Shakespearean tragedies get me hook, line, and sinker. For me, it’s all about his ability to dig deep into the fiercest motivations that drive our actions—for better and for worse—and lay them all out on the page. The result is nothing short of watching reality TV, where truth is so often stranger than fiction. Shakespeare somehow captures “you can’t make this stuff up” kind of plots, which is why, I think, his work remains so timeless. He actually did make it up!
There’s a Venn diagram between Shakespeare and reality TV.
Flawed characters —> have strong emotions —> that become deep motivations —> and drive dark actions.
And while time passes and the world changes, our strongest emotions remain the same.
So, as we read short books for our Rory Gilmore reading challenge this month, I’m featuring the one and only William Shakespeare. His name alone is mentioned seven times in Gilmore Girls (only Charles Dickens is named more often—I know, I tracked it). His titles? Twenty-one mentions, making his works the most essential of all Gilmore Girls classics.
Here’s what makes his tragedies especially worthwhile if you watch as much Bravo as I do.
Number: 12
Historical Context: Shakespeare wrote his tragedies between the late 16th and early 17th centuries during the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras. These plays reflected concerns about power and human nature while also drawing inspiration from history.
Structure: Most Shakespearean tragedies follow a strong protagonist who has a fatal flaw. This flaw fuels rising conflict, a twisty climax, and an absolutely catastrophic ending.
Characteristics: Shakespeare’s tragic heroes are often powerful and/or respected figures whose deeply fatal flaws, such as ambition, pride, jealousy, or indecision, lead to their downfall.
Features: These passion-fueled plays often include epic moments of murder, betrayal, revenge, madness, supernatural elements, and quotable soliloquies.
Role of Fate: Fate is often hinted at to build tension as the characters make choices within that framework. It gives the reader those “this isn’t going to end well” vibes. Fate can feel destined, but choice still drives it.
Source: Royal Shakespeare Company
Reality TV Show Pairing: Dateline
The Unhinged Plot: In Hamlet, a prince returns home to discover that his father is dead, his uncle has married his mother, and a ghost claims it was all murder—a triple whammy. So, Hamlet launches an elaborate investigation involving madness, a play within a play, and enough overthinking to doom everyone around him.
My Reading Experience: Hamlet is my favorite Shakespearean tragedy. It hooked me, pulled me right in, and didn’t let go until the last page. It felt like true crime, in which the truth is stranger than fiction and the deepest passions motivate the darkest actions. Your brain almost can’t comprehend the chain of events that is unfolding before it.
Pair it with the heartwrenching Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell (or the adaptation, which was also very good) for the emotional story of the death of Shakespeare’s son, which inspired it.
Find it on Gilmore Girls: quoted in 1.05, 1.09, 1.18, 3.18, 3.20; title mention in 7.15; quoted in the title of 2.16
Reality TV Show Pairing: Keeping Up With the Kardashians
The Unhinged Plot: An aging King Lear decides to divide his kingdom among his three daughters based on who flatters him the most. He disowns the one daughter who truly loves him, empowers the two who don’t, and watches both his family and his kingdom descend into civil war.
My Reading Experience: I read King Lear in high school and only vaguely recall the experience, except that my class liked it, and it wasn’t too hard for us to understand.
Not on Gilmore Girls
Reality TV Show Pairing: Survivor
The Unhinged Plot: After three witches predict he'll become king, Macbeth and his cunning wife decide to speed destiny up. One royal murder quickly snowballs into more, leaving hallucinations, paranoia, and a kingdom ruled by fear in their wake, as Macbeth desperately tries to outrun the consequences of his own ambition.
My Reading Experience: Macbeth was an excellent reading experience for me. In many ways, Lady Macbeth is actually the star of the show, and she’s as darkly ambitious as the witches are autumnally spooky. Both truly drive the titular character’s story, and it’s a wild one. I watched the Denzel Washington/Frances McDormand adaptation afterward, and it definitely deepened my understanding and appreciation of the story.
Find it on Gilmore Girls: quoted in 1.13, 3.03; title mention in 2.09, 4.18; referenced in 3.12; seen in A Year in the Life: Winter
Reality TV Show Pairing: Vanderpump Rules
The Unhinged Plot: The respected military general Othello secretly marries the woman he loves, but his trusted lieutenant is determined to destroy him over a promotion. Through lies, manipulation, and carefully planted “evidence,” the happy couple becomes a heartbreaking tragedy.
My Reading Experience: I liked, but didn’t love, Othello, and still think it’s totally worth it. It reads like a chain reaction in which the lines between reality and perception are blurred, and one thing leads to another, as they often do in real-life relationships. It’s like “the telephone game” mixed with violent reactions.
Find it on Gilmore Girls: title mention in 2.19; referenced in 3.15
Reality TV Show Pairing: Netflix romance documentaries like The Crash
The Unhinged Plot: Romeo & Juliet are two teenagers from rival families who fall madly in love at first sight, secretly marry within days, and make a series of increasingly impulsive decisions. Paired with miscommunication and bad timing, the family feud becomes one of the most famous tragedies in classic literature.
My Reading Experience: Romeo & Juliet was the first Shakespearean play I read in high school, and I thought it was a fairly easy classic. It’s a great place to start, since the storyline and its famous quotes are so ubiquitous. It also totally helped that the epic Leonardo DiCaprio/Clare Danes adaptation released at exactly the same time. Seeing it in theaters is a core high school and movie memory.
Find it on Gilmore Girls: title mention in 1.12, 3.08; quoted in the title of 1.16; performed in 2.09; character mention in 3.22; quoted in 4.16
I started reading Shakespeare in 9th grade and haven’t stopped. These days, I try to read one per year, usually outside during summer for Shakespeare in the Park vibes!
Accept that it’s not going to be easy, and it’s not just you.
Know that it will be worth it.
Read the No Fear editions, which have the original text on the left and a modern translation on the right. They are a game-changer and the only way I read Shakespeare now.
Or, listen to the audiobook while you read to maintain focus.
Pair with reading guides for added context. Try searching “summary” or “analysis” as you read acts and scenes.
Watch a book adaptation, or even a performance (try YouTube).
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