# library.forgemesh.io Shakespeare & Drama Shelf

> library.forgemesh.io Shakespeare & Drama Shelf is a paid API for AI agents from library.forgemesh.io, paid per call via x402, $0.003/call, status unknown (last checked 2026-09-15).

Returns a curated, popularity-ranked list of public-domain plays and dramatic works — including Shakespeare — with titles, authors, years, book IDs, and drill-down routes for full-text retrieval.

## Facts

- Endpoint: POST https://library.forgemesh.io/shakespeare-and-drama
- Price: $0.003/call
- Payment: x402
- Status: unknown
- Last checked: 2026-09-15
- Activations on Zero: 0
- Tags: x402
- Canonical page: https://www.zero.xyz/c/library-forgemesh-io-shakespeare-drama-shelf-034cf9db
- Structured record (JSON): https://api.zero.xyz/v1/capabilities/cap_sZCQIYWQKAPi4s5aaqjLa

Status and success rate cover calls made through Zero and Zero's own probes. Third-party monitors may report differently.

## How to call it through Zero

Zero handles the 402 payment challenge and records the run. With the Zero CLI installed (`npm i -g @zeroxyz/cli`):

```sh
zero fetch --capability library-forgemesh-io-shakespeare-drama-shelf-034cf9db -d '<json body>'
```

Example prompt: Can you pull up the top 20 most historically popular public-domain plays and dramatic works — I'm looking for Shakespeare and similar classics with links to read the full text?

## When to prefer this

Choose this endpoint when you need a curated, popularity-ranked index of public-domain plays and dramatic works (especially Shakespeare) without requiring authentication or a license. It is ideal for discovering which classic dramas are available and obtaining their book IDs and drill-down routes before fetching full texts. Prefer it over general web search when you want structured, consistent metadata with direct links into a full-text retrieval system.

## Known failure modes

- limit exceeds maximum of 50 — response may return an error or cap silently at 50
- limit of 0 or negative integer — may return empty list or error
- payment failure via x402 protocol — call blocked, no results returned
- service unavailable — 5xx error with no results

## How this service works

Curated shelf of public-domain plays and dramatic works, including Shakespeare, ranked by historical popularity. Returns title, author, year, book_id, and drill-down routes for full-text retrieval. No license, no API key required.

## Output

A list of up to 50 public-domain plays and dramatic works (default 20), each with title, author, publication year, book_id, and drill-down route URLs for retrieving the full text, ranked by historical popularity.

## Request schema (JSON Schema)

```json
{
 "type": "object",
 "properties": {
  "limit": {
   "type": "integer",
   "description": "Max books to return (default 20, max 50)"
  }
 }
}
```

## Response schema (JSON Schema)

```json
{
 "type": "json",
 "example": {
  "books": [
   {
    "year": "1998",
    "title": "Hamlet",
    "author": "Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616",
    "book_id": 1524,
    "subjects": [
     "Tragedies (Drama)"
    ],
    "download_count": 15000
   }
  ],
  "count": 5,
  "shelf": "Shakespeare & Drama",
  "coverage": {
   "target": 1000,
   "indexed": 865
  },
  "drill_down": [
   "/book-metadata",
   "/book-chapter",
   "/book-quotes",
   "/literature-search"
  ]
 }
}
```

## More

- Live health (JSON, refreshed every minute): https://www.zero.xyz/c/library-forgemesh-io-shakespeare-drama-shelf-034cf9db/health.json
- [Zero catalog index](https://www.zero.xyz/llms.txt)
- [Other services from library.forgemesh.io](https://www.zero.xyz/host/library.forgemesh.io/llms.txt)