- All's Well That Ends Well
- Antony and Cleopatra
- As You Like It
- The Comedy of Errors
- Coriolanus
- Cymbeline
- Hamlet
- Henry IV, Part 1
- Henry IV, Part 2
- Henry V
- Henry VI, Part 1
- Henry VI, Part 2
- Henry VI, Part 3
- Henry VIII
- Julius Caesar
- King John
- King Lear
- Love's Labor's Lost
- A Lover's Complaint
- Macbeth
- Measure for Measure
- The Merchant of Venice
- The Merry Wives of Windsor
- A Midsummer Night's Dream
- Much Ado About Nothing
- Othello
- Pericles
- The Rape of Lucrece
- Richard II
- Richard III
- Romeo and Juliet
- Shakespeare's Sonnets
- The Taming of the Shrew
- The Tempest
- Timon of Athens
- Titus Andronicus
- Troilus and Cressida
- Twelfth Night
- The Two Gentlemen of Verona
- Venus and Adonis
- The Winter's Tale
These are the opening words of Socrates’ apologia. Right from the beginning of his defense, then, he makes it clear to the jurors that he is not using any kind of persuasive trickery or complicated rhetoric. His accusers, on the other hand, have told “many lies” about him and have used “embroidered and stylized phrases” to mask the flaws in their arguments. By calling attention to this kind of deception, Socrates frames himself as a morally upstanding and unwavering person who cares first and foremost about pursuing honesty. This is why he has decided to use straightforward language. Indeed…