Literature, poetry, theatre, and language in the world today would be nothing without William Shakespeare. His contribution to the world today is vast and indelible. People interested in Shakespeare will never be able to fully understand how he created the works that he wrote, and what mindset he used while performing these creations. It is impressive that so many years later, audiences still use his works and ideas, and that shows how beautiful his artwork is. From the day William Shakespeare was born, he has had an interesting background and has been changing the world with his works. Throughout his early life, his married life, the start of his poetry and theatrical beginnings, his impact on language, the creation of Hamlet, competing against …show more content…
Still to this day, we idolize his poetry and even his quotes he stated. Although he was known for affecting the whole world, he greatly affected our English language, by adding multiple words and phrases. For example, he created daily sayings such as: “Brave new world”, “Crack of doom”, “Dead as a doornail”, and “Full circle”. Although all of these sayings might be somewhat similar, they all come from different works of Shakespeare (Sharp). Other words that he added to our English language are words that affect our social interaction, such as: “Break the ice”, “In a pickle”, “Laughing stock”, and “Love is blind” (Sharp). These are all just a few of the popular quotes from William Shakespeare and there are so many more that we don’t know where to start. Who would think that words that we use every day came from an English writer who wrote these hundreds of years ago? Shakespeare had and still has a profound influence on current culture today. There are many quotes and works that are known to have been Shakespeare’s, but with all of the time that has passed, there is no possible way that these are all accurate. This has caused controversy to see if everything is actually his …show more content…
William Shakespeare is known to have left one of the biggest legacies on our world, and especially our country. Although the style of theatre, literature, and poetry are changing with society, we still seem so attracted to his works. From such a young age, he started to work very hard and continued that ethic until the day he died. Anywhere we go, we are affected by the type of person Shakespeare was, and we should strive to work like him. Ever since the day William Shakespeare came onto this Earth, he has had an amazing background and has been ready to change the world with his works. Shakespeare's works have inspired us no matter who or where we are, and we will continue this throughout our
Few writers have managed to enter the world-wide public consciousness as well as Shakespeare; everyone knows his name and can terribly misquote his plays. Yet, for all his popularity, many of his critics have called him unlearned, saying his plays are entertaining but shallow. These same critics often point at the many inconsistencies of his writing, claiming that Shakespeare was not trying to convey anything but witticisms and beautiful sounds. Of course, even his harshest detractors acknowledge his plays and sonnets have influenced the world's literature on a scale that is intimidating; every writer of his era stood in his shadow, and modern literature stands on his shoulders. Shakespeare was a product of his time as much as any man must be, and his writing is rife with the ideals of Neoplatonism, which was only just surfacing in the European realm of thought as Shakespeare began writing. Platonism and its effect on Shakespeare, and in turn his effect on modern literature, has had lasting repercussions.
For 300 years “William Shakespeare has had two lives one on the page and one on the stage” (Research and Innovation). But people ask “Why have the works of William Shakespeare endured for centuries? This is because his wonderful works of his characters, story phrases, and how he just connected to his audience still are alive today as they were alive in the sixteen and seventeen hundreds. This essay will discuss “Why have the works of William Shakespeare endured for centuries?” As evidence three main points will be discussed his great stories, his illumination of the human experience, and his compelling characters.
In my essay I will be looking at what Shakespeare has done to make us
Shakespeare was and is an extremely crucial figure in the English language. Period. Some may say that “Shakespeare’s use of the English language is irrelevant in today’s modern world”(Dusbiber 1), or simply “Shakespeare is useless”. Some may also refute that there are other great writers out there that are from all sorts of different cultures, that can teach students of different ethnicities the same ideas and same topics that Shakespeare teaches, which may be the case for some people. However, if you look at the
There are many interpretations of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. As a matter of fact, there’s an incredulous amount of articles regarding this play. His work has led to a source of inspiration for many playwrights and movies. There is no question that Hamlet has made an impact on the theatrical world. Unlike many playwrights, Shakespeare’s method of writing differs because of his mindset and sense of humor. He gave this play life by writing an immersive plot with incredible characters and by incorporating striking symbols.
By using just the right combination of words, or by coming up with just the right image, Shakespeare wrote many passages and entire plays that were so powerful, moving, tragic, comedic, and romantic that many are still being memorized and performed today, almost four centuries later. But the greatness of Shakespeare’s ability lies not so much in the basic themes of his works but in the creativity he used to write these stories of love, power, greed, discrimination, hatred, and tragedy.
Shakespeare is Important William Shakespeare’s plays are being made into box office film hits at an incredible rate. Films such as Much Ado About Nothing with Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson, Hamlet with Mel Gibson and Glenn Close, Othello with Laurence Fishbourne and Henry V with Kenneth Branagh have been seen by a surprising number of teenagers. Often they have not understood it all, or even half of it, but they have been affected by the powerful characters and by the Shakespearean magic which has affected audiences around the world for centuries. They want to know more, they want to understand, and what better motivation can any teacher ask for than that students WANT? That alone is sufficient reason for any English teacher to start a course in Shakespeare.
Wherever we go today, we just can't seem to get away from him. He is in movies, in the theater, even on TV. Whether modernized or back in Elizabethan times, his influence is everywhere in the things we use for our entertainment. We think we know who he really was and what his life was all about. He almost seems immortal in our eyes. Who was William Shakespeare? Who was this man we still have placed on a pedestal almost four thousand years after he lived? Was he really the man that Hollywood glamorized? Shakespeare's life, work and controversies come together to form our beliefs of who this great writer really is.
William Shakespeare was a man who lived a very interesting life. Most people may not realize all the hard work he went through, to become so renowned and still be remembered today after hundreds of years. Although some of the happenings in his life are unknown or lost, there are portions that scholars been able to piece together. First, his birth and family are important, as well as his schooling and childhood, and finally his married life.
...somewhat to fit the modern English language. William Shakespeare was truly a legendary author that helped expand the English language we speak today. His remarkable work will help teach and influence English for many years to come.
Born April 23, 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, United Kingdom, William Shakespeare is still amongst one of the greatest writers that ever lived. Through the many years of his non existence, Shakespeare’s is known all around the world as an icon of knowledge and impressive ability of being a writer. However, some ask the question is it important to know about Shakespeare? What will I learn from it? In many cases people will debate, but in my opinion I believe that Shakespeare is such an important icon to the world that high school students should know and learn from him because of how he connects with people and his communication to the world.
Shakespeare’s plays are a product of the Elizabethan theatrical context in which they were first performed. A lot of pressure was put on Shakespeare as he wrote his plays because he was not allowed to upset the royal family. His style would have been different than others in those times and a lot more thought has gone into his writing than people listening would think. Usually, the audience take for granted the cleverness and thought of Shakespeare’s writing, however, now we have studied and gone into great detail about Shakespeare’s writing, we can appreciate it more than they did:
Shakespeare has perhaps contributed the most to the English language of any writer known to man – literally. Over 1000 words and phrases that he coined as part of his plays and prose are now in common use across the globe. He changed nouns into verbs, verbs into adjectives, added on previously unheard-of prefixes and suffixes and in some cases made words out of nothing. Even culturally sensitive words such as ‘ode’ (The ANZACS) and scientific jargon (‘epileptic’) are in fact products of Shakespeare. Bernard Levin probably summed this up best when he wrote: “If you cannot understand my argument, and declare "It's Greek to me", you are quoting Shakespeare; if you claim to be more sinned against than sinning, you are quoting Shakespeare; if you recall your salad days, you are quoting Shakespeare; if you act more in sorrow than in anger, if your wish is father to the thought, if your lost property has vanished into thin air, you are quoting Shakespeare; if you have ever refused to budge an inch or suffered from green-eyed jealousy, if you have played fast and loose, if you have been tongue-tied, a tower of strength, hoodwinked or in a pickle… had short shrift, cold comfort or too much of a good thing, … - why, be that as it may, the more fool you, for it is a foregone conclusion that you are (as good luck would have it) quoting Shakespeare;…” (Bernard Levin. From The Story of English. Robert McCrum, William Cran and Robert MacNeil. Viking: 1986).
Arguably the greatest playwright of his time, perhaps in all of history, William Shakespeare's literary works have had a tremendous impact (see Appendix 2). Reaching into the pop culture of the modern world through movies and quotes used in everyday conversation, Shakespeare's influence is astounding (see Appendix 1). One rarely stops to think, however, about events that had an impact on Shakespeare's life, particularly his writing. The outbreak of the plague, social disparity, political unrest, just a few of the historical happenings that impacted Shakespeare's plays, including Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, Othello, and Henry IV
William Shakespeare’s life has brought much curiosity to many. This is natural as he is considered to be the greatest figure of English Literature. William Shakespeare, in terms of his life and work, is the most written-about author in the history of Western civilization. His works include 38 plays, 154 sonnets, and 2 epic narrative poems, the First of which was published after his death in 1623 by two of Shakespeare's acting companions, John Heminges and Henry Condell. Since then, the works of Shakespeare have been studied, analyzed, and enjoyed as some of the finest work of art in the English language.