List of Shakespearean settings

This article is an index of settings used in the plays of William Shakespeare. Included are the 38 canonical plays, including the collaborations with John Fletcher.

Contents: A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y |

Settings in Britain

Settings in Britain and France

Settings elsewhere

Nations, cities and towns

A

• Actium in Greece is the location of Antony's and Cleopatra's preparations for the Battle of Actium, and of the sea battle's spectators, in Antony and Cleopatra.
• Alexandria:
  • See also "Cleopatra's Monument" under more-specific settings below.
  • Alexandria in Egypt is the setting of the greatest number of scenes in Antony and Cleopatra. Also a number of scenes are set outside its walls, and in the camp of the Romans attacking it.
• Antioch in modern-day Turkey - but in the play referred to as located in Syria - is the setting of the opening scene, with its incest sub-plot, in Pericles.
• Athens:
  • Athens in modern-day Greece is the setting of a short scene between Antony and his new wife Octavia, in Antony and Cleopatra.
  • Athens in modern-day Greece, but in the world of the play a city-state governed by a duke - and a forest outside its walls - are the settings of A Midsummer Night's Dream.
  • Athens in modern-day Greece - and a forest outside its walls - are the settings of Timon of Athens.
  • Athens in modern-day Greece, but in the world of the play a city-state governed by duke Theseus accompanied by his wife Hippolyta, is the primary setting of The Two Noble Kinsmen.

B

• Belmont is a fictional estate some twenty miles from Venice, Italy: the home of Portia and her household, and the setting of the "casket" scenes, and of the play's conclusion, in The Merchant of Venice.
• Bohemia, the landlocked modern-day Czechia, is, in The Winter's Tale, a coastal kingdom of which Polixenes is the king. It is the setting of the end of Act 3 and the whole of the long act 4.
• Britain:
  • See also "England", "Scotland" and "Wales".
  • Britain in the Roman era is the primary setting of Cymbeline. Shakespeare does not locate King Cymbeline's court any more precisely.

E

• England:
  • See also "Windsor", and, under more-specific settings below, "Forest of Arden", "Herne's Oak" and "Swinstead Abbey".
  • The frame story of The Taming of the Shrew (i.e. the two scenes of the "Induction" and a short exchange at the end of act 1 scene 1), in which the drunken tinker Christopher Sly is persuaded he is a lord and is invited to watch a play, has no specified setting, but appears to be in England since Sly claims to be from Burton Heath, Warwickshire, and to know a "fat alewife of Wincot".
  • England, probably at the court of Edward the Confessor, is the setting of a lengthy scene in which Malcolm tests Macduff's loyalty, and then Macduff learns of the murder of his family, in Macbeth.
• Ephesus:
  • Ephesus, in modern-day Turkey, but in the play a city state governed by a Duke, is the only setting of The Comedy of Errors.
  • Ephesus, in modern-day Turkey, is the scene of Thaisa's rescue by Cerimon, and later of Thaisa's reconciliation with Pericles at Diana's temple, in Pericles.

F

• Fife in Scotland is the home of Lady Macduff and her children, and the setting of their murders in act 4 scene 2 of Macbeth.
• Florence, in modern-day Italy but in the play an independent state governed by a duke, is the place to which Bertram runs away to take part in the Tuscan Wars, in All's Well That Ends Well, and is the setting of the gulling of Paroles, and of the bed-trick played upon Bertram by Helen and Diana.
• Forres in Scotland is the site of Duncan's court in the early part of Macbeth.
• France:
  • See also, under more-specific settings below, "Forest of Arden".
  • France is the location of As You Like It. The location of the scenes in Duke Frederick's court are not specified any more accurately.

I

• Illyria, a coastal region on the eastern Adriatic sea, including parts of modern-day Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Albania, is the only setting of Twelfth Night.
• Inverness in Scotland is the location of Macbeth's castle prior to his becoming king, and is the setting of the events surrounding the murder of Duncan, in Macbeth.

M

• Mantua in present-day Italy is the city to which Romeo flees when exiled in Romeo and Juliet, where he hears of Juliet's supposed death and purchases the poison which will eventually kill him.
• Marseille, in France, is the setting of a short scene in All's Well That Ends Well. Helen, Diana and the Widow have followed the King there, only to learn that he has moved on to Roussillon.
• Messina:
  • See also "Pompey's Court" under more-specific settings below.
  • Messina, on Sicily in modern-day Italy is the only location of Much Ado About Nothing
• Milan in modern-day Italy, but in the play governed by a duke, is the setting of most of the action of The Two Gentlemen of Verona.
• Milford Haven in Wales, and the area surrounding it, are the settings of most of the second half of Cymbeline, including the cave of Belarius, the site of the battle between Rome and Britain, and the denouement at Cymbeline's camp.
• Mytilene on Lesbos in modern-day Greece is the location of the brothel to which Marina is sold, and is the setting (together with Pericles' ship, while moored there) of much of the last two acts of Pericles.

N

• Navarre in present-day Spain but in the play an independent kingdom whose fictional king, Ferdinand, is one of the central characters, is the only setting of Love's Labour's Lost.

P

• Padua in modern-day Italy is the primary setting of The Taming of the Shrew.
• Paris:
  • Paris, in France, is the setting of the court scenes of All's Well That Ends Well.
• Pentapolis in modern-day Libya is the setting of the middle-part of Pericles, where the title character is shipwrecked, and meets his wife Thaisa.
• Parthia at its border with the Roman Empire in Syria is the scene of Ventidius' victory over Pacorus, in Antony and Cleopatra.

R

• Rome:
  • Rome in modern-day Italy is the secondary setting of Antony and Cleopatra, contrasted throughout the play with Alexandria.
  • Rome in modern-day Italy is the site of the home of Philario, where Posthumus encounters Iachimo and wagers upon Innogen's loyalty, and also the setting of a short scene between two senators and a tribune at the end of act 3, of Cymbeline.
• Roussillon in France, of which Bertram is the young Count, is a setting of several episodes in All's Well That Ends Well, including its beginning and ending.

S

• Scotland:
  • See also "Forres" and "Inverness", and, under more-specific settings below, "Birnam Wood" and "Dunsinane Hill".
  • Scotland is the setting of most of Macbeth: and the witches' scenes and outdoor scenes do not have any more specific setting.
• Sicily:
  • See also "Messina".
  • Sicilia in modern day Italy, but in the world of the play a kingdom of which Leontes is the king, is the setting of acts 1, 2, most of 3, and 5 of The Winter's Tale.

T

• Tarsus in modern-day Turkey is the place where the child Marina is fostered to Cleon and Dionyza, and the location of the later plot to murder her, in Pericles.
• Thebes in modern-day Greece, but in the play governed by the tyrant Creon, is the setting of our first encounter with Palamon and Arcite, the title characters of The Two Noble Kinsmen.
• Troy in modern-day Turkey, the camp of the Greek soldiers besieging it, and the battlefield outside it, are the settings of Troilus and Cressida.
• Tyre in modern-day Lebanon is the home of the title character of Pericles, Prince of Tyre and the setting of several scenes in the first act, before he embarks upon the journey which comprises most of the play's plot.

V

• Venice:
  • Venice in modern-day Italy, but in the play governed by a duke, is the primary setting of The Merchant of Venice.
• Verona:
  • Verona in modern-day Italy is the main setting of Romeo and Juliet.
  • Verona in modern-day Italy is the home of Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew, and the setting of most of the 4th act.
  • Verona in modern-day Italy is the original home of Julia, Valentine and Proteus in The Two Gentlemen of Verona and is the setting of most of the first two acts.
• Vienna:
  • Although not literally a setting of Hamlet, its play-within-a-play The Murder of Gonzago, also known as The Mousetrap, is set in Vienna.
  • Vienna in present-day Austria, but in the play a city state governed by a duke, is the only setting of Measure for Measure.

W

• Wales:
  • See also "Milford Haven" and, under more-specific settings below, "Flint Castle".
• Windsor in England and its environs are the only setting of The Merry Wives of Windsor.

Less-specific settings

• Forest:
  • Where a setting is a named forest which exists in the real world, it is listed instead under "more-specific settings" below.
  • A forest outside Athens is the primary location of the middle three acts of A Midsummer Night's Dream.
  • A forest outside Athens - featuring the mouth of a cave in which Timon is dwelling - is the setting of much of the last two acts of Timon of Athens.
  • A forest outside Athens is the setting of the middle act of The Two Noble Kinsmen.
  • A forest outside Milan is the home of the outlaws of whom Valentine becomes the leader in The Two Gentlemen of Verona, and is the setting of the play's climax.
• Island:
  • An unnamed remote island is the setting of the whole of The Tempest except for the opening storm scene at sea.
• Road:
  • The road from Verona to Padua is the setting of the "How bright and goodly shines the moon!" scene of The Taming of the Shrew.
• Sea:
  • Pericles' ship, on its voyage around the Mediterranean, is the setting of various scenes in Pericles.
  • A ship threatened by a storm on a voyage from Tunis to Naples is the setting of the opening scene of The Tempest.

More-specific settings

Locations identified as being in or around the home of a specific character are not listed, including where that home is a "castle", "cave" or "cell". Similarly, the "court" of any character who is a ruler is not listed unless Shakespeare gives it a specific location. Also not listed are generic locations such as "abbey", "brothel", "mart", "palace", "prison", "seashore" or "street", nor buildings given fictional names such as "the Porpentine", "the Phoenix" and others in The Comedy of Errors or "the Elephant" in Twelfth Night.

• For Arden or Ardennes see "Forest of Arden".
• Birnam Wood in Scotland is the rendezvous of the Scottish and English forces opposing Macbeth, in Macbeth. In a short scene set there, Malcolm fulfils the witches' prophecy that "Macbeth shall never vanquished be until great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill shall come against him" by ordering his soldiers to each cut down a bough from the forest and carry it before them.
• Cleopatra's Monument in Alexandria, Egypt, is the setting of the climax of Antony and Cleopatra, including the deaths of both title characters.
• Diana's Temple at Ephesus is the scene of the climax of Pericles, the reconciliation of Pericles and Thaisa.
• Dunsinane Hill in Scotland is fortified by Macbeth, and is the site of his final battle and death, in Macbeth.
• Flint Castle in Wales is the setting of Richard's surrender to Bolingbroke in Richard II.
• The Forest of Arden is the setting of the whole play As You Like It, other than the court scenes and those set at Oliver's house. Since the play is set in France it may represent the Ardennes Forest, or equally for its original audiences, the Forest of Arden in Warwickshire, England, Shakespeare's home county.
• The Garter Inn is the lodging of Sir John Falstaff, and as such the setting of many scenes in The Merry Wives of Windsor.
• Gaultree Forest, England, is the setting of an episode separate from the main plot of Henry IV, Part 2 which takes up much of its fourth act.
• Herne's Oak, a tree in Windsor Park, is the meeting place for the final humiliation of Falstaff, and the setting of the climax of The Merry Wives of Windsor.
• Ilium, the royal palace of Troy, is the setting of most scenes set within Troy's walls in Troilus and Cressida: Ilium, Ilion or Ilyion are also alternative names for the city of Troy, named after its founder Ilus.
• Pompey:
  • Pompey's Court is a setting in Antony and Cleopatra. Its location (historically on Sicily in present-day Italy) is not specified in the text.
  • Pompey's Galley is the setting of the central "What manner o'thing is your crocodile?" scene of Antony and Cleopatra.
• Swinstead Abbey was an abbey in Lincolnshire, England. In King John, the orchard is the scene of the death agonies of King John, supported by his Barons. In history, it is Swineshead Abbey that King John visited, and the confusion of Swinstead and Swineshead was common in the late-sixteenth century.
• For Windsor Park see "Herne's Oak".

References

Footnotes

References to works by Shakespeare are to The Oxford Shakespeare: The Complete Works Second Edition (i.e. Jowett, Montgomery, Taylor & Wells 2005). Under its numbering system Hamlet 3.1.58 means act 3, scene 1, line 58. In plays which it presents without act divisions, such as Pericles, 1.17 means scene 1 line 17. "SD" references a stage direction.

Bibliography

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• Bevington, David (2005). Antony and Cleopatra - Updated Edition. The New Cambridge Shakespeare. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-61287-6.
• Braunmuller, A.R.; Watson, Robert N. (2020). Measure for Measure. The Arden Shakespeare Third Series. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. ISBN 978-1-9042-7143-7.
• Brooke, Nicholas (1990). Macbeth. The Oxford Shakespeare. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-953583-5.
• Bulman, James C. (2016). King Henry IV Part 2. The Arden Shakespeare Third Series. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. ISBN 978-1-9042-7137-6.
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See also

• Chronology of Shakespeare's plays
• Globe Theatre
• Shakespeare's plays
• Shakespeare's sonnets
• Jacobean era
• Elizabethan era