Write a story named after, and inspired by, one of Shakespeare's plays. Think modern retellings, metanarratives, subversions, etc.

Posted in Narrative on Jun 28, 2024

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✍️ 72 stories

“O ROMEO!” by Mario Chioldi

Submitted to Contest #257

O ROMEO! Ophelia drowned. Red and blue flashing lights unsettle the dark silence when the rescue team arrives and surveys the scene. They create a perimeter and work through the mist that formed over the murky water but her tangled garments hold her under. And the receding tide washes away any clues. Her secret was safe. At least for now. No shots rang out. There were no screams. The old man had dozed off by the time they arrived. Though it couldn’t have been long. Their calm was unnerving. A life had been lost but no one was ...

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“The Midwinter's Nightmare” by WD Rose

Submitted to Contest #257

The city of Sicilia wore winter like a shroud. Gray clouds hung low, their somber weight pressing down on slate rooftops and neon-lit streets slick with half-frozen rain. In this concrete maze of shadowed alleyways and towering office blocks, Detective Leo Winters was a golden boy - a rarity as bright and unexpected as sunlight breaking through the perpetual gloom. Leo's laugh rang out in the precinct, a sound that turned heads and softened the hard edges of seasoned cops. He leaned against his desk, case file in one hand, the other gesturin...

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“Mrs Lear” by Deborah Lysaght

Submitted to Contest #257

I know absolutely nothing about this email nonsense. So, I sent postcards. I assume my daughters, Goneril, the eldest, and Regan, got them, but they didn’t reply. Well, I say didn’t reply; they telephoned to say they’d be here. It was my 80th birthday; you see, and as Cordelia, my housekeeper, said, ‘It’s the big eight O! Mrs Lear!’ I was not entitled to a home help from the NHS. It’s means tested, you see, and quite right too. Initially, Cordelia was paid to come once a week to help one bathe and to take my Jack Russell terrier, Bluebell, ...

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“All is well that ends well” by Rosa Arlotto

Submitted to Contest #257

All is well that ends well Maria lived a few doors down from me. Our street swept down into the town in a wide-sloping curve that overlooked the brown and green mountains ahead of us. Since then a childish sense of joy comes up at the sight of mountain ridges and the face of a girl who loved the rain and sparrows and poppies.“This is an agreeable place to live, once people get to k...

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“Romeo and Juliet: A Modern Retelling” by D.J.J. MIZZI

Submitted to Contest #257

Our story is set in the fair city of Varona. A beautiful place, bustling with excitement. A place where tourists and locals alike enjoy the restaurants, the shopping and the beautiful history. Two families in this city stand out among the rest, both of them alike in dignity. Two families with an ancient grudge, two families who have bloodied their own hands. And from these two sworn enemies come two fated lovers, whose death will bury their parent’s strife. But our story actually starts long before this. Our story starts with a young boy on ...

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“The Moon is the Sun” by Charlotte Sheffield

Submitted to Contest #257

TW: Domestic violence, attempted suicide, sexual violenceThis story is inspired by the play "The Taming of the Shrew" by William Shakespeare “Marry me?” Lucas’s words tickled my ear as he repeated himself for the fourth time that day. He leaned over me as I sat behind my desk. I smiled while he planted a trail of kisses across my blushing cheek, ending at my lips. “Say it again.”“Marry me, Bri,” he whispered, this time his demand, against my lips. The blank white walls echoed his words around me.“I love how that sounds.” I wanted more t...

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“A Midsummer Night's Dream” by Carina Caccia

Submitted to Contest #257

Titania waked, and straightway loved an ass.— A Midsummer Night’s Dream “You were magnetic up there,” said Tatiana, starry-eyed and spellbound, as though the music and wine had entered her bones, the lyrics her heart. Her marrow and cartilage were alive with it, her tendons vibrating like guitar strings. She might have imagined the smile reach Jack’s eyes, the rouge in his cheeks, the lip-bite. She felt light, lighter than she had in a long time; she was dreaming, only she wasn’t.“Is that right?” said Jack, pulling up a stoo...

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“The Tempest” by Vickie Riggan

Submitted to Contest #257

The southern Arizona desert has an unforgiving climate in the summertime. Temperatures hover around 80 at sunrise and in the low 100s all afternoon and well after sunset. And then there are the monsoons – summer storms that pop up out of nowhere and blast through with gusting winds, thunder, lightning, torrential rains, and even sudden walls of dust called haboobs. Locals know to pull off the road and turn off their car’s engine when a haboob passes. Miranda Arden was not a local, so she learned the hard way. She made it ...

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“The Taming of A Shrew” by Beverly Goldberg

Submitted to Contest #257

Lil, I don't know what to do. I want..." "Brenda, I know--a baby. You keep saying that. Why don't you simply go to a sperm bank? We've been having this conversation for more than a year now, and I don't have any other answer, since you don't want to adopt either." "I'm about ready to do anything to find a husband, but the men I meet. Ugh. Maybe, I'll just have to compromise." "Well, your mom is always eager to set you up on blind dates, or has she given up?" "No. But you know what her friends' sons are like..." "Oh I do Brenda, I don't think...

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“A Midsummer Night's Rave” by C.J. Carlin

Submitted to Contest #257

In the gathering dusk, Puck the pixie peered out from around the hydrangea bush. The humans were gone, retreated into the house after their Solstice ritual, but there was a pipkin of honey and cream left on the altar, surrounded by fruit of all kinds. (Honey will actually make a pixie drunk, because of the way in which their bodies process raw sugar.) These were offerings to the Fae Folk for the power they lent to the midsummer rite. Puck whistled, and the gathered Fae emerged from the trees and shrubs and flowers where they had been hiding,...

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“MacBeth” by Paul Littler

Submitted to Contest #257

“Ten minutes until ‘go live!’” Maggie Campbell strode through the narrow hallway of Ten Downing Street. Scurrying figures piled paperwork into boxes to be taken into the back garden. She picked a speck of lint off Prime Minister MacBeth’s shoulder as he stood at the window, looking across the lawn. “I need to make a call,” he replied quietly, eyes fixed on his staff carrying boxes to the rear of the grounds. “Make it quick Dougal, they’re baying for blood. Pull yourself to...

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“Oh, My Dear Juliet” by Kenzie Ramirez

Submitted to Contest #257

The rain poured hard over the men's black cloaks, soaking them to the bone as they made their way through the dark and winding streets. The three men walked briskly towards the entrance of the vampire ball. The full moon hung high in the sky, casting an iridescent shadow on their figures. "So how exactly do you plan on sneaking our way in here, Romeo?" Malichi asked, his voice barely audible over the pounding rain."Just because we're wearing masks doesn't mean we will actually fit in," Julius remarked, his tone laced with skepticism as ...

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“Lark's Tongue” by Max Gurevich

Submitted to Contest #257

On a humid day in northern Italy, Wold sat in his shop, calling out to passerby. His apprentice, Hornberg, meticulously organized the potions on his shelves, polishing them with a handkerchief and spit and sorting them by size. The shop was a small room, separated from the outside street by a small counter. From behind the counter, Wold cried out to every man, woman, and child who walked by, rich or poor, and attributed his commercial success to this tactic. Many came to Wold’s shop, seeking medicines and potions. He was known as a trustwort...

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“The Janitor” by Zeeshan Mahmud

Submitted to Contest #257

[Note: Contains themes of gore, violence, inappropriate language, and substance abuse]Bus stopMario Perez always takes the 9:30 bus at 9 South down Prairie Blvd to work. He is a janitor at St. Ambrose Middle School and has been working for seven years without any raise or promotion. He makes minimum wage and manages to keep his nose above water. He waits for Rodriguez."You are late, man," Mario says as Rodriguez finally arrives.As he gets on the bus today, scans his bus pass from phone, and heads to the back, he notices three nuns on the sid...

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“Hamlet, A Supernatural Modern Retelling” by Anna Salieva

Submitted to Contest #257

“So what are we gonna do, kid?” Hamlet brought the phone screen closer to his eyes, all but ignoring Yorick. His thumb scrolled through his daily feed of quirky TikToks. There’s that one cheese-making video he’s seen everywhere lately. “Ignoring it, sure, sure…” Yorick plopped himself next to Hamlet on the couch, bones poking uncomfortably into Hamlet’s knees. Hamlet landed on a video of a tiny kitten. A calm voiceover drifted out of the speakers. “Sometimes, when we aren’t sure of ourselves, we second-guess facts we definitely know ar...

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Write a story named after, and inspired by, one of Shakespeare's plays. Think modern retellings, metanarratives, subversions, etc.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 72 stories

“O ROMEO!” by Mario Chioldi

“The Midwinter's Nightmare” by WD Rose

“Mrs Lear” by Deborah Lysaght

“All is well that ends well” by Rosa Arlotto

“Romeo and Juliet: A Modern Retelling” by D.J.J. MIZZI

“The Moon is the Sun” by Charlotte Sheffield

“A Midsummer Night's Dream” by Carina Caccia

“The Tempest” by Vickie Riggan

“The Taming of A Shrew” by Beverly Goldberg

“A Midsummer Night's Rave” by C.J. Carlin

“MacBeth” by Paul Littler

“Oh, My Dear Juliet” by Kenzie Ramirez

“Lark's Tongue” by Max Gurevich

“The Janitor” by Zeeshan Mahmud

“Hamlet, A Supernatural Modern Retelling” by Anna Salieva

🌟 Similar prompts

Write your story in the form of a script, complete with stage directions.

Write a story in which a case of mistaken identity plays a pivotal role.

Write a story about a tragic hero.

Set your story during rehearsals for a production of a Shakespeare play.

Contest #257

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

215

Contest entries

79

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: