used for any single play (add-on).
• NEW! Improvements to the new modern spelling search of Folios and Quartos: just enter the modern spelling of a word and find all alternate spellings where it's located. For example, search for "color" and find "colour", "cullor", and "collour".
8.7.2 11/11/2022
We fixed a few small bugs and small improvements to make your Shakespearean life a little better. :)
Did you catch the recent update? We made the historical editions (folios, quartos, octavos) the main focus, including:
• NEW! Scroll sync: when using compare view to compare two editions, enabling sync now keeps the two views in sync to make comparing lines easier
• NEW! Scene markers: most historical editions don't have act/scene divisions, but they now have markers where modern act/scene divisions are to help you navigate
• NEW! Updated scene menu: historical editions now have full act/scene list for navigation (see the Help section to understand the format)
• NEW! Compare view is now available on iPhone Pro Max (previously only available on iPad)
• NEW! Characters are now categorized by major, supporting, etc.
• Improved Mac experience
• Improved overall legibility of the historical editions
• Improvements to the Help section
• Improvements to accessibility
• Search optimizations for complex queries, new search scenes
• Improved TEI compatibility
• Small usability improvements and some bug squashing
We've compiled some historical milestones for those interested:
• October 2007: The Web version was created for the original iPhone which provided the complete works.
• July 2008: Shakespeare 1.0 went live, one of only 500 apps on the Apple App Store when it launched. There are over 1.8 million apps available today.
• December 2009: Shakespeare Pro features were introduced, including a glossary and advanced search.
• April 2010: Shakespeare hits 1 million downloads.
• July 2016: Shakespeare Pro for Mac 1.0 released.
• May 2023: Shakespeare and Shakespeare Pro apps pass 30 million downloads.
• December 2024: We released Shakespeare 9.3.1, our final update in 2024 and the 105th update to the app since 2008.
• January 1, 2025: To date, we've supported 46 different models (16 generations) of the iPhone, 30 different models (10 generations) of the iPad, and 2
more Version 9.4.4 05/13/2025
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